Greatest Bodybuilder of All Time Opens Up - Ronnie Coleman

you've never had a fistfight never you've never had a fistfight never you've never punch somebody in the face never not even as a cop no well it ain't nothing like having your hard work pay off we could be talking about a retired NFL player Ronnie Coleman possibly how did you know if you are making progress to be able to win if you're not taking a look at yourself a while awake in the next minute I was waking up in the tub of life Oh what happened the DEA came in and start questioning everybody's or backstories you know that you no one knows about what do you think about when you see these guys well if I was like whoa there's an argument oh it's too personal you were losing your cool no I'm genetic gifted to do that count stuff Ronnie that's crazy I think like that better shape than me that's a big stigma Ronnie yeah well you and there you didn't see him bleep beat you in that show he's sixth what see we just learned something about it that's it I think Arnold takes after Joe Wow I look like a little boy standing next to him and you really believe that yeah I know that I'm always trying to be better [Music] did you ever think for me why would you fight on July 8th when we got red tape now UK me given values contagious this world of entrepreneurs we can't no value the haters run homie look what I become I'm under one [Music] today I have a special guest with me eight-time mr. Olympia ronnie coleman they call him the king they call him the strongest mr. Olympia ever I think he was squatting 800 pounds three times his biggest regret is he wishes he could have done it five times he felt he could deadlifting 800 pounds repping 500 pounds on benchpress just one of the most beloved guys in the world of bodybuilding his competitors loved him his peers loved them they didn't like to losing to him but they definitely loved him and with that being said today's guest Ronnie comer Ronnie thanks for coming out man thanks for having me it's it's a pleasure having you know we've got filled before we've had Dorian Yates before and in curry and I said we got we got to get Ronnie so you're out here now yeah I actually had two reps on that to me three times I told you two times you correct me two three I thought it was 210 I'll try to do five though you scheidegg maybe you think you could have done five easier yeah I want to read something to you and I want to see what you say about this okay this is so you're an 8 I must roll Olympia you know in any sport you do Kobe says one of his favorite parts of playing the game was the last year when he played and it was going on as a retirement or I don't know if you're a basketball guy who was going on his retirement tour and every city was giving him the respect every city and they said how does this feel for you he says there is nothing more rewarding than knowing my competitors and my enemies felt this way about me at the end of my career this is a at the highest level of respect for him so I want to read some of what guys have to say about you and see what you think about this this is what Lee Haney once said about you Lee Haney is another eight timer yeah both of you guys are eight timers and you have a lot of good things to say about him he said in the world of professional bodybuilding the name Ronnie Coleman stands alone there has never been an athlete physically able or willing to take the sport beyond the limits of human expectations Ronnie did it to the extent that the sport may never witness again that's what Lee Haney said here's what Arnold had to say Ronnie became a whole new dimension it was unbelievable he showed bodybuilders that there was a whole other way of size and proportion and your friend flex wheeler who was supposed mr. Olympia the year you were competing I thought everybody after Dorian says it flexes time yeah he says I don't have the ability to say that I was with Arnold orally but I do have the ability to say that I was on the stage with the greatest Olympian of all time when you hear me read this stuff to you from your peers these are people you admired came before you during your time yeah what does that make you think about Oh like and then like respect from your fellow competitors uh because I had no idea that any of those guys said that that's tough you know the I really don't watch you don't really watch the idea no no I don't watch me I don't keep up with too much and then how do you process it down you're pretty one of the things I'd like to do today Ronnie is I'm hoping we can do this and here's what my goal is with you I've watched your documentary I read your book I read as many articles as I could get my hands on I called your peers up in I want to know Ronnie because when I was in the Army on the wall I had pictures the year you placed 16th you know the URI place 16 I just like your physique when I saw your physic I think was in a muscle magazine there was your uniform you were in the cop uniform and and they had a physique of yours and you did your double buys and it was muscle on top of muscles I said I just like this guy's physique I don't know if he's ever gonna do anything but I like his physique yeah and then you end up winning so I'm uh I'm not just a guy that is interested in bodybuilding you were guy that I followed when I was in the army so that was like mid 90s to late 90s I would fall on you or you know you coming up and winning back to back to back eight times but but the one thing I'd like to do today is I feel like there's not been a real long-form interview with you outside of the documentary that you did and when I think about you and I see your enemies I say this is a guy that grew up in Louisiana nice guy you know man of faith you can tell those are a lot of strong values and character they can tell your mom played a very big role in your life Jesse you can tell that there was certain people Alonzo that played a big role in your life you can tell that there were certain people that impacted your life in certain life-changing events whether it was Patricia yeah your high school girlfriend when she bro up with you and you can and I know if we talk about this all the time that it's good to happen early on oh yeah but I want to kind of know a different sound of Ronnie today like I want to know this do things hurt Ronnie I want to know what Ronnie thinks about what additional interest they have so going back to this when you hear these guys saying these things about you emotionally does it do anything where it's like I can't believe these guys that admire see these kinds of things to you exactly does it get you to that state exactly I know you said you said one time there is no better feeling than being able to say I'm a master that she over achiever I have mastered being an overachiever yeah why'd you say that why is this so important to you well because I've always tried to be the best at everything that I have ever done and you know once I've accomplished it you know it always took took took some time you know nothing nothing to have happen overnight so it ain't nothing like having your hard work pay off because you know when I put myself to a task of doing something I go all out you know like when I work for police department you know I I went all out you know I tried to do the best job I possibly could when I was in college you know when I was in school I started every single night in rambling well in high school grumbling oh god now I know I didn't I think high school seriously at all but they grounded I studied every single night you know I tried to be the best I possibly could be when I was playing football there you know I was trying to be the best I possibly could you know and you know it took a long time but I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish but like I said nothing happened overnight it took me like I went three years of start you know it took you three years to start yeah took me three years to start how good were you I mean I'm trying to see videos but I couldn't find videos the only video I've found is another wrong Coleman yeah yeah a football at Grambling but I'm talking about how good were you in college were you a killer will you somebody that had the ability to go to the next level well I had some pro scouts but uh I never got drafted so I felt like if if I wasn't given up good gesture I wasn't good enough to play that was just my attitude maybe if I'd have gone out there and gave it my all you know if I could have made a team but I didn't have that attitude you know everything is about desire and attitude and focusing everything so if you don't have the attitude and the focus for something it's not gonna happen so so you know the game that you talk about in college where you said uh the scouts came from the Eagles and you're sitting out there they're kind of watching again and that game you were nervous but you ended up having like 14 solo tackles 2 sacks and an interception and you had a big game yeah and then afterwards you spoke to them they told you if you play like this we're gonna draft you yeah so you were kind of going in the direction of possibly being an NFL play exactly and was it the neck injury when you tackle the quarterback that's when it was like over for you yeah pretty much so if that doesn't happen we could be talking about a retired NFL player Ronnie Coleman possibly and you never know did you have the love of the game for football the way he had the love of the game for bodybuilding oh I think one was greater than the other because I started actually bodybuilding I mean 12 I started playing football to like 14 15 somewhere there and of course you know one up I did forever