GO DEEP
THE
HEROES
ISSUE
2020
SPORTS
EMBRACEMAGAZINE.US
100
Perfect Form Openly gay, first-time bodybuilder, Cory Freeman achieved back-to-back wins in his first two competitions, setting the stage for professional status in his rookie year. BY J O H N SOTO M AYO R PHOTOS BY ASUN CAPALUNGAN
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hen Cory Freeman, age 37, took the stage for the first time at the 2019 NPC Viking Championship at Cottonwood High School auditorium in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah, on the morning of August 10, 2019, he had no idea what to expect, or how the experience would go. A man who normally does not crave the limelight, the blinding spotlight of a major regional bodybuilding competition was a strange place to be. True to form, Freeman made the most of it. He hit his marks and struck his poses like a natural. He was a crowd favorite. A judge favorite as well. Lined up according to excellence in performance, Freeman knew he did well. By that evening he would find out how well. During the evening round, his division, the Men’s Classic Physique Master’s Over 35 returned to the stage to perform their 60-second posing routines, followed by the awards presentation. Free-
