I was born and raised in Canton, Ohio and currently live in sunny Scottsdale, AZ for the last 15 years. During college I gained the typical "Freshman 15" and then some. After college I realized that is not how I was supposed to look and within 3 years after graduating I trimmed 30 pounds through a focused effort to eat right and exercise regularly. From there, I just kept striving for the next level because I liked the results, both physically and mentally.
When I'm not working as an accountant for a privately held corporation, you can find me working out or shopping at the local health food store. Even though my career isn't in the fitness industry, I pride myself on my commitment of incorporating fitness and healthy eating into my daily life and that in itself is a full time job!
I model as a hobby and I am actively pursuing other fitness modeling opportunities as well as fashion modeling, commercials, and fitness videos. In my scarce free time, my husband of 6 years and I also enjoy traveling and athletic hobbies such as snow skiing, water skiing, mountain biking, hiking, scuba diving, ATV'ing, and white water rafting. I have modeled for Femme Athletic, an active wear brand designed for women, for the last 8 years.
Though I have always been active, I seriously got into running about seven years ago. Since then, I have completed many 10K races, 3 half-marathons, and two full marathons. When I got burnt out, I turned to weight lifting for a change of pace. I then realized I still needed something else to end my workout plateau. I decided to give fitness competitions a try, and was shocked when I took first place in my first ever event, the Arizona Natural Fitness Model competition in September 2007. Just one week later, I took home another title – FAS-NET Denver Regional Fitness Model Championship, which qualified me to attend Clark Bartram's Fitness Model International Final this past fall of 2008. This show focused on showcasing us as fitness models instead of a stage competition, therefore there were no placings, (this was through FAS-NET, a new up and coming organization for those wanting to be a true fitness model). I also placed first in the Fitness Model Masters FAME Sin City in May 2008, earning “Pro” status.
I am currently working on becoming a Certified ISSA Specialist in Performance Nutrition. In addition I will continue to pursue fitness modeling, hopefully gracing the covers of some fitness magazines real soon, but most importantly helping to motivate others and show that being healthy is a lifestyle and can be very rewarding.
My dedication to fitness is a passion, constantly striving to challenge myself, learn more, and reach higher goals.
With my healthy, winning attitude and visions for success, hopefully you'll be seeing more of Melinda Meyer, possibly on the cover of a fitness magazine soon!
It was such a pleasure to meet John Mitchell and have the opportunity to shoot with him during his trip to Arizona. He is so easy to work with and always professional. He certainly will do what it takes to get the perfect shot, by being patient, hiking up mountains, standing on the edge of cliffs, even climbing over a fence then getting kicked out of the stadium by the police! He uses the natural sunlight to capture the true beauty of the human physique while also capturing the beautiful outdoors.
Thanks to fitness model Michael “MJ” Jodscheidt for being the one to put together the shoot and allow me to contact John to make it all happen. I truly am hopeful that I will work with John again soon. Thanks John for a wonderful weekend of shooting in the Arizona Desert, not to mention the group of other fitness models that I had the pleasure of meeting and working with as well.
