Bag packer to Super Bowl: Bad Bunny’s insane 10-year glow-up needs to be studied

Bad Bunny is proof of the American dream, and just following your dreams in general, because his glow-up transformation from 2016 to 2026 has been INSANE.

A decade ago, before he was known as Bad Bunny, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was the son of a schoolteacher and truck driver. He was a “shy” kid, in his own words, despite “being a clown” who hated school and loved music.

Though he did initially study for his degree at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, which involved getting a bag-packing job at his local supermarket, he dropped out to pursue his music career. It was only after a friend suggested he put his music on Soundcloud that his career really started to pick up.

Fast forward a decade, and Bad Bunny was the most-streamed artist of 2025. It’s hard to escape his overwhelming success, whether that be doing the Super Bowl halftime show or winning big at the Grammys.

Though his many, many accolades are impressive enough, can we be a little vain for a moment and look at his glow-up? Cuz damn.

Awww, Baby Bunny?!

Most Read

I’m in prison with Lucy Letby right now and this is what she’s really like

Here’s why people are so freaked out about that super creepy Ring Doorbell advert

Here are Bad Bunny’s translated Super Bowl lyrics, so you know why people are angry

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nineties Anxiety (@90sanxiety)

It makes sense to start at the beginning, and it doesn’t get earlier than these adorable pictures of Bad Bunny when he was a kid in Puerto Rico. I kinda love Baby Bunny as a rap name, but admittedly, Bad Bunny goes harder.

There are a few pictures from his bag packing days

Bad Bunny in 2016 vs 2026

Bro used to bag groceries. Chase your dreams! pic.twitter.com/nthbUVYfsp

— vids that go hard (@vidsthatgohard) February 9, 2026

According to people on Reddit, the picture on the left was taken in 2016, a year before Bad Bunny entered the music scene.

His 2017 to 2019 era was… interesting

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock, Nina Prommer/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

These pictures, taken in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively, show Bad Bunny as he was entering the music industry. He looks visibly different, and the choice in clothing was definitely unique.

Post glow-up, this is the Bad Bunny we know and love

Credit: Bad Bunny

From around 2020 to now, Bad Bunny has undergone what could only be described as a metamorphosis – he’s now a full butterfly that looks completely different to throwback Benito.

He’s obviously spent a lot of time in the gym, as evidenced by those biceps, but people have many theories about Bad Bunny’s glow-up. The most realistic cause: Money, and lots of it.

Bad Bunny has long weathered plastic surgery claims

Bad Bunny's cosmetic procedures after winning the Album of the Year award at the Grammy Awards night:

• Nose job
• Facial fat injection
• Jaw reconstruction + implant
• Jawbone reconstruction
• Dental veneers
• Gum reconstruction pic.twitter.com/CO2jlm5vPO

— zak (@zakfromdahood) February 8, 2026

People have a hard time accepting a glow-up as it is, which has birthed a lot of conspiracy theories about plastic surgery, filler, and a full-on facelift. He’s never confirmed nor denied the speculation, but that hasn’t stopped the rumours.

“One hundred per cent he’s had a rhinoplasty,” plastic surgeon Dr Jennifer Armstrong earlier said.

She also theorised jawline contouring with filler, but other experts have put forward procedures like a deep plane facelift and Botox.

He’s not afraid to really show off his transformation

Credit: Bad Bunny

Since becoming undeniably hot, Bad Bunny has jumped at every chance to get his kit off. He’s posed for Calvin Klein in one viral moment, but it was his self-published x-rated moments that really had Twitter in a tizzy. The above pictures have been cropped for obvious reasons.

He’s yet to tour his many tattoos, but I’m sure there are about 50 million people who are up for categorising them.

Regardless of how he got there, I’ll have what he’s having.

Featured image credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock, Bad Bunny, and  John Salangsang/Shutterstock