Anastasia Rider

Anastasia grew up in Philadelphia where she pursued track, soccer, and football throughout high school. An all around athlete, she got into weightlifting and the gym in college.

Upon graduating she moved to Georgia where she worked in state law enforcement for 3 years.  During that time she joined a bodybuilding gym for the first time which was owned by a couple whom both competed.  The wife competed in the women’s physique division and this was the first time Anastasia ever got to see first hand a woman with substantial muscle and she fell in love.

Eventually she decided to move to Tampa where her and her husband opened their own gym to serve those at all fitness levels.

When she first started competing, she entered the figure division and did very well.  However her love of heavy weight and competitive nature caused her to eventually outgrow the figure division, so she moved up to women’s physique. Not too long after that, she outsized women’s physique as well and it was suggested she class up to women’s bodybuilding.  At first unsure if she had enough size at her height (5’10) she decided she would make sure she had enough size to be competitive as a female bodybuilder, and the rest is history.

Anastasia is particularly passionate about using fitness to empower women, and works as a coach, giving back as much as she can to the people she works with.  A competitor at heart, she loves competing in bodybuilding and also plays on a semi pro women’s tackle football team.