Wesley Vissers aims to reestablish himself as the number-one contender in Classic Physique at his next contest. On January 22, 2025, he discussed being compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger, his Open ambitions, and competing against Mike Sommerfeld at the 2025 Arnold Classic.
With impressive stature and aesthetics, Wesley Vissers became one of the most talked-about talents in Classic Physique of 2024. He shocked the world at the last Arnold Classic, defeating Ramon Queiroz in a spectacular upset that laid the foundation for him to find success at the Olympia. Before he made his way to the ‘Super Bowl of Bodybuilding,’ Vissers picked up another victory at the 2024 Arnold Classic UK show.
Ultimately, Vissers missed his peak at the 2024 Mr. Olympia, slipping to eighth place. Despite the setback, he made it clear he intended to defend his title at the upcoming Arnold Classic set for February 27 to March 2 in Columbus, Ohio. At this event, he’ll have the chance to redeem himself against Olympia runner-up Mike Sommerfeld.
Wesley Vissers Discusses If He’ll Move to Open Class and Mike Sommerfeld Showdown at 2025 Arnold Classic: ‘He’s Definitely a Big Threat’
In a recent YouTube video, Vissers touched on being compared to bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger. He revealed that he emulated his posing routines after being inspired by his contributions in Pumping Iron.
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” I grew up with the idea that Arnold was the one I should be looking up to but I automatically did because I watched Pumping Iron,” he shared. “I played Arnold’s 90’s, 80’s posing routines so many times on YouTube in slow motion and I still have the recordings of me playing that video, trying to emulate his pose, his Classic poses until I got them right.”
“This kind of physique, that’s what I want. That’s automatically how I started to train, how I envisioned the training itself, the mind-muscle connection, the way Arnold talks about it. I really identified myself with that and also the posing. I used to be a terrible poser.”
As for entering the Open class, Vissers won’t rule out the idea but still wants to prove himself in Classic Physique for the time being.
“I still have a lot of achievements within Classic Physique before I can really take Open seriously. I won’t rule it out completely that I might give it a shot at some point sooner or later.
But I will never give up Classic Physique until I know for sure that I’ve saturated everything I can within this weight cap that I basically have. And I don’t think I have that yet.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 Arnold Classic, Vissers underlined that Sommerfeld was a big threat.
“He is definitely a big threat. He’s now number two in the world. It’s an interesting situation because now that Chris is not doing it, he is hypothetically the best Classic Physique guy in the world at the moment which I’m going to battle at the Olympia.”
He likened his Arnold Classic showdown with Sommerfeld to déjà vu. Last year, he defeated Ramon Queiroz at this contest after the Brazilian star placed second behind Bumstead at Olympia.
“It’s kind of almost deja vu because now again, the number two in the world I have to face at the Arnold. So, if everything goes according to plan, I can do the same thing as last time and then beat the number two in the world but Chris not being there is still a very interesting factor,” he adds.
He expects Sommerfeld to bring his all-time best to the stage.
“Mike is going to be at his absolute best. I hope he will be. I really think, the Arnold, it’s an invitation only show, everyone there is invited for a special reason.”
Vissers’ rival, Sommerfeld, is turning up the heat on his preparations. He recently linked up with former four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler to smash a leg day training session. During their collaboration, Sommerfeld took tips from the bodybuilding legend.
If Wesley Vissers pulls off the victory at the Arnold Classic, he’ll be one step closer to laying claim to his first Mr. Olympia title. Don’t miss the 2025 Arnold Classic in less than six weeks!
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