{"id":17118,"date":"2026-04-03T01:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17118"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:19:19","slug":"arnold-schwarzeneggers-son-joseph-baena-wins-first-bodybuilding-competition-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17118","title":{"rendered":"Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena wins first bodybuilding competition"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Arnold Schwarzenegger\u2019s youngest son, Joseph Baena, is following in his famous dad\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

\"HOLLYWOOD,<\/p>\n
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HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 25: Joseph Baena attends the “Christy” premiere during 2025 AFI FEST at TCL Chinese Theater on October 25, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Baena just landed first place in multiple categories at the NPC Natural Colorado State competition, including Men\u2019s Open Body Heavy Weight Class, Men\u2019s Classic Physique True Novice and Men\u2019s Class Physique Novice.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old shared photos from the event on his Instagram with the caption, \u201cMission Accomplished!\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwarzenegger began his career as a bodybuilder, winning the title of Mr. Olympia seven times and Mr. Universe five times before giving up competing in 1980.<\/p>\n

He then went on to become a famous actor thanks to his breakout role in \u201cTerminator.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former governor of California shares Baena with Mildred Patricia Baena, and is also a father to four children with Maria Shriver: Patrick, Katherine, Christopher, and Christina.<\/p>\n

\"Austrian-US<\/p>\n
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Austrian-US actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (L) and son US actor Joseph Baena attend the premiere of Netflix’s “Fubar”, Season 2, at the Tudum Theater in Los Angeles on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN \/ AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Baena revealed he wasn\u2019t always in bodybuilder shape in an Instagram post last July.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople sometimes forget that I used to be chubby in high school,\u201d he explained in his caption. \u201cI got cut from my basketball and soccer team because I couldn\u2019t keep up with the other kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSwim didn\u2019t have tryouts thankfully and completely changed my life forever,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat was my introduction to Fitness and training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baena also opened up about being bullied for his weight in school, even by kids he considered friends.<\/p>\n

“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 told People magazine<\/a> in 2022, adding he was “really overweight from the end of elementary school into the beginning of high school.”<\/p>\n

\"LOS<\/p>\n
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 11: (L-R) Arnold Schwarzenegger and Joseph Baena attend Netflix’s Los Angeles premiere of “Fubar” Season 2 at Netflix Tudum Theater on June 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay\/Getty Images for Netfix)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“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,\u201d he shared. “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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow us on Instagram @WeArePauseRewind<\/a> for all your pop culture obsessions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n