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From Bodybuilder to Meme Icon: The Unstoppable Rise of Mike O’Hearn

What is love? Oh baby, don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more...

From Bodybuilder to Meme Icon: The Unstoppable Rise of Mike O’Hearn
Chema Carvajal Sarabia

Chema Carvajal Sarabia

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He is the man of the moment. And nobody knows why. Well, we do, since we’re in the business and we’ve been following the phenomenon since all those Reels and videos started coming out on TikTok and Instagram two weeks ago.

Mike O’Hearn is one of the most mediatic and well-known bodybuilders of the last three decades. He shared stages with the greatest and always claimed to be a total natural.

With 54 years already on his shoulders, Mike has been one of the visible faces of the bodybuilding circuit, where he has stood out both for his physique and his attractiveness, hence he has been on the cover of more than 400 magazines throughout his life.

A meme that emerged on top of a horse

If you usually spend time on the interwebs, I’m sure that a few weeks ago you started to see a shirtless gentleman with long hair, while the song What is love, by the artist Haddaway, was playing in the background.

The videos are almost always memes with good old Mike O’Hearn looking seductively at the camera, a funny text, background music and the situation can be anything: on a speedboat, on a horse, getting out of the pool…

This started as a joke among bodybuilding fans, a meme for a small niche of fans who love muscular bodies and gym jokes. The problem is that the phenomenon got out of hand.

Mike O’Hearn’s charisma and appeal is impressive and this got more and more people joining the movement. More and more memes were hitting TikTok and Instagram due to the huge repercussion each creation had.

Apollonian body, long hair and seductive look, Mike serves as an example of many stereotypes within bodybuilding and that’s surely why the joke worked so well. And Mike, who is delighted to meet each other, has given his approval to these creations: he even shares them on his networks.

@crooksyfit

No credit for this video. Just thought I’d share this from Mike’s twitter as I and I’m sure many other are wondering what he thinks about the memes 🤝. His twitter is @ MikeOHearn #mikeohearn

♬ What Is Love Slowed – 𝑻 𝑹 𝑶 𝑶 𝑴 𝑶 𝑿

He himself said it a few days ago, he does not know how it all originated or how it came about, but he thanks the whole community because he understands that it is a sign of appreciation and love for his work. And the truth is that there is a lot of joke, but also a lot of respect for a professional who has been working for 30 years.

If Chris Bumstead is the most famous bodybuilder of the last years thanks to his four Mister Olympia Classic in a row, Mike O’Hearn has become the bodybuilder of the moment.

Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.

Chema Carvajal Sarabia

Chema Carvajal Sarabia

Journalist specialized in technology, entertainment and video games. Writing about what I'm passionate about (gadgets, games and movies) allows me to stay sane and wake up with a smile on my face when the alarm clock goes off. PS: this is not true 100% of the time.

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