ALEX ALMARIO 
"For as long as I can remember, I have always been quite athletic; however, I was usually taken very lightly due to my small stature. As one of the runts of my generation, it wasn’t easy earning the recognition and respect of my peers but every time I displayed my athleticism, I managed to transform a sceptic or two into believers. This was more so the case when I took up weight training during my sophomore year of high school.
At first, I couldn’t lift as much weight as some of my classmates but over time, I gained more and more admiration from them due to how strong I was becoming, especially in regards to the bench press. By the time I was a senior, I weighed about 120lbs but had a 205lbs one-rep max on bench press; a feat that some of the bigger guys in my class had yet to accomplish. By graduation, some people would call me by the nicknames “Vegeta” and “Baby Vegeta” due to my lifelong fandom of Dragon Ball Z and the similarities I had with a particular character within the anime who was short yet strong, had spiky hair and possessed a relentless desire for self-improvement.
Since high school, I have never stopped training and continued to get naturally stronger. Today, I’m a 5’5” adult male with an average weight of 140lbs. I know that may not sound impressive but there is much more to me than meets the eye from both a fitness and personal standpoint. If there’s any takeaway from my brief fitness story, it’s that you should never let your physical appearance determine your level of success as it is your strength of will and the size of your heart that will see you through challenges and adversity."
