Victor Martinez(IX)

Dominican-American bodybuilder Victor Martinez was born on July 29, 1973. He immigrated to the United States, specifically to New York at an early age. During his formative years, he played several sports including baseball, football and basketball while attending school in Washington Heights. Martinez made his bodybuilding debut at age 19 in 1993 winning a show at Elmo's Gym. He competed throughout the 1990s in shows held by the National Physique Committee in the New York and New Jersey areas, placing 1st and Overall in the 1997 NPC New Jersey Suburban State Bodybuilding Contest and again in the 1997 NPC New York Metropolitan Championships. He competed as a light-heavyweight division (176-198 lbs) during his amateur competitions. In 2000, Martinez won the 2000 NPC Junior USA, Heavyweight and 2000 NPC Nationals, Heavyweight shows, winning overall also. In 2001, he turned pro and competed in his first show, placing 8th. He went on to join several IFBB shows throughout the 2000s including the Arnold Classic, eventually placing 1st after his fourth show. He made his IFBB Mr. Olympia debut in 2004, placing 9th. Over the course of his 10+ years of competition, Martinez gained sponsorship from Maximum Human Performance.