Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena, has followed in his dad’s footsteps in becoming a bodybuilding champion.
Baena, 28, took home the gold in multiple categories at the NPC Natural Colorado State Championships Saturday and celebrated the achievement on Instagram. His win included first place in the Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavy Weight Class, Men’s Classic Physique True Novice and Men’s Classic Physique True Novice. He won second place in the Men’s Classic Physique Open Class C.
“Mission Accomplished!” he wrote in the caption of the post, which featured photos of him on stage showing off his tanned, muscular physique and medal.
Days before the event, which marked Baena’s first bodybuilding competition, he shared photos of himself training with his dad. In the Instagram pictures, Baena could be seen lifting a heavy weight in a gym, while the Terminator star stood beside him.
“You have to shock the muscles!” he wrote in the caption, referring to a bodybuilding technique that was popularized by Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger won his first bodybuilding competition in Austria when he was only 16. He won the Mr. Universe title in 1968 at the age of 20, making him the youngest person to ever win the competition. He then continued his career in the U.S., winning the Mr. Olympia title, the highest accolade in professional bodybuilding, seven times.
Baena is the son of Schwarzenegger and the Predator star’s former housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena.
When Baena was 13, he and his mother were thrust into a media frenzy after the identity of his father became public. Arnold Schwarzenegger had admitted to his then-wife, Maria Shriver, that he had fathered a child with Baena in an adulterous affair.
“I remember the day very vividly,” the up-and-coming bodybuilder told Men’s Health in 2022. “I was in the eighth grade. Fifth or sixth period. And I get called out of class to leave. And my mom’s there, and she’s like, ‘We gotta go — everyone is finding out about you and who your father is.”
However, Baena said he later drew inspiration from Schwarzenegger throughout his bodybuilding career. “One of the big things I learned from Dad was not to have the ten-rep mentality,” he shared about his workout regimen.
“It’s pushing yourself to the limits and going that extra mile, getting those extra reps and half reps till you’re basically dying.”
Aside from bodybuilding, Baena has also been in pursuit of an acting career, just like his dad.
“I’ve always loved film and cinema so I’ve always wanted to be an actor,” Baena — who starred in the film Gunner alongside Liam Hemsworth and Morgan Freeman — told Good Morning Britain in 2024.
“It’s just the way the cards have played out. We happen to do and like a lot of the same things.”
As for any advice that Schwarzenegger has given his son as he forges a career in Hollywood, Baena revealed that his father simply said: “The key thing that he said is hard work, doing the reps, doing the practice, and always prepare.”