Who is Physical: Asia fame athlete Justin Hernandez, who replaced Manny Pacquiao as Team Philippines' captain

Physical: Asia premiered on Netflix with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao as the captain of Team Philippines. However, Pacquiao suddenly exited the show after the first five episodes, citing reasons that he had to return because of obligations in his home country, as he said:

I wanted to take a moment and apologise to everyone. I have to leave the competition and return to Philippines because of another obligation in my home country. Also, I just want to apologise to my team. We came here with one goal. To show the capacity and capability of Team Philippines.

As he left the show, Team Philippines' captain is now replaced in Physical: Asia with Justin Hernandez, who is a four-time CrossFit Open National champion. This may bring a broad shift in the game owing to Justin's strength and endurance, along with a diverse skillset.

Team Philippines entered the show competing along with seven other teams representing Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, and Mongolia to win the title, along with a grand prize of 1 billion Korean won.

Who is the captain of Team Philippines in Physical: Asia, Justin Hernandez

Justin Hernandez is a high-level Filipino fitness athlete with a diverse sports background who made history as the first Filipino male CrossFit Games athlete and four-time CrossFit Open National Champion for the Philippines.

He began his career as a bodybuilder and triathlete, later describing himself as a hybrid athlete, as he said in one of the early interviews:

I used to do bodybuilding and I do other sports like triathlons, so you can call me a hybrid athlete.

Hernandez took up bodybuilding in 2009, and by 2014, he had won the novice division of the Gemmalyn Crosby Sports Festival, later transitioning into CrossFit, trained in  Avant Garde CrossFit in the Philippines.

Over several seasons, he dominated the national CrossFit Open (Philippines), earning four national titles. His CrossFit expertise further rose in qualifying for the Men's division of the 2019 CrossFit Games, making him the first Filipino male to reach the Games, while he placed 85th in that competition.

His notable achievements include:

• He was the first Filipino male to compete at the CrossFit Games in 2019.
• He is a three-time top-ranked CrossFit Open champion in the Philippines, consecutively from 2017 to 2019, while he ranked third in 2020.
• He became the bodybuilding champion at the Gemmalyn Crosby Sports Festival in 2014.

He also entered into fitness coaching and HYROX training, serving as a coach as he worked at Manila-area gyms, namely SkyHigh Fitness, and trained athletes for the HYROX endurance-strength competition series.

Hernandez, once said that: I’ve seen firsthand how Filipino athletes excel at the mix of endurance and strength that HYROX demands. Our goal is to build a solid team of competitors from right here who can make their mark at events across Asia, according to Corner Magazine PH.

He is active on social media, especially Instagram, where he posts workout videos and updates on his training.

As Pacquiao has left, Team Philippines now consists of Hernandez as team leader, along with MMA fighter Mark Mugen Striegl, rugby player Justin Coveney, strongman Ray Jefferson Querubin, Olympic athlete Robyn Lauren Brown, and CrossFit athlete Lara Liwanag.

While there was no reaction from the team on Manny's exit in Physical: Asia, Hernandez said while sitting at his place on Team Philippines’ table, jokingly:

Everyone looks like they’re sizing us up.

As he entered the leadership role in Physical: Asia, he impressed the other contestants, who praised him for his solid physique.

Stay tuned for more updates.