Joseph Baena, the youngest son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, was recently spotted enjoying a shirtless walk through Santa Monica. This marked his first public appearance since his triumphant debut at a bodybuilding competition.

The 28-year-old flaunted his impressive 6-foot-1 physique, opting for a casual look with black shorts and beige flip-flops, accessorized with sleek, Matrix-inspired gray sunglasses. Baena appeared engrossed in music, wearing traditional iPhone headphones as he strolled in the pleasant 68°F spring weather, still clutching his black shirt.

In preparation for the NPC Natural Colorado State competition held in Denver, Baena revealed he had gained 18 pounds of muscle over eight weeks. This commitment to his fitness regimen paid off at the event, which took place at the Pinnacle Performing Arts Center. Notably, all participants were subjected to rigorous testing, including drug screening and a 30-minute polygraph test, to ensure they competed naturally.

Baena’s hard work and dedication were rewarded with first-place finishes in three categories: the open bodybuilding heavyweight class, classic physique true novice, and classic physique novice. He also secured a second-place finish in the classic physique open class C, solidifying his status as a formidable presence in the bodybuilding scene.

Each bodybuilder who entered the show held at Pinnacle Performing Arts Center was not only drug tested but was also given a 30-minute polygraph test to ensure they were 100-percent natural.

Baena impressively placed first in three men’s categories — open bodybuilding heavyweight class, classic physique true novice and classic physique novice — as well as placing second in classic physique open class C.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s youngest son Joseph Baena enjoyed a shirtless stroll through Santa Monica on Sunday in the first sighting since winning big at his first bodybuilding competition

‘Thank you all for the sweet messages!’ the Christie’s real estate agent — who boasts nearly one million social media followers — wrote via Instagram story Sunday.

‘Time to do it again on Saturday!’

Indeed, Baena was back in the gym hours later doing leg presses with his trainer, but it’s unclear which show he’ll compete at next.

And while the Pepperdine University grad made his big debut, his famous 78-year-old father spent the weekend in Birmingham, England hosting the 2026 Arnold Classic UK and handed out the historic $1 million prize to Nigerian champ Chinedu Obiekea Andrew ‘Jacked.’

‘We have come a long way from the days when I won a thousand dollars for winning Mr. Olympia and I am so proud of the sport,’ Schwarzenegger wrote on Sunday.

The seven-time Mr. Olympia did make sure to spend some quality time helping train Baena at Gold’s Gym in Los Angeles’s Venice neighorhood ahead of his show.

‘My dad is old-school; he doesn’t believe in handouts. He believes hard work pays off, and so do I,’ the LA native told Men’s Health in 2022.

‘I love the word honor, and I’m very prideful in the sense that if I use my dad’s contacts or ask him for favors, I wonder what honor is that gonna bring me?’

The 28-year-old nepo baby — sporting Matrix-style slim gray sunglasses — showcased his sculpted 6ft 1in muscular body while scantily clad in black shorts and beige flip-flop sandals

Still clutching his black shirt, Baena was in the zone listening to something on his old-school iPhone headphones during the 68F-degree spring stroll

The half-Guatemalan athlete recently revealed he packed on 18lbs of muscle in eight weeks in order to prepare to compete at NPC Natural Colorado State in Denver last Saturday

Every bodybuilder who entered the show held at Pinnacle Performing Arts Center was not only drug tested, they also took a 30-minute polygraph test to ensure they were 100-percent natural

Baena (2-L, pictured Saturday) impressively placed first in three men’s categories — open bodybuilding heavyweight class, classic physique true novice and classic physique novice — as well as placing second in classic physique open class C

‘Thank you all for the sweet messages!’ the Christie’s real estate agent wrote via Instagram story Sunday. ‘Time to do it again on Saturday!’

Indeed, Baena was back in the gym hours later doing leg presses with his trainer, but it’s unclear which show he’ll compete at next

And while the Pepperdine University grad made his big debut, his famous 78-year-old father (center) spent the weekend in Birmingham, England hosting the 2026 Arnold Classic UK and handed out the historic $1 million prize to Nigerian champ Chinedu Obiekea Andrew ‘Jacked’

Schwarzenegger — a seven-time Mr. Olympia — did make sure to spend some quality time helping train Baena at Gold’s Gym in Venice, Calif., ahead of his show (pictured last Tuesday)

Out of all five of Schwarzenegger’s children, the LA native has followed in his footsteps the most despite primarily growing up with his chef mother Mildred ‘Patty’ Baena in Bakersfield, Calif. (pictured June 11)

Baena was only 13 in 2011 when the former California Governor revealed he secretly fathered him during a ‘one-night stand’ with his former housekeeper (R, pictured in 2019), which ended his 25-year marriage to journalist Maria Shriver

Out of all five of Schwarzenegger’s children, Baena has followed in his footsteps the most, despite primarily growing up with his chef mother, Mildred ‘Patty’ Baena, in Bakersfield, California

The Dog Patrol: Operation Santa Paws actor was only 13 in 2011 when the former California Governor revealed he secretly fathered him during a ‘one-night stand’ with his former housekeeper, which ended his 25-year marriage to journalist Maria Shriver before their divorce was finalized in 2021.

Last year, the 70-year-old niece of President John F. Kennedy admitted in her poetry book I Am Maria that the divorce ‘broke my heart, it broke my spirit, it broke what was left of me. Without my marriage, my parents, a job — the dam of my lifelong capital-D Denial just blew apart.’

Baena and Schwarzenegger eventually began bonding over fitness, and he gifted him a copy of The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, which he co-authored in 1985.

On May 3, the avid cook and his girlfriend, Dutch model Mel Randel, will celebrate their third anniversary.