Matthews, Curt

Curt Matthews

Lake Placid

First, if there was any issue of only one per household, please disregard this application. My wife has applied, and while I would love to wear Team Beef gear, I would gladly buy it in lieu of bumping her, although my resume isn’t nearly as impressive! My wife began a healthy lifestyle change about 3 years ago, and since I do the majority of the cooking in our family, I accommodated her requests. Fried foods left the menu, lots of veggies, quinoa, and luckily good protein! We had always been beef eaters, but we quickly figured out we didn’t need to eat a 2lb ribeye each, that moderation of portion size allowed us to keep a lot of good food on our menu. (FYI, not much better the day before a race than a nice Filet, packed in protein and easily digested!) Fast forward to August of 2016, I’m about 6’2″ and 310 pounds. I played semi-pro football, and wasn’t obese, but KNEW I had to get smart about my health. The first step was to tag along with my wife, and start at the gym. simply walking on the treadmill was exhausting, but after a few weight loss challenges at the YMCA, and months of fun (I refuse to call it work), I found my weight melting away. I did cut out a lot of sugars, and soda, but it was a lifestyle change and not a crash diet. I completed my first triathlon this year, and proud to say I made the podium in my first attempt (a third place, my wife won her age group) and have two more triathlons scheduled in the next 45 days, along with a smattering of 5ks.

I’m personable, and will start conversations with pure strangers at our events. I also believe in our industry, and want to promote that beef is a healthy lifestyle. I spend quite a bit of time volunteering in the community, on the local livestock board, coaching high school sports (girls and boys football), have been on the citrus growers board, the Farm Bureau board, and recently served on the school deputy superintendent hiring committee. Most people find me extremely easy to talk with and I enjoy helping to educate people, and being a beef believer makes that a great fit.