one that one I continued and pursued you know forever and the other one I didn't you know like I'd like I said I could have went out there and try it out and gave him my all but I did I just didn't have that desire but as far as working out goals you know I never ever ever stopped to the day I I started I was 12 and I stared and stopped you know after what 12 surgeries so I'm still hanging in there with all the pain and everything what what is it about bodybuilding that gives you the love of the game I mean it's like a hobby you know something like you really enjoy doing I some people like going fishing and hunting all that stuff I got some friends and they enjoyed doing that stuff but uh it's it's just a hobby something that I love to do you know I've I've always done it in my whole entire life and I always look forward to doing it that's another people use always ask me how did I work full time for police department and do by doing at the same time I told them I was doing two things that I love doing if I could have done if I could have done the police work until now I would have really yeah what do you love they force me yeah well number then your 15th year when the boss sat down yeah yeah I'm not going to work and had doing something different every day and helping people well as my my main thing I like helping people and I like doing something different every single day you know you never know what's gonna happen you know as you know it's a lot of things they can have it a lot of things that is very true there's so many different things to where everything what did you see what's the hobbies of the homicide that I mentioned in the book probably were thing I saw you know that day that night I was trying to get home on time you know I was that last thing I was thinking what I was a real shooting coach that all they ever happened in Arlington you know especially where I worked and in any area that I worked it wasn't a real bad area nothing like that so that really caught me I'll god I can still see MJ images of that today you know there's something some day you know stay with you forever pretty much you know you walk in and see a thing like that totally unexpected some that you think would never happen you know and under the circumstances of it the way it happened you know it's just crazy you know you're trying to help somebody out and all of a sudden they use your own going there kill you never think something like that gonna happen you know you know y'all you always hesitant they try to help somebody out in some strange that you don't really know but in a case like that I mean she always thought second about that one did that make you kind of second-guess the career you're chosen no no I feel loved in still of the thing I learned about the job I remember when I was in the army I loved my job being in the army I remember when I was working at haagen-dazs I loved it I remember when I was working at Bally Total Fitness I loved it when I work at Morgan Stanley I loved it I loved I loved going to work right do you think it's an attitude thing with you and love or do you think it's like you know anybody that talks about your attitude this men never complain you don't talk about you know you don't do this you it's just pure values values values values values is is a love of the game because you love life or is love of the game specific to bodybuilding though little part of bodybuilding you love the most [Music] working out what is it what is it being in the gym working out actually just actually working out everyday bars you up yeah yeah wine just you know the feeling I get from being able to work out and be healthy and stay in shape and also look good yeah so how do you psychologically for you knowing you're a person of constant progress I mean you're running a in the nutritional company yeah I don't know what your top-line revenue is last year but I think you guys were doing 15 million year a couple years ago I don't know what your 2019 is gonna end up you I mean you guys are doing good yeah we're doing okay so you got a business that's doing good you got a brand that's doing good you're a guy that's probably driven by seeing constant progress oh yeah how does somebody like you psychologically from being able to go from 12 years old to 13 14 15 16 you know 25 30 35 40 you're seeing your body getting better and better and better how are you psychologically handling ill handling it today to know that if I go lift weights I can't get you know the details that I had or I can't get above 850 because sometimes like you know the the frustrating part about loving the game is you're going to say oh my gosh look at the traps are looking better look at my calves I'm seeing some details I didn't have before mm-hmm and that goes away then where does the love of the game come is it the environment is it the sound is it what is it you know bleed it uh I never looked at myself I never looked at myself it was all always about being in gym working out enjoying myself and having fun and being healthy it was never the way I looked so when I was like you know 25 to 95 onstage I I really didn't notice anything well you know when I was 215 huh what do you mean when you say that I didn't notice this to people people saw the way I looked I didn't see the way I looked and to us all pictures hmm so you wouldn't go in front of mirror at the gym and poke nope never hello when you're doing squattin you're looking at something there's not a mirror in front of it's a wall no series no mirror there you see if you see if you look if you look at the videos you'll see there's not a mirror right there in front of me have you ever talked about this before nose there's even serious confusion holy moly okay video this before we you never look yourself in the mirror no no there was there was there were times back miles backstage and I see a mirror I turn my head you know when I walk past that in one don't know I looked because I wouldn't I was never any to to look a certain way you know I was in it to be good to be great but not to look a certain way that's that's why I was gonna tell you now that you know the way I look back then you know that was all good and great but I wasn't entity to look a certain way I was in it to be great so now then I'm not even competing anymore I'm still the same way I'm not any too look a certain way I mean it just for you know the enjoyment of being in the gym working out and being healthy so I'm not going for a certain look I've always just went into the gym to have fun enjoy myself and you know just be in there but not to look a certain way I didn't know I had 22 inch arms until somebody told me and I ordered them down right now there's no way like well yeah take miss prove to you I'm like let's bring it out so yeah he brought it out showing us 22 inches I'm like wow without in college at the time how much of this was the fact that you didn't like to boast and kind of brag because the values passed down to or how much of it is yours I don't know I never boasted in bragged about anything cuz I everything comes from God so you know it's nothing that I did you know I'm just the vessel I'm just here just doing what I was put here to do basically I mean you know that's you're in a pretty vast portal on a sport without everybody different you know everybody different that's so interesting so how did you know if you are making progress to be able to win if you're not taking a look at yourself about whether it would I have placed on stage but how do you know pre like how do you know I'm booked under saying I knew I was kind of getting ready to be able to win and I know I was kind of looking you know how are you meant yeah yeah I had a nutritionist you know that prepared me and told me what to do and how to do it and everything know what I'm asking is so let's just say you're going to show you got a show coming up you're going up against somebody how do you know if you have what it takes to beat them if you're not looking at yourself I don't know yes that's the key I don't know I don't know until I get there how do you feel about that you like that approach yeah yeah I love this why because you know I've always liked her but like I was saying area I've always prepared myself to be the very best that I possibly could be and if I know that I'm the very best that I possibly could be and I can't get any better at the time I'm good with that so every time I went into a show I went in the wind you know I never cheated or nothing I always did or uh you know I was told to do well I've always used you know trainers and nutritions and stuff like that to guide me and I never get really got in myself so just some other thing about it just somebody that would say Ronnie you're your shoulders you got to work on this you got who was that person mine whoever was training me at the time how you different trainer you know along the way and they would tell you this is an area weakness that you got to work on and here's what we got to do ya got it so there was no mirror for you you know that's how come whew this is yeah I mean your head I'm very I'm a very vain person I remember never satisfied with nothing no matter how good I look I'm always trying to be better you consider your some confidence or the word alright very confident and everything that I do so there's no not it's not a level of insecurity where you're not a drive for perfection no you're very confident in your ability to complete the marketplace and everything that I do did you ever have a love of the game for anything else that came close to bodybuilding and being a cop no nothing nothing so nothing gets your interest really like why I'm