1       Introduction

I’ve always lived with the philosophy that anything that you want to achieve can be done with enough work, and that has helped me to achieve the things that I have and allows me to do the things that I do. My name is Hunter Agnew of upstate New York. I was introduced into fitness thanks to the athletically inclined environment that I grew up in.

Early on, I maintained my fitness mainly from the sports I played and the nature-centric lifestyle that is common in the rural area that I had grown up in. As I progressed to the high school level, most of my physical exercise came from soccer, one of the sports that was heavily valued where I came from, as we went on to be three time regional champions and state champions during my tenure for a cumulative record of (60-2-2) and I was awarded the NYSPHSAA Sportsmanship Award.

Unfortunately, I spent much of my senior year in a wheelchair due to a major injury on the field.

2      My Lifting Career

Around the spring of my senior year of high school I became able to walk again after months of physical therapy. Within the first week of my renewed ability to walk, I began my lifting career at 6’ 140lbs.

I first started with a rack and a bench in my garage that I was fortunate to have, as lifting became a daily routine for me. I would estimate my starting total to be less than 400lbs, but over the course of that spring and summer I recovered to my original weight of 160lbs and was able to become more athletically capable.

By the time I started college at Siena College & RPI I had enough renewed confidence to dabble in some competitive athletics and ended up playing for Siena College’s Club Soccer team for the first two years of my collegiate career. In time though, I focused more on the weight lifting than sports which allowed me to get to 180lbs by the end of my 2nd year. At this time, I began to compete in events that tested my physical abilities such as the Boston Spartan Super where I came in 46th in my age group.

2.1         Recent Activity and Short-Term Goals

Currently I am midway through my third and final year at Siena College, and manage to still get my daily lifts in despite my rigorous schedule. Recently I have been able to break into the 190’s where my current total sits at 1220lbs. This Passion for fitness has allowed me to complete the Killington Beast from the Spartan Mountain Series (15mi 40 Obstacles and ∆12000ft of elevation) 26th in my age group.

As far as my current fitness goals go, I would like to push my way into the 200lb range over the course of the winter while also pushing my fitness level as well which should help me progress in the competitions that I compete in as well.

Recently I have come into contact with an Experienced Photographer in the fitness industry, John Mitchell. We currently have a photo shoot scheduled, hopefully this will allow me to market myself and my story on a larger platform in order to inspire others and show them that no matter your circumstances, with effort you can maximize your potential.

3       My Academic Career

I had always been academically inclined, until the end of middle school, by then I had lost all motivation due to a lack of challenge in my work. This lack of motivation caused me to revert back to the class that I had started school with and even brought me to the point of failing classes.

I’ll never be quite sure what sparked me to begin to put effort into my school work again, maybe it was my ego, maybe it was a girl with good grades that I had been interested in, who knows. Over the course of my Junior and Senior year I loaded my schedule as much as I was allowed to and focused on my work, this effort allowed me to barely scrape into the top 5 of my graduating class and graduate with an honors diploma with several accolades.

Going into college, I declared to be a Physics and Mechanical Engineering major with a minor in Math. With my renewed value of education and countless hours studying I managed to obtain a perfect GPA through my first 3 semesters, and still currently hold a perfect Major GPA through my 5th which allows me to be the student with the highest GPA in my major. Hopefully I am able to main- tain this effort and this level of performance over the next few years in order to accomplish my academic goals as well.

I think the biggest thing that has allowed me the academic successes that I have had so far is the same thing that has allowed me to accomplish my fitness goals thus far, and that is th.e mentality and the perseverance which I try to demonstrate to those who know me and my story.

Hunter's Photographer: BBpics.Com