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Marc Megna may be the co-owner of Miami's most opulent fitness and wellness club, Anatomy at 1220, but the nine-season NFL veteran is anything but pretentious. Sure, he counts baseball legend Alex Rodriguez, "Burn Notice" star Gabrielle Anwar, and several New England Patriots as former clients, but his humble beginnings keep him grounded as Anatomy's Chief Body Architect.
"When I was a kid I was fat, so I used to be the punchline of many jokes. For many years I basically hid from the other kids, and made up illnesses so I didn't have to go to school. At one point it got pretty bad and I was bullied physically," he says. "I went to my grandfather and said, ‘I don't get taken down anymore,' so then he got me strong and I turned my life around."
His patience and hard work paid off. After high school, he went on attend the University of Richmond, before being drafted by the New York Jets, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Montreal Alouettes. Today, the 39-year-old Massachusetts native juggles a career as a business owner, trainer, motivational speaker at youth detention facilities, colleges, and high schools, and a published author.
This blue-eyed stunner with a statue of David physique starts his day as early as 3am and instead of hip-hop and house, he blasts motivational speeches on Anatomy's night club-level sound system to keep him going. On his off time you can find him hanging out his wife and his dog, or just chilling on the couch with a nice slice of cheesecake.
But to Megna, his job isn't so much about chiseling abs as much as it is about building confidence. "What I enjoy most is helping people getting over those huge mental barriers in their heads. When they have confidence, that's everything," he says.
Check out the rest of this year's Hottest Trainer contestants here.