The Body Evolution of Justin Bieber, From "Baby" to Instagram Thirst Trap
1/33When he first burst onto the scene, Justin Bieber was an adorable floppy-haired child known for his awesome YouTube covers and stellar high notes. But everyone has to grow up eventually, and grow up Justin has.
But when exactly did that happen? Was it the exact moment his voice broke and tapped into a deeper register? Was it the day he turned 18 or 21? Or was it the moment he started hitting the gym and got — there is no other word for it — swole?
You've seen his Calvin Klein ads. You've noticed every time he lifts his shirt (or just takes the whole darn thing off) on stage at his concerts. You've no doubt double-tapped on his photos on social media. But were we all blind the whole time? Did Justin Bieber transform right under our noses? To find out, we turned to that be-all, end-all of truth in our modern era: Instagram.
2/3396 weeks ago, Justin posted a photo of himself hanging out, maxing, relaxing all cool. His hair has definitely changed from that moment, but something else is slightly different: his arms. Consider this PS: Pre-Swole.
4/33Now, a note on Justin's swole journey: He's always been relatively fit and pretty lean. All that dancing on stage will do that to you. What we're interested in here is when his muscles started popping out of his skin like daisies. We're not quite there yet.
6/33"That's right, put in work." — "Kanye's (and Justin's) Workout Plan"
7/33Pop quiz: If you live in Los Angeles, but you don't go hiking with a whole crew, do you even live in Los Angeles at all?
No. No, you do not.
8/33Let she who has not posted a proud little "progress photo" pass the first judgment.
9/33We see the rare species Justin Bieber admiring his abs in his natural habitat: one of shirtlessness.
10/33Hey, uh, Biebs. If you want to hold us in that muscled embrace, we're just saying we wouldn't mind.
11/33First there was Instagram fitness guru Kayla Itsines. Now, there's Justin Bieber.
16/33Boxing is the workout of choice for supermodels like Gigi Hadid and Adriana Lima. It is also the workout of choice for one Justin Drew Bieber.
17/33"Oh, nothing, just me and my 40-pound weights."
SUPER CASUAL, JUSTIN. WE SEE THE FLEX. (Literally.)
19/33It should be noted that Justin captioned this Instagram with the following quote: "Always look forward and never look back." But like, when and where and how do we look at those arms because dang.
20/33And then this happened: The Calvin Klein ads that nearly broke the internet (but saved our souls). Um, who knew Justin was hiding all of that under his shirt?
Lara Stone knew.
21/33Physical flex (n): Justin's pose.
Metaphorical flex (n): Casually posting a photo in which you're just hanging out with Kendall Jenner like it's no big deal.
23/33The infamous "I'm not fat, it's just the angle" photo.
Aw, Justin. We'd love you any way you were.
24/33Giving whole new meaning to the phrase "baby got back."
25/33Somewhere between the Rocky movies and Creed, there was Beibs. And that is a boxing movie we'd like to see, pretty please.
26/33When you put in all of that hard work, you get to reap the fruits of your labor. In Justin's case, that meant a Vogue photoshoot and a portrait for Mario Testino's Towel Series.
27/33Pull-ups while hiking? Okay, now you're just showing off.
30/33Dare we say this transformation is giving us... Purpose?
(Sorry.)
(Okay, really sorry.)
31/33Yeah, we give up. Justin Bieber has played us. We cannot. We are dead. We are unable to even.
32/33Please, Justin. Never stop documenting your journey to swoll. Thank you for all that you do.
