I have always enjoyed working out, but like with many busy people it's very hard to stick with it. A few years ago I lost a very dear family member whom I was very close to. Sadly, she was obese, had diabetes which usually accompanies obesity and her kidneys shut down very quickly and unexpectedly. Not to mention the fact that she could barely breathe which was causing severe panic attacks. She spent the last few years of her life unable to get out of bed. This was a horrible thing to watch. She suffered a great deal. I will never forget it for the rest of my life. I went through a year or so being deeply depressed, unsure where my life was heading. That following year I went to the Arnold Classic with some family and friends.

After spending the day there, I knew what I was meant to do with the rest of my life. I started training with Ohio State womens bodybuilding champion, Lori Melton from Galion, Ohio.

It wasn't long before my whole outlook on life turned around. I had never felt so good! Seeing the changes in my body taking place was very exciting! It made me want to do it even more. Doing so well at my shows this year was just an added bonus.

So to make a long story short, nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life helping others feel the way I do right now. If I can keep one person from dying the way my loved one did, then it will all be worth it!

Melissa xx

On August 7th 1973, I was born to a very young couple in the basement of a hospital in Big Springs, Tx. My biological parents realizing they were too young to raise me, put me up for adoption. I was adopted by two of the most wonderful people in the world. My adopted mother was a nurse’s aid there at the very hospital I was born in and my adopted father was an air force mechanic. I have one brother by adoption that is five years older than me, Jeff.

I was raised in a hardworking family in the very small town of Sycamore, Ohio. I grew up watching my father work very long hours on the night shift in a very hot factory. My mother spent her days taking care of people at a local hospital. I come from a long line of hard workers. My father has since retired and recently survived a triple bi-pass and my mother will be retiring soon. They still live in the home I grew up in and I imagine they will never leave. My aunt Debbie was someone I very much admired growing up. She is a very successful and independent woman. She is very educated and totally has it all together! She has a master’s degree in education. Growing up around someone like that is definitely a privilege. She also made me want to be something better than average. She is married to the most awesome guy my uncle Arnie. I don’t think that I could do anything wrong in that mans eyes. My brother Jeff was always the over protective brother who never let his little sister out of his site. That was really no fun! There wasn’t much I did that he didn’t know about. He was a big track star and I was always looking up to him hoping I would be that good at something someday. He is now married to his beautiful wife Krista and has three of the most wonderful children Chase, Alex and Cheyanne Kenner.

I grew up taking baton lessons several times a week and marching around a fairgrounds until I thought my legs would fall off all the while wearing a smile of course. Once I hit junior high I was a cheerleader as well as a majorette. I continued this through my high school years. I was a little boy crazy in high school so didn’t get much accomplished academically. I was also in the high school ensemble. I always told everyone I was going to grow up to be a singer. I played the lead roles in all the high school musicals. After graduating high school I moved to Ft. Lauderdale Fl to attend the Art Institute for music & video production. I’ll never forget the look on my mom’s face when we walked in the doors of the school and there was a girl in front of us with a pink Mohawk about a foot high. Priceless.

While in Ft. Lauderdale I met the drummer of an alternative rock band that I would later call my husband, Scott Johnson. I thought he was the coolest thing since cracker jacks. After dating Scott for several months he presented me with a glass Cinderella slipper. He told me he had been hanging onto it since he was 15 years old. Saving it for his Cinderella, the girl he would marry. To make a long story short, within the next year we were married. I’ve been trying very hard to live up to his vision of Cinderella ever since.

We decided to settle down back in Ohio close to my family. We then went on to have three wonderful little boys. I never dreamed I would be the mother of three sons. That has been an adventure, let me tell ya. We spend most of our time at sporting events. If were not playing sports, were talking sports. My boys are the apple of my eye and I’m so proud of them. My oldest son Kane wants to be a pilot. He has been studying airplanes since he learned how to read. He is also an awesome football player. He’s only 14 and stands 5’10 and weighs 200. He’s a big boy! His football team went undefeated for two years in a row. He’s hoping to play for Ohio State someday. My son Kohl 13 is definitely his mothers son. He loves to lift weights and is a little obsessed about it. He wants to compete in the bodybuilding industry soon. He is also an awesome wrestler. He just recently went undefeated at our schools annual wresting tournament. My son Kolin 10 is already trying to decide which NFL football team he is going to sign with. He is too funny! He has such a personality. He walks, talks and dreams football all day, everyday.

I got into this industry about a year after my grandmother passed away. She is pretty much the reason behind everything I do in my life. I spent the better part of 29 years adoring this woman. She was absolutely everything to me. They say you can never do anything wrong in a grandmothers eyes. That was so true. She was the heart and soul of my family. It’s been so different since she has been gone. My grandmother was overweight most of her life. I never seen it though the way others did. I didn’t care, I loved her no matter what. It never bothered me one single bit until the day it took her life. From that day on I will never be the same. I will never look at weight the same. I am a nurse and I should have known this would kill her. I didn’t want to see I guess. Well……I see now. Being over weight took her from me too soon. She was not ready to die and I was not ready for her to die. It was so unfair but there was nothing I could do about it. At least that’s what I thought at the time. After about a year of crying every single day and never thinking I was ever going to get past this, I went to the Arnold Classic. I witnessed something absolutely amazing. Figure competitors. They were the most beautiful women I had ever seen in my life. After talking to a few people about them I realized they had gotten that way by living a very healthy lifestyle year round. I felt like I had been born again. I had a reason to live. I finally knew what I was put on this earth to do. I wanted to educate people about health and fitness. I wanted to be inspirational. I wanted to help people realize that there is hope and that we all can change and live better no matter what background or lifestyle we came from. I wanted to be a figure competitor.