Classic Physique: Past and Future

 

The Men's Physique division was born in 2013 with a purpose: bring the Mr. Olympia stage closer to an audience that had grown distant from the extreme physiques of the Open division. The so called "beach bodies" became the standard, big chests and arms, with the lower body covered by shorts. A muscular model physique designed to win over thousands of new fans. But for many competitors, that wasn’t enough.

There was an older, deeper ideal. In bodybuilding’s golden era, Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Serge Nubret, and Frank Zane had built well developed bodies from head to toe. Physiques that evoked Greek and Roman statues. Proportion. Symmetry. Small waists. Muscle with shape, not just size. That ideal didn’t disappear in the 90s. It was simply waiting for its moment to return.

In 2016, Classic Physique was created, a division that would occupy the space between Men’s Physique and Open. More muscle than Men’s Physique, but with the narrow waists and symmetry championed by Lee Labrada, Francis Benfatto, Shawn Ray, and Flex Wheeler in the 90s, when aesthetics still competed successfully against extreme mass. Danny Hester became the first champion. A worthy beginning for a division that had yet to realize how big it would become.

The following year, two new names burst into the top 3 and changed everything: Breon Ansley and Chris Bumstead. Ansley took the title. Bumstead finished second for two consecutive years, patient, consistent, building something that few could fully see yet. In 2019, his moment arrived. Bumstead, known worldwide as CBUM, took the title from Ansley. What followed was something bodybuilding hadn’t seen in decades.

Six consecutive titles. Six years as the best in the world in his category. CBUM elevated Classic Physique to a level of popularity no one thought possible. He became the most followed bodybuilding athlete on the internet, second only to Arnold Schwarzenegger. That is no small feat, it is a statement about what Classic Physique means to an entire generation.

Terrence Ruffin, Ramon Queiroz, and Mike Sommerfeld were CBUM’s greatest challengers during those years. They couldn’t take his crown, but the level they reached is part of why the division is what it is today. In 2024, CBUM surprisingly announced his retirement. The landscape shifted. The question was inevitable: who would fill that void?

Ramon “Dino” Queiroz answered in 2025 by winning the title. Mike Sommerfeld placed second. And for 2026, the upcoming battle in the top 3 between Dino, Sommerfeld, and Wesley Vissers promises to be one of the most intense the division has ever seen. Among those three athletes almost certainly stands the next Mr. Olympia Classic Physique champion. But something bigger is at stake.

The bodies of these competitors continue to grow. And when a Classic Physique athlete reaches a certain level of development, the Open division starts to look like a real possibility. CBUM already took that step in his farewell, competing in Open in his final show. He allowed his muscles to grow freely, and they responded well. Urs Kalecinski, another Classic Physique star, began his transition to Open last year with promising results. Wesley Vissers and Josema Beast are names already being mentioned in that conversation. Perhaps Dino or Sommerfeld will consider it too at some point, that, or risk stagnating in the division. This means Classic Physique doesn’t just produce champions. It also produces the talent that could redefine the Open division in the coming years.

And while this happens at the top, a new generation of athletes is building the future of the division from the bottom up. Niall Darwen, Matheus Mengate, Matthew Greggo, Jack Eagles, Jorge Herrera, Kim Angel, Andrea Mammoli, and many others who today compete for a spot on stage and tomorrow could be fighting for the title. Classic Physique has history and legends. It also has a brutally competitive present. And the emerging new talent promises at least ten more years of a brilliant future. Not bad for a division that was created to fill the space between two worlds.