Matt West
What's Important to Me
I believe my key to happiness is built on the fundamentals of training hard, working hard, playing hard, and loving often! My wife Kimmy and my family are my top priority! They give me the support I need to balance a lifestyle of family, fitness, and career.
How did this athletic thing happen to me? In the late 80's I was one of the slowest runners of all time. My middle school would host running events, where I'd always be the last person to finish. I couldn't play basketball or football, and even baseball was a struggle. I suppose I was about 11 years old when I felt I had something to prove... and that's when I took up running. Having an extremely rough childhood, athletics proved to give me the outlet I needed. I started with 1 mile, upped it to 2 miles, before I knew it I was the fastest middle distance man in High School. It all came very easy, as I loved pushing myself to my limits. After high school I found myself contending for a varsity spot on Eastern Michigan's Varsity Track and Cross Country teams. Humble pie tastes great when you are eating with soon to be Olympians and confrence legends!
After college, I settled down, began my career, and stumbled into the sport of Triathlon. I was watching the Hawaii Ironman and thought "Yeah I could do that." My first Triathlon was in August of 2000, but truly started racing in 2002. A couple years into the sport, I met a person that would end up changing my life forever. This person is 3x World Champion, Blind World Record Holder, and Ironman Aaron Scheidies. I'm Aaron's Triathlon guide in most of his events (Aaron is legally blind). Aaron has flown me all over the world to help him in many races. He has opened my eyes!!! Aaron also had me guide him in the 2005 CDA Ironman, where he was the first blind finsher! I owe a lot of my sucess in this sport to Aaron Scheidies. Thank you buddy!
MultiSport: be it swimming, running, or biking, will continue to play a significant role in my life. I need athletics to keep me balanced and focused so that I can be a great husband, friend, co-worker, and teammate. I look forward in sharing the positive side of athletics with all of you. Anyone who invests time into their own sport is a champion in my book. I look forward to seeing you on the field, road, or pool of competition.
Matt West