Derek Lunsford may have looked invulnerable, winning the 2025 Mr. Olympia title, but there was something deeper brewing. He has now revealed what happened.

In the Menace Podcast, Lunsford explained, “I don’t have to tell everybody everything, but in some regard, I felt like this was my obligation to explain what happened. So, honestly, man, it was kind of embarrassing to admit.”

After the event, rumors circulated that Derek Lunsford had an emotional meltdown backstage. Analysts and fans speculated the emotional breakdown was caused by the pressure to regain his 2023 Mr. Olympia title.

“Cuz I’m someone that’s like, all year, I’m like, ‘I’m resilient, I’m mentally strong,’ like I can keep going. I never believed really much in panic attacks. I always kinda thought it was just like, you gotta be stronger-minded than that. And then I realized, ‘oh, shoot,’ like, yeah, I had that too”.

At the end of October, his coach, Chris Aceto, had also discussed what happened. The rumor mill at the time suggested Lunsford had health issues, even going as far as to suggest he collapsed backstage.

"He had a panic attack backstage. I thought he must be having a lot of anxiety if he asked for me to come backstage. When I came backstage, I recognized that it was greater than anxiety this time. He’s had issues with anxiety and it just passed."

It's not the first time Derek Lunsford has been candid about mental health

Back in 2023, while talking to Hany Rambod, Lunsford explained battling anxiety.

"Anxiety can come from different places, right? I think even if you can disconnect from the comments or comparing yourself to somebody else in your position or whatever, I think myself for example, when we were talking the other day on the phone. My anxiety has sometimes come from me feeling like I'm not doing enough."

And when discussing the 2025 Mr. Olympia on the recent podcast, he maintained, “I’m just like everybody else. In an emotional sense, physical sense, all that. You know?”

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar