Heidi Pellegrino_1

Interview – Matt Fraser At the age of eighteen Matt Fraser entered into the ANB-PZN Asia Pacific Internationals 2010, scoring 2nd place in his very first body building competition. After battling obesity in high school Matt decided to take action and do something about his weight, joining his first gym, hiring a personal trainer and discovering a new love for fitness. He was offered a scholarship for the Australian Institute of Fitness and became a personal trainer. After working for a year as a less mill fitness instructor, Matt took ‘the next step’. ‘I guess from there what else was there to do at my age? So I decided to enter a competition more just to say I had done it, and when I got 2nd place in my first competition I really thought that I had a gift for it’, says Matt. Matt’s inspiration comes from fitness expert, Obi Obadike and his approach to fitness. Obi has provided inspiration for Matt in his promotion of ‘natural’ fitness, something that he very strongly promotes. This ‘natural’ fitness comes from a strict diet and exercise regime. Matt’s physical condition is largely determined by his diet, eating six to eight meals a day, each portion size strictly controlled. Before a competition this diet is restricted even further with a 24 to 48 hour period of dehydration before competition and a dramatic diet change with carbohydrate loading a week before the competition. ‘I have to really watch my body as the diet will depend how I look’ says Matt. While his inspiration comes from Obi Obadike, his motivation comes from two pieces of advice he was once given. ‘”Nothing worth having comes easy”. I guess it’s more of a motivational quote than anything else but I still feel as if it’s definitely something to follow by. Another one of my favourites, “to get something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done”’. His hard work has given him more motivation than any advice he has been given though, when asked about what motivates him, Matt says, ‘sounds a bit egotistic, but the mirror. Seeing the results of my hard work really motivates me to push on more to continue to see these results’. In 2011, tragedy struck when Matt had a life threatening injury. While lifting weights in his gym, a weight fell on his head and neck as a result of the weight machine not having safety stops. The calculated force of 1.1 tonnes caused multiple compound fractures on his skull. After being flown to Melbourne for surgery he had 23 screws and seven plates inserted into his skull, ‘I was very lucky to live let alone to able to walk. The doctor was amazed I was even alive’, says Matt. After five months on soft, blended foods Matt is now back to his ordinary food and continuing to fully recover, having had facial reconstruction to repair his jaw and is awaiting a false teeth implant later in the year. Despite this ordeal, Matt continued to keep to his diet and exercise to keep his body in top condition.

Page: 76 of 155 (49%)