Maya Nassar: Fitness Model, Personal Trainer & TV Host Reveals Her Success Story

Maya Nassar, born on October 3, 1986 is a Dutch-Lebanese competitive fitness model, TV host and entrepreneur. Nassar was born in Long Island, New York. She grew up in Nigeria, and spent several years in England before moving to Lebanon for high school, where she has lived ever since.

Maya Nassar is a leader in fitness and wellbeing. A certified sports nutritionist and personal trainer, her Start Living Right mission has propelled her to the podium in fitness modeling, and helped thousands reach the best shape of their lives.

Maya Nassar lives the trans-formative power of fitness. She mounted the podium for second and third place trophies in fitness modeling at the 2015 Pure Elite UK Championships, and earned its most sought after prize: the People’s Choice Award. The year prior she took home first in the Bikini category. And in May 2015, she was selected a brand ambassador for the international sports retailer Decathlon.

Yet these victories were hard won. For only a few years ago, Maya was five sizes larger and weighed 20 kilos more in fat. Frustrated, she remodeled herself on the mantra of Start Living Right: Develop a fitness and dietary plan according to the most up-to-date information available, and then commit to it. Of Dutch-Lebanese descent, Maya lived this mantra to become one of few Arab fitness models. It’s a journey she chronicled on her website startlivingright.net.

In March 2015 Maya invited others to join her. Certified by the International Fitness Professionals Association (IFPA) in sports nutrition and personal training, she launched the free Start Living Right app – a top ranked Apple Store download for Lebanon. The app offers users a range of essential fitness tools: exercise diagrams, a fat loss calculator, calorie counter, videos to keep you committed, and articles on nutrition. Soon it will feature an online forum for the Start Living Right community to share and interact.

The Start Living Right app is an entryway to best practices in health and fitness worldwide. Maya counts amongst her professional network some of today’s top international fitness trainers: Andreia Brazier, Tom Brazier, Gemma Williams and Tom Venuto.

Media attention has allowed her to share the Start Living Right vision. She’s been featured on the cover of Fit n’Style, Rag Mag and Special, and the subject of articles in The Daily Star, An-Nahar, Al-Akhbar and As-Safir newspapers. The TV networks MBC, MTV, LBC, Al-Jadeed and Al-Mayadeeyn have all invited her to speak to their audiences. MAYA has authored her own articles on fitness in Fit n’Style, Hibr and Fitness News.Lebanon has taken note; she’s an endorsed athlete by the Lebanese Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Lebanese minister Abed Hennawi has endorsed the Start Living Right app.Increasingly, she’s engaged in workshops and events to promote fitness and healthy living. Maya has worked alongside the NGO Maryam & Martha to create strategies attuned to women who have sought refuge in shelters. The women’s empowerment initiative Elle Fiesta asked her to run a motivational workshop. In June 2015 traveled to Yekaterinburg, Russia to run a health and fitness seminar hosted by the magazine Miracle.

Maya expounds the same principle throughout her media appearances: Anyone can share her triumph of self-transformation. Healthy, fit and strong is beautiful – and her vision is to assist all in reaching that goal by Start Living Right.