Nick Walker’s confidence is soaring thanks to a pair of impressive performances. On May 21, 2025, he revealed why Hadi Choopan is his biggest threat at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
Nick Walker silenced the doubters at the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro. Despite being counted out by fans and veterans of the sport like Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo, he proved his best days are ahead of him. Walker matched Derek Lunsford’s score, but took second after a tie-breaking round decided the winner.
To qualify for this year’s Olympia, Walker competed a week later at the New York Pro, where he secured his third victory at the event (an IFBB Pro League record). Now, with his eyes again locked on the Sandow trophy, Walker discussed who is standing in his way of Olympia glory this October.
Nick Walker Names Hadi Choopan as Biggest Threat at 2025 Mr. Olympia: ‘I Beat Derek, I’m Not Really Worried About That’
During the recent YouTube video, Walker spoke on his confidence levels after securing his Olympia qualification.
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“I’d rather lay low and speak highly of myself without speaking too highly of myself. I know I’m going to probably –I know I can win the Olympia. I know that. I think everybody else now knows that.
I don’t need to just say it anymore. I rather just put my head down and work and come back even better for the Olympia and shut everyone up once again.”
He explained that his goal was to revamp his presentation onstage, which included changes to his posing, confidence, and physique.
“I wanted to come back and just be totally different so that meant physique, that meant posing, that meant confidence, that meant everything, the way I presented myself onstage. Honestly, it was Saturday morning when I woke up, I just looked at myself and I was just like this is it, no one is going to beat me today.”
Walker, who suffered a hamstring injury that prevented him from competing at Olympia in 2023, detailed the new leg training approach he implemented to improve.
“I did two leg days a week, Monday and Friday. One of them we would do a lot of leg pressing, and the other one was a lot of hack squats,” shared Walker. “When I say three to four [pounds] I would like that to go to my legs a little more. I’d like to see more back thickness and width on me. A little more upper chest shelf there, and if I was able to do that I think that would help me overall.”
Looking ahead, Walker acknowledged Hadi Choopan as his biggest threat on the Olympia stage. If he and Choopan compete at 100 percent, Walker said it’d be a fierce battle.
“I’m always going to say Hadi [is my biggest threat]. I think me and Hadi are extremely comparable in every way, shape, or form. I think if he comes in at 100 and I’m in at 100, it’s going to be a battle.”
He admitted Samson Dauda is a freak but believes his superior conditioning will give him the edge against the reigning champion.
“Samson is a freak. He’s very overpowering. He’s very big, very round, very bubbly, very muscular. But I’ve also become a lot bigger and more muscular and I also always outdo him in condition. If he doesn’t come in with full condition, I will beat Samson too.”
Walker’s progress has the bodybuilding world confident in his chances of becoming an Olympia champion. Head judge Steve Weinberger recently stated that Walker’s dominant performance at the Pittsburgh Pro is proof that he can secure the Sandow trophy with the right package.
The 2025 Mr. Olympia is set for October 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If Walker can make it to this event, it will be his first Olympia contest since 2022.
Watch the full video from the OlympiaTV YouTube channel below:
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