WILLIAMSBURG — A Williamsburg-James City County Schools health and physical education teacher has been selected to compete in the Mr. Health and Fitness Contest.
The contest is sponsored by Muscle & Fitness magazine, and is a national, vote-based competition that highlights individuals who represent healthy and active lifestyles.
Tristan Roehrbein, a health and PE teacher at J. Blaine Blayton Elementary School, said he was surprised when he learned he had been selected.
“I was at the school at the time,” he said. “When I saw ‘you’ve been hand-selected for the running,’ I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s no way.’”
Roehrbein described Muscle & Fitness magazine as a publication that typically features celebrities, professional athletes and bodybuilders.
“They usually feature top celebrities,” he said. “They do articles on actors or Olympians and bodybuilders and powerlifters and what their routine is and what motivates them.”
He said the contest stood out to him because it focuses on representing health and fitness beyond appearance or celebrity status.
“How often is it just an average person that gets an opportunity to represent this?” he said.
As a health and PE teacher, Roehrbein said fitness is central to both his personal life and his work with students.
“I can’t lecture on what you need to do without promoting it myself, without doing it myself,” he said. “It’s my philosophy.”
He said his goal in teaching is to emphasize lifelong fitness rather than competition alone. Roehrbein said he measures health by how his body feels, rather than by physical appearance or performance metrics.
“I’m not trying to measure my overall health and fitness based off of looks or how much I can lift,” he said. “I’m doing it by what makes me feel good.”
The winner of this competition will receive $20,000. Roehrbein said winning would allow him to pay off bills and invest further in his education and professional development.
“I want to continue to invest in myself,” he said. “I want to get my recertification done as a personal trainer. I want to get more of a strength and conditioning background, especially for the youth.”
He said his long-term goal is to make fitness accessible within the community. “I want affordable fitness for the community,” Roehrbein said.
Regardless of the outcome, Roehrbein said he hopes his participation encourages others to take opportunities and prioritize their health.
“If I’m able to put myself out there to embrace this opportunity, I want other people to know that they can do the same thing too,” he said.
He added that he sees the contest as a way to represent health and physical education beyond his own classroom. “I’m representing health and physical education not just for winning for James City County,” Roehrbein said, “but for any health and PE teacher that’s out there across the country.”
Voting for the contest begins Jan. 26 at noon Eastern time. Support Tristan by voting for him at, Mr. Health & Fitness.
