Maya Nassar
Maya Nassar (born October 3, 1986) is a Dutch-Lebanese competitive fitness model, TV host, brand ambassador, and entrepreneur. Nassar is the first female fitness model endorsed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to represent Lebanon on an international level. In 2014, Nassar won first prize at the Pure Elite UK Championships.
Maya Nassar | |
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| Born | October 3, 1986 |
| Nationality | Dutch-Lebanese |
| Occupation | Sports Nutritionist |
| Website | startlivingright |
Early life
Nassar was born in Long Island, New York to a Lebanese father and a Dutch mother. She grew up in Nigeria during her early childhood years and later spent several years living in England before finally moving to Lebanon during her high school years.
In spring 2010, Nassar started her fitness journey after a self-confessed struggle with weight during her late teenage years and early twenties. Following a training program and diet regimen, she shed 20 kilograms of fat and impressively dropped five dress sizes.
Career
In 2013, Nassar participated in the Miami Pro European Championships held in London, England. She did not place in the event but returned to competitions the following year at the 2014 Pure Elite UK Championships endorsed by the Lebanese Ministry of Youth and Sports where earned first place for the Bikini Babe category.
In 2015, Nassar enrolled again for the Pure Elite UK Championship and received 2nd and 3rd place fitness modeling trophies and earned the People’s Choice Award. Participating once more in July 2016, Nassar earned 4th and 5th place.
In May, she became a Decathlon Brand Ambassador and featured on the cover of several magazines in the Middle East.
In September 2018, Nassar took part and successfully triumphed at the Pure Elite Diamond Competition, the UK’s largest bikini and fitness modeling competition, where she won three prizes in three different categories. She earned 1st place for Bikini Beach Body, 2nd place for International Model Theme Wear, and 4th place for Fit Moms category, also making her the first Lebanese new-mom to bring her country such an achievement.
Nassar consistently blogs about her training regimen and competitions on her personal blog, Start Living Right. She then launched her website into a successful app, making it the first fitness application created in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Youth and Sports endorsed the Start Living Right app and it has been ranked #1 by Apple Store multiple times. The app offers users a range of fitness tools to choose from: workout videos, exercise diagrams, a fat loss calculator, calorie counter, and fitness tip articles.
In 2017, Nassar opened her first SLR Gym (Start Living Right) in Antelias and has another successful branch in Faqra.
Media
Nassar was a host on Get Fit, a show dedicated to fitness which aired on MTV Lebanon and across the Middle East.
She has also appeared across multiple Middle Eastern media and international media through TV interviews, radio shows, and magazine and website interviews and articles.
Charities
Nassar is a board member at Animals Lebanon, a non-profit organization and the largest animal welfare NGO in the Middle East. She works with Maryam and Martha Association, an NGO catered to help women who have sought refuge in shelters. Nassar has made regular appearances as a motivational speaker where ran a motivational workshop in Russia in 2015 and another with Elle Fiesta, Lebanon’s full-day annual event dedicated to women’s empowerment in Lebanon.
Personal life
Nassar has two children with her husband. They reside in Beirut.[1]