LOS ANGELES: Like father, like son: Joseph Baena has successfully followed in the footsteps of his legendary father, Arnold Schwarzenegger, by winning his first bodybuilding competition.
The 28-year-old—whom the former Mr Universe shares with his former housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena—dominated the stage at the NPC Natural Colorado State competition.
Baena’s impressive debut saw him clinch first place across several categories, including the Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavyweight Class, Men’s Classic Physique True Novice, and Men’s Classic Physique Novice.
He also secured a respectable second-place finish in the Men’s Classic Physique Open Class C.
Celebrating the milestone on Instagram, Joseph shared a series of photos from the event with the simple caption, “Mission Accomplished!” before listing his various rankings.
While Arnold Schwarzenegger famously won the Mr Olympia title seven times and Mr Universe five times before retiring from the sport in 1980, Joseph’s journey to the stage was fueled by a personal drive to overcome his past.
Speaking on social media earlier this year, he revealed that his fitness journey began as a response to childhood struggles.
“People sometimes forget that I used to be chubby in high school,” he shared.
“I got cut from my basketball and football team because I couldn’t keep up with the other kids.”
He reflected on being “really overweight” from late elementary school through early high school, noting that the experience was made harder by peer pressure.
“It was my closest friends who were the ones who bullied me the most and made fun of me for being overweight,” he admitted.
“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.”
