Mr. Health & Fitness 2024

Each year, there is a competition for athletes that presents the opportunity to win a cash prize and feature in Muscle & Fitness Magazine. Prior to this year, I was not privy to this. I only learned of it because an online fan of mine shared the details with me and urged me to apply. Muscle & Fitness Magazine was one of a few fitness magazines that I relied upon as a kid when I began my fitness journey. There was no YouTube or instant access to a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips back then. So the mention of the feature definitely caught my attention, so I said, “why not?!” and submitted an application.

For me, what was at the forefront of my mind was the simple fact that winning would mean more exposure for me and my brand, which in turn would allow me to accomplish my mission on a bigger level. Ultimately, it is my endeavor to attain the exposure and reputation necessary to impact more lives. It took about a week to hear back, but when I did, I felt honored to have been “hand selected”, but I still didn’t know much else about the competition.

I later find out that the winner of the competition will be determined not by judges but by votes. Truth be told, I wasn’t particularly ecstatic about that but when I learned that the competition was a means of fundraising for a non-profit, it made perfect sense. Each year, a different non-profit is chosen. The previous year was the Wonder Warriors Project, and this year was The Andrew McDonough B+ (be positive) Foundation.

The B+ Foundation raises funds to fight childhood cancer by assisting with childhood cancer research, providing education, and providing families in need with financial assistance to cover the medical bills as a result of their child battling cancer. For me, there couldn’t have been a more perfect non-profit to fundraise for. Just eight days prior to my 18th birthday, I lost my best friend Josh to cancer. My outlook regarding the competition changed, and I was enthusiastic about doing everything I could to encourage support and raise as many funds as possible for the non-profit.

Realistically, I was an underdog. I knew that there were definitely going to be some athletes with a strong social media following, of which, I have barely begun to develop. Nonetheless, I always believe in possibilities no matter how badly the odds may be stacked against me, and I pursued victory with little doubt of failure. I created a strategy for my supporters to implement along with resources, and with all of my support, we did an outstanding job of staying in the competition nearly making it to the semifinals.

When it was all said and done, I had placed 1st in four of the phases, 3rd in one, and made it to the top 1% of all competitors before completing my run placing 4th in the quarterfinals. With my support we were able to raise over $1,000 in support of the B+ Foundation to help provide some families with much needed relief and comfort. The competition took a lot out of me. I learned a lot in the process, and I will likely throw my hat back in the ring sometime in the future when I have a social media following that exceeds 100k followers.

I am proud to have been able to partake and contribute my time and energy towards a good cause! We should each aspire to do our part when the opportunity presents itself. The moral of the story with this competition is - when we all pitch in a little and unit our efforts towards a particular cause, what may seem like a little on a micro level amounts to A LOT on a macro level. THERE IS POWER IN UNITY!