Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena appeared to be on cloud nine over the weekend, and for good reason — the 28-year-old had just topped the podium at his first bodybuilding competition.
Baena was spotted taking a casual stroll shirtless through Los Angeles, flaunting his toned physique and giving fans a glimpse of why he earned first place.
Joseph Baena’s post-competition walk
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena was seen for the first time since winning his debut bodybuilding competition. Thecelebrityfinder/MEGA
Baena was all smiles walking through Santa Monica just days after taking home first place.
Keeping a low profile, the bodybuilder went shirtless, wired headphones in, listening to music as he strolled in flip flops.
He held a black tee in hand as he made his way through the neighborhood — which is understandable given the warm Southern California weather.
Joseph Baena won first place at NPC Natural Colorado State competition
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena went sans shirt for his outing. Thecelebrityfinder/MEGA
The outing came shortly after Baena shared that he took first place in multiple categories at the NPC Natural Colorado State competition, including Men’s Open Body Heavy Weight, Men’s Classic Physique True Novice and Men’s Class Physique Novice.
On Instagram, he posted several photos of himself flexing onstage, writing, “Mission Accomplished!”
Joseph Baena’s parents
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena won his first bodybuilding competition. Thecelebrityfinder/MEGA
Baena, the son of Schwarzenegger and Mildred Patricia “Patty” Baena, a former housekeeper for the family, was born just five days after Arnold’s youngest with Maria Shriver, Christopher.
Neither Patty nor Arnold reportedly knew he was the father until many years after Joseph’s birth.
“I am going to have to live with it the rest of my life. People will remember my successes and they will also remember my failures. This is a major failure,” the actor admitted in 2023 about the controversy, though he added Joseph is a “fantastic man” who “makes me proud.”
Joseph Baena is following in his father’s footsteps
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena posted about the competition on social media. Thecelebrityfinder/MEGA
Over time, the two have formed a close bond, with Joseph describing Arnold in 2021 as “my studly training partner.”
In the lead-up to the competition, Joseph worked out alongside his father at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, Calif., picking up tips along the way. Arnold first started training at the same gym after moving to the United States in the 1960s.
Having won seven Mr. Olympia titles and five Mr. Universe championships, he is widely considered one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
Joseph Baena was ‘chubby in high school’
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena was chubby growing up. Thecelebrityfinder/MEGA
Although he’s now building a physique like his father’s, Joseph revealed in a July 2025 Instagram post that he wasn’t always as fit.
“People sometimes forget that I used to be chubby in high school,” he wrote in his caption. “I got cut from my basketball and soccer team because I couldn’t keep up with the other kids.”
“Swim didn’t have tryouts thankfully and completely changed my life forever,” he added. “That was my introduction to fitness and training.”
Joseph Baena opened up about weight and bullying
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena was bullied for his weight. Thecelebrityfinder/MEGA
In 2022, Joseph shared with People that he had been bullied for his weight, including by friends he trusted.
“I was bullied when I was a kid, elementary, middle school, and not really in high school, but I just felt like an outsider in high school at the beginning,” he said at the time, adding that he was “really overweight from the end of elementary school into the beginning of high school.”
“It was my closest friends that were the ones that bullied me the most and made fun of me for being overweight and all these kind of things,” Joseph continued. “So, that was really a big struggle for me in finding myself and figuring out and creating that ambition to change my weight and my physique.”
