Athlete Spotlight NPC Bikini Competitor Megan Mattei
Name: Megan Mattei
Age: 29
Weight: 132 and 127 competition
Occupation: student and soccer coach
Contest History:
2013 Baton Rouge Redstick 4th place class B
2013 Camellia Classic 1st place class B
2013 Greater Gulf 3rd place class D
My fitness journey started a long time ago. I have always been an athlete. I played as a 
regional and national soccer player, and got recruited to play Division I college soccer. I loved being fit. I loved the feeling of pushing myself to the brink and I relished in the sore aftermath that was left behind. However, after my parents passed away I lost that fire that previously drove me, and instead I became very depressed. Suffering for years and never feeling truly alive.
Yet in 2001, all of that change. A close friend of mine that I worked with was training to compete in the NPC Greater Gulf in New Orleans. I was there everyday for her preparation and saw all of the peaks and valleys that she went through to have her 20 seconds on stage. I saw her on that stage and I knew that it was something I wanted to do. Not because of how beautiful and glamorous she was up there that day, but because of the inner battle I had just seen her fight and triumph over!
At this point I had ballooned up to 192 lbs. and I had lost my way completely on my fitness journey, but I put that all behind me and set out with one goal in mind, and that was to hit that stage! Now 2 years later after countless hours in the gym, I hired a coach and completely changed my life and views on life in general. This past June I just stepped on that Greater Gulf stage. It was one of the most proud moments of my life. Not because I placed, not because of the shiny bikini, not because of the glamour, but because I knew I was back fighting the battle and I was winning!
This is only the beginning of my journey as a NPC athlete and a small battle won, and I am going to continue that war day by day hopefully inspiring others around me and becoming the best athlete I can be in the process!
