215lbs Mr Olympia Runner Up Derek Lunsford Looks Unrecognizable in an Old Image Outside His Bodybuilding World

Surprising everyone with his muscular physique in Olympia 2022, fans still don’t know everything about Derek Lunsford‘s early days. In 2019, Lunsford shared an amazing throwback to his initial wrestling and soccer days. The rare photos also depict some of the best career highlights of his wrestling days.

Lunsford’s pictures of his early days show a different skin tone and lesser abdominal muscles as compared to his present bodybuilding photos. At the time the pictures were clicked, Derek was representing an Indiana team. The Olympia runner-up also shared a closeup of his on-field action in the ring where he was in action.

Derek Lunsford’s unbelievable pictures

In a 2019 Instagram post, Derek shared a series of pictures that denotes the massive physique transformation he went through as he switched his game from being a wrestler to bodybuilding. While the initial pictures show him winning a medal and his on-stage performance in the wrestling ring while trying to tackle a player, it seems the final picture is from the time he participated in Mr. Olympia. Like this year’s Mr. Olympia competition, he was the first runner-up in the competition in 2019 too!

The photos redirect how bodybuilding and wrestling are completely different undertakings and how massive a transformation entails for each sport across exercise routine, dietary needs, and prep work. As evident in the pictures, Derek was much skinnier earlier. A reason that could be credited for this can be the fact that Derek played soccer in high school.

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Another photo that Derek posted on his Instagram in 2013 portrays him holding a green wrestling T-shirt. The words ‘Hogs Wrestling Champions’ written on the T-shirt depict his enthusiasm for wrestling. It is, therefore, surprising that he shifted his career to bodybuilding. In an interview, he finally disclosed the reason for this drastic change.

Derek Lunsford’s frank admission on why he chose bodybuilding

In an interview, Derek implied that his huge passion for working out at the gym was a reason for choosing bodybuilding as a career. “I couldn’t get my butt out of the gym.’ Continuing, Derek remarked, “I was at the gym every day. Literally, that’s my home, that’s my place that I love to be.”  

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Lunsford’s tremendous progress proves that nothing is impossible if one works hard to achieve success. Do you think Lunsford can be a strong competitor to Big Ramy and Hadi Choopan in Olympia 2023? Let us know in the comments below.