We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Glabman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what role has risk played in your life or career?
My Mother gave me a tile with a hangy-ribbon thing on it about 20 years ago. At that time in my life, I was at a pretty major crossroads, and didn’t know what to do. Honestly, this tile was the best gift she’s ever given me. It reads “LEAP AND THE NET WILL APPEAR”. Truer words have never been spoken. As I sit and reflect back on not only my career as a photographer and publisher, I can think of hundreds of times when I have applied this principal. Nothing in life is worth anything without taking some kind of risk. We never grow in our comfort bubbles, growth comes from un-comfort. Risk is just such an abrupt word- it strikes you in a way that can either be really exciting, or really scary. I’ve always leaned on the side of excitement with it. There are countless times when I have shared “the tile” with friends, that were also at a crossroads; in fact I literally just shared it with my friend Patty the other day! So always remember to go forward and trust that if you leap, the net will appear!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
There are SO many layers to how I got “here”. I was a fitness model “Awhile back”, and loved the creative aspects of the photo shoots. When I was modeling, I wasn’t doing shoots in big studios with a bunch of lights or pro hair and makeup, I was doing outdoor shoots on the beach, in the mountains, etc. So we didn’t have a ton of care for post production back then. What was shot was what wound up on the pages of the magazines, and that is just how it went. When I decided to stop the modeling portion of my fitness career, I decided to try personal training, and I obtained three high level fitness certifications and became one of the top trainers at the gym I was working at. That was a fun job, but the hours were crazy, and somewhat taxing. During that time I decided to try my ha]nd at a fitness competition. I tried it, and I hated it. It wasn’t for me at all. I think I came in dead last in my category! But I can laugh at myself now- that’s not what I was cut out for. However, during that little phase of my life, I was scouted by someone from Met-Rx Sports Nutrition, and they asked me if I would be interested in applying for a job that would change my life forever. Te long and the shotrt of it was that Met-Rx was doing a full re-branding launch (Going from the original white Met-Rx packaging to a full red re-packaging, and re-formulation of some of their products.). I applied with 30,000 other people for the job. The idea was for it to be a nation wide mobile marketing tour. For six months. Met-Rx originally thought that having a guy and a girl was going to be the way to go, but after some push-back from the people applying for the job, Met-Rx decided to just have 2 girls on the job. What was the job itself? Two girls driving a shrink-wrapped bright red Met-Rx Hummer H2 and a 15-foot trailer that was twice as high as the Hummer itself, across the country, doing camping events at universities, gyms, and special locations across the country. And guess what? I got the job. The other girl is Jennifer Galardi, a dance choreographer and yoga instructor out of New York. We had never met before and together, we were about to pound pavement across the US for six full months, living out of our suitcases, crashing at friends and family’s places, and hotels while stopping at our scheduled events and setting up our 10-foot Met-Rx tent, and sampling all things Met-Rx. On our tour, we hit 120 cities in 180 days. We were living it up, seeing the country, making new friends and contacts along the way. At that time in my life, I was ready to move away from my home town of Seattle, so I took this opportunity and absorbed each and every city we visited. I wound up here in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona after the tour and I have been here ever since! got in to the real estate market and was flipping homes before home flipping was a thing. And then in 2007, everything fell apart. Here in Scottsdale, we were hit very hard, very fast. I had everything I ever wanted, and was very irresponsible with my earnings. Our real estate values here in AZ grew on average of 35%v each year from 2004-2006. For example, one year after I purchased my gorgeous town home for $575,000, I got a full cash, sight unseen offer from a Canadian investor for $895,000 and I said NO. ACHHHHHHH! I think back on that now and I think, “what an idiot I was!” BUT…God had other plans for me. It was when I was faced with the bank foreclosing on my condo, being three months behind on every bill I had, and looking at the last $3,500 in my bank account that I had a flat moment in my mind- I’m gong to try photography. I took $1500 of that money and on Thanksgiving day, my Dad and I decided to go on Ebay to see what kind of camera I should bid on. (Back then, the Auction format was everything). I found the camera and I told my Dad- “If I win this auction, there is no turning back- I will dive in 100% on a photography business that will change the way people see photography”. He nodded his head in approval and I won the auction. Now keep in mind, I had ZERO forethought of becoming a photographer at all. Ever. God shined that light in my mind, and here we are today. I am completely self-taught in everything I have accomplished. The remaining money in my account went towards moving out of my beautiful 2,700 SF condo in to a 1,000 sf apartment, and I started my course all over again. From then (2008) until now, (2021) I have learned to listen to your gut, trust God, and everything else will fall in to place. I have been nominated as one of the top ten fitness photographers in the world, I am certified with the Professional Photographers of America, and I now publish an insanely beautiful print magazine called BodyScape Magazine. We just completed our 11th issue, and I begin Issue 12 on Monday!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love a good girls’ day, but a whole week?! Where do I start?! We are blessed with so many amazing spots here in Arizona. I would definitely pick my besi=tie up at the airport and bring her back to mob place to unwind a bit- maybe crack open a nice bottle of prosecco and welcome her to town. We would probably go to Pure sushi that night for dinner, since it is close, easy and casual. Then gears up for a great night’s rest. After that we would most likely head to Sedona for a 3-day getaway at the Montage. I love that place. The creekside is so peaceful, and you’re right in the heart of all things Sedona. Pretty sure we would grab a few spa treatments, and also do some hiking in the red rocks while we were there. There are lots of quiet little unique restaurants in Sedona, so I’m quite sure we would hit all of them. When we get back- shopping in downtown Scottsdale and Arcadia! I love Arcadia. I used to love there. We have some great shopping in North Scottsdale too, but Arcadia has some cute little boutiques with some great finds that you can’t find at the malls. But we would definitely hit Fashion Square Mall too for some bigger scores. (We are all about lunching and shopping, my BFF and I!) Finally we would spend the day at Silverleaf, where my husband and I are members. Maybe get a spa treatment there, and definitely hang out with some awesome friends that I have met up there at the club. There’s something so magical about sitting with your friends in front of the firepit, looking out over this pristine golf course. It’s quite calming actually.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
#Shoutout to my friends and family who have always believed in me in my journey! And of course, #Shoutout to every last client that has ever chosen to commission me on any photo shoot project that we have ever created together! What started as literally just a thought, has turned in to an awesome empire.

Website: Picturegroove.com
Instagram: @picturegroove
Linkedin: Sarah Lyons Glabman
Twitter: @picturegroove1
Facebook: Picturegroove
Youtube: Picturegroove
Other: BodyScapeMag.com @BodyScapeMagazine EpicDestinationShoot.com. @EpicDestinationShoot

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