We are only half-way through 2025, but it has already been an exceptional year for elevating exciting new bodybuilding talent up to IFBB Pro Card status. Eric Janicki is the latest social media star to transition to the top ranks. Here’s what you need to know.
Eric Janicki, whose website lists him as a “renowned fitness influencer” and boasts millions of followers on-line, was victorious on Sunday, June 1, in Guadalajara, where he won the 2025 Mexico Supershow, earning a pro card to reach a major milestone in the muscle game. This feat is all the more inspiring because Janicki had previously said he would not compete again, following a disappointing fifth-place result in 2024. “Don’t get it twisted. I’m done competing, but I’ll always be a bodybuilder (just on my own terms now),” he explained of that decision.
Social Media Stars Could be the Future of Bodybuilding
Social media is often a place where people can pretend to have a particular set of skills, but when a fitness influencer puts their money where their mouth is and treads the boards of a competitive bodybuilding stage, the results are not down the final glossy edit but rather a set of experienced judges.
The recent influx of social stars like Sam Sulek, who achieved his IFBB Pro Card at February’s Arnold event, and powerlifter Larry Wheels, who qualified for pro status in May, could mark an exciting new era. With more eyeballs fixed on the industry as a whole, it will be interesting to see if this new generation of media savvy musclemen can take the industry more mainstream.
For now, however, these bona fide bodybuilding stars can bask in the fact that they didn’t just post a video about training but instead proved something very special indeed. “Still taking it in,” wrote Janicki in a celebratory post for his 1.7 million Instagram followers. “What an unforgettable weekend in Guadalajara at the Mexico Supershow.”
