Who Is Austin Matelson Of ‘Big Brother’ Season 17?

Big Brother Season 17 has started, and viewers met Austin Matelson in the premiere episode. People are definitely buzzing about this houseguest, with some feeling sure he’s one to watch this season. Matelson shared quite a bit about himself in the first episode, but what more do fans need to know about him?

As Matelson shared, he’s a professional wrestler from Woodland Hills, California. This Big Brother contestant is 30-years-old, and Austin’s CBS profile notes that he considers himself to be passionate, taut, and equivocal. This BB17 houseguest says that he loves yoga, Pilates, gymnastics, cheerleading, people watching, writing, and reading. He may be a big guy, but there’s definitely more to him than his wrestling and his size.

Matelson grew up with hippie parents and he shares that he stopped going to school prior to the eighth grade. Despite not having a traditional education, it seems he is a self-disciplined guy who was always up early studying. He has a master’s degree in medieval history from Cal State Northridge, notes Bustle.

Viewers saw during the Big Brother 2015 premiere that Matelson rattled off a handful of serious injuries, downplaying his ability to still be wrestling. Austin will most certainly be looked at as a physical threat, and this BB17 houseguest is already trying to downplay that perception.

Though he’s known as Judas in the wrestling world, Matelson says he’s “a flower child who does a yoga stance as opposed to beating down his opponent” in the ring. As Austin shared with Jeff Schroeder in his interview, he is now a post-rehab specialist in addition to being a wrestler, and he’s a big fan of Big Brother.

This BB17 houseguest says that he had been told after severe back injuries he could never wrestle again. Rather than give up, he did his own research and rehab and he has been able to battle back and wrestle independently again. That’s also led him to work with people, children specifically, to tackle their own injury rehabilitation.

Matelson says he’s a gymnast at heart and it’s going to be hard for him to not showcase his physical abilities to the other houseguests. He’s also keeping his wrestling name a secret from the other Big Brother 2015 season, as he’s looking to have everybody think he’s a lovable teddy bear. He is prepared to lie his way through the game, but he wants everybody to see him as a loyal and truthful guy.

As Big Brother Network notes, Matelson is 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and he weighs 240 pounds. There’s going to be no way for him to hide that he’s a strong, physical guy, but viewers already saw in the first Head of Household competition that he’s not going to go out hard from the beginning. Will his strategy work?

This is shaping up to be a strong cast, with several long-time Big Brother fans who are already strategizing. There are a lot of twists and turns on the way, and buzzworthy houseguests who will be battling Austin for the win. Matelson says if he wins, he’ll be spending a good part of his winnings to battle bullying, and fans are definitely anxious to see more from this houseguest.

Could Austin Matelson win Big Brother Season 17? Or will the win go to someone like Jason Roy, Vanessa Rousso, Steve Moses, or Audrey Middleton?

[Image via Shaw Media]