Sometimes in life, we must set goals in order to break up the monotony of daily living. Code Red: Diaries of Madness is a documentary by Vlad Yudin that follows one woman as she pursues one goal after another.
Code Red: Diaries of Madness tells the story of Cristy Nickel, founder of Code Red Lifestyle. At 46 years old, the now well-known life coach decided to return to her former love of bodybuilding and compete in the Arnold Classic after over a decade away from the stage.
My first question was, “Why?” and my second question was if it was even possible. Code Red follows Cristy on her journey back to the bodybuilding stage.
The “why” is answered in the biographical part of Code Red. As a teenager, Cristy wanted to compete in a bodybuilding competition but was woefully unprepared for it and laughed offstage by her competitors; that humiliation fueled her drive.
That drive led her into boxing where she showed an instant aptitude for the sport after only 45 minutes of training. She quickly became one of the top three women boxers in the world and shot to stardom.
This constant need to be better pushed Cristy into wanting to help others. Becoming a life coach, she started guiding people through losing weight and living a healthier life with high fat/low carb diets.
As she went around motivating clients towards healthy living, she saw herself going in reverse and wasn’t going to let “age” be an excuse anymore; thus competing at and winning amateur category Arnold Classic became the goal.
Nowadays being highly motivated and disciplined athlete who works hard at getting your body into shape while overcoming many mental/physical obstacles along your way is not enough just getting onto this stage isn’t guaranteed by any means necessary (Cristy’s putting her body through wringer). But still trying anyway.
While being sports documentary, Code Red: Diaries of Madness is also equally a character study on Cristy Nickel as well. Vlad Yudin goes deep into her personal history and upbringing to find what truly motivates this woman.
I guess everybody has addictions in life that we use to cover up pain from our pasts with right? Instead of drugs or alcohol though she turns to bodybuilding which becomes a very successful business but at the same time puts strain on marriage. I couldn’t help but admire Nickel’s dedication to healthy living (as I wish were in better shape myself) but also couldn’t help but see deeper conflict within her life either. Wanting more out of life is great but sometimes taking it too far creates its own problems too.
Ultimately any film that seeks to inspire the audience towards leading better lives gets my recommendation. Healthy living comes in many forms and one such path is shown through Code Red: Diaries of Madness. Cristy Nickel is an example of someone who achieved it and luckily for us isn’t trying sell us anything so there’s even more reason to watch it.
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