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Joseph Baena grew up in Bakersfield, California, speaking Spanish with his siblings and cooking with his mother. Although the suburban community was labeled as the “armpit of California,” as reported by Men’s Health magazine, and Baena lived in “a humble home,” he lived a happy life as a kid immersed in the Guatemalan heritage and traditions.
“That’s a huge part of me,” he told the publication. “My mom’s whole side is Guatemalan; we have a lot of Colombian family. Nearly everyone on that side is Latin American.”
Even though he is proud of his Latinidad, Joseph knows that part of his genes is rooted in Europe, specifically in Austria, where his dad, superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger, was born.
When learning that Schwarzenegger was his father, Baena took the news lightly, not knowing that there was a frenzy in his future.
“I remember the day very vividly,” he says. “I was in the eighth grade—fifth or sixth period. And I get called out of class to leave. And my mom’s there, and she’s like, ‘We gotta go—everyone is finding out about you and who your father is.’”
According to the publication, news trucks surrounded his house, and photographers tried to get the best pictures of his family. “I’m 13,” he remembers. “Your body’s transforming; your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes.”
While madness is happening right at their door, his mother, Mildred Patricia Baena, decided to take Joseph to Texas and hide with relatives. “She was really the only person I had, and I was really the only person that she had,” he says. “No one knew, and everyone wanted the details. We had each other’s backs.”
Now, Baena and Schwarzenegger have a close relationship and started bonding when exercising together. As reported by the publication, Schwarzenegger gave Baena The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, a special gift to guide him on his training. “Even though I could call him anytime, I was too proud,” Baena says. “I went straight to the book. I wanted to figure it out myself,” says the aspiring bodybuilder.
Once Joseph devoured the book, he began to reach out for more tips until they started training together. “I was so nervous,” he says. “I was being observant, trying to see what he was doing and the way he was acting,” says Baena.
According to Baena, everything he knows about fitness is thanks to his amazing dad.