Justin Leonard Bio

Justin Leonard began his career as a competitive bodybuilder at age 12. He won his first bodybuilding competition in the lightweight division at the All-City Teen Bodybuilding Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. He later went on to compete in several bodybuilding competitions, including the 1997 Junior Olympic Games where Leonard was a gold medalist. In the same contest, he was also the recipient of the Joel C. Ferrell Memorial Award for outstanding performance. This is the most prestigious award given to an athlete by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

Later that same year, at age 19, he was selected by the AAU to represent the United States bodybuilding team in Antwerp, Belgium at the Mr. World Bodybuilding Championships in the junior division. He went on to place fifth. This historic competition was the first-ever to be viewed by the International Olympic Committee to see how bodybuilding would do as a potential Olympic event.

In addition to bodybuilding achievements, Leonard has also earned success as an accomplished author who writes and publishes several of the internet's most popular fitness articles and websites. He has done interviews with several news media outlets, including ABC News, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.

More About Justin Leonard

• Lifetime drug-free athlete

• Over 18 years of experience in fitness

• Holds a bachelors degree in Exercise and Wellness (summa cum laude) from Arizona State University; currently pursuing Master of Exercise and Wellness degree

• Founded Leonard Fitness Inc. at age 20

• Inducted into the York Barbell Hall of Fame (York, Pennsylvania) in August 1998 for bodybuilding achievements

• Served 5+ years in the United States Air Force; former member of the US Military World-Class Athlete program

• Currently publishes more than 20 fitness websites

• Founded fitnessinfomercialreview.com, infomercialscams.com, and infomercialratings.com, which provided consumer reviews of As Seen On TV products

Note: The sites were sold and are now defunct.

Lectures

• 2008 - Performance-Enhancing Drugs In Sports; Northern Arizona University

• 2006 - Fitness Entrepreneurship; Arizona State University

Winning gold at the 1997 AAU Junior Olympic Games