Natasha Hastings Shines on the Red Carpet of the ESPN the Magazine Release Party

Added by Janet Thompson Hilliman on October 10, 2011.

All eyes were on the 400M Diva as soon as she stepped out of the limo onto the Red Carpet on Thursday Night at the ESPN the Magazine Release Party.  If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last few days then you would know that the 3^rd issue of the ESPN Body Magazine was released on October 7^th when they hit the newsstands.  The magazine somewhat celebrates the athlete as a work of art, if you could just use your imagination.

Double G Sports was there and we were able to catch up with Natasha who has just come off a successful run of accomplishments.  She was at the World Championship Games in Daegu, South Korea this past summer and came home with the gold as a part of the 4x400M team.  The night belonged to her.  She is not just one of the bodies in the magazine.  As a matter of fact she is not just a fabulous body but she has a great personality to match, down to earth, very approachable as reporters tried to get a minute with her and so gracious.

Natasha Hastings on the red carpet at the release party for ESPN Magazine's Body Issue

She looked quite regal and statuesque in a little black strapless dress with her hair pulled back in a bun showing off her features.  One may think that the body that graced the pages of the magazine was sculpted by the Track and Field gods but unfortunately it is as a result of years of blood, sweat and tears to look like that.

Natasha is not only a world class athlete she is also a personal trainer whose bragging rights could just be the finished product that walked on the red carpet in those six inch heels.  So if anyone still had any doubts that she is a diva let’s just say get the magazine and nothing more needs to be said.

When complimented on the photos, she graciously smiles and says thank you and when asked how she felt being a part of the lineup of the 3^rd issue of the Body Magazine she had this to say.  “It is amazing!  The pictures were tastefully done.  I was a bit apprehensive at first because I didn’t know how it would be received.  I haven’t received any negative feedback from my fans and my family, everyone down to my grandfather loves the pictures.  For me it was just to show that I am muscular, I am an athlete and I do work hard.  Most people believe that female athletes are tomboys but I am still a “girlie-girl” who loves to dress up and put on my fake eyelashes, which I am wearing now as you can tell.  I even run in them. Even though I was in the nude in the pictures, it was just me being vulnerable to the rest of the world.  Yeah, I may look like this but I am still a woman.”

How did she feel about being home in New York?  She felt wonderful to be home, riding the subway and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city life that she grew up in.  She still misses that and wishes she could have done more but since the pictures were released, it has been a whirlwind of activities for her.   We also asked about her recent victory at Daegu, a goal she had set out to accomplish.  For her, it was also a sense of accomplishment to add another medal to her collection and gold at that.  But it is time for her to set her sights on another goal and that is the 2012 Olympics in London where she hopes to fulfill her promise to take her mom back home to London where she grew up.

Natasha also plans to tackle the 200M which she has done before and it is also a part of her training routine. She believes she can be competitive in it.  The subject also came up of her alma mater, the South Carolina Gamecocks and she is forever a “Lady Gamecock.”    Here at Double G Sports we will continue to keep updates of this golden diva from Brooklyn.

The Release Party was as they say in street lingo, “off the chain.”  Many pro athletes past and present mingled in the venue on W 14^th St in the Big Apple.  We ran into a former New York Knickerbockers, Allan Houston and since we cover NY/NJ sports we had to ask what he thinks about the present Knicks team.  He still pledges his allegiance to the Knicks and loves this new Knicks lineup.  All in all it was a great event put on by the ESPN- the Magazine.