really interested in this let me get into it no are you trying to find something else that I get that kind of interest for you or no mm-hmm not at this age yes I know you're good you said used to write for the used to write back in the days I used to write for the gram that I knew yeah I used to write them so you enjoy a baile de yeah and you wrote this yeah so writing is something that you've done so I was I took school real serious you know so when I took like an English class or advanced comp pass you know I buried myself in the books and tried to learn every single thing I could about it and in college you know I was real real good you know because I was taking a little yeah I was taking all those courses like that to help with writing so I was a lot better back then than I am and then I then I am now because I was doing a lot more back then you know so what subject came easy to you were you a math guy were you man on this guy accounting a math in accounting anything with numbers was really there I still remember you know my old phone number for my home growing up you know you got a photographic memory or yeah I do so yeah I'm gonna read books and we just remember the whole thing I'd have to read about three or four times I can remember eyes the whole thing I said that's how I study for college I would read everything like three four times over like the night before I will stay up like sometimes all night you know you get you know you get you get into something and you just get focused on it and you lose track of time because you're so focused on what you're doing that's you and I look up night oh man it's time to go to breakfast I'm having get no sleep that happened a lot you know because like say I had that memory that if I read some enough I could memorize it you know it's so crazy that yourself Brandon Currie Phil Heath all out accounting majors yeah yeah did you know that or no you had no idea no I do all three of your account so maybe the formula for bodybuilding is first go get a degree in accounting and then go compete exactly hey friend yeah worked out really good so so it was a lot of your bodybuilding were you a data guy were you all data or no was it like exact I know in one of the interviews when somebody was asking you what did you do to get rid of the gut because they said next year our judging is gonna be you gotta get rid of the gut and he said you set then he spoke to Joe Weider and wieder told you to lower it from 15 ounces to 10 or 11 ounces or something like that and now he would get gave me some exercise well he gave me the bell to put her on yeah are you driving yeah but but you you said I went from 15 ounces approach of chicken to 10 or 11 no no you got it backwards from 10 to 15 no you don't you said I said it wrong you went lower oh it's okay so you say that the interview went lower and we'll find it committed up agreement yeah so you went to higher yeah I went high but you stayed you stay promise they know bottle instead of having like 14 ounces of chicken and have like 10 12 and you did it all year round I did it all year round you said no body fat throughout the year though yeah genetically though genetically is it's like that the police department users always measure me and I always came to to the to the 3% every single year it's crazy and it was all season this 300 and but 20-pound I went to Cooper's claiming one time I had it done you know professionally it was 0.33 not even a half percent what is not healthy I mean what numbers not because you remember what was the one body but a monster that he had a lowest for his chest just didn't make any sense is there a level that's actually not healthy for you I don't know there's not one not in your mama and you really believe that yeah I know that yeah are you a data analytics guy is it all data to you or no oh yeah it's all data analytics so that's it people don't know but you know I I kept up with everything I ate I'm a way to measure everything I ate at night the same thing and I waited and you know I knew exactly how many carbs I was taking how many grams of protein I was taking everything and I wrote everything down do you have it till today yeah so you have it today have two till today you have the day Wow but mr. Olympia a museum or knows there's some kind of a museum that they keep or not is the kind of stuff that the audience would love to go see they I can't you didn't want to share with no one really oh no why not oh it's too personal seriously you wouldn't show what you ate no no no come on Ronnie you're being serious are you being sarcastic not all being serious you would not show what you ate no no what reason oh it's nothing out there I don't even remember you know I had to go back and look at it it's the craziest thing you don't mind a nutritionist did everything for me I got it sorry god I was doing what he told me to do did you eat anything crazy that people will be showing no no no okay hi I'd uh like four or five different foods I had chicken steak turkey rice and baked potato grits for brain grits yeah yeah breakfast baked potato and then you would do your protein drinks that you're doing yeah mm-hmm so it was simple stuff how much of your advantage because Dorian Yates says he had an edge because he trained at a regular gym back in UK and he didn't have the distractions that the guys that were in LA training at Gold's Gym because every night you go on a party and a woman and all this other stuff how much of your advantage was the fact that you trained at a regular gym you know Metroflex right here in Arlington how much of it do you think was the fact that you're a pretty simple guy not needing 50 different distractions you think that was an edge of yours oh yeah because I didn't train admit to flake when I get ready for shows I trained at home why why at home I didn't want to be bothered people are always come into the gym one autographs and photos and stuff so it's the time for that and the time not for that the gym at the home does it have mirrors or no it it has a few so you see a little bit of your muscles I'm not really looking okay major there you know as a you know decoration decoration so when you're training for my stroll you're at a gym where no distractions you're by yourself mm-hmm it's like your kingdom no one's bothering you exactly how how annoyed would you be if somebody that bother you were you the kind of person where everybody in your life knew when I'm training don't bother me I'm pretty focused yeah it was that kind yeah okay there's anything piss you off no there's anything get on your skin oh yeah lot of thing that's when I work with pizza for me what irritates you it just about anything that's when I was diving you know it's real oh because he low card Low Energy yeah low energy low card so any little thing would set me off so I had to quit going in for a while interesting but that's all I had achieved that said I didn't have to come to work this is the chief that gave you the option of either being a cop or being mr. no not this that's a different chief that's that's the new chief academy the old chief told you they need to go to work as you couldn't control your you were losing your cool no he told me I had to come to work because he knew I needed total focus to get ready for competition is that the last one or though the prior one the prior 101 that hired me the one that hired you he said you don't need to come to work anymore once I want to Olympia so what bothers you dough I mean you seem like you're the common sky when I look at you I'm like you know nothing really bothered me yeah that's what I've always been low stress nothing really stresses me out you know I'll take everything with a pretty much with a grain of salt you know never let nothing get on my skin unless I'm dieting how are you doing right now with all the surgeries you've been having oh yeah doesn't bother me I know eventually I'll get better I just keep working how are they getting better I know you said one time question was asked how Bad's the pain you know you sitting I have a high tolerance oh it's not so bad yeah yeah remember I don't know if I mentioned it in the book but when I herniated my dis I kept working out but you tell me I heard it's a half hour all right rania what are you telling yourself to handle the pain doors so like a formula you have here that we don't know about or no no I just I just got a high tolerance for it so it's not as bad as it would be for a person that didn't have a high tolerance so I can deal with certain amount of pain and not be bothered today is November what is it 13th or 14th 13th how's your pain right now 0 to 10 yeah I like 3 flows 3 yeah or so it's not a 10 that it used to be no no no okay so you're much better now yeah I'm much much better now okay well before are you still driving are you able to drive my drive to jam we're going drill the Louisiana last couple weeks ago you drove to Louisiana from here okay oh okay you would with my feet and everything Vietnam thanks for your drive is your feet numb right now or no it's always it's always done yeah what does doctor saying the progress gonna happen with you and I it's gonna be now forever forever yeah what do you think about that oh well that does that deal with you huh I tell you another person can decay if another person had what your demand upstairs definitely chose the right person for this pain yeah exactly I don't think it's gonna be made to buy the right foot though antibody board that's right made the body right for how much of the pain I know you when I see you when people ask you to question about what would you have done differently etc etc it's like you know I would only