HUNTER LABRADA THE DYNASTY CONTINUES
Muscular Development|October 2020
In the fall of 1987 as I was turning 18, I discovered bodybuilding magazines and immediately became enthralled with the sport and its top stars of the time. While I was inspired by the massive physiques of Mr. Olympia Lee Haney and his rivals like Mike Christian and Gary Strydom, I found them otherworldly and impossible to relate to as a kid of only 5-foot8 and 140 pounds, as each stood around 6 feet and tipped the scales around 250. Yet there was one man who was neither particularly tall nor heavy, a Cuban immigrant from Houston named Lee Labrada who was referred to as “Mass with Class.”
RON HARRIS
HUNTER LABRADA THE DYNASTY CONTINUES
At 5-foot-6 and 185 pounds, he was a study in flawless shape, proportion, symmetry and condition, and a true master of posing and presentation. Labrada used his considerable arsenal to regularly defeat much larger opponents. He would go on to place in the top four at the Mr. Olympia an astonishing seven years in a row, including runner-up finishes to Haney in 1989 and 1990. The latter remains one of the most controversial near misses in Olympia history, as Labrada led Haney after judging but somehow lost in the posing round. At times I would wonder, what if Lee had just been a few inches taller? What would that shape look like, taller and bigger? Today we have the answer in his son Hunter, who recently made his pro debut by winning the Tampa Pro at 5-foot-9 and 253 pounds. It was the most eagerly anticipated pro debut since that of Sergio Olivia Jr. in 2017, as it’s only natural for fans to place incredibly high expectations on the sons of legends. Hunter did not disappoint. He’s been the talk of the bodybuilding world for the entire summer of 2020, and it’s time we learned more about this rookie sensation with the famous bloodline.

GRIDIRON ORIGINS

This story is from the October 2020 edition of Muscular Development.

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This story is from the October 2020 edition of Muscular Development.

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