Nine years ago, Maryam Matti was overweight and overwrought. Today, 29-year-old Maryam is transformed. She’s fit, toned and healthy, while working in a business that focuses on transforming bodies — and lives — through personalised fitness and nutrition programs.
Born in war-torn Iraq, Maryam was just six years old when she arrived in New Zealand with her family. They settled on Auckland’s North Shore where Maryam attended Birkenhead College before enrolling at AUT to study PR, journalism and media studies.
After working in the industry for a few years, she’s now one of those lucky people who’s managed to combine her work skills with her passion for good health and personal fitness.
As an overweight teenager, she’d tried every fad diet before discovering the gym. Her casual workouts quickly moved up a notch and became a personal quest to become fitter and healthier. She became a social media sensation through documenting her 18kg weight loss on Instagram, gaining over 22,000 followers, and catching the eye of her now partner of three years, Josef Rakich, founder of the hugely successful Josef Rakich Fitness online empire.
These days, Maryam is an integral part of JRF, working closely with Josef and the content team on the production of eGuides — short, snappy instructional videos promoted through JRF’s social media channels. Fronted by Josef, the eGuides contain tips and advice for achieving a range of results, from burning fat to toning arms, Keto diets to cardio workouts.
And Maryam walks the walk. She completed the JRF 12-week body transformation (with jaw dropping results), sticks to a healthy diet, and hits the gym for a 90-minute workout six days a week. She’s also a test audience for what women want — in other words, what works and what doesn’t — and plans are afoot to launch JRF Woman — personalised fitness and nutrition programs designed especially for women.
Maryam and Josef recently attended the Arnold Classic Expo in Melbourne, bumping biceps with Josef’s idol, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then it was off to Orlando, Florida where Josef received ClickFunnels’ prestigious ‘2 Comma Club Award’ for online marketing at a four day powerhouse expo headlined by entrepreneurial superstar Tony Robbins.
Maryam says, “It’s great to be able to work together in an industry we both love; and it’s exciting to see how JRF’s programs have changed so many peoples’ lives — they’re fitter, healthier and happier — totally transformed.”
To find out more about JRF’s 12-week body transformation visit josefrakichfitness.com