thing I would have done differently is what I think I could have pushed for five or six right 800 small because that seems to stay with you because that was something that was very important yeah I remember when I put that weight up look to your thing I say was I was like yeah and I was for real about that too so what if you do I even tried to go a little bit heavier goalie before the download second one in there will stay like reason why I went to because I had lifted it and it was heavy heavy and then I thought about I like women it's what they live two different lives so deadlift is pulling it off at the floor you know y'all that gravity down their butts one is the way of high on your banks and there's not as much gravity so of course it's gonna be a lot easier but I didn't have him rest and I was there before I did it so at that time when you felt you could have done it five or six times what do you think you could have maxed at that time once max by like nine you think you could have cracked nine at that time yeah yeah easy yeah really yeah yeah yeah it was pretty like I can't describe Our Lady Wolves because you know I I guess I was so fired up too you know and I gotten stronger since I did eight hundred-pound you know because I had that herniated disk this whole time but it had gotten to the point where you know I I had got the strength back and everything and I was getting stronger year after year after year the older I got the stronger I got so when I doing I deadlift at 800 it was like a 102 unit honey what it was 2001 yeah so in 2003 I got a lot stronger and I didn't take none of that into account you know cuz I was just thinking ma'am I did it that was heavy these are do you have you ever spoken to the world record holder for deadlift or for squat no you know who they are you don't follow what the numbers I don't follow do you kind of have an idea what the numbers yeah yeah so you know what the record is yeah yeah okay so you do know it yeah yeah what do you think about that number like I'm gonna go there do you think you could have gone there yeah not competitive what for you it's like you could have gone to another but I had it I wouldn't have the train for it though you know I never trained for strange would your training would have needed to a little bit different yeah a different way there from what I was doing so I'll use the train for body uh I listen yeah when I was in high school what would have happened what needed to change what I had you don't do as many reps and you don't work out often so you got a lot more rest and you can eat a lot more fatty foods to give you strength you're on you're on our two percent you know what when I yeah yeah I was two percent like yeah our five weeks out from the Olympia when I lifted a hundred well I'm saying is to hold the world record like the one that twelve hundred or something whatever then I'm 1254 to hold the number like that I would be a happy way up there pathetic okay what I'm saying percent it wouldn't know it not going what's the reason for that but what's the reason why that would need to be higher the more carbs in your body the more strain she's gonna have see I'm I was always on low carbon and stuff you know I had no malice strength that's strength in my body Ronnie that's crazy so if I could you know just train a need for power if there had been a different story that's just a squat record is by Dave HOF 1273 yeah - I could've got that you could have gone there I gotta get and then the world record for exact clothes anyway you think you could've gone to I got it I could've got the to way out yeah what would I did easy huh what was more important being an a time mr. Olympia don't even compare or at the end a world record order and squat and deadlift don't even compare why this right here okay I got it I got it because if it wasn't you would have gone the other route exactly and deadlift this 1102 by Eddie hall yes yeah you would got that as well I got that - yeah which would be easier for you to squatter the dead squat the squat yeah easier than the deadlift yeah interesting and you've never met these guys Eddie hall or Dave hop okay no know what they are doing is may amazing now yeah numbers like that yeah sort of amazing you know you said yourself where you know you did the 800 pounds with a herniated disk you had done the surgery or you had gone through that a couple years prior to that no I never had the surgery while you were competing you never had the surgery okay so I tried to do it though but they didn't okay you you are so consistent in saying that you don't believe the heavy lifting that you did was the reason for your health and your back issues you're saying that's not it that's not in and you're saying it till today yeah yeah that's not even look at doing Jason Lee hanging all these over yeah I just just got a bad run into a bad surgeon basically the durian wasn't doing as heavy as you were doing during actually talks about the fact that what allowed him to not have your kind of pain is because heating go as heavy as you did he said that in an interview that he would go heavy but not at your level yeah but I don't look at those power lifters door look how heavy they live you know I know for a fact that it wasn't it a heavy lifting that did it right I got a father whom I admire is my year-old okay he's the most stubborn man I know in my life yeah it's one of the reasons why he does well because for him if he wants to figure something out he's gonna figure that you can't change his mind me at all how much of what you're saying is your level of stubbornness to not want to blame that because you love the game so much and how much of it is actual real methodical research from doctors and people that say this is not the case why I have all these issues health-wise with your back I actually that because when I when I retired I didn't have any issues like this long it didn't help to the surgeries you know I walked around without pain and nothing for a long time now I was sitting I start having surgeries and you know that's when it always happened didn't you say like on one of the last missed rolling piers you did while you were on stage you were in pain yeah yep I was in a lot and what kind of pain I had that honey any dis pain that's the pain yeah and you still don't think that's due to the weights you were pushing well you know what see I hurt my back in college I hurt my back in high school so I I mean I've had a lot of back issues for a long long time and so I can say that you know being athletic kind of maybe contributed to it but not to this level that that you know where I can't walk and stuff like that all that came from the surgeries that weren't done right cuz I I went to two different surgeons for one time I was saying this one surgeon and I'm healing every time I had surgery it was the pain guy higher and higher every single time I'm like what's going on something right so how that another doctor look at my at my charts and stuff and saying man I what yeah you didn't see a different guy so I'm I saw a different guy had surgery under him and no pain that's the surgery so I'm like okay that's what it was was he ever held accountable or no was there a way to measure that maybe it was on him or was it just where you were at with your body and your back well be honest with you I did hire an attorney to look at everything and she can't agreed that it was what he was doing because she does this for a living you know she knows she wouldn't got all my records from you know they won and so the pattern you know how things progressed in the wrong way is this the doctor that's in the documentary or no that's a that is a doctor that's in the document yeah yeah yeah I could see while you were laying there and you had your whole you had your whole thing on and you didn't seem too comfortable with it going like I could tell in your body language it was some doubt in you when I was you know when it shows in the video yeah it was without a doubt oh because the what the two of them broke is it how many den Broeck the three of them broke how's that possible running you know and one broke right out of surgery I went in surgery he had just prepared to a broken one yeah and I came out and the nurse take a look so I can change your bandage this is right outside yeah well they think you've recovered it first you know and you're getting there for a couple hours so your bandage had a chance to soak up all that blood so what you want to change you and someone's eye turned over its father to look it popped right there just for me just turning over and didn't they haven't done anything just by the surgeon turned over and when that when that screw snapped it felt like my back snapped in half you felt that I felt it I felt that pain and I felt it was so excruciating I didn't want to move again and when I moved again it snapped again I'm like this is not happening how much after that was there the next surgeries like when that happens we're like okay we got to take you back in and start looking at it again well nobody thought that had happened like that it wasn't till and you know I I went for my follow up they found it so it two weeks later and then when did the next procedure happen about a week later so three weeks later after the procedure they did another one exact and then when that happened you still didn't have recovery you're still not feeling good mm-hmm at one point did you say I'm just done with the stock that I'm moving on uh I had too much pain to say there too much pain no no meaning at what point did you say I'm not coming back to this doctor I gotta go oh you know what I let my my best friends the