Little did fans know that Derek Lunsford endured a health scare before reclaiming the Mr. Olympia title in 2025. On Oct. 27, coach Chris Aceto cleared the air, revealing that Lunsford suffered from a panic attack during the finals.
Spectators knew something was going on during Saturday night’s finals. The reigning Mr. Olympia (at the time) was Samson Dauda, and historically, the sitting champion is the last to go onstage for their posing routines. However, Dauda came out before Lunsford, leaving the first two division Mr. Olympia to perform his routine last.
In the show’s aftermath, rumors about Lunsford spread, with some suggesting that he had almost died backstage. With time to process the results, his coach is breaking down exactly what happened in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chris Aceto Refutes Claims That Derek Lunsford Almost Died Backstage at 2025 Mr. Olympia
In the video, Aceto vehemently denied all claims that Lunsford almost died backstage at the Mr. Olympia.
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“No, that’s completely, utterly no reality [to those claims]. I will say that Derek did not have a cramp anywhere. He did not have a cramp in his chest, in the shoulders, tris, back, bis, legs, abs, anywhere whatsoever.”
“My son had sent me Ivan’s clip, Ivan’s clip was a summation of a German show that said Derek almost died backstage, which it’s ludicrous. It’s more than ludicrous; it’s not the truth,” he said. “It is a lie.”
He noted that Lunsford’s health markers were in the green, and added that he wasn’t sweating profusely, nor were his blood pressure or sugar levels elevated.
“I wanted to discount the idea that he had any serious health issue at all backstage. His pupils were not dilated, he was not sweating, not sweating profusely. His blood pressure was not high. His blood sugar, which indicates things as you know, was 100 percent normal.”
“No cramps whatsoever.”
He touched on Lunsford’s history of anxiety, revealing that the two-time Mr. Olympia champ had a panic attack.
“He’s had issues with anxiety, and it just passed. Anxiety can pass by talking to someone you trust, or talking to someone you like, or talking to someone who can understand you, or talking to someone who can make you laugh, and I can do all those with Derek.”
“He had backstage a panic attack,” shared Aceto. “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. Usually, when I could connect with him quickly and joke around, there’s a lot of personal stuff that I talked to him about. I know how to be genuine with him.”
While Lunsford understands he has anxiety, he didn’t know what a panic attack was before the scare.
“I wasn’t familiar with panic attacks, so I wasn’t sure,” he said. “He said Chris, I know my anxiety, and I can work through that but I didn’t know what a panic attack even really was, so I couldn’t recognize it or what was happening until way after the fact.”
Some in the sport have been critical of Lunsford’s victory. Shawn Ray and Lee Priest both argued that Hadi Choopan or Andrew Jacked deserved the nod. Flex Wheeler also said that Lunsford and other recent Mr. Olympias aren’t as peeled as those who competed in the 1990s.
Nothing stopped Lunsford from making history in Vegas, not a pec tear, or a panic attack. Overcoming these challenges makes his victory all the more impressive.
Watch the full video from the Rx Muscle – Truth In Bodybuilding YouTube channel below:
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