From the humble halls of Moorefield High School to the 2025 Atlantic Coast Pro Bodybuilding Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sean Fahey and Tyler Payton proved small town might can compete among the big time elite as both claimed classic physique open championships and Top-5 bodybuilding light heavyweight podium spots in this regional show.
Fahey and Payton put Moorefield on the map at the 2025 Atlantic Coast Pro which was held on November 15th and 16th, featuring four different leagues: International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness Professional League, Masters Pro (Ages 40+), National Physique Committee, and Naturals.
Fahey and Payton compete in the NPC, which is the world’s largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States.
Bodybuilding is a sport involving strenuous physical exercise in order to strengthen and enlarge the muscles of the body.
It was an electric atmosphere in Florida and the bright lights didn’t hinder the talent shown by our hometown duo battling against over 400 competitors in the Atlantic Coast Pro.
“The event atmosphere was energetic and although slightly competitive, the sense of sportsmanship was strong. Backstage, everyone is listening for their number to be called, making sure their tans look good, and maintaining a pump to showcase their best physiques. Between all this, competitors still make conversations with one another; wishing each other the best of luck, and admiring the efforts and hard work the other has put in. Being on stage, showcasing that work is an amazing feeling as well, it’s almost just routine at that point, with the amount of practice we have put into our posing,” Tyler Payton and Sean Fahey concurred.
At the 2025 Atlantic Coast Pro, Payton won the Classic Physique Open Class C Championship and took the bronze medal in the Men’s Bodybuilding Light Heavyweight session, while Fahey was crowned the champion in the Classic Physique Open Class B division and earned fourth place in the Men’s Bodybuilding Light Heavyweight class.
Fahey and Payton graduated from Moorefield High School in 2022 and the journey has been intense with specialized training and a bond that will last forever with Yellow Jacket pride on display. It was humble beginnings with novice knowledge on weightlifting commencing as high school freshmen and the love for it evolved into this bodybuilding passion.
“We feel very honored representing Moorefield and WV in this, there’s very little bodybuilders to come out of the state so for us to get recognition in this sport it’s a huge deal and we’re able to show just because we come from a small town we’re still able to compete with everyone else and even win,” Payton remarked.
“We have been working out since about freshman year of high school, starting with little to no knowledge or routine.”
Payton has been competing for two years and this was his second show, while Fahey embarked on his initial show of his career.
As far as criteria for the bodybuilding tournament, the judges assign points based on the muscularity of the competitor.
“With criteria we’re being judged on it’s kind of weird based on the point system, but overall it’s based on muscularity, so how much muscle you have or how big you are. Completeness so an even balance between your arms, shoulders, chest, legs etc. and making sure you’re not lacking or having any “gaps” in your muscles. Conditioning is the next big thing so how dry you are, how much detail you have in the muscles and just basically as little fat as possible on the skin. Lastly is presentation so how well your posing or showing off the physique and making sure you have good flow with everything. When posing your not shaky or just look like a robot on stage,” Payton stated.
Their NPC coach, Ben Hodge, is an International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) Pro, which is the highest level achievable besides the Mr. Olympia competition. Coach Hodge originally hails from the Mountain State in Morgantown and currently lives in Tampa, Fla.
Coach Hodge provides online training and tracking for Fahey and Payton as the duo resides here in Moorefield.
Being in a small town has helped as equipment and individual guidance and instruction has been readily available in developing this bodybuilding pursuit, but the inspiration simply came from the love of lifting and the desire to be healthy.
NPC competitor Tyler Payton shared his inspiration into his endeavor of bodybuilding.
“My biggest inspiration to make this endeavor would also have to be just my all around love for lifting weights and working out. You’re constantly working towards a new goal whether that being getting ready for a bodybuilding show, or trying to lift a certain weight in the gym there’s always something to be working towards. I never really played sports in school and so weight lifting was the one thing I ended up picking early on and sticking with, it was a way to control my emotions and help keep me from getting into trouble. Without bodybuilding or just weight lifting I don’t know where I’d be at today, it gives me a routine and has even translated into my normal day to day life making me mentally stronger and more driven.,” Payton stated.
A similar inspiration was shared by fellow friend, classmate and NPC competitor Sean Fahey.
“I had many inspirations to make this endeavor, and for some time now. One being just simply my love and passion for lifting weights. It’s always been an outlet for me to relieve stress, progress in something, and just become healthier mentally and physically. With this love for the sport itself, I look up to many big name bodybuilders of the past and present too, but have always wanted to give competing a shot. However, my biggest inspiration was my friend Tyler. Having worked out with him for so long, and seeing him compete before has motivated me greatly to want to give it a shot. Seeing him progress with his coach, Ben, fueled my desire to start working with him as well, and so I decided to take that leap, with a little nudging from Tyler. Tyler had already began preparing for this show and with me now working with Ben as well, and being in a good position to begin a prep, he told me I could do it alongside Tyler. From there, I was all in and thus began my preparation to compete along my childhood friend,” Fahey noted.
Payton described the training regimen with fact that each day of training focuses on cardio and a specific muscle group which helps the body grow and heal with an even keel progress.
This training encompasses a wide range of workouts on a daily basis to create the required physique to compete.
“Our typical day of training, leading up to the show consists of fasted cardio (treadmill or stair master, prior to our first meal). Then, we would train in the evenings, rotating different muscle groups each day, and resting on days when we’d feel most sore,” Payton said.
A normal day’s outlook appeared like this:
- Monday – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
- Tuesday – Back and Biceps
- Wednesday – Arms
- Thursday – Legs
- Friday – Rest
- Saturday – Shoulders
Sunday – Start over, with Monday’s muscle groups.
“Most of the time leading up to the show as well, we would do another round of cardio post-workout. This would bring daily cardio time anywhere from 40-90 minutes depending on what part of prep we were in. The weights we typically use for training consist of machines (either loaded with weightlifting plates, or preset weight stacks), cables, dumbbells, and the smith machine. As we got closer to the show, we focused more on using cables and machines as to decrease any chances of injuries,” Payton added.
Eating high carbohydrate foods with low fat content is the type of intake these athletes need to become better bodybuilders. “We structure our meals around our training each day. Therefore, our pre-workout meals tend to be higher in carbs and lower in fats, than the rest of our meals for easier absorption, and to fuel our workouts. We also slowly taper our overall food, carb, and calorie consumption to where we slowly lose weight each week leading up to the show,” Payton commented.
There are a plethora of techniques that this pair has researched online and a lot came from watching videos on the bodybuilding.
“A lot of the weightlifting techniques and information regarding proper dieting, we have found over the many years of our lifting careers online. Just by watching YouTube videos and simply googling fitness information, you can learn a lot! Now, we are very structured through our coach Ben, who gives us a diet and training plan to follow, all of our supplements/vitamins to take, and posing and training critics. His knowledge is seriously invaluable and makes our lives so much easier, especially while preparing for a bodybuilding competition,” Payton explained.
Fahey and Payton have made this small community proud with their bodybuilding achievements on this big stage and look to continue the journey.
