These are the opinions of an anonymous IFBB Professional bodybuilder. We feel that there should be a place for this unbiased information to come out.
Column #1 This is the first column I am writing and I hope it is followed by many more. Being an IFBB pro for many years now I will be as honest as I possibly can. I will answer any questions you may have about the sport in general, any of it's athletes, nutrition, supplementation, verify any gossip that's buzzing around and be straight up about any sport enhancing drug questions. Be assured I will be very accurate and 100% honest in the contents of this column. If I do not know something, I will not answer the question. Why am I remaining undercover? That is very simple. I do not wish for people to know who I am because the honesty of this column could affect my livelihood. So with that being said let me get started with some questions that I have been asked by fans that attended the Arnold Classic.
Do you think Nasser El Sonbaty is washed up or just having a bad run? Nasser is getting punished for whatever he is injecting in his rear deltoids. Whether the lumps are being caused from Synthol (man made fat) or just whatever anabolic he is using, it is causing great distortion and is not pleasing to the eye at all. Besides, Synthol is one of the banned substances according to the IFBB rules.
Is Nasser the only one being punished? Not at all. Markus Ruhl and Ernie Taylor have both fell victim to the Synthol rule. I do however have a problem with Ernie Taylor even placing in pro shows. His triceps are absolutely ridiculous! Even if he says they're real, they still look bad enough for him never to beat anyone. I think I would throw a fit if he were ever placed ahead of me!
What do you think about Jay Cutler being tested positive for Lasix (2001 Mr. Olympia) and then getting his placing back after hiring a lawyer? Thing is, there were guys who tested positive for diuretics in past shows over the years and you never heard them trying to lie about it. Jay got caught, period! Of course he used the drug. There wasn't any huge conspiracy against Jay. Anyone with common sense knows that's absurd! They didn't decide to have him fail the test because he wasn't a Weider athlete or because he pissed an official off. It doesn't work like that. He failed the test because he used Lasix, end of story. When you use Lasix, you have to time it where the drug is out of your system before you get tested, Jay timed it wrong. I think I would have done the same thing (get an attorney) if $65,000 were on the line.
Why does Shawn Ray have such a bad reputation? I haven't talked to Shawn very much, but believe me when I tell you I choose it to be that way. From what I've been told by other pros, IFBB officials as well as writers in the industry, Mr. Ray cannot seem to keep his mouth shut. Perfect example is the press conference at the 2001 Mr. Olympia. I was in the crowd enjoying the athlete's answers on stage and there goes Shawn. "The judges should be this, and the judges should do that, the judging is all wrong, bla bla bla". Shawn should be very grateful to his placings over the years. He really hasn't been good enough to actually win the Sandow (he seems to think so) but definitely is one of the top pros. Now he's talking about how he wants to make things better for the IFBB pros in the future but I have this strange feeling it will have to do with Shawn getting money from the athletes. It doesn't take a genius to see that the man cannot keep guy friends or lady friends, period! Shawn Ray is the definition of selfish.
What do you think of King Kamali? I think he did a great job of getting his name in the sport. Controversy sells! He chose one of the biggest names in the IFBB (Craig Titus) and started a war of words. Kamali knew this was the guy that wouldn't let him talk a bunch of smack without getting it in return therefore creating a name for himself. However, I truly believe that if King wasn't working with Chad Nichols he would not have been as successful in his past shows. People have to realize that Chad is the NPC Chairman of three states which makes a lot of money for the organization. Needless to say he has a little juice.
