Former Filipino bodybuilder and four-time national champion prepares for 2019 CrossFit Games

The 25-year-old first got into working out to get bigger, then found bodybuilding and has now gravitated towards the new sport

Now a CrossFit coach, he will head to the Games along with fellow Filipino Kristen Lin

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Justin Hernandez will represent Philippines at the 2019 CrossFit Games. Photos: Handout

Published: 2:19pm, 28 Jun 2019Updated: 3:29pm, 28 Jun 2019

As a youngster, Filipino Justin Hernandez admits he wasn’t much more than skin and bones.

“I was skinny growing up,” said the 25-year-old Manila-native who will be the first male to represent the Philippines at the 2019 CrossFit Games. “So I tried working out until it became a hobby.”

What started as a way to build muscle soon became a passion as Hernandez took on bodybuilding in 2009. By 2014 he was the bodybuilding champion at the Gemmalyn Crosby Sports Festival, one of the largest competitions of its kind in the country, in the novice division. Hernandez also found himself a job as a fitness coach through his cousin at SkyHigh Fitness Gym located just outside Manila.

It was at SkyHigh where Hernandez met Nikko de Guzman, a CrossFit trainer. Once again, Hernandez said he had a goal in mind when he first started and had something to prove.

Justin Hernandez said he first got into fitness as a kid because he was skinny. Photo: Handout

“I joined CrossFit to prove that bodybuilders can do CrossFit, too. It came to a point where I enjoyed CrossFit more than bodybuilding.”