Derek Lunsford remembers the phrase like it was yesterday, but even he couldn’t have imagined just how true it’d be.
Back in November 2023, Lunsford was standing on stage after having just been crowned Mr. Olympia. The lights were blinding, the cheers echoing, yet of all the things he remembers most is what Mr. Olympia president, Dan Solomon, told him.
“Congratulations. Life will never be the same again.”
A few months after that moment, the two got to catch up about that phrase and life in general when Solomon surprised Lunsford by dropping by MI40 Gym to catch up with the champ.
Yet, Solomon wasn’t just catching up with the newest Mr. Olympia. He was catching up with a new father, as Lunsford and his wife, Jhelsin Mabaga, had celebrated the birth of their daughter just a couple of days prior.
“I never imagined having a little girl or that she would be looking at Mr. Olympia,” Lunsford gushed to Solomon. “It’s been an unbelievable year. [Winning Mr. Olympia] is the same thing as having our baby girl. It’s the best day of your life. I really can’t put it into words.”
While Lunsford has worked for years to hopefully one day be Mr. Olympia, he admits it’s been an even bigger change to his life than he imagined, as the title comes with a lot of responsibility. Fortunately, he shared with Solomon that his mantra is to take the good with the bad and embrace it all. It’s forced him to look within and realize who he really wants to be in this world and how he wants to be a role model to the millions around the world looking at him.
He shared with Solomon that, coming up, he idolized other bodybuilders and wanted to be like them, but through his own journey, he realized something more important.
“I need to be my best me,” Lunsford said. “I need to be relatable; let people know I’ve been through things, and here’s how I overcame them.”
This is what Lunsford strives to do more than ever before now that he’s the champ – preaching the importance of being passionate about something, having a goal, and then going for it.
“I remember the moment I said I’m going to shoot for the moon, go for the Mr. Olympia title,” Lunsford told Solomon. “Even if I fell short, that’s ok. I was going to give absolutely everything to this.”
“Now, I’m living my dream. I’m very grateful for the position I am in and getting to inspire so many people.”
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