I grew up being the small kid. Graduating high school at 16, 5 ft tall, 100 lbs. on a good day. I was small. I was a gifted child, but unfortunately for my parents, school wasn’t a priority for me. Growing up, I was the trophy my family would showcase to their friends and family. So naturally, when I finished high school, I decided to take a year off and “find myself,” which meant spending a year playing video games and going to fast food restaurants with friends. After some time, I decided to do something; I taught myself piano. Once I became a decent player, I joined a band who became very popular in my area, playing venues with up to 500 people. Life was good. I did this for 3 years until I was 18. In this year, I had a crush on a girl who liked working out. So I did what any 18 year old would do: I started working out with her. Nothing crazy, just a run followed with abs and push-ups. After the first day, I went home and looked up various exercises and constructed a workout plan for her. She lost 23 lbs in the span of a month. Apparently, I’m good at this stuff, so with her results showing, I began getting clients. It was about December when I decided that if I wanted this to be my career, I would attract more clients if I wasn’t 100 lbs at 5 ft 5 inches tall. That Christmas, I got my first tub of protein powder and it all began.
December 26, 2012. Day 1 of training. I started at a gym, but quickly realized I was very weak, and not wanting to embarrass myself, I decided to train at home. 10 pushups, 0 pull-ups, 50 sit-ups. That was my workout. I was weak, but diligent, so for the next year I trained. The strength came slowly. My parents weren’t too happy that this is what I decided to do. My friends and family told me I was wasting my time. “This isn’t what you were meant for!” Through all of this, one person believed in me since day 1.
My grandma has been my rock from day 1 of everything. She would count my reps. Cheer for me when I would get a new skill. With her support I carried on and after one year I met RAW Movement. Until this point, I thought I was the only person who did what I was doing. I began hanging out with the team around the time my grandma found stage 3 lung cancer. In January, a week after meeting RAW Movement, she passed away. I lost my biggest fan. I wanted to give up, go back to school and do what everyone else expected of me. It took a while before I realized that I needed to push through and do it for her. That April, I competed in my first competition in Florida. I won. At this time is when family began to believe in me and support me. Slowly I became more known in the sport and competed several times. I won an open tournament in 2015 which gave me a title shot in lightweight division. I won. This win set me up for a battle with one of the men I looked up to. I beat him. After this victory, I became the number 1 featherweight (135 lbs.) in the USA. Then, I was placed on a team to compete in the world cup and represent America. We took 3rd place. Got to travel to Bahrain, all expense paid. I have sponsors giving me free clothes whenever I ask. I work as a personal trainer and recently got a job as a gymnastics coach based purely off my knowledge and skill set in gymnastics. Through all of this, I know my grandma is looking down at me and is more than proud of me. Still counting my reps. Still celebrating with me when I get new skills. For this reason alone, I will not stop.
Don’t Lose Who You Are!
M Kat
