“It’s coming home,” Nigeria-born bodybuilder Samson Dauda wrote on Instagram after being crowned Mr Olympia 2024, taking home the 24-karat gold-plated trophy and a record first prize of US$600 000.
The physique athlete who represented the United Kingdom at the competition, was crowned at the final event held at the Las Vegas Convention Centre in the United States last month after years of coming inches close to the top prize.
But there is more to Dauda than meets the eye.
If you had told 21-year-old Dauda that he would be Mr Olympia in 11 years, it would probably have been too good to be true.
The Nigerian Lion’s rise to greatness came with patience, love and consistency.
Dauda was born on March 11, 1992 to Patrick and Helen Dauda in Lagos, Nigeria, where he lived before permanently relocating to the United Kingdom during his teenage years.
“I see myself first and foremost as Nigerian,” Dauda said when asked if he considers himself Nigerian.
Nicknamed “The Nigerian Lion”, the bodybuilder has asserted that his experiences growing up were heavily influenced by the British culture, yet he maintained a strong connection to his Nigerian heritage, making occasional visits to the country.
His family resides in the northern region of the country and belongs to the Hausa tribe.
Dauda’s family roots trace back to the east, with his father hailing from the Edo tribe and his mother belonging to the Igbo tribe.
“I’m a mix of all three,” he said.
In 2013, at 21, Dauda took his strength and physique to new lengths by playing rugby.
Training for the sport had helped him build an admirable physique, which made his rugby teammates and a gym owner, Chris Jones, encourage him to take bodybuilding seriously.
But it did not happen right away.
Before entering the bodybuilding world full-time, Dauda worked at a construction site.
“I used to work in construction, used to be a maintenance worker at a care home,” he revealed in past interviews.
“Basically, I have always worked in construction, being a builder, from carpentry to joinery since I got out of college.
“But it’s only recently, in the past two weeks since I was in Korea, that I have actually become a full-time bodybuilder for the first time.”
During his South Korea show in 2020, Dauda made a pivotal decision.
He would quit his full-time job and focus entirely on bodybuilding.
After witnessing Phil Heath at the 2013 Mr Olympia, Dauda shifted his focus to competitive bodybuilding and entered his first bodybuilding competition in April 2014.
He earned his International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) Pro card in 2017 after winning the overall title at the IFBB Amateur Diamond Cup Rome, which marked a turning point in his bodybuilding career.
The following year, he made his professional debut at the EVLS Prague Showdown in 2018, finishing fifth.
His first victory as an IFBB Pro athlete came in 2021 at the EVLS Prague Pro, which earned him a qualification for the 2022 Mr Olympia competition.
Dauda’s debut did not go as planned, as he finished sixth in the contest.
He shrugged off the disappointment and went back in the gym.
Fortune shone when Dauda entered the Arnold Classic US and took home the winning trophy.
With a newfound confidence, he returned to the Mr Olympia competition in 2023 and was placed third.
He learned from that experience as he returned in 2024, and, against all the odds, clinched the top prize.
After parting ways with his former coach, Milos Sarcev, his wife Marlena Gustowska took up the job of coaching Dauda.
After his historic win, she became the first female to coach a Mr Olympia winner.
Gustowska, a former bodybuilder herself, has drawn attention to the role of women coaches in a male-dominated coaching industry through the recent win.
Dauda often credits his success to Gustowska, emphasising her crucial role since the inception of his bodybuilding pursuits.
“Marlena has been training me right from day one when I first decided to bodybuild,” he said during a question-and-answer session in 2020. “She got me into bodybuilding and has been on my case since then.
“She knows all my diet, cycles and everything I have been on from day one. She has watched over everything, ensuring I put on weight rapidly year after year, while maintaining my shape and size.”
Following his successful outing at Mr Olympia 2024, taking home the 24-karat gold-plated trophy, Dauda has been confirmed to compete at the Arnold Sports Festival in 2025. — Businessday.org
