Christopher Adam Bumstead (born 2 February 1995), also known as CBum, is a Canadian

professional bodybuilder Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB Pro, IFBB Elite Pro or WNBF Pro League or Wabba International Pro Card. A professional bodybuilder may be on ...

. Bumstead made his competitive debut in 2014 and obtained his IFBB pro card after claiming the 2016 IFBB North American Bodybuilding Championship. After placing second in the Mr. Olympia Classic Physique category in 2017 and 2018, he earned six consecutive wins from 2019 to 2024, the most wins since the creation of the category. He is widely considered one of the greatest Classic Physique bodybuilders of all time. His popularity is often credited for bringing mainstream attention to the sport of modern bodybuilding on a global level.

Early life

Bumstead was born and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario, Canada. He was involved in multiple sports in primary school, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

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. He attended

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

Career

Early beginnings (2008–2016)

Growing up, powerlifting was only a hobby for Bumstead. He began weightlifting during his first year of high school. His sister's boyfriend, Iain Valliere, saw Bumstead's potential and helped him prepare to compete. He started

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

at the age of 14, and between

grade 9 Ninth grade (also 9th grade or grade 9) is the ninth or tenth year of formal or compulsory education in some countries. It is generally part of middle school or secondary school depending on country. Students in ninth grade are usually 14–15 yea ...

and

grade 12 Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final year of secondary school and K–12 ...

, he went from , growing his legs the most. After building what he thought was a good physique with coach Valliere, Bumstead began competing. As his bodybuilding goals began to stack up, "All of a sudden, I was coming second at the Olympia,” he stated. Bumstead made his competitive debut in 2014 at 19 years old. Bumstead's first bodybuilding show was a regional level show in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, which he participated in with his sister, Melissa Valliere. They both won the overall, with Bumstead winning as a junior. He found himself in love with the sport of bodybuilding after his first show. He started to work with Iain first hand and devoted his life to the sport.

Earning IFBB pro card and early success (2016–2019)

Bumstead obtained his IFBB pro card at age 21 after claiming the 2016 IFBB North American Bodybuilding Championship. He later won 3rd place in his first pro show. In 2017, he won his first two pro shows, the 2017 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro and the 2017 IFBB Toronto Pro Supershow. He impressed the crowd and judges in his first

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...

in 2017, taking the second place medal in the Classic Physique category, a high achievement for a Mr. Olympia debut. Bumstead was hospitalized 4 weeks out from the 2018 competition due to severe water retention. He spent three nights in the emergency room and was given a strong diuretic to flush out potassium due to a kidney issue. Bumstead continued to train after his release, but this was a significant setback. His results were the same as the year prior in the 2018 Mr. Olympia competition, placing second, although his condition was worse compared to the previous year.

Mr. Olympia Classic Physique winning streak (2019–2024)

Bumstead won his first Mr. Olympia Classic Physique title in 2019, and began a winning streak that has lasted until 2024 with 6 total consecutive wins. On September 13, 2021, Bumstead signed with RAW Nutrition, a supplement company. Since then, Bumstead created his signature series, selling gym supplements such as pre-workouts and protein powders. On October 19, 2022, Bumstead and Valliere formally announced they would no longer be working together in order to focus on their own

shows, as Valliere would also compete in the Open division. From 2022 onwards, he was coached by Hany Rambod, a leading bodybuilding coach. In an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

reel published on September 6, 2024, Bumstead hinted at a significant announcement to be revealed on September 9. On that day, Bumstead posted another reel, revealing that he had become both a part-owner and an athlete for

Gymshark Gymshark Ltd is a British multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in Solihull, England. Founded in June 2012 by Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan, the company was initially focused on selling fitness supplements, before distributing its ...

. Bumstead announced his retirement after winning his 6th Mr. Olympia Classic Division title on October 13, 2024, at the 2024 Mr. Olympia. On October 28, 2024, Bumstead announced that he will make his Men's Open Division debut at the 2024 EVLS Prague Pro. He emphasized that this was because of his current conditioning from the preceding 2024 Mr. Olympia, calling it “One more run just for fun, giving the people what they want” before stepping into retirement. He competed at the 2024 EVLS Prague Pro Finals, where he placed second. He confirmed his earlier announced retirement after the event.

Retirement and legacy

Following his 2024 Mr. Olympia Classic Physique win, a record sixth, Bumstead stated his intention to retire from the sport. Bumstead is the winner of the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Mr. Olympia competitions, making him the current reigning champion in the Men's Classic Physique division and the single most decorated competitor in the Classic Physique division of the Mr. Olympia competition.. Eight-time Mr. Olympia winner

Ronnie Coleman Ronald Dean Coleman (born May 13, 1964) is an American former professional bodybuilder who is widely regarded as the greatest Bodybuilding, bodybuilder of all time. Known as "The King", Coleman shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia ...

stated, "I think Chris Bumstead is the greatest Classic bodybuilder of all-time. Absolutely the best physique I’ve ever seen in Classic Physique. Gotta be the best physique I’ve ever seen period." Bodybuilding judge Terrick El Guindy was quoted stating, "Chris Bumstead has exploded the sport...His journey is impeccable and we will remember him just like we remember

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

Personal life

Bumstead has dated Courtney King, the 2016 Bikini Olympia champion, since 2018. The couple were engaged on September 26, 2022. They have a daughter, Bradley, born on April 22, 2024. Aside from bodybuilding, Bumstead is known for his openness with controversial topics in the fitness industry, such as

steroids A steroid is an organic compound with four fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter mem ...

. He also has his own line of supplements. As of 2024, he has over 25 million followers on Instagram and over 4 million subscribers on YouTube .

Contest history

* 2016 IFBB North American Championships, Heavyweight, 1st (earned IFBB pro card) *2016 IFBB Dayana Cadeau Classic, Classic Physique, 3rd * 2017 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro, Classic Physique, 1st * 2017 IFBB Toronto Pro, Classic Physique, 1st * 2017 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 2nd * 2018 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 2nd *

2019 Mr. Olympia The 2019 Mr. Olympia contest was a weekend long IFBB professional bodybuilding competition that was held on September 12 to 14, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the 55th Mr. Olympia competition celebrated. The weekend competition is also know ...

, Classic Physique, 1st * 2020 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 1st * 2021 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 1st * 2022 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 1st * 2023 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 1st * 2024 Mr. Olympia, Classic Physique, 1st * 2024 IFBB EVLS Prague Pro, Men's Open, 2nd

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bumstead, Chris 1995 births Living people Canadian male bodybuilders Professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Ottawa Dalhousie University alumni 21st-century Canadian sportsmen