Men’s Open star Nick Walker is headed to the 2026 Tampa Pro. In a YouTube video from June 7, Fouad Abiad confirmed that Walker has hired Prabh Dhaliwal as his new bodybuilding coach.
“Game time now,” Nick Walker shared.
Nick Walker was considered a favorite to win the 2025 Mr. Olympia. However, he mistimed his peak and settled for a career-low finish of sixth place. The result forced Walker to make some tough decisions. Most notably, he parted ways with his ex-coach Kyle Wilkes. In the end, the change paid off; Walker presented his all-time best to score silver at the 2026 Arnold Classic.
Questions about Walker’s next contest took over social media. He hinted that he might take a year-long break, with some, like Samir Bannout, labeling it a wise move. With time to think, “The Mutant” not only threw his name into the Tampa Pro but he also plans to dominate the event with a new coach in his corner.
Bodybuilder Nick Walker Confirms New Coach Ahead of the 2026 Tampa Pro
In the video, Abiad confirmed Prabh Dhaliwal as Nick Walker’s new coach. Though Dhaliwal doesn’t share the same name recognition as gurus like Chris Aceto, Hany Rambod, and Milos Sarcev, he has guided a handful of bodybuilders to IFBB Pro cards and victories on the Pro stage.
“Nick Walker has a new coach,” he shared. “I talked to Nick this morning and he seems to be doing really well. He’s excited about getting ready for the show.”
“Nick basically said, he’s been friends with him for a while. He’s seen some of the people he’s coached. He’s impressed with how his athletes look.”
According to Abiad, Walker wanted to offload some of the mental bandwidth that comes with bodybuilding preparations:
“Most importantly, what I got from what he said was he didn’t want to coach himself anymore… he wanted to go back to just being a robot and being the guy that did the work and let somebody else do the thinking,” explained Fouad Abiad.
At the time of writing, the official roster for the 2026 Tampa Pro has not been announced. Nevertheless, Walker has received advice in the lead-up to his next contest. Milos Sarcev recently urged him to fix his stomach distention onstage, emphasizing that judges won’t tolerate it.
Should Walker win the Tampa Pro from July 30 to August 1, he would earn his qualification for the Mr. Olympia. The biggest show of the year takes place from September 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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