Arnold Schwarzenegger's Love Child Joseph Baena Looks Unrecognizable After Winning First Bodybuilding Competition: 'Tanned Up!'

Joseph Baena is taking after his famous dad Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The 28-year-old love child of the former Mr. Olympia winner, 78, and his ex-housekeeper Mildred Baena, won his first bodybuilding competition on March 28.

Baena emerged victorious at the NPC Natural Colorado State competition, coming in first in the Men’s Open Bodybuilding Heavy Weight Class, the Men’s Classic Physique True Novice and the Men’s Classic Physique Novice challenges.

The Pepperdine University graduate shared a plethora of smiling snapshots of himself from the event on Instagram.

Baena flexed his very large muscles and deeply tanned but toned physique on stage during the competition as he wore black underwear.

Just hours before the occasion, he also posted a slew of selfies as he was getting ready. "Tanned up and checked in! Ready for tomorrow’s show," he captioned the photos. The carousel also featured a video of Baena getting his event sweatshirt and signing in to the competition.

On March 25, he shared a little snippet of his workout eating plan in preparation for the contest on TikTok.

The yummy cooking video featured Baena whipping up a healthy-looking skillet of grilled chicken and veggie-packed rice.

"As we approach our goal, this, and the ground beef plate are really the only things I’ve been eating the last couple of weeks. On this first prep, I’ve come to realize that the consistency is really the key to getting lean and not losing muscle only a couple days away and I’m feeling great! The meal only took about 15-20 min to prepare," he wrote alongside the clip of himself in the kitchen emulating Master Chef.

The fitness enthusiast previously opened up about his body image issues and growing up overweight.

"People sometimes forget that I used to be chubby in high school. I got cut from my basketball and soccer team because I couldn't keep up with the other kids," he said in a candid video posted in July 2025.

"Swim didn't have tryouts, thankfully, and completely changed my life forever. That was my introduction to fitness and training. Everyone starts somewhere but starting is the most important," he continued.

Baena and the former California governor often trained together, with the Dancing with the Stars contestant telling Men's Fitness in 2022: “One of the big things I learned from Dad was not to have the ten-rep mentality. It’s pushing yourself to the limits and going that extra mile, getting those extra reps and half reps till you’re basically dying.”