231-pound left bodybuilding fan Hadi Choopan Shaquille O’Neal Jaw dropped at Mr. Olympia 2019

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

Shaquille O’Neal been working a lot lately. He built an insane physique that many bodybuilders would envy. Shaq shared photos and videos of himself flexing his muscles on his social media. Many of his fans even urged him to return to the NBA watching his build.

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With Shaq working on his physique lately, he has also grown as a fan of bodybuilding. He’s been following some of the recent Mr. Olympia competitions and was really impressed with Iranian bodybuilder Hadi Choopan.

Shaquille O’Neal talks about 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 finished third in the 2019 Mr. Olympia. Dan Salomon said, “You said you thought Hadi Choopan should have won the Olympia last year?”

To this Shaq replied: “Well yeah. Because I like muscle. I mean when as a guy I look at who has the most muscle. Who’s had the most cuts and who’s used the right amount of baby oil. Because that this baby is going to shine like a (laughs). This baby will shine like a mug though. But no, I just thought he was really, really cut.

Shaquille O’Neal is not a professional bodybuilder and may not have as much knowledge about bodybuilding. But Shaq has worked hard on his physique, both during his NBA career and after his retirement. It seems that Hadi Choopan’s muscles really fascinated Shaq.

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

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