Víctor Martínez (born July 29, 1973) is a retired

International Federation of BodyBuilders The International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international even ...

(IFBB) professional

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

, and the second Dominican bodybuilder to turn professional (the first being Tony Domenench from Puerto Plata, who turned pro in 1995). His career highlights were winning the

Arnold Classic The IFBB Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arnold Classic''), strongman ('' Arnold Strongman Classic''), fitness, figure ...

in 2007 and finishing runner-up at the 2007 Mr. Olympia. He signed a contract for a sponsorship deal with ''Maximum Human Performance'' which also sponsors

Michael Kefalianos Michael Kefalianos ( el, Μιχάλης Κεφαλιανός), first name also spelt Michalis and Mihalis, is a Greek bodybuilder with Greek and Australian dual citizenship who is an International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional b ...

.IFBB PRO "The Spartan" Joins Team MHP
MaxPerformance.com. In 2018, Víctor Martínez collaborated with th
NPC Northeast Division
to create the "Víctor Martínez Legends" championship.

Biography

Martínez's career was launched when he competed in the 1997

National Physique Committee The National Physique Committee (NPC) is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States. Amateur bodybuilders compete in competitions from local to national competitions sanctioned by the NPC. While the term "bodybuilding" is ...

(NPC) New York Metro Championships as a light heavyweight, where he placed first. He continued competing in NPC tournaments until 2001, where he competed in his first IFBB tournament, the Night of Champions, where he placed 8th. The following year, in 2002, he competed in his first

, and placed 13th. He also competed in his first Ironman Pro Invitational the same year, placing 9th. In 2003 he went on to win the Night of Champions. His first

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

came in 2004, where he placed 9th, but he advanced to 5th place in 2005, 3rd place in 2006, and 2nd place in 2007 In 2005

Ronnie Coleman Ronald "Ronnie" Dean Coleman (born May 13, 1964) is an American retired professional bodybuilder. The winner of the Mr. Olympia title for eight consecutive years, he is widely regarded as either the greatest bodybuilder of all time or one of th ...

predicted that Martínez would be his successor as

, although this position was held by Jay Cutler (2006, 2007), then Dexter Jackson (2008). In 2007, Martínez took first at the

. Martínez later finished second to Jay Cutler at the 2007 Mr. Olympia contest. In January 2008, Martínez underwent surgery to repair his left

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when ...

which ruptured while he was performing warm-up lunges. Due to the severity of the injury, he was unable to compete in either the 2008

or 2008 Mr. Olympia contests. After almost a year away from training and competition, Victor Martinez resumed training with his old friend and strength & condition coach Jakob Panotas. During their 9 months of hardcore training and rehabbing his knee, he came strong and placed 2nd at 2009 Arnold Classic in

Columbus Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

by only 2-3 points behind 1st place Kai Greene. In July 2009, Martínez's sister Eridania Rodríguez disappeared from work at a NY skyscraper under mysterious circumstances. Her body was found four days later inside a ventilation shaft on the floor where she was working. Joseph Pabon, a handyman working in the building, was convicted of her murder on April 2, 2012. In 2018, Víctor Martínez collaborated with th
NPC Northeast
Ametuer division to create the
Víctor Martínez Legends
championship. Competition classes include: Men’s Bodybuilding Lightweight Men’s Bodybuilding Middleweight Men’s Bodybuilding Light Heavyweight Men’s Bodybuilding Heavyweight Women’s Bodybuilding Open Class Men’s Physique Men’s Classic Physique Women’s Physique Women’s Figure Classes A,B,C Women’s Bikini Classes A,B,C Men’s Bodybuilding Novice Men’s Master Class Women’s Master Class Women’s Fitness Teen’s Class Martínez was co-owner of the Muscle Maker Grill in Edgewater NJ and is the spokesperson for the franchise as a whole. He lost the business due to being incarcerated for more than six weeks for immigration violations. He was arrested on returning to the U.S. on October 9, 2011, after winning the Arnold Europe in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His permanent resident card had expired and, due to his criminal record for selling steroids in 2004, it was not renewed. Instead, he was sent to a detention center in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to await a deportation hearing that could have sent him back to his native