neurosurgeon and I healed one referring me to these guys got it so like man something right let me look at you you know charge so the recommendation came from somebody you actually trust it so yeah yes yeah okay exactly he wouldn't he wouldn't steer you in a bad direction ah my friend yeah so this is this is the doctor so you did try to pursue so Ronnie who else in your stature has gone through the physical challenges that you have faced post competing anybody else that's nobody I don't think nobody at Corney had some issues but he never had it at your level yeah and it was more later on that it had had some issues so no one at your level know is that why you say in your mind that you don't think it's the heavy weight heavy lifting they didn't so Ronnie who else that's a mr. Olympia even lifted up close weights at sure level though who was lifting heavy like you I know Cormier was very heavy when he would he was known for being strong but at your level who was strong at your level nobody so how close were your competitors to you not close at all can you can you give us some numbers so we can't have a night like if you're dead liftings eight and you're squatting aid who's the who's the second-highest that's winning the stolen via Jay Cutler what was he pushing you know what Jay was pushing 500 on squat mm-hmm he so he never went to seven not six mm-hmm and you still don't think it's too heavy what you push no I'm genetic yes did you do that kind of stuff not everybody's genetic gifted it for strength you know so I just have to be genetic gifts for strength and bodybuilding did you ever in your mind I want a different beast do you think do you really believe like maybe did you ever get to a point of thinking you're like a superhero type of person maybe you are family that's how I felt when I was in the gym okay I felt like I was Superman it's for fun nothing I couldn't do got it well you feel the house felt like didn't do yeah felt like it I felt I couldn't be injured sure did do you think that never crossed my mind not one time while I was in the gym I'm being injured never because I was so strong and I was so in control so I'm like this stuff can't hurt me I'm gonna do what I want to do that's why you know that's why I did that 800 that's why I did that 23 hundred pound leg press you got a yeah you got to have it right mentally first even just get up under that kind of stuff cuz I think about now I wouldn't get on a 300 pound now you wouldn't know what could you maybe 100 maybe 110 a maybe so so so you thinking like you're Superman and you thinking like you're untouchable do you think that created some blind spots or no no no no no cause my you know my year my strength was real you know I'm not asking that oh do you think thinking you're untouchable and you're Superman s cuz that happens to athletes that happens to boxers that happens to people that make it to your level I'm not talking like to your your level is not one you set your level is not 1% yeah yeah yeah I agree with you and they're okay yeah so you know what I'm saying yeah you can because let's face it if you look at me when I lost their job I don't think I could be beat when you're going out before then I was before they announced that you were certainly gonna call you oh yeah like 1,000% like I had been all the other time you know you can't like you falling into some form of monotony after a while eh okay I don't want it like seven eight times a row Oh what what nine yeah that's how you were looking how not to be not to be a you know devil's advocate but you were kind of standing sideways and you were looking down and Jay was to your left and you didn't seem that confident when they announced it yeah cuz I really knew I was gonna be second far away how did you know that oh my girlfriend told me what her judging or she was judging and she knew that oh they already Toshi already told you that was gonna happen I tell my Vicky oh yeah yeah yeah yeah told me I was gonna be second how did she know because she was judging and she puts you a second yeah no no no no she would I don't think she was actually judges at the judge's table and she said whispering that you're not as she was in a solid she stole the score oh she saw the scorn and then right before you went up she said and they don't have yours winning they had me yeah they got you second why would she tell you that I prepare me she knows she knows I got it you know she's been with me for a long time I mean Gates is three-time I think she was second place three-time and mrs. Oh lumpy or miss yeah right exactly is she right I met Vicki when I met Vicki gates in 1999 she just couldn't even believe when he would see me yeah it's you know these Expos also she told you you're now gonna be winning yeah when she told you that what was the reaction when she said it to you I had time to process this process to then you know so I'm still like really you know you like really how did this happen so are you going I'm going through I'm going through all that phase right by Dan yeah cuz when I saw you on stage I'm like he doesn't look like the Rani that's you know right before the announcement is made he's standing like he either know something or he doesn't believe you know he can win it cuz you know like you would talk about early on where a lot of people would say flex had the physique but he never felt he could beat you in an interview Palumbo did with you which he did a great job in that interview and he was talking to you and Jay Jay sitting to your right you're sitting here Palumbo's here and Palumbo said you know the difference between you two is you never thought you were gonna be mr. Olympia that wasn't like your dream I want to one day be mr. Lampe everybody told you Ronnie you can't even stroll olympia you can be world champ you can be there so I don't know maybe you really believe that okay maybe I can right and then on the other side Jay is like since he was a kid people say you got a great you're gonna be mr. Olympia one day so he was determined to never give up until he went up against you and even he said when he beat you he didn't beat you at your best he beats you at a you know you're at forty some years old when he beats you 42 years old it's not the 35 year old now Ronnie I'm the prime so so but but the reason why I'm asking that question is is because typically when you start a winning you would just stand you're like yeah this ends no question yeah I got this so you know you weren't gonna win because V I told you about Wow so after the announcement was made and Jay is celebrating and he had he had a hundred people there at the in attendance he had all his friends that were there and their scream his brother was also in the first I think he was sitting for a second row what happened next to you when you lost cuz that's how long you remember you know you go to a shutout phase certain things like I don't even remember winning you know when I won the first one I don't remember after they call mine I don't remember what happened for like 15 minutes later flex wheeler I had to watch the video to see what happened and I'm like man oh God came to me and saith unto me I heard nothing wow I knew they didn't even know they were there I was so out of it you know did flex know anything that you were gonna win or flex didn't have a who like you know I got a knife that you I know you did you got a night believe me I got all this stuff you got nine did your before and when you came back up nobody was thinking you were gonna be and I don't not even mean right to go from nine to first I was thinking if I could make top five I'd be happy guy ever so flexible I don't know when it's gonna be his show yeah got it then ever the big downfall what what what you know competitors you go to sleep and sometimes you know a those who are perfection it's that kind of put you into perfectionist category because I don't think you're like a guy that wants to miss a beat I think no guy wants to you know you're seeking perfection you don't want to be in a one person at one person you want to be the one of a kind that one person you want to be one of you and eight billion people around the world and you want that kind of stuff like they should say MJ Ronnie you put certain people on a category right Brady yeah they all remember the the one law sort of one moment or the one victory you know like the most painful most rewarding is yours most painful the loss to Jay and most rewarding the first to flex or would you say no it's something else ah something else what would it be my most painful would lose in two Li freeze at which one I'd the pro 97 997 Ironman Pro you you got 30 got second I think right yes I'm like that yeah mmm-hmm that was the most painful yeah so now I quit after that well then next year I quit until quickly reminded myself I got a free membership to gym because of this I won't lose it that's a simple command basic princess yeah forgive me Father do you about losing to Lee out of everybody he was a little guy I was a big guy losing to a 5-4 guy with an ax yeah kind of depressing I mean losing je wasn't the thing about losing the J was just me losing you know because I had one and aiding the road so that doesn't matter that wasn't they didn't even factor into the equation and I I could lose the J any day hey J is the lovable guy you know I love jr. you want to get one of the best guys out there and in the sport him in KY and Lee Haney you know so if that's the most painful with you only I think you lost five times that year - or the year before - priest it was like five different events that had happened 200 five-time depressed five times so was it a real legitimate chance of