A Conversation with Amanda-Lynn

Amanda-Lynn Lowe’s journey has spanned competitive bodybuilding, a professional career in biotech, motherhood, and achieving financial freedom through investing. Guided by her core values of discipline and authenticity, she balances her career with international travel, outdoor adventures, and a dream to explore every U.S. National Park—all while imparting wisdom on the parallels between physical fitness and financial independence.

From bodybuilding, traveling, working in Biotech to going through motherhood, you’ve had quite a few different adventures in life so far, can you share a bit about how your journey got started? Let's start with Bodybuilding.

So with bodybuilding, I’ve always really been interested in fitness and going all the way back to high school, I took early period weight training. I've always been interested in health, longevity and having a strong body and after college, my roommate was a pro bodybuilder so I was very into that fitness culture. 

Then I got married and I had a baby and I had other priorities and I wasn't crazy fit in my early 30s. And in my mid 30s, I was getting separated and divorced and there was a lot of insecurity around that, around not being fit enough or not looking a certain way that my partner wanted me to look. So that's actually how I got started in bodybuilding. I hired one of the top coaches and I thought, well, if I do what those girls do, could I look like those girls look? And so that's how it started.

Tell us a little more about your journey with Bodybuilding, what was it like navigating through an industry like that?

When I first started, I got second place at my first show, and that got kind of addicting because then it was like, oh, well, if I do more, how could I perform? Where could I go in this sport? And so for about  5 years I competed pretty seriously, even at an international level in one league. I really got as far as I was going to get without starting to take some pretty harsh drugs. So I decided to leave that league and I actually went to a natural bodybuilding league and started competing in bikini in that league. I actually won my pro card there and soon after that I realized I proved what I needed to prove, really just to myself more than anybody else. I got to a point where my beauty and my confidence comes from who I am and not the validation of some judge or some guy or by somebody handing me a trophy or a medal.

So it's kind of in my past at this point. It's something that I'm really proud that I worked as hard as I did, but have no interest in doing again.

You’re pursuing hobbies, traveling and exploring, going through motherhood and also, maintaining your presence/club status, what does that balance look like for you in life? One thing about balance is, I think, in some ways it's a myth, right? You can't do it all at the same time, so you have to be willing to let there be seasons of your life. For example, I mentioned I haven't done a triathlon in a year. I would like to do another triathlon again, but this year I'm prioritizing international travel. You have to really prioritize and be comfortable with priority shifting.  The key for me is always keeping up a certain “level”. I'm always going to stay at a certain level of physical fitness. Obviously, as a mom taking care of my son and spending time with him, those years are precious. I'm never getting them back. So that always has to stay high on the priority list. I got to pay my bills, so work's got to stay at the top of the priority list. I would say that hobbies and outside interests, those are the things that have to flux depending on where the opportunities are in any given year. The one thing that I always say is, you have to give yourself grace.

When talking about success and reaching your goals, where do you think people may fall off and aren't able to achieve/reach those things? I think at the core is you have to really want it. One of the most important things for being successful in anything is getting really clear about what's most important to you. I think one of the most important things for being successful in anything is getting really clear about what's most important to you. For example, I would say, if you could own a beautiful home that you love being in, or you could go out every weekend on crazy adventures, which would you rather have? When you get clear about the thing that you want the most, then you can follow the steps to take action to get it.

What are some lessons you feel like you've learned from that time of competing and being in that world that you carry over to kind your everyday life now? I feel like all of life is driven by discipline. Whether you want to be successful in a fitness regime or you want to be successful in entrepreneurship or saving money, it all comes down to the same skill sets. In fact, someday I'm going to write a book on the parallels between weight loss and financial independence because it's really the same concept, right? You make a budget and you stick to your budget. So whether I can spend X dollars on dining out, entertainment, travel, and my mortgage is kind of the same as, I can spend X calories on protein, carbs and fat. It's just making a plan and following the plan. I think I just naturally have that kind of mindset where I can reach out to people who've been successful in an area that I want to be successful in, see what the model is for success and then just follow the model.

How has your perception of beauty changed over the years? How has your confidence changed and developed to where you are now?

I would say the most beautiful women I've ever met are the people who are just really confident in who they are. When someone is comfortable in their own skin, in their own body and in their own fashion sense, those are the people we look at and we say, wow, that person has such great style, right? Because it's authentic and real. I think it took me a while to figure that out. I probably didn't figure that out until I was in my late 30s. I spent a lot of my 20s chasing this trend and that trend and that look and this look, and then I really just realized, this is who I am. This is the body I was born into. This is the sense of style that I have. 

I think becoming my most authentic self was kind of an experimentation process. I've spent a lot of years trying to be who other people wanted me to be, and then I got kind of sick and tired of it a few times, and so I was just myself. And that felt really good. The more I was myself, the more comfortable I was being myself.

Discipline seems to be a core value of yours that has helped you achieve things in different verticals. How did you find that discipline was something you connected with as a route to success in your life? 

I come from a family of really hard workers. I definitely always had the value of hard work and also had the value of frugality, saving, and investing. 

My dad's industry shifted actually when I was in high school we were pretty much homeless. That really molded me to never letting that happen to myself or my family. I think that's where my discipline in my early years of really saving money came from as I never wanted anybody to ever force me to have to move or force me into a position that didn't feel right to me. I think where my discipline motivation comes from is those pretty tough times in high school.

Tell us a little bit about the investing area of your life. What advice would you give someone looking to get involved in that world? 

I started reading books about financial independence in high school and was really fortunate to have some great mentors, and that really built a foundation of the “why” to be financially disciplined. I have owned real estate in the short term rental market space for a few years now, about seven years and that's been profitable and fun. I'm actually moving into a space where I'm going to start running syndications and bringing in investors to buy big multi unit properties together.

I would say there are a lot of really good podcasts and a lot of good education out there and that's one really cool thing about the social media world that we live in today is people want to share their knowledge. I'm personally using the strategies that I'm learning from other podcasters, other investors, and other networking groups. In this social media age, there's so much free education out there to take advantage of. 

A few of my favorite books that helped define my approach to financial freedom are: Smart Women Finish Rich, Rich Dad, Poor Dad in my teens. I also have a few podcasts I still listen to called, Invest with the Best, Bigger Pockets and Rich Somers Report.

What does life look like for outside of work Amanda-Lynn? 

So the last couple years have been a season of international travel for me. I love experiencing different cultures. I love experiencing different cultures through food. I'm always up to try a new dish, and I feel like there's something really communal about that too, going to a small town restaurant and sitting and eating with people. So I love exploring new cultures.

I'm also really into the outdoors, hiking and rock climbing, just the other week I was in Zion and Bryce Canyon on an RV camping trip! It's been about a year since my last triathlon, but that's something that I also really enjoy is sprint triathlons.

What's next for you? What do you want your future to look like?

Hopefully in the near future I'm moving into a new house with my son and my partner and really enjoying those last few years of family life with my son before he goes off to college. Which is going to be here before I know it. Also definitely growing my real estate portfolio, that's a priority for me in the next few years while I continue to excel at my day job.

Really, the true dream is to buy an RV and travel the country homeschooling in an RV. I want to see all of the national parks. There's 419 National Park units and I'm at 76 right now, so if I could travel the country going to every single National Park with my kid, that would be awesome.