Hi Rip
Thanx for posting.
In addition to being gorgeous and having a shock and awe inspiring physique Val is one of the sweetest most down to earth people you will ever meet. She also definitely walks to the beat of her own drummer, and brought a lot of creativity, excitement and flair to figure comps (and message boards!) when she competed. Some 'insiders' tried to give her a prima donna rep, but off stage I have never seen any competitor spend more time giving advice (including when she was not paid to work a booth) to new and aspiring competitors as well as fans just interested in general fitness.
Joe took the photos you posted at the Orleans hotel on O weekend in 2006. My first shoot for the site was that weekend too (Amy Thompson, Joe made sure he had Val ALL to himself LOL). I had two opportunities to shoot with Val later on, and both were memorable.
Best
Doug
PS - Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, and there was one photog who Val enjoyed being the prima donna with - me! (go figure?). I don't want to give the guys here too much ammo, but it did involve a lot of 'purse boy' duties, and frequent 'skeptical' comments directed towards my 'sleek physique'. However she explained to me later it was not my fault, but that I reminded her a lot of a guy she used to " beat up on the junior high school bus, often".