you quitting or no was it legitimate like no no it was okay okay because you everybody you speak I quit for like a minute okay got it I said I told my girlfriend the time I was quitting she like boy shut up and then I was back in and into it after that media immediately God and then the most rewarding what's the most rewarding oh nothing they'll be winning the first one okay you know that was so unexpected wait the first you know no that's popular you know when you lose the first time yes so so when you when you look at this do you do you look at any one of these and you say this is where I was flawless the best ever no none of them you don't look at it like now so what do you what do you think about when you see this don't look too bad that's okay I could have been better yeah you could have been better yeah every day I want to just didn't do everything right you know if I did everything right I would have been better which was the closest call that you would say it this one was a close call I could have lost this one 2001 which one in 2001 2001 that one Yeah right there that's hell yeah that's one that I got that morning I was going to the hospital and my nutritionist talked me out of it because I thought I was dying felt like I was dying you uh you ever had the feeling that you were dying panic attack I felt like I was having a heart attack but not dying no but I all dying literally yeah why cuz I couldn't walk I couldn't get out of bed and I felt awful like just think of the worst feeling that you could have and your whole body is aching and you in pain and you feel awful mm-hmm and you just feel like you about the you know passed out at any minute cuz I fainted at night before I did pass out when I was putting on my tan I fell backwards in the tub one minute as I was I was wide awake in the next minute I was waking up in the tub like Oh what happens is that the body fat percentage being very low and you're just lightheaded or you just kind of needed some water cuz I know he told you to drink some water mm-hmm and I kind of fixed a lot of it yeah that fixed everything I fixed everything I drink a whole gallon were you on diuretics were you wanna die yeah well okay I guess I don't know I can't say for sure healed my nutrition is and he gave me everything you know pretty much he gave you everything yeah yeah he'd put put some in the glass and said drink this yeah what happened to Paul to let one time right when he cramped up on stage because I don't think he I don't think he did what he was told to do I think nutritionist told him to do something and he's like oh if I do it this way if he did that much better so he just didn't listen to it he just even miss to God yeah but how big of a role does your nutritionist played in winning its you know how had he not had I not had and I wouldn't want that big of a role that big a role was that the same one those eight years when you went back to bed yoga same woman how much trust did you have in his feedback 1,000% trust I did every single thing he told me to do got it what's your nutritionist for multiple people or only you multiple people okay flex flex is one told me to go to his this Chad you're talking about Nicholson okay so he was somebody that people were using he was everybody knew everybody was raising him yeah okay got it yeah that's that's interesting so you got so one you got to find the right nutritionist who you got to trust what he tells you to exactly and don't question it just halt didn't now power dating and POW was also going through a chat yeah interesting these are back stories you know that no one knows about by the way did anybody will try to pull any kind of pranks on your backstage they have never know why not everybody is so involved in I mean it's so stressful you got so much to remember and think about you you you can't ain't no time to joke around nobody played mind games like no you're an Iron Man with what Arnold was doing to Lou Ferrigno yeah you know it's so much on the line you know back when they were doing you know they wasn't making no money another this is our livelihood you know this is how we make our money got it so everybody everybody is straight one hundred one thousand percent serious there's no joking around whatsoever nobody things even in the mood to joke everybody's in a bad mood too it showed no one's talking to each other but nobody's talking to each other being only the same room ain't saying nothing each other everybody's got the head down either reading thinking about what they gotta do once they get out there nothing nothing you know how sometimes in wrestling they say one of the wrestlers was a world champion he says I hugged my opponent to see how much would you guys help Nora know how nobody's making no contact no no no talking no nothing not even hey Ronnie how you know not family nothing not even flex your boy not even flex your boy everybody's game face like are we really getting we're going to war with each other did you ever have any kind of altercations with anyone on stage or backstage Emma never I know sometimes you guys dude elbows 2j one time shot an elbow at you and you guys kind of went back and forth I never even thought about that kind of stuff you know you know Cory everybody jockeying for position so we shoving each other on stage yeah well you're not even a you're not thinking about who doing it or what but you wouldn't even you weren't even temperamental yeah you were not a fighter in high school it's not like you know no cool or any though nobody Cho guy easygoing guy I never even had a fight in high school or college ever ever you've never had a fistfight never you've never had a fistfight never you've never point somebody in the face never not even as a cop that's funny so but what I'm saying is you're pretty calm guy yeah so you know I'm looking out all your victories I mean a demonstrate appear when you competed from 92 you placed 16 mm-hmm and then in 93 you're out I didn't qualify you didn't qualify because you didn't have my top three in show and then 94 your back and you compete this is the one that Yates wins so Yates first then a Shawn rail of Ronda let forth oh wow okay Cormier six Porter fifth know somebody seven monster is ninth and then Aaron Baker is 12th and in your 15th place and you got $1,000 now when you were given this massive cheque of $1,000 what you do now did you go 11th but 11 it says you got no money though they didn't pay money on the in the 1995 or yeah a small amount yeah nothing crazy yeah about another thousand and in 96 you win your six you bid Cormier and was jean-pierre Fuchs anybody that you felt like you something's he's a big guy was he somebody where he said this guy can be a threat or no yeah you did seem like yeah cuz John John to me yeah he was being a dick that's I remember that as well so any any time with delet was delayed anytime a threat to you were you like the led maybe somebody I need to go through or not really yeah yeah same same thing with the law because I would figure you guys are the big boys you know so then in 97 you place ninth you go from sixth you drop off to nine so now Cormier no folks beat you Lee Priest your best friend beats you Lee beat you in that show he's sixth what you don't remember in 90 70 bg6 your ninth blocked everything by the way this is the one that else somebody should have one right there other people say 97 his is he somebody that when you saw it you said this is an impressive like yeah you fully impressed by somebody's was yeah our mmm would you put him like yeah big guys like even more impressive at its peak than that during 8 yeah you you put also body head of Yates as impressive yeah seriously yeah that's a big statement on e yeah well you you and you you didn't see him I'm asking you for your perspective that's what I thought Wow yeah I thought you see the one easy I remember in an interview one time he said he hated the gym like he wasn't a kind of like that of somebody or somebody says he would go to it right there that same thing too yeah he says he didn't like the gym but he would go to it because he was also very technical and data guy and you know yeah Martin a smart guy well somebody or no you bet one on one my best friend oh so mad yeah mm-hmm I talk to him all the time how was his personality nice guy everyone meet Elsa mati nice guy ever Wow how about that Yates Yates and you had a relationship now I know you guys never spoke at all know him that reaching out to you never reaching out to him is it is it etiquette in the world of mr. Olympia where you win the guy prior to you sends you call and says hey man that's not educated mr. Olympia period not period now okay so so okay that's that's interesting so there ninety-eight you win you go from ninth to first you're shell-shocked yeah and then from there you go beat flex again next you core Mears now third LeBrons for Sean fifth else Ambati six and then Dexter Jackson is kind of coming up yeah and Dexter's got a flex wheeler ask type of a physique it's an extra got one flex and then pick one up then your first LeBron is now second how did you view the LeBrons physique because to me lavrov's physique was out of this world as well yeah feel the same way what's that what's the biggest difference for you from Kevin and flexes physique like they had better shape he had better shape yeah I think flex had better shape than me he just didn't have work at work ethic gotta yeah and he didn't have dedication to the game yeah flex told me he work out and go to strip club it's a dedication to women at least yeah yeah I work out I'm going to work in contact right now with Flex yeah my best friend in the world how's he doing