Marika Azzopardi

Why would a pharmacist up and leave her apothecary practice after so many years of learning and serving medicinals out to the public? Finding out the valid reason behind this was my mission when I set out to meet 28-year-old Jessica Ghigo about whom I knew uniquely two facts – she is a pharmacist and she is a body-builder.

There was no doubting the bodybuilder physique and so I started to discover the pharmacist behind it. Jessica seems to be used to this inquisitiveness from people as she takes to my questions nicely. “I graduated in 2007 and worked in pharmacies since then… up until approximately one year  ago when I changed direction.”

The lady from Zurrieq has a long story of body work behind her, starting at age 10 when she discovered gymnastics and practised the disciplining sport for some nine years. “The time I spent training in and eventually coaching gymnastics gave me plenty of important lessons and qualities – flexibility, physical strength, endurance, balance, agility, stamina and not least of course, discipline. I was on the national gymnastics team for a while and also on the school team, both of which provided me with the experience of adding a competitive edge to my sport.” Jessica eventually had to stop the sport due to a series of injuries which coincided with her experience at Junior College and the demands of academy.

“I had also grown to an age when I knew that gymnastics was now beyond me. However I did not stop physical activity and took the time out of my studies to try jazz dance and probe into personal fitness and learn how my own body was dealing with it.” Meanwhile her studies in pharmacy were leading her to discover more about how the body functions, the chemistry behind it, the nutritional factor and how it effected the whole set-up of the physique. A chance re-meet with an old friend whilst holidaying in London led her to succumb to the temptation of delving deeper in fitness and they trained together to take their individual physiques on to another newer level.

Jessica explains, “As I look back on my move from pharmacy to personal training, I realise that pharmacy was a valuable stepping stone into this new profession which I feel was ready and waiting for me to discover. Having a medical background has helped me immensely as has my post-graduate study of nutrition and dietetics.” And so, with much courage and a hard time making the ultimate decision, Jessica up and quit her work in the pharmacy and went solo, launching her career as a personal trainer.

Today, she works from her studio as a personal trainer and fitness coach. No machines are present – this is not a gym. She strongly believes in functional training, using one’s own body to train. Resistance training is coupled with weights and biometrics and dietetic advice… and the ultimate result is holistic training that allows one to have a circular experience of getting the body back in shape.

In the meantime, Jessica has become one of Malta’s leading body building beauties. She has competed in the body building category, choosing that over the figure, fitness, bikini or physique categories. Starting from 2007, she has been on stage practically every year, whether in a simple pose-down, a National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) or an International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) contest. “There are few of us in Malta, but having a strong body does not mean only having big muscles. Basic fitness is not limited to women nor is it limited to adults either. People who visit me include men and children – in fact I am about to start a basic fitness course for kids. People like myself and in this profession, have to work hard to remove so many misconceptions as to what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. It is a long process to teach people how the body works, and how the individual body demands vary according to age, state of the body and health levels. But everybody can have a great body and fitness is for everybody. It is not about pumping iron – it is about being strong and healthy for a better quality of life.”