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Carl Mathews "The Legend"  It was October 7th, 2006 in Cape Cod Massachusetts. I was competing in the amateur portion of the show (Cape Cod Natural), which would follow the IFPA Gaspari Nutrition Pro Classic. I had never seen a Natural Pro show before and had absolutely no idea what to expect. My wife and I found a good seat near the front of the stage waiting for the Men's lineup to come out on stage. My good friend Sully was competing in the show, and it would be the first time I would get a chance to see him compete in person. It seemed like forever waiting for them to come out.... probably because of my anticipation! They started to come out one by one, and as I scanned the competitors I was speechless. Where did these guys come from? My first thought was... from another planet! I went down the lineup of competitors when all of a sudden I saw the largest, most muscled, most intimidating physique I had ever seen in my life. I asked someone next to us if they knew who he was......"Carl Matthews Jr." they replied. I'll probably remember that day for the rest of my life. Carl Mathews Jr., Philip Ricardo Jr., Dave Goodin and many other great bodybuilders were all on stage at the same time. To this day it is probably the best overall lineup I have ever witnessed at a show. Carl took 3rd behind Philip Ricardo Jr. and Dave Goodin, but let me tell you..... anyone of those three tremendous athletes could have won that day.
Here's an excerpt written from my good friend Sean (Sully) Sullivan:
"Carl Matthews Jr. -
If you look up Humility in the
dictionary (with my spelling I
should have one but don't) Carl's
photo is there. This man is the
kindest, most soft spoken and nicest
guys I ever met. BUT, on stage he
was the most intimidating physique
up there! Lets get one thing
straight, Carl is BIG and RIPPED!
Real BIG and REAL RIPPED! In fact,
the shadow of his bicep made my
whole physique disappear in the pose
down, and forced me to retreat to
the part of the stage where I felt
less intimidated by his brute mass
(sorry Wil
Here's another excerpt form an article written in Lift for Life.com (Model of the Month) "History and circumstance had led Carl to believe that God was playing a major role in his life. He had survived not just one, but multiple near death experiences. He had overcome adversity, he had been delivered from addictions, and through it all, he still had his health. These experiences built not only character, but a deep and abiding faith in God." You can read the entire Lift for Life.com article here
I got the opportunity to see Carl compete in a second show, this time October 27th, 2007. It was the IFPA Yorton Cup in Washington, DC. The lineup was once again crazy, and this time Carl took 5th place out of 15 excellent physiques. He was once again........ HUGE, RIPPED and INTIMIDATING. Although I was once again competing in the amateur part of the show, Carl is one of two Natural bodybuilders that I would travel to get a chance to see compete... the other being Philip Ricardo Jr. At 41 years of age.... Carl is just getting started! He has an amazing Natural Physique. As huge and intimidating as Carl is.... you won't find a person who has met and talked to him that doesn't say he's one of the most humble, friendly human beings you will ever meet. His personality transcends his status as one of the best Natural Bodybuilders in the world. I can't end this feature without mentioning that Carl just won the 2008 Musclemania Natural Mr. America. Congratulations Carl! Excerpt from the show results: "The Musclemania America Champion was Las Vegas local natural hero Carl Matthew Jr., a heavyweight who's won many other natural and non-tested shows but was never able to conquer the Musclemania title." Full results here Carl's got one of the best myspace pages http://www.myspace.com/mattchews34 You have to check it out...
Contest History 2004 5th place, Heavyweights (NPC), Las Vegas Classic 2005 Mr. Virginia (NPA), Virginia state championship 3rd place, Heavyweights (NPC), Reno, NV 1st place, United States Naturals (INBA/ABA), Las Vegas 2nd place Heavyweights Pro Qualifier (NPA), Ft. Lee, Virginia 2nd place, (OCB), Las Vegas,NV 2nd place, United States Naturals (INBA/ABA) 1st place, Natural Universe (INBA/ABA), California Mr. Natural Olympia (INBA/ABA), Las Vegas,Nv 2006 Mr. Virginia (NPA) Virginia State Championship Mr. United States Natural (INBA/ABA) Las Vegas, NV 1st place, Heavyweights, Superbody Musclemania, Miami,FL Overall winner, Desert State Championship (OCB), Las Vegas,NV 1st place, Team USA (INBA/ABA), Las Vegas, NV 3rd place, Pro show (IFPA), Cape Cod, MA. 3rd place, Heavyweights (NPC), Las Vegas Classic 4th place, Heavyweights MuscleMania World, Hollywood,CA. 2007 Overall winner, Venice Beach Memorial Day Classic, Venice Beach, CA. 2nd and 3rd place, Labor Day Classic, Venice Beach, CA. 5th place, Yorton Cup Pro show, Washington, D.C. (IFPA) Mr. Las Vegas, (NPC) Las Vegas Classic 2008 15th Place Heavyweights USA's Las Vegas, NV (NPC) 10th Place Heavyweights Team Universe New York, NY (NPC) Natural Mr. America at Musclemania in Las Vegas, NV
July 4th, 2008
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Whenever
I'm asked who was the biggest
Natural Bodybuilder I have ever seen
in person, there's never any
hesitation...... "Carl Matthews
Jr.".
)
If there is someone knocking on
Rico's door right now its Carl."
