Success Story: Nick Mastrella
Making a commitment to work out with his ailing father helped him become the man he always wanted to be
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Name: Nick Mastrella
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Age: 26
Height: 5'10"
Weight Before: 245
Weight After: 185
Despite weighing in at 245
pounds, Nick Mastrella was not
your typical fat teen. Instead,
he felt size equaled success. "The bigger
and heavier you are, the better your
chances of doing well," he told himself.
"Although I was overweight, I still
thought I was active," he says.
Before |
After |
Growing up in Rochester, N.Y.,
Mastrella fi t in through sports, succeeding
in both football and power
lifting. But with high school being,
well, high school, life wasn't all fun.
"There were always jokes going
around," Mastrella recalls. He
regularly turned to junk food for
comfort, and predictably his physique
worsened. "When I was playing football,
my dad would make a couple of
steaks for us to eat and a lot of white
bread," he says. "We didn't really
know too much about good nutrition."
Mastrella's plan to use his size
to achieve success wasn't exactly
working either. After high school, he
became a carpet installer, and his
weight-training days were soon a distant
memory. He felt empty inside—as
if he weren't reaching his full potential.
Additionally, his father, Paul, began
battling heart disease due to weight
problems of his own. Mastrella finally
saw the direction his
life was heading, and
he decided to put on
the brakes. "This was
my opportunity to
not only help myself
but help my father as
well," he says.
Mastrella and his
dad began working
out together regularly,
hitting the gym six days a week.
They set small, achievable goals and
used each other as motivation. "We
started doing heavy weight and then
mixing it in with low weight," he says.
"And then we'd go to the football fi eld
and strap a parachute around my waist
and run 100-yard dashes."
In the kitchen, Mastrella also made
some changes, trading steak, sugar,
and snacks for grilled chicken, broccoli,
and sweet potatoes. "I knew I had
to completely change my lifestyle—
my eating habits, my workout routine,
everything—if I wanted to see dramatic
results." Luckily, it wasn't long before
the combination of regular exercise and
healthier eating began paying off. "I
watched my body morph from an overweight
245 pounds to an in-shape 185
pounds," he says. "It was amazing to
see how I physically became someone
else. I didn't recognize myself."
Today, at 26, Mastrella is the man he
always hoped he'd become, and feels
he's fi nally living up to his potential.
He's moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
where he works as a certifi ed personal
trainer. He uses his story to motivate
others and is proud to have helped
his father live a fi tter and healthier
life as well. "I'm living proof that you
can accomplish anything you want if
you put your mind to it," he says. "The
important things are to be positive,
stay focused, feel good about yourself
no matter what your weight is—and
never, ever give up."
Nick's Key to Success:
"Try to work out
with a partner
who has similar
goals. Your gym
buddy will push
you harder and
provide the kind
of motivation you
need to get you
what you want."
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