KEITH MANDER 

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

I began working out in a gym shortly after high school, during a period in my life when I was underemployed and directionless. At 21, I underwent surgery for Digestive Bowel Disease and was told I wouldn’t be able to train the way I once had. That news could have broken me—but instead, I adapted. I adjusted my diet, slowly rebuilt my strength, and started seeing gains again.

When I was 19, I had almost no vision for my future. I spent my days smoking pot and living a shallow, aimless lifestyle. But everything began to shift when I committed to daily training. The dopamine hits from each workout, combined with my newfound faith in Yeshua, became the catalysts for a total life transformation. Training brought me structure and confidence, and faith gave me purpose.

Soon, I began volunteering with youth justice programs and counseling at youth camps—places where I could give back and connect with others who needed direction just as I once did. I completed my mechanical engineering degree and started a new chapter in Australia. Wherever I went, people seemed drawn to either the physical transformation I had achieved or the deep conviction of my faith—or both.

That momentum led me to enter a transformation contest with Fit for Life, founded by Bill Phillips, where I placed in the top 1% of Canada. Not long after, I competed in a fitness modeling contest—finishing first in my category and fifth overall. Fitness and nutrition weren’t just habits anymore; they had become my lifestyle, my medicine, and my anchor.

Living with Crohn’s disease means my body should be weak, frail, and constantly at war with itself. But I’ve defied that expectation. My doctors are often stunned by my muscle mass and overall health. For me, lifestyle fitness is more than physical—it’s a tool for emotional regulation, focus, and spiritual discipline. It kept me grounded through financial hardships and relational turmoil—times when many might have lost their way. But training and faith kept me moving forward, one rep, one prayer at a time.

Now in my late 50s, most people assume I’m in my late 30s. They’re shocked when they find out my real age. I currently coach high school football and work with trauma-affected families. Often, it’s my physical presence that first captures people’s attention, but it’s the journey behind it that truly connects. I meet many young men—fatherless, hurting, searching—who see in me a possibility they hadn’t dared to imagine: that they too can age with strength, purpose, and vitality.

My dedication to bodybuilding and fitness has allowed me to stay active and travel to remote, off-the-beaten-path destinations. I believe God is using this physical discipline and mental clarity to reach young men in need of guidance—men who have no roadmap, no role model, and no sense of their own potential.

I live by scriptures that call us to be warriors—Matthew 16:18-19, Luke 10:17-20, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, and others like Psalm 23, 51, 91, 94; Isaiah 54:17; Joshua 1:9; Romans 8:28. These verses remind me that fitness isn’t just about strength or aesthetics—it’s about showing up every day in body, mind, and spirit, ready for the battles that matter.

I’ve lived through setbacks, surgery, and suffering—but I’ve also lived through redemption, growth, and relentless forward motion. Fitness didn’t just change my body. It gave me back my life.

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