‘Physical 100’: Miracle Nelson On His Journey From Dancer to Bodybuilder — And Joining the Series: ‘One of the Happiest Days of My Life’ [Exclusive]
Out of the contestants of Netflix‘s competition series Physical 100, Miracle Nelson had fans rooting for him from the get-go. Miracle is one of the non-Korean contestants who joined the series to see if his impressive muscular physique is enough to be the best. The Netflix series did not give an adequate introduction. In an exclusive interview with Showbiz Cheatsheet, Miracle breaks down his career from passionate dancer to bodybuilder, what led him to South Korea, and joining Physical 100.
Miracle Nelson’s dream of pursuing a dance career led him to venture to South Korea
Born Miracle Nelson Chinonso in June 1994, he is a native of Nigeria. There is no denying that when Miracle first arrived on Physical 100, he had a bright and friendly aura with his kind smile. He is is a dancer and bodybuilder, but where did he get his start? More importantly, what led Miracle to South Korea? Pursuing a career in dance was his dream, but Nigeria was not exactly a land of opportunities in the field.
“I grew up loving dance but living in a country where you can’t study dance as a major made it kind of a difficult dream to chase, so I did dance on the side while I was in high school. After high school, I then decided to take dance seriously and compete in dance shows competition while in the university,” explained Miracle. With no desire to give up his ambitions, Miracle was soon given an opportunity after graduating from university. He learned of a K-Pop competition where the winner could travel to South Korea. The competition was the K-POP WORLD FESTIVAL in CHANGWON 2015.
Miracle got to work developing a team. “We got to win the overall show not only in Nigeria but in South Korea. After that success over the years, I helped other teams win that same competition by choreography and giving my ideas,” said Miracle. But his newfound success would catch the attention of the Korean Cultural Center Nigeria. Miracle was asked to teach K-Pop dance.
While working there, he was introduced to Korean culture, the language, entertainment, and dance. Because of it, Miracle “decided to go over to Korea and finally achieve my dream of getting a major in dance.” K-Pop fans already recognized Miracle before Physical 100. He appeare as a dancer in Dalsoobin‘s “Dive” music video and OnlyOneOf‘s “Who’s That?” He recently appeared in (G)I-DLE‘s “Nxde.”
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led ‘Physical 100’ Miracle to the world of bodybuilding
As a dancer who moves with ease, precision, and rhythm, how did Miracle fall in love with professional bodybuilding? Besides Miracle, Physical 100 stars some of the sport’s top athletes like Kim Kang-min and Kim Chun-ri. Unlike Chun-ri, who has been a professional for 17 years, Miracle got invested only a few years ago at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I got to Korea in February 2019, one year before COVID. During that time, I was studying the language and also competed in a dance battle and won 3rd place at the Ki Sport Dance Olympiad show, and then COVID hit, everything shut down, and the only place working was the gym,” explained Miracle. Like most people, the gym became a newfound passion for Miracle.
He decided to take some profile shots. In South Korea, it is trendy for people to display their hard-earned work in the gym by doing a photoshoot. It seemed that Miralce was a natural and perfectly defined and built every major muscle in his body to near perfection.
A coach at the gym approached him with the idea to start competing professionally. “On my first show, I placed third in the open category, skipping novice and beginner category. And then it hit me. This could be another chain of career, and now I love it,” said Miracle. He competed in IFBB Pro Elite and won the INBA Korea Pro in 2022. On his Instagram, @itz_mkay, fans will be blown away by Miracle’s impressive definition in his lats, back muscles, hamstrings, and biceps. Even next to Kang, Miracle is still a beast. Fans can also follow his Youtube channel, @NelsonMiracle_.
Miracle’s interest in modeling led him to Netflix’s ‘Physical 100’
Like other Netflix Korean unscripted series, contestants are picked by recommendations, applications, and scouting. Miracle is a jack-of-all-trades not only as a dancer, bodybuilder, and actor but also pursuing a career as a model. It is what led him to join the competition series.
Miracle had sent out comp cards to agencies in South Korea. “I got a call from one agency that I got selected for the Netflix series Physical 100, and I have to go for an audition,” he explained. It was a waiting game for Miracle. But a few days later, he got the call saying he would participate in Physical 100 as a contestant. For Miracle, it was “one of the happiest days of my life.”
While on the competition series, Miracle captured fans’ hearts’ and they were rooting for him to go all the way. They fell for his charisma, especially when he admired the protein wall. “For us gym rats, it’s like the best restaurant ever,” said Miracle.
Throughout the series, Miracle was a force to be reckoned with despite knowing he lacked experience. “I had just started lifting weights for just two years and going against people with years of experience and Olympic champions,” explained Miracle. During the Prometheus challenge on Physical 100, Miracle was sadly eliminated but remains a favorite among fans and will support his next ventures.
Physical 100 is available to stream on Netflix.
