“Psychologically, They Want You To Break”: Arnold Classic Winner Recalls Harrowing Times in Jail Days After Winning the Competition

With the 2023 Arnold Classic taking place this week in Ohio, it is common practice for retired bodybuilders to make predictions ahead of bodybuilding competitions. Likewise, the Dominican Dominator Victor Martinez appeared on a podcast show to share his predictions before the big event. However, talking about the tournament brought back some unpleasant memories from his prime bodybuilding days.

Born in the northeastern city of the Dominican Republic, Victor Martinez moved to the US to pursue his bodybuilding career. When he returned to the States after winning a tournament in Spain, Martinez was detained as his residency card had expired. A past few criminal records came to haunt him back while he struggled as a “zero citizen” for the next months at the detention center. In this recent podcast, Martinez opened up about his experience during the time.

Victor Martinez addresses the detention incident

On March 1, 2023, Generation Iron Fitness & Bodybuilding network posted the latest episode of their podcast wherein former IFBB Pro bodybuilder, Victor Martinez joined the podcast crew.

Talking about his experience, Martinez said, “…immigration jail is probably the worst and I think it has to do, psychologically, they want you to break. They want you to sign out, they want you to deport yourself. You know limited phone calls, commissary comes in late.”

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Adding to this, Martinez revealed his past criminal record of selling steroids had weakened his case. Detained in October 2011, Victor Martinez was finally released from the immigration jail in April 2012. Though Martinez was allowed to stay in the US afterward, this isn’t the only bad memory he could recall from his bodybuilding days.

The loss at the 2007 Mr. Olympia

Victor Martinez was off to a great start in 2007. He had won the second most prestigious bodybuilding contest at the beginning of the year. According to popular opinion, Victor Martinez had a great chance of winning Mr. Olympia 2007 too. Furthermore, the reassuring words from King Ronnie Coleman added to his confidence at the time.

However, all his confidence crumbled down in the final moments when he saw the disinterested attitude of the judges. Martinez once revealed how the judges did not look up for the final judgment and scribbled the results. In the aftermath of the competition, instead of celebrating, the surrounding talks that reached Martinez’s ears circled around how he had been “scr*wed” over.

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Though Martinez’s bodybuilding career hasn’t been a smooth road, these little bumps in the way did not sway him away from the track. He kept coming back to the contests until 2020. The 2020 Arnold Classic, where he finished 9th, marked the end of the Dominican Dominator’s bodybuilding career.