People You Should Know – Miranda Wright Grupczynski

Joseph Maino, The Fernley Reporter

Fernley’s citizens are incredible for many reasons: outstanding public servants, volunteers, great teachers etc. This article is about a Fernley citizen who has a great personal transformational story about her health and well-being.

Miranda Wright Grupczynski has lived in Fernley for 11 years and works for the post office. She is married and says, “I have two “awesome” kids, Autumn and Jacob.” Autumn was with the band when it performed in Washington, D.C. for the 4^th of July parade.

“I first thought about improving my health about 5 years ago. I tried the gym in my apartment, but I was not getting anywhere. Then I discovered the Reno Academy of Combat. Currently I lift weights, climb ropes, do punching and kicking, etc. I go 3-5 times a week.” notes Grupczynski. Before starting to exercise she weighed 170 pounds and now weighs 120 pounds with muscles. Grupczynski says, “At 170 pounds I felt terrible about myself. People would talk about me. Now that I’m 120 ponds people tell me I need to eat more!”

This is the second year she participated in the Nspire Sport’s League’s body building competition held in Lake Tahoe a few weeks ago. She competed in the transformation category. People eligible for this category must have had weight loss between 20 to 100 pounds, must submit a personal story about their weight loss and journey to better health, submit before and after photographs and participate in the posing part of the competition.

About her on stage posing, Grupczynski says, “They kept calling other competitors out for additional viewings during the competition, so I was totally shocked when I won third place.”

What’s in Grupczynski’s future? She says, “I want to go pro and go into the business side of competition too. I would also like to put on more muscle, especially in my arms and I want to be a good role model for my children.”

Apparently being a good role model is paying off, Grupczynski’s daughter will be participating in the competition next year.