All top-tier bikini competitors are in incredible shape, so six-pack abs or ultratoned arms aren’t necessarily enough to help someone build a fan base in the fitness industry. However, being in stellar shape and having an outgoing, quirky personality and a nose for marketing yourself can help you stand out from the crowd. Just ask Amanda Latona Kuclo, an IFBB bikini pro and AllMax athlete who has amassed a dedicated fan base, a laundry list of accolades, and a clothing line.
Before turning pro in 2009, Kuclo was no stranger to the stage or the spotlight. She joined the all-female band Innosense in 1997 alongside future pop icon Britney Spears. The group split in 2003, pushing Kuclo to pursue a new career on a different stage. That same year, she competed in her first NPC show—and won. Two years later, Kuclo earned her pro card and has since leveraged her work as a fitness model and IFBB athlete into a recognized brand based on her—you guessed it— booty. The self-claimed “booty-ologist” has garnered 718,000 Instagram followers and has also parlayed her popularity into a clothing company that’s aptly named Booty Queen. Kuclo and her husband—IFBB pro bodybuilder Steve Kuclo—even went toe-to-toe with the sharks on ABC’s Shark Tank and landed an impressive $250K deal from clothing guru Daymond John.
“The good thing about this is that I’m with my husband, and we do this together,” Kuclo says. “We both have the same vision for this and the Kuclo Bodybuilding Classic that we run.”
With a rapidly growing clothing line and social media following, Kuclo is transitioning away from the stage to focus on these new endeavors. And though her next move isn’t set in stone, you can guarantee that it won’t be unoriginal.
Toned And In Tune: Before she was a fitness icon, Kuclo sang—and she was good. At age 18, she performed with her band called Innosense alongside Britney Spears before Spears made it big.
