The biography, life, and accomplishments of Bradley Martyn

One of the most popular names in the fitness industry right now is none other than Bradley Martyn. As the owner of Zoo Culture, host of a popular podcast, close friend of the Nelk Boys, and all around fitness freak, Brad is someone who keeps busy within the industry.

Below is a complete breakdown of Bradley Martyn’s profile, stats, biography, training and diet regimens.

Full Name: Bradly Martyn (Influencer and Bodybuilder)

Weight Height Date Of Birth
245-260 lbs 6’3″ 5/22/1989
Division Era Nationality
Bodybuilding 2010s, 2020s American

Bradley MartynBradley Martyn Biography

Bradley Martyn certainly seems to live quite the interesting lifestyle nowadays, but it was not always like that for him. Brad was born May 22, 1989 in San Francisco, California, and when he was just six years old his father took his own life. It goes without saying that this event had a large effect on Brad, who struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time due to the traumatic event. He also found himself facing new hurdles growing up without a father figure present.

Bradley Martyn opened up to Generation Iron about how his fathers suicide changed his entire worldview and informed the kind of fitness influencer he wanted to be in the world of bodybuilding. Knowing that depression can manifest into hatred and self loathing – and sadly self harm – Bradley Martyn’s mission is to spread awareness and also spread positivity in the hopes that he can help people across the world from suffering the same way his father did.

The gym has been a great outlet for him, as it is for many, but Bradley Martyn has made a career out of it, something many can only dream of doing.

Discovering Bodybuilding & Rise To Fame

Bradley Martyn Generation Iron
Bradley Martyn with director Vlad Yudin and producer Edwin Mejia Jr.

It was when he was just 15 years old that Bradley Martyn began training in the gym, but he did not have too much knowledge on diet and training at the start of his journey. Over the years, he gained knowledge on training and nutrition through others, as well as his own research, and was able to truly build up his body. As a result of this, in January 2006, he started up his own training program. It wasn’t until 2014 when Bradley began to gain recognition in the fitness world.

That same year, he started up his fitness video channel on YouTube. Bradley began showing the public his workouts and full day of eating videos. The content that Bradley uploaded, helped him grow his viewers and his brand massively over the years. Eventually, he became a social media influencer and one of the biggest fitness gurus online. Bradley is self-made and learned how to become successful on his own since his father was not there to guide him.

Competition History

Though Bradley Martyn mainly made his bones in the influencing side of things, rather than competition, but Brad has stepped on stage on a few occasions. No, not the Mr. Olympia stage, but he has competed in a few amateur competitions. Check it out.

  • 2013 NPC USA Championships, 8th
  • 2013 NPC Phil Heath Classic, 1st
  • 2012 NPC USA Championships, 10th
  • 2011 NPC USA Championships, 2nd
  • 2011 NPC Southern California Championships, 1st

Out of the few competitions that Brad has competed in, he has certainly shown that he is a force to be reckoned with on the stage. Now that he has stopped competing, he focuses mainly on the business and building up his brand, but still maintains a massive and strong physique, so what does he do to keep all that muscle mass?

Bradley MartynTraining

With that much muscle mass and that low of body fat, he has to be doing something right in the gym. Bradley is an athlete who listens to his body as opposed to strictly sticking to what a piece of paper or a workout app says, and instead does his own thing. There is no set training routine for him to follow religiously. One week Bradley may train for only 3 days a week like Mike Mentzer did, or he might train every day of the week. It really depends on how he feel and what his body is telling him to do, and that is what he does.

However, Bradley tries to follow some sort of guidelines for each of his workouts, it can’t be arm day every day! Some of his guidelines include trainings for no more than 1.5 hours at a time and sticking to 8-12 rep range for most exercises. 

For larger muscle groups, Bradley usually does 3-5 sets of each exercise. For example, during a chest day, on the bench press he would do 3-4 sets. In total, around 20 sets per muscle group.

Again, there is no set routine he does, however this is one of his most common weekly workout splits:

Monday: Legs (including calves)

Tuesday: Shoulders and Tris

Wednesday: Chest and Biceps/Calves

Thursday: Back

Friday: REST

Saturday: Emphasis on Triceps/Back

Sunday: Conditioning (pushing a sled, jumping rope, tire flips)

Nutrition

Again, in order to look the way he does, nutrition is key for someone like Bradley Martyn. When Bradley Martyn used to compete in bodybuilding shows, he practiced intermittent fasting. He fasted for 16 hours and had a 8-hour window where he ate multiple large meals, which is said to increase the fat burning process.

Once he stopped competing, he has a more “loose” diet, meaning he still eats relatively clean but is a little more lenient with certain foods. The only rule of his diet is to minimize his carbohydrate intake, while keeping his proteins and fats high. This approach gives Bradley the best results in terms of fat loss and muscle gain.

For muscle building, he slightly increases his carb intake. He says it helps his muscles recover fast, and gives him more energy.

Food For Building Muscle:

  1. Bell Peppers
  2. Almond Butter
  3. Quinoa
  4. Greek Yogurt
  5. Salmon

Life Outside of Fitness

Outside of Zoo Culture and the brand that Brad has built around that, he is notorious for hanging around the popular YouTubers, the Nelk Boys. They are well known for their pranks, vlogs, and the “Full Send” brand that they have built up.

Bradley Martyn: The Influencer

Stream or download Bradley Martyn: The Influencer on Amazon Prime Video.

In case you haven’t heard, there is a new documentary coming out about Brad, Bradley Martyn: The Influencer. This is a captivating documentary that takes a deep dive into the extraordinary life of Bradley Martyn. As stated above, Bradley is known as a YouTube fitness sensation and social media juggernaut with over 10 million devoted followers. Beyond the chiseled physique and charismatic online persona lies a compelling story of resilience and transformation.

Check out the trailer below:

Wrap Up

bradley martyn

Overall, Bradley Martyn is someone who has really built himself up as a staple in the fitness industry. Although he is living the life now, it was not always like that for him. Following his father’s suicide when he was only 6 years old, Brad has been through some trials and tribulations, but managed to overcome it. You can take a deeper look into the life of Bradley Martyn with the new film coming out, Bradley Martyn: The Influencer. 

What are your thoughts on Bradley Martyn?

For more information, such as the official release date, pre-order availability, and how to watch – visit the official Bradley Martyn: The Influencer landing page right here. And stay tuned to Generation Iron as more updates become available.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.

Dylan Wolf
I work mainly in content writing, focusing my free time on bodybuilding and strength sports. I was introduced to fitness in high school and after watching Generation Iron movies. I love to train. I have competed multiple times, even winning a junior title in classic physique. I have a bachelor's in criminal justice and business obtained through Alvernia University. When I am not focused on work or training, I enjoy watching films or reading about anything and everything.