Six years ago, Marty Mendenhall, a bodybuilder, won several local titles as well as national titles. Marty is 6-foot-11/2 inches and weighed around 260 pounds. Marty recalls saying, "I'm just not big enough."
At this time, Marty was using steroids, and he was mentally addicted to them. One day Marty decided to become clean and get off using drugs. It was difficult for him, but now he is drug-free. Marty still trains hard and two years ago won the Natural Mountain States title.There are other bodybuilders in Utah with similar experiences. They, along with other athletes who have never used steroids, compete in natural drug-tested bodybuilding events such as the Mr. and Ms. Utah Natural. In a time when drug use is so rampant, our young people need heroes to look up to like these athletes who have met their goals without using drugs.
I feel that there are many success stories that could inspire our young to keep off drugs, and I wish that the media would write about them.
Blair Dean
Willard