Shaquille O’Neal had an incredible NBA career spanning 19 years. He dominated the NBA as a center and won four championships in the process. Since his retirement, Shaq has been involved in many things such as wrestling, TV analysis, investments, and philanthropy. Moreover, Shaq has also gained a reputation as a fitness freak, and that too at the age of 50. He is also a huge bodybuilding fan and was the Honorary Olympia Ambassador in 2020. However, he was once mind-blown by Hadi Choopan at the 2019 Mr. Olympia.

Shaquille O’Neal has worked out a lot lately. He has built an insane physique that many bodybuilders would be envious of. Shaq has shared some pictures and videos of himself flexing his muscles on his social media. Many of his fans even urged him to come back to the NBA looking at his build.

ALSO READ: NASCAR’s “Terrifying” 3 Hour Experience Forced Shaquille O’Neal to Sleep for 2 Days Straight in 2010

With Shaq working on his physique lately, he has also developed himself as a fan of bodybuilding. He has followed some of the recent Mr. Olympia competitions and was really impressed by Iranian bodybuilder Hadi Choopan.

Shaquille O’Neal discusses being fascinated by Hadi Choopan’s muscles

Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal once did an Instagram live video session with Olympia President Dan Solomon. During the live session, Shaq discussed Mr. Olympia and his motivation for bodybuilding. He also talked about Hadi Choopan, who came third in the 2019 Mr. Olympia. Dan Solomon said, “You said you thought Hadi Choopan should have won last year’s Olympia?”

To this Shaq answered: “Well, yeah. Because I like muscles. I mean when as a guy I’m looking at who got the most muscles. Who got the most cuts and who used the right amount of baby oil. Because that baby will be shining like a (laughs). That baby will be shining like a mug though. But no, I just thought he was really, really cut.”

Shaquille O’Neal isn’t a professional bodybuilder and may not have as much knowledge about bodybuilding. But Shaq has worked out on his physique a lot, both during his NBA career and post-retirement. It seems Hadi Choopan’s muscles really fascinated Shaq.

The 35-year-old has won many accolades around the world. However, there is one title that his trophy cabinet has been missing: the Mr. Olympia title. The ‘Persian Wolf’ has participated in three consecutive Mr. Olympia competitions since 2019 but has failed to reach the top. He finished 3rd in the 2019 edition when Shaquille O’Neal thought he deserved to win.

WATCH THIS STORY:Did Michael Jordan play in 1994? Was Shaquille O’Neal the last player to beat MJ in the NBA playoffs?

Choopan then finished fourth in 2020 Mr. Olympia, followed by another 3rd place finish in 2021. However, he is very motivated to win the title this time around when Las Vegas hosts the 2022 Mr. Olympia, later this year.