D’Shawn Wright’s resume includes many titles. Talk show host, entrepreneur, published author, actor, motivational speaker, and bodybuilder highlight this list.

However, this past weekend, he added one more title—Mr. Virginia. The owner of Body By D gym won the Mr. Virginia title at the National Physique Committee Virginia Classic on April 13. The contest, held at Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, featured over 200 athletes competing for various division titles, but Wright would take home the coveted title of Mr. Virginia in the Classic division.

“It’s a big title that holds weight and it propels me to the national level,” Wright said. “Glad to do it for Gloucester and York County and show people that you can’t beat a person who doesn’t give up.” Despite an undisclosed injury that hospitalized him and required surgery earlier in the year, Wright was able to rebound and add nearly 20 pounds of muscle to compete at 223 pound...