He only started to do it to kill time, but what it has done is change his life.

Matthew Borg is a competitive bodybuilder and has been one since 2017. However; he did not wake up one day and decide he wanted to go down this path. It was a process.

His journey started in 2014, his senior year of high school. At first, the goal was just a way to pass the time.

“I wanted to find something to do during my spare, and decided that I would go to the school’s gym,” said Borg. “I was always an active person, playing soccer growing up, so this was a natural transition.

“Initially seeing results was the biggest motivator, and once you start to see some, you don’t want to stop. It becomes almost addicting,” said Borg.

After graduating high school, Borg joined a local Anytime Fitness; this is where he would start to take exercising and weightlifting more seriously.

One day while working out Borg would meet a fellow gym member who gave him a couple of pointers on his form. He showed Borg what he was doing wrong, and how to fix it. Borg would strike up a conversation with Victor Persad, a former bodybuilder, and they struck a bond from there.

Persad would tell Borg about competing and what it was like being up on stage. Borg was fascinated and took an interest in the sports of bodybuilding.

Persad would become Borg’s trainer; they would meet at the gym three-to-five times per week. Borg would learn about meal plans/diets, training schedules, poses, and routines.

Growing up, Borg was a particularly picky eater, so eating healthy was a revelation for himself.

“I hated vegetables. I ate what I liked and didn’t eat anything else. I used to get teased because all I ate for lunch was, Chicken Strips or Pizza. Also, I would put ketchup on everything,” said Borg.

Matthew’s mother, Susan, was happy that he broke old tendencies with his new plan. “After 21 year’s I no longer need to cook for him. He handles all his meals now. I just buy some of the ingredients,” said Borg.

In October of 2017, a friend of Borg’s, Ally Sayn-Wittgenstein, competed in her first competition. Borg explained why she was a trailblazer for himself.

“She was a huge influence on me competing. Seeing someone you know up there on stage makes you think that you have it in there to do it yourself,” said Borg.

Matthew Borg’s first competition was in November of last year, at the King Kong Classic in Toronto. He participated in the Jr. Bodybuilding weight division.
He had a natural case of stage fright before coming out and doing his routine for the judges.

“It was embarrassing when practicing posses and your routine when preparing for the competition. You have people staring at you, wondering, ‘What the hell is he doing,’ but you get used to it. I don’t know though if I could get used to the nervousness of waiting to go on stage.”

Borg went onto win the competition, a rare feat for someone competing in their first event. However; that was not the real win that day, the real victory was for his self-confidence.

“After winning, it gave me more motivation to keep doing it,” said Borg.

It was now the offseason, and Borg was now more into bodybuilding more than ever. This led him to make the most significant change yet. He found a new trainer.

Scott Habermehl, of Hollywood Built, became Borg’s new trainer. Located in Waterloo, this was a far journey that Borg would make every week for his trainer to asses his progress. He made the change because Scott could help more with managing his macros and nutrition. Scott taught Borg that bodybuilding is more of a lifestyle than it is a hobby. Habermehl also had a vital lesson, the three most important aspects in bodybuilding are; nutrition, sleep, workouts.

“It was a lot more focused with Scott. I would send him my weights every day. When I would go and see him, he would calculate my body fat by using callipers to stretch my skin on seven points on my body to calculate my percentage. I took it a lot more serious at this point,” said Borg.

Here is Matthew Borg’s meal plan for the week of October 15th:

[infogram id=”meal-plan-1hke603zww9565r?live”]

Borg would compete in two events within a two-week timespan this Fall, OAFA Natural Open and UFE Halloween Mayhem. In the first competition, Borg won first in Jr. Bodybuilding and first in overall bodybuilding. In the second event, he placed first in Jr. Bodybuilding, second in overall.

Habermehl, had this to say about his first experience working with Matthew:

It’s our first time working together and I’m very pleased with the worth ethic, determination, discipline, and potential of this young man.

Upon completion of his latest event, Borg said he hopes that other people strive to be outside of their comfort zone.

Borg said, “It (bodybuilding) has pushed me to do more things, and to get myself out there. I’ve been a shy person my whole life; this change has allowed me to have self-confidence in myself for the first time. I hope others can find something in their lives that can push them to do the same.”