Fair 41°
Lifestyle
Hackensack Mom Saved By Makeup: 'Don't Wait To Make Yourself Happy' Hackensack Mom Saved By Makeup: 'Don't Wait To Make Yourself Happy'
Hackensack Mom Saved By Makeup: 'Don't Wait To Make Yourself Happy' Britney Roth sat in the middle seat of a flight from Puerto Rico to New Jersey in 2016 when she caught a glimpse of her 3-year-old son's reflection in the window on the tarmac. That's when she knew, they were never going back to the island. She had been depressed for years and knew that if she wanted a future for her son, she'd have to get out. "I didn't see myself progressing where I was. I had a little boy, I couldn't just stay there," said Roth, 27. "I had to get ahead for my son." Roth had moved to Puerto Rico with her family from Bergen County when she was 11, an…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fit Cops: Ridgefield Police Officer Chases Versatility Fit Cops: Ridgefield Police Officer Chases Versatility
Fit Cops: Ridgefield Police Officer Chases Versatility Kevin Nebbia of Cliffside Park isn’t going for aesthetics. He’s not going for strength, victory or glory. The Ridgefield police officer is going for function. “If I have to get out of the car and chase someone or help another officer, it doesn’t matter that I can put up 400 pounds,” he said. “I have to be in the best shape I can be in.” It’s more difficult for Nebbia to spend a day on the couch than to get up and move. As a child growing up in Ridgefield, he looked forward to recess period to play stickball or kickball. He joined the baseball, basketball and football teams and as he got…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fit Cops: Wallington Officer Keeps Composure In Boxing Ring Fit Cops: Wallington Officer Keeps Composure In Boxing Ring
Fit Cops: Wallington Officer Keeps Composure In Boxing Ring Victor Urgiles had just gotten home from police training last May when the call came in. A New York City murder suspect had barricaded himself in a Hackensack home. Urgiles, a Bergen County Regional SWAT Team member, knew anything could happen at the scene.  But he wasn't afraid. Moments like this is what Urgiles trains for. "Always stay ready so you don't have to get ready," said Urgiles, also a Wallington police officer. That's the mentality he adopted as a boxer at Hackensack's Savage Boxing & Fitness, and says work in the ring helps prepare him for his job in law enfor…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fit Cops: K9 Officer Gains Mental Fortitude At Paramus CrossFit Gym Fit Cops: K9 Officer Gains Mental Fortitude At Paramus CrossFit Gym
Fit Cops: K9 Officer Gains Mental Fortitude At Paramus CrossFit Gym PARAMUS, N.J. -- Watching Cindy Garcia at Guerrilla Fitness in Paramus, it's hard to believe there was ever a time she wasn't a CrossFit athlete. Handstand push-ups? No problem. Pistol squats? They're her strong suit. The sport came naturally to Garcia. She is unstoppable. But despite her hesitance to try it a year ago, Garcia says CrossFit is one of the best things she's ever done for her career as an NJ Transit K9 officer. "You never know what your day is going to entail -- could be easy patrolling, or something major," said Garcia, 42, after Thursday evening's rigorous workou…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fit Cops: Paramus Deputy Chief Hooked On Racing For Remedies Fit Cops: Paramus Deputy Chief Hooked On Racing For Remedies
Fit Cops: Paramus Deputy Chief Hooked On Racing For Remedies PARAMUS, N.J. -- Standing at the starting line of his very first obstacle course in 2014, everything seems to be moving in slow motion for Paramus Deputy Chief Robert Guidetti. The starting horn blows. Water comes shooting out of hoses in every which direction. The dirt underneath Guidetti's shoes turns to mud and suddenly, he's sinking. There was only one way out: Run. And he did, for just over three miles -- with those who can for those who cannot. That Muck Run four years ago at the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange honored those fighting or who have succumbed to multiple sclerosis. Four …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fit Cops: Hackensack Officer Proved Her Academy Class Wrong Fit Cops: Hackensack Officer Proved Her Academy Class Wrong
Fit Cops: Hackensack Officer Proved Her Academy Class Wrong HACKENSACK, N.J. — Neither getting in shape nor becoming a police officer came easy for Hackensack's special officer Emily Dubon. Dropping 40 pounds took as much work as proving to the other recruits in her state law enforcement class that she could indeed hold her own. Dubon, 21 of Englewood, ultimately lost the weight -- and finished at the top of her class for females in 2016, despite being the smallest. As she continues to work toward her goal of becoming a K9 officer in the sheriff's department, she motivates others as a personal trainer. "I really wanted to be a cop, and it’s h…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Ms. Bikini Olympia Visits Mahwah's Powerhouse Gym Ms. Bikini Olympia Visits Mahwah's Powerhouse Gym
Ms. Bikini Olympia Visits Mahwah's Powerhouse Gym MAHWAH, N.J. -- The reigning Ms. Bikini Olympia, Brazilian fitness model Angelica Teixeira, stopped by Powerhouse Gym in Mahwah on Tuesday. Teixeira, 32, came to the United States less than a decade ago. She began competing in 2013 on what became a meteoric rise to the title -- including 15 first-place finishes as an amateur and a professional -- and works as a professional trainer. "One of the nicest and humblest people I've ever met," said Powerhouse trainer Greg Wetterau of Mahwah. To be lean and toned, she told GreatestPhysiques.com: Eat small, and clean portions every 3 h…

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by Jerry DeMarco