Photo provided Chad Kamer shows off his progress to his fans.
“It became a lifestyle that I was drawn to since I was a kid, and it’s become a lifestyle that I carry to this day,” South Williamsport resident Chad Kamer said of his devotion to physical fitness.
Kamer began working out at age 15 while playing high school baseball and football, and would be selected as the best physique during his senior year.
Just two months ago, Kamer created her own fitness page on Instagram, @ck_fitness48, focusing on healthy clean eating, fitness tips and more.
“I give examples of the food my wife and I prepare, guidance on organic ingredients, where to source them, what to look for, what to stay away from,” he said.
“It’s free and designed to encourage people who don’t know where to start to take better care of themselves. I put some inspirational stuff in there, and I’m a life coach, so there’s a mental aspect to what I do,” said Kamer, who studied pre-med and exercise physiology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Many of the workout routines she posts are easily transferable from the gym to use at home, as Kamer knows well that many people hate working out in public.
“You can start by just taking a 15-minute walk or looking at your diet,” he said.
Cam’s page is constantly evolving.
“I’ll pick up 10 or so new followers every day, and it’s just getting bigger, and more people are connecting to the network and these are people who have a very high following themselves, so the algorithm connects me to legitimate people in the industry.”
Just weeks after creating the page, Kamer, 48, discovered the Mr. Health and Fitness competition run by Muscle and Fitness magazine.
Chosen by public vote, the winner will receive $20,000 and a two-page spread in the magazine.
But as Kamer emphasized, the race serves as a fundraiser for the Andrew McDonough B+ Cancer Foundation, named in honor of the 14-year-old who died of leukemia in 2007, after battling the disease for 167 days.
“They called him the B+ foundation because that was his blood type,” Kamer explained.
The competition started with a total of 38,304 competitors, including 672 groups of 57 people, according to Kamer, who has been ranked first in his group since his acceptance.
Although on the surface, this is a physical competition, Kamer soon learns that it is much more.
“If you look at the stories behind a lot of competitors, a lot of these people have been in car accidents, where they’ve been paralyzed and never thought they’d walk again, let alone go to a gym and rehabilitate themselves through fitness, or they’ve overcome years of addiction, and now they’re healthy and improving fitness, that’s what we talked about, that’s what we told them.” Calling the experience “humbling”.
He said: “It’s about fitness in general. The final winner may look like a man who has never been to the gym in his life, but it all depends on how much you can develop for yourself and for the charity.”
Although Kamer acknowledged that the $20,000 would be life-changing for him and his family, he has already publicly pledged to donate the prize money to the Tim Tebow Foundation, an organization focused on ending child exploitation and sex trafficking.
“One of my best friends, with whom I have studied energy healing and life coaching for three and a half years, is a psychotherapist who works intensively with children … I have five children of my own, and I could not imagine being in a place where this happened to one of my children, and it seems to be everywhere,” he said, noting that many attribute this position to crimes.
“My only reward, personally, would be to appear on the cover of the magazine. I can use that to promote my page, and reach more people,” said Kamer, now a union pipe fitter and welder.
“I have my training credentials to create online training programs, to do personal one-on-one training, which I’ve done part-time, but it’s something I want to go into full-time,” he said.
Kamer’s devotion to fitness is a family affair, with sons, Brayden and Cameron both involved in high school sports and his two daughters involved in dance.
Additionally, Kamer’s husband, Brian, is a certified herbalist, with his own brand of creams, herbs, body lotions, and more.
All in all, Kamer hopes that his efforts can help inspire people who want to live a healthy life.
“I want them to see, ‘Hey, this guy is 48 years old and he’s still in great shape, there’s no reason I can’t do the same,'” he said.
“I try to tell people that it’s never too late. You can give the people you love a few more years with you.” Kamer insisted.
Public voting for Mr. Health & Fitness continues until April 2, with winners announced on or before April 24.
To vote for Kamerer, please visit his profile at https://mrhealthandfit.com/2026/chad-kamerer.
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