One thing I’ve never been is a bandwagon fan. I was a fan of the late Shawn Rhoden from the moment he started competing all the way to his Olympia win in 2018. people said it couldn’t be done. people said he was overconfident, overzealous, that he needed to be more humble. His rivalry with Phil Heath was a matter of public record. It was as bad as it was with Kai Greene. and that’s because Shawn believed he could be champion and Shawn became champion. There is a very big difference between believing you’re going to win and really believing you’re going to win. Everybody Builder on the Olympia stage is there because they’ve won a contest or in the rare instance received the special invite to cut to the front of the line without working for it, but the reality of the matter is most of the guys on that stage deserve to be there. They wouldn’t be there unless they wanted to win. They wouldn’t be there unless they believed they could win. But like I said there’s believing you can win, and then there’s really believing you can win. and what’s the difference? Well the difference is where have you placed in the past. It’s almost unheard of for somebody to get into the Olympia for the first time and win it. you have to pay your dues and you have to come up the ranks. And one individual that did that was Shawn Rhoden. and he went all the way to the top. I was in his corner despite what anybody said and when he had that misfortune which in reality was an injustice, most of the people that didn’t believe in him during his Ascent to the top were amongst the first to point him towards the door. They had no faith in him. but then again that’s what you call bandwagon fans. bandwagon fans are probably the lowest type of fan on the totem pole. In fact a lot of people would rather not have them at all. But I digress.
Another bodybuilder that I have been very passionate about and very vocal about in my support is Martin Fitzwater. Martin Fitzwater has come up just like Shawn Rhoden did. Initially not noticed, then won a few shows, then still relegated to Underdog status and now finally coming of age. Last year when it took top five at the Olympia, people finally put down their haterade and started taking note that this was in fact the future Mr. Olympia. When he went back to back titles in Prague, initially defeating Chris Bumstead and then defeating former Mr Olympia Samson daughter, people started to take notice. but also when he took fourth place in Pittsburgh last year falling short of what he had hoped for. People also took note of how he processed the feet and how he was able to bounce back without crying to the media, without crying about politics, just getting back to the business of bodybuilding without any commotion. This is why Martin has earned key friendships throughout his journey to the Arnold Classic stage. The Arnold Classic is the second biggest bodybuilding show on the planet and winning in Columbus could mean the difference for the upcoming Olympia. Right now Martin is considered a top Contender by way of placing top five at the Olympia last year, but if he were to win the oral classic he would be catapulted into Super stardom. He would then be the number one contender. In fact, even if he took second place, it could be argued that he would be the number one or number two contender. At the end of the day the number one or number two Contender doesn’t get any special benefit, but they certainly do get a line share of the media attention.
The media has not been very kind to Martin Fitzwater. When it comes to predictions many of the handicappers have been less than generous with him. I have seen some of the pundits pretty much a gift shows to talk to your competitors, but not to Martin. never to Martin. Martin is always the underdog, Martin is always a long shot, Martin is always the guy that gets placed ahead of. Why? That’s been the question for centuries. And what’s worse is that the media outlets that are the toughest on him, will deny it straight to your face. they will even say that they are fans of his, which is absolutely ludicrous. The reality of the matter is you have bodybuilders that are the media darlings and then you have bodybuilders that unfortunately get overly scrutinized. and Martin is very much the latter and hardly at all the former. and we see this as well with how the fans treat him. Because the media has been nothing but tough with him, a lot of fans follow suit by not believing he can win at all. and what, pray tell, puts an end to all of that? winning big in columbus. winning being Columbus because people don’t think that he can, until of course he actually does it.
I want to give credit to a lot of media outlets that I watch and listen to religiously. outlets like muscle Discord in RX muscle. They have now publicly stated how dangerous Martin is going into the Arnold classic. plus there are a lot of political tensions now that have only become a lot more pronounced. in a very real way the battle may be between Hadi and Martin or Andrew and Martin or somebody else. I feel bad for Hadi in a way because I think that he went from being the people’s Champion to being someone the people want to see get defeated because of political differences. Right now the United States is at war with Iran. There’s no glossing over that. There’s no ignoring that. Unfortunately it’s not a good time to be an Iranian bodybuilder or an Iranian anything, especially someone who’s considered to be supportive of that regime. There are numerous Iranian Americans that are here in the United States who are very pro-west and want to see change in their homeland. Many of these folks left Iran in the late 1970s and have never returned. I would say that those Iranians are probably not super excited to see Heidi in Columbus, let alone see him win. I would hope though that they are able to differentiate politics from bodybuilding but again that may be a lot easier said than done.
The last thing I want to do is hone in on the political Dynamic of the show and an article writing about how dangerous Martin Fitzwater is as a competitor. but the dynamics have changed. If it goes down to the wire between Hadi and Martin Fitzwater, given the political climate, I could totally see most of the hall going for Martin. That would not have been the case just a month or two ago. It certainly would not have been the case, but now I fear that Hadi is going to be somewhat of a, well I don’t even want to say. I really don’t even want to say. I hope that I’m wrong. I want to be wrong. I hope that all the fans cheer for all the bodybuilders equally, but if we’re talking about physique’s, condition, overall balance, then I would say Martin’s physique is far superior to Hadis or anybody else is on that stage. he’s not the biggest, and he’s not the widest, but he has very few flaws. He’s also an expert poser and understands the value of letting the judges see absolutely every aspect of your physique.
Because even at the Arnold Classic and the Olympia, although many would be shocked to hear this, you still have a lot of competitors that pose for the photographers, the camera, and the fans. When in reality neither the video cameras, nor the photographers, nor the fans, decide who wins the Sandow or who wins the Arnold classic. It’s a foolish gamble that many bodybuilders, even at the highest levels, still double with. Martin Fitzwater is not one of those guys. Martin Fitzwater understands how important the judges are and how important it is for them to see you at your best. and that includes the prejudging, the confirmation round, even the individual routines. Whenever you’re on stage even if you’re on the wings, you are in contest mode.
I’m predicting Martin Fitzwater to win the 2026 Arnold Classic. That should come as no surprise to anyone. My prediction isn’t based on well wishes. It’s based on hard work, the quality of his physique, how hard he works on stage, and just how overlooked he is. Who do you have winning the 2026 Arnold Classic? Will you be there? I’ll be at the expo. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media platforms. It’s guaranteed to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