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. He was denied bail. A few of the documents were not in order, and his final hearing was postponed until April 2012. He was held at the

Hudson County Correctional Facility Hudson County Correctional Facility (HCCF) is a prison operated by Hudson County, New Jersey located in Kearny, New Jersey. The HCCF houses both women and men, with separate wards for women and men. History The predecessor building to the curren ...

in South Kearny, New Jersey. On April 27, he returned to court and was released from jail and permitted to remain in the U.S. Martinez competed in the 2020 Arnold Classic taking 9th place. He announced his retirement soon after at the age of 47. Martinez still holds his sponsorship with MHP. Martínez has two sons, Justin and Jared and four daughters, Victoria, Zayde, Vivian and Zoe. 3 of his daughters come from a second marriage. He resides in

Edgewater, New Jersey Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a population of 11,513,/nowiki>''sic''/nowiki> Hill Road was an important route to the top o ...

Stats

*Height: 1.75 m *Contest weight: 115 kg *Off-season weight: 125 kg *Arms: 52 cm *Chest: 150 cm *Waist: 86 cm *Thighs: 76 cm *Calves: 48 cm *Forearms: 40 cm

Contest history

Amateur career

*1993 Elmo's Gym, Teenage, 1st *1994 NPC Bev Francis Atlantic States, 27th *1997 NPC New Jersey Suburban State Bodybuilding Contest, Light-Heavyweight, 1st and Overall *1997 NPC New York Metropolitan Championships, Light-Heavyweight, 1st and Overall *1999 NPC Bev Francis Atlantic States, 16th *2000 NPC Junior USA, Heavyweight, 1st *2000 NPC Nationals, Heavyweight, 1st and Overall (pro card)

Pro career

*2001 IFBB Night of Champions, 8th *2002 IFBB

, 13th *2002 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational, 9th *2003 IFBB Night of Champions, 1st *2004 IFBB

, 9th *2004 IFBB GNC Show of Strength Pro Championship, 1st *2005 IFBB

, 7th *2005 IFBB New York Pro Championship, 3rd *2005 IFBB

, 5th *2005 IFBB San Francisco Pro Invitational, 5th *2006 IFBB

, 3rd *2006 IFBB

, 3rd *2007 IFBB

, 1st *2007 IFBB

, 2nd *2009 IFBB

, 6th *2010 IFBB

, 8th *2011 IFBB

, 3rd *2011 IFBB

, 4th *2011 IFBB Arnold Classic Madrid, 1st *2013 IFBB New York Pro Championship, 2nd *2013 IFBB Toronto Pro Supershow, 1st *2013 IFBB

, 11th *2013 IFBB Arnold Classic Madrid, 5th *2014 IFBB Tampa Pro, 1st *2014 IFBB

, 8th *2014 IFBB Arnold Classic, 4th *2014 IFBB Prague Pro, 7th *2014 IFBB SAN Marino Pro, 4th *2015 IFBB

, 9th *2015 IFBB New York Pro Championship, 2nd *2016 IFBB Baltimore Pro, 1st *2016 IFBB

, 11th *2016 IFBB Elite Pro (formerly IFBB) Arnold Classic South Africa, 4th *2017 IFBB Muscle Mayhem, 1st *2017 IFBB Elite Pro (formerly IFBB) Arnold Classic South Africa, 4th *2017 IFBB Arnold Classic Europe, 8th *2019 IFBB Arnold Classic, 10th *2020 IFBB Arnold Classic, 9th

Sponsorship history

*Maximum Human Performance (2005-2020) *''

Muscular Development ''Muscular Development'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine first published in 1964. It was founded by Bob Hoffman. History John Grimek was the editor from 1964 until its sale in 1986 to Twinlab.

'' magazine *Muscle Meds *Eva’s New York City *Generation Iron (2020-2021) *Superhero Labs - co owner (2020-2021) *Panatta (2021-present) *Victor Martinez Signature Series - owner (established 2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Victor 1973 births American bodybuilders American sportspeople convicted of crimes Living people Professional bodybuilders