by the way about lose this leg and everything I'm like shoot do I love mine four years ago I know Dennis James started to go fund me by the way we did you hear about is a Dennis gym somebody started to go from it did you see that Paul can you look it up to see who it is because if somebody did I'd like to put the link below of somebody there to create awareness Gordon puts the money and yeah if you if you got that I just would put the London hello man I'm Ian man to go see him to flex mmm yeah and you know what's crazy about flicks every body likes him respect him use them as one of the greatest bodybuilders never ever yeah everybody yeah yeah me too you put him there as well yeah what was LeBron strength when he looked at LeBrons he he had everything except you know just missing some leg legs for Kevin yeah okay so so let me ask you when you look at some of this stuff today like when you look at some of the new guys that are competing what do you think about when you see these guys these are some of the new guys that are competing versus your era meaning they wouldn't be able to compete in your era at all and uh no it wouldn't make top 5 they did you hear what Yates said about Brandon curry or no no I'm here what do you say you sir she didn't hear I know I don't really show Yates was sitting right here just a month and a half ago I want to say something like that and Yates said curry wouldn't have placed in the top six in his era Brian and Korea this for Zig it definitely wouldn't place in the top six he wouldn't place 1,000 eggs no he says curry and you meaning in the era that he came prior to uni and I will kind of gree with that you do kind of agree with them yeah the UN Yates typically agree on things no I don't know this is a first when you have a degree what's the biggest thing when you when you see that where you say it's not a tower what is the biggest because you were like conditioning it's not the same those guys I mean nobody looks like they've been on a diet like a real diet diet how do you judge that what are you looking at what's your eyes looking at honestly what's your eyes looking at customer well then don't nobody really looks in shape you know nobody really listen okay you know what you gotta realize I am I am NOT I am NOT in the world to see it but when you look from this perspective these guys look they look good okay but not your not your level yeah you put them next to me flakes Kevin in and Sean gathers like that you like that what was the big difference any of the guys you face will be none of ya that face so let me ask you okay Nasir meeting all these guys not in the same class wait wait are you Sean ray same way some waited way a bit look Kevin same waif-like same way oh they would have been like ten seems like you're even going above that do you think it's because of the distraction Sarah it's a different era do you think because you have more distractions today or no no it's not the level of discipline that you guys say yeah yeah it's a different era you know everybody competes on a certain level so they're looking at it by yesterday well they're not that good though oh yeah bring it so back back when I was defeating if I was like whoa man you you got being shaped yeah being a conditioned to compete against these guys so I gotta take you to another level but Ronnie you would put Phil Phil at the level of you feel he oh yeah you guys come on Howie okay so Phil was competing during your or he would be competition yeah okay but but with who are your top five bodybuilders if you were to say physics wise where you say top five best mr. all and best bodybuilders of all time who's on your list say I got an Arnold I got Lee I got feel flex and Kevin ahead of Dorian so Dorian's not your top five uh well well my top five like you wouldn't Praetorian how to flex no no I got flexing ahead of me would you put Doreen ahead of Kevin now is it because you like heaven or is because you're talking about long physique I love the big shaping stuff you put in Kevin ahead of Dorian I'm like I love Kevin's physique the way it was shaped into uh interesting and the way you pose a I loved everything about Kevin so if that's your five lose your legs six mm-hmm so you said Arnold sorry did I put John no you haven't said Sean Sean yeah so Sean ahead a Dorian man I like Sean a lot I even I like Sean so much more my routine I use for my 98 wins yeah that was Sean's routine putting in the tape of Sean and I did every pose he did pose opposed to some stuff he could he did that I couldn't do start with hit like most muscular hmm like I can't do that one that's pretty I mean the way you're putting it I mean that's some that's some Josh I got Sean my all-time best yeah this is Jay Cutler top ten on your list yeah yeah top ten year hopped and during your top ten yeah yeah but just not top five no no five any crazy person that never won that you you really were impressed by yeah you would whoo Aaron Baker Aaron Baker yeah Wow Aaron Baker and I met 15 years ago our real impressed with Aaron Aaron Baker I saw him one time at the Century Club I don't never forget the first time I saw Aaron I thought it was a superhero he looked like a fool and he drew he was Batman actually came out and theater Bethany routine I thought it was it was actually the best thing I've ever seen you still keep in contact with her nor no I haven't seen Aaron and can you do that okay God how many know if you feel alive I think he's a priest I think the last time I spoke to him he was talking about God I think but that was 13 years ago I don't know he may be doing I've seen a lot of people go from priests to you know doing other things but you know just gonna leave it at that so so let me let me go a little bit more let me go with this okay you said Arnold's in your top five yeah okay you look at this what do you think about your normal well I'm in a lot better condition but all against guys so so being guys got so much shape you know it's a great of shape you know great of shape yeah so let me ask you Arnold with a Nutritionals like nutritionist like Chad Nichols at six two and a half all we've been diving far the best bodybuilding ever I know buddy touchin you're not even holding back saying no no look at that shape look at that chest nobody got that even in the day he got the biggest chest ever and you've either had our stuff oh I look like a little boy standing next to him if he had chattin if he had your nutrition yeah yeah and in the technology yeah yeah he's either been by far the best thing ever put out on stage no more clothes - no uncle Lee Haney is not close - no you're not going if you had a chat Nichols today no nice level of compliment you can give I look at that though forget that ain't nobody got nothing like that no more that's respectful given do what you do what do you think about when you think about this oh yeah that's that's me learning the game right there yeah that's me learning I wouldn't eat that condition right there but your that couldn't tell you I don't know what your debt is I think there's like oh six maybe somewhere now but you can see I'm like harder here than I am here mm-hmm he's a dreamer when you see this guy you think about a guy that is still maybe doubting himself that he could win it one day or no that's a pretty confident guy just me having fun not even thinking about you know being greater this is just you're having you're not planning on being great as might've known that all the King know I'm just doing this for for the free membership still for the free member because you're not even a womanizer you see you you mentioned all these woman in your book which is pretty interesting but you're not a guy that was you know you had the chasing scroll - all the time oh that that was not really your game no no because I just get out on the fish farm so I'm still learning the police job and I'm still trying to learn this thing - so I got two things that I'm trying to learn right now once I learned the mouth of the killer anything about this I'll see that not it's kind of shocking to me yeah that's what I be saying like man I didn't know I had no idea how looking to us all the pictures what would you rank your back against everybody else would you say you can go pound for pound against anybody when it comes on to your last year yeah yeah I think but yeah that right there yeah do you do you think you're number one you know some as you said Arnold chest some is leg some is this what do you put your first as a gun is it your biceps what would you say you were superior over everybody I don't say that I'm back you're bad hmm interesting it's a runny I'm having too much fun right oh you did yeah let's talk about Joe Weider so I'm gonna kind of catch up a little bit on Joe Weider because you had a chance to spend some time with Joe Weider right I think one time you told flex that Joe complimented me and I you signed with them right when you signed with them yeah how was that when Joe said hey we want to sign you what was that like for you no that was the best feeling in the world it was kind of like unbelievable why is that cold I never thought it would happen this was 98 you know I've been in the sport for what eight years nine years already you said this is never never feel spoke to him nobody even say anything to him never said unto me and then you win then they give the contract or pre winning they give you the decider three pre winning they prejudge he was all over me so they pretty much kind of had an idea you're the one that Joe had an idea there's no head like Oh Joe got it so there's old Joe was so confident he gave me a sick two-year contract and has that ever had that