Gustavo Badell

Badell was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela and moved to Puerto Rico when he was around 22 years old. He began lifting weights at the age of fifteen to increase his size for boxing. Gustavo gained muscle incredibly fast, and when he was 19 entered and won his first bodybuilding competition, the 1991 Junior Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships. After six years of weight training he was able to turn professional by winning the 1997 Caribbean Championships. His first International Federation of BodyBuilders appearance was in 1998 when he competed in the Grand Prix of Germany. He first competed in the International Federation of BodyBuilders Night of Champions (now called the New York Pro) in 1999, where he finished in 14th place. His first Ironman Pro Invitational was in 2000, where he was 18th. His first Mr. Olympia appearance was in 2002, where he was 24th. His first Arnold Classic was in 2004, where he was 7th. His professional placings were lackluster until 2003 when he started placing higher, in part because of help from fellow professional bodybuilder Milos Sarcev. Badell's jump from 24th place in the 2002 Mr. Olympia to 3rd place in the 2004 Mr. Olympia is the greatest leap from one Olympia appearance to the next of all time. He was 3rd again in the Mr. Olympia in 2005, and he won the "Challenge Round" (judged by previous Mr. Olympia winners) over even Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler. Badell appeared in many fitness and magazine articles as well as on the cover of Flex magazine. He appeared in numerous advertisements for MuscleTech, normally for Nitrotech Hardcore protein powder and Masstech weight-gain powder. Badell died on July 12, 2023, by stroke, at the age of 50. == Profile ==