Aleesha Young Spotlight

I was born in Salt Lake City on Nov 10th 1984. I started to developed muscle at a very early age. By age 5, boys were teasing me about my biceps. I come from a very athletic family and was always supported and encouraged by my parents. My lil brother (14) plays football and Ice Hockey. My sister (21) plays Hockey for Nickols Boston College. They inspire me to be the best that I can be.

I excelled at Softball and Cheerleading and received a College Scholarship. I tried my hand at basketball and soccer but was a bit too aggressive for these sports.

During High School I was approached by the coach to train in the gym with the football team, to motivate them to work harder. I always wanted to be a petite girl and did not enjoy being muscular, in fact I despised it to the point that I became vegetarian and started running many miles a day just to lose muscle.

This strategy obviously did not work and I made a conscious effort to embrace and accept my body. At age 15 I began training with my Dad at the gym and within one year I could squat 405 lbs. My Dad competed for many years in Bodybuilding and encouraged me to follow in his footsteps.

It was not until I turned 23 that I did my first Bodybuilding show. I won the UTAH State overall. While preparing for my first National show I suffered a spiral fracture in my right humerus. The following year I competed in the USA’s placing 7th in the heavyweight division.

After taking a year off and going through many changes in my life, I was ready to enjoy competing again. I recently won the All South overall championship, thereby qualifying to compete Nationally next year (2011). I hope to achieve my goal of becoming a professional body builder and am excited to see what the future holds.

See more of Aleesha at aleeshayoung.net, Facebook & Twitter