“Face in the Crowd” is a photo essay series documenting Nashvillians in their day-to-day lives. An original series by the Scene beginning in the early 2000s and newly revived, “Face in the Crowd” features people on foot in the community, captured by the Scene‘s staff photographers.
On Saturday, 79-year-old Jan Aughenbaugh of Hendersonville took the stage at the 2026 Nashville Fit Show as the competition’s oldest performer. At the event, which took place at Municipal Auditorium, she was crowned this year’s Women’s Bodybuilding Champion.
“I became so strong for somebody who is only 100 pounds, and that’s what’s so cool — you compete against yourself,” Aughenbaugh told the Scene on Saturday.
Aughenbaugh, who will turn 80 in November, moved to Nashville from Illinois in 1973 and was a touring Southern gospel singer until 1979. Now she takes the stage in her signature lime-green bikini, flexing her muscles in a sport that she’s participated in since 1987 — after she started weight training with 3-pound hand weights.
“I just like being around other women — I like being an encouragement to them,” Aughenbaugh said. “I don’t think it’s a physical thing. I just think it’s discipline.”
Aughenbaugh credits her continued health to her positive attitude, her Christian faith and her reliance on home-cooked meals sourced from local farmers.
“I spend my very first hours with God in the morning, and I spend my time at night with God,” Aughenbaugh said. “I feel like my goal in life is just to model the Lord to people.”
