MANSFIELD, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—A local bodybuilder has walked away with the top prize in one of bodybuilding’s most prestigious competitions – the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Matt Trammel, 40, formerly of Galion, showed off his oiled physique Thursday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and Ohio Expo Center, earning first place in the Amateur Bodybuilding Competition for athletes ages 40 and older.

It was a dream come true.

“It was cool, very, very cool, when you realize you won and all the hard work is paying off,” said Trammel, a 2002 Galion High School graduate. “The Arnold is one of the biggest ones you can do. It was definitely a bucket list, a dream come true for sure.”

The gym rat, who trains five days a week, is no newcomer to the annual sports festival. In 2020, he won third place in powerlifting, then continued beefing up his body to prepare for the marquee event of the four-day show, which draws athletes from around the world.

Trammel said diet and the proper amount of sleep are key components of training. “Lifestyle is a huge part of it. It’s important to find a lifestyle of eating that’s going to work for you. If it comes from the ground or walks on legs, I’m gonna’ eat it. It’s a very boring diet. It’s very consistent but it works.”

Trammel started lifting at the Galion Y when he was 14 and got hooked. Since then, he has racked up eight state awards and three world record medals in powerlifting. He bench presses 500 pounds and, as a dead lifter, 745. His heaviest squat? A whopping 865 pounds.

Always the athlete, Trammel excelled in five sports in high school. He earned a track scholarship to Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio, and walked onto their basketball team. But he transferred to Liberty University, an NCAA Division I college in Lynchburg, Virginia, for track.

He also has a master’s degree in theology and was in the ministry for more than ten years, carrying on a family tradition. His father, the Rev. Monty Trammel, was a longtime Galion pastor who now serves a church in Merritt Island, Florida. Grandfather Tom Trammel ministers in Cincinnati.

Nowadays, Trammel works as a real estate agent for the Holden Agency in Mansfield. He’s a regular at the Mansfield Area YMCA and at Westside Barbell in Columbus and stays active playing basketball and racquetball. “I was the world’s strongest pastor. Now I’m the world’s strongest realtor.”

He and his wife, Annie – his biggest fan – have four children ages seven to 15. He’s an active member of Crossroads Church in Mansfield, where he plays the piano and serves on the praise team. “For some reason God has given me the desire to do this. It’s physical, spiritual, and mental. It all goes together.”

After a short break, Trammel said, it will be back to the grindstone gearing up for the International Federation of Bodybuilding, IFBB, Masters National Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this July. His goal is to qualify for the elite Pro Card at the four-day show.

But no matter what lies ahead, this muscle man is grateful to God.

“All the glory goes to the Lord, Jesus Christ my savior but I’m using this platform to show people they can do it too. What you plant in the ground is what you’re gonna’ sow. It’s all about hard work, whether it’s your job, parenting, whatever. And that’s kind of how I live my life.”