YouTuber Sam Sulek Wins His Debut Bodybuilding Show – Forbes
Flexed biceps icon. Hand gesture emoji illustrationSam Sulek is lifting weights, lifting spirits and lifting trophies. The YouTuber has won his debut bodybuilding show, securing the 2025 NPC Open Legends title in the Classic Physique class.Sulek’s triumph marks the first time he stepped on stage — something many in the YouTube bodybuilding community have been passionately discussing and anticipating for years.The win grants him an entry in the 2025 Arnold Amateur Classic event, which Sulek has already set his sights on, according to an Instagram story.On his journey to the NPC Open Legends crown, Sulek documented his strenuous training sessions, strict diet and draining cut in a series of daily vlogs his fans have come to know as the “winter shredathon.”Sulek has firmly established himself as a staple in YouTube’s fitness and bodybuilding creator economy.The bodybuilder is a mythical-like creature in this corner of YouTube, attracting commentary from fellow creators like Jeff Nippard, MorePlatesMoreDates, Renaissance Periodization and even Joe Rogan. He’s also inspired thousands of memes across Reddit, Instagram and TikTok.Since launching his channel in 2016, Sulek has amassed an audience of nearly 4 million subscribers on the platform, clocking over 252 million views in the process.YouTube has a big bodybuilding ecosystem, with now-retired six-time Mr. Olympia champion Chris Bumstead boasting a following of over 4.1 million subscribers on the platform.While Bumstead leveraged his success at the podium to build a viewership, Sulek is a different breed of bodybuilder.He’ll probably disagree with this description, but I’ve always seen him as someone who started as a YouTuber and grew into a bodybuilder.Now he’s a certified bodybuilding champion. Freaky stuff, Sam. Good luck at the Arnold Classic — YouTube is proud of you.One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:So, how can you be a power user?Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.
