Professional bodybuilder Martin Fitzwater has lost all of his sponsorships following a series of incidents at a recent bodybuilding competition, capping of with a backstage confrontation where he shoved fellow competitor Nick Walker.
According to sources, Fitzwater was placed fourth at a competition. However, tensions surrounding the results appeared to spill over into his conduct during and after the event.
Reports from the competition indicated that Fitzwater openly celebrated when Walker placed second, despite Walker earning a $250,000 prize. He also reportedly refused to shake Walker’s hand and later publicly admitted his frustration toward him in comment sections online.
The situation escalated backstage, where Fitzwater physically shoved Walker. The altercation immediately drew criticism across the bodybuilding community and quickly began affecting his professional relationships.
Two of Fitzwater’s key sponsors, Raw Nutrition and Elevate Foods, soon announced that they were ending their partnerships with him.
Raw Nutrition, a supplement brand partly owned by Chris Bumstead, who is also known to be a personal friend of Fitzwater, released a formal statement explaining their decision.
“As a brand, we do not condone behavior that conflicts with our core values and principles. Respect, professionalism, and sportsmanship are non-negotiable for us. When actions or circumstances arise that no longer align with those standards, it becomes necessary for us to re-evaluate partnerships.”
Elevate Foods also confirmed it had cut ties with Fitzwater.
However, the company later emphasized that the decision was made internally rather than due to outside pressure.
“Cancel culture is ugly. Super ugly. While I certainly don’t agree with some of the actions from this past weekend, I find it pretty sad and pathetic to see some people hoping for someone else’s downfall and celebrating the loss of a sponsorship,” the company said in its statement.
The sponsorship losses appear to be tied not just to the shove itself but to what many observers described as a pattern of behavior surrounding the event. In addition to the on-stage and backstage incidents, Fitzwater reportedly sent late-night direct messages to figures in the bodybuilding community and publicly posted comments expressing anger over the results.
Instead of issuing an apology after the controversy spread online, Fitzwater responded with a brief and defiant message on social media. In a post where he disabled comments, he simply wrote, “Goodbye.”
In another message addressing the fallout, he wrote: “Y’all got what you wanted, so you can cheer and celebrate even more about my downfall. I’m no longer affiliated with any company.”
He later doubled down on that stance, adding: “Honestly, you don’t understand me at all. I don’t give what people think of me and I dislike this sport and I don’t want forgiveness. I want to be away from this and all the people in it.”
The statements fueled further speculation that Fitzwater may be stepping away from bodybuilding entirely. Some within the community have suggested he could be considering retirement, though no official announcement has been made.
Despite the severity of the backlash, some figures within the bodybuilding community have still expressed hope that Fitzwater can eventually recover from the controversy and rebuild his career.