happen at that metal no one got a six nobody out fix you you did flex sign with them or no yes the fact was I'm with him so he was sign and you signed this wall yeah but you got a six year I got a six year was this the first time you got to taste the money or the first time I got tasting money no I was pull weapon today and that happened both for 30 for you though but who are you dating are you with Vicki oh you're not you're with Vicki at that time but how long were you and Vicki together I think you so that's a good time yeah I think you were together for good times good okay so then you start you're like you got the guy in your corner the guy that build up you know the brand the guy that mr. Olympia Larry Scott first one I think 1965 and you got all these other guys that are coming up when you got that next for you how much time did you spend what Joe was Joe calling you did you have time with Joe did you do photo shoots was he taking you out was he kind of taking you under his wing did you guys spend a lot of time together mm-hmm yes yeah how was Joe nice guy I've met my old liar nicest guy you ever met a nicer guy I ever met my whole life I will go see Joe and first thing he say that's the week you know how we are about eating then I'll go of his house he call his maids put some food on I'll bring my friends around like let's feed let's feed everybody he treated me like he treated me that he treated my friends like he treated me he was nice to everybody nice guy you ever want me Wow greatest guy you ever wanted me I still miss him today Joe Weider oh yeah I'd give anything to have him alive Wow see we're bodybuilding I'm with us hi a would go how much better it would be it would be a whole lot better what's wrong if he was around so you don't think it was replaced and nobody cared like he did he was madly in love with madly in love with more than love with it than I was I listened to everything he said and did everything he said do cause everything he said do worked okay he's mine for real you know this stuff he's intelligent he's really really nice to have so much money you know you think he'd be you know have this attitude like I'm better than mmm need nothing wasn't like that I'm not and I him an all on the same all on nothing either one of the nicest guy I've ever met what's the biggest difference between Arnold and Joe man they they're the same they're the same I think Arnold takes after Joe Wow and yeah I mean all hey you think he had his attitude about cuz you know because you got all this money and fame he's just a normal nicest guy you ever want to meet I mean I would take people in to meet all and he just talked to him like you know I'm always like they all loves everybody he's another one and you know nice guy boy is that is that a common consensus amongst everybody or just you mainly I don't know about everybody but that's your experience I go about what some people have said otherwise with Arnold he was so competitive that he had a difference maybe people like that right but yeah I mean for me you got to realize I'm an Arnold guy I mean I've been he went we went to the same community college together for me I followed this guy's courier from day one but but going back to Joe do you think when Joe died the sport died you believe that I do you believe that so what do you think is the future mr. Olympia I don't know I have no idea I think it would be a whole lot better Joe's around I know I know would be a whole lot better Joe's around what would be different everything everything would be different level of competition like you've seen some of the first would be higher yeah it would be higher be better money would be better everybody will be making a whole lot of money and jewels around I was making a whole lot of money with Joe laughs hey thank James because people are not making the kind of money they're not when he was around now you're not just talking about the vibe you're talking additional money from other place yeah because of his condo wasn't Ryan had get the sport mainstream you know I was on Jay Leno talk show and you know all these other talk shows I was doing all that kind of stuff cuz of Joe yeah cuz of Joe and all on you know I did a lot of stuff to what do you think about what do you think about the current guys that are running the organization whether it's you know David Peck or whether it's Jim Mannion whether it's Dan Solomon or you have a relationship with these guys are no no you don't any one of them no no so you don't know who Jim Mannion is Dan Solomon is or David Peck I know all of them we don't have a relationship with them no none at all they don't call you know hey Ron nothing have you ever done have you gotten a call from these guys the last five years none when's the last time David pecker or Dan or or now he's feeding when you were competing so after that no one's called you nobody is there an element of the mr. Olympia brand that they take care of their former winners and they none whatsoever host Joe Weider that doesn't happen once you done you done was they don't like that is what what those no no Joe Joe no the current method okay irrelevant kept you around right acid that's that's a big deal right there because that you say I'm watching this year okay and if I'm a 16 year okay let's just say I'm a 20 year old you know Jay Cutler and I got a pretty good physique I can one day run for mr. Olympia it scare yourself to know that I'm going to put my body through what I need to put through the peds everything that I got to put my body through to go out there and compete what am i doing it for if I know someone's not going to build me up you don't know that I don't know that today yeah do you think there's anybody that could revive the mr. Olympia brand like you know it's used to wrong you don't think anybody can do it today no no Ronnie you don't think anyone can be like if if let's just say these guys sold 51% of the brand to an Arnold or a Dwayne Johnson or somebody you think a person like somebody could revitalize it that loves the game as much as Joe did yeah so you are like if somebody like that - yeah but if the current owner stays the way this it's not going to happen well I'm you gotta love it and you gotta enjoy it I'd say well you got to care about it if you don't it's all it's all of our profits you know it's all about profits yeah today or before today yeah not before there's a love of the game today that's more about business yeah more of a business listen if anybody in the bodybuilding world is watching this I would love to get Jim Mannion David Packer and Dan over here to have a dialogue I would love to because I actually love the game and I'd love to have a conversation with them if they're entertaining you feel free to get a hold of us so so let's let's continue with that with the with the Palo Verde building site I remember one time you said something you said body building is a subjective judging is subjective right because you can't really like in boxing if I knock you out okay I won right and UFC if I knock you out it's over I wouldn't a fight right in basketball I score 100 you score 99 there's an argument yeah I want the ball I win the game bodybuilding isn't how much politics is involved in bodybuilding where you have to be careful on who the judges are or you never had anything like that to worry about when you're coming up you know what I always just consider myself just being concerned about the things that I can can't control or the things that I can't control and never worried about you never worried about it okay but okay fair enough so so so then my question goes to the next part which is I always look at businesses as if I ran it or if I were to buy it you know I run a financial firm here if I was to buy a mr. Olympia brand or if I was to buy a restaurant that I'm sitting on with someone no matter what it is I'm always looking at it from what can happen to them improve this brand right you said Joe was getting ready to make this commercial right yeah you're going on Leno you're going this and Arnold's in movies hercule not owners get he's getting up so that means attention is coming him Astro Olympian and he starts Arnold Classic and that's even more now good things are going on over there and people are kind of starting to see all about this pretty cool I want to be a body but think I want b-big look at these guys Riya do you think you know I mentioned this the other day the fact that marijuana today has become what do you call it commercialized it's no longer like oh my gosh that guy's a drug these days today it's kind of like you want to use it you don't want to use it it's up to you what do you want to put in your body I got you got it like alcohol right marijuana's kind of become like alcohol that's a good way of putting it do you do you think when you were competing it was hush-hush to not say they use of steroids PD or any of that stuff versus today it's becoming more open than before yeah do you think that's a good thing to make it commercialized yeah yeah so we have to be more comfortable talking about the fact that everybody's on something that's competing at the highest level yeah you were given a speech one time when you said one time flakes pulled you aside and say hey man what do I need to do to compete and he said he introduced you yeah to all this of the PDS all that other stuff and then you were able to start competing how how how much do you think today's mr. Olympia brand like what strategy do you think for yourself they need to take to be able to make it so open to say look it's like taking things you want to take some of it could hurt your body but it's up to the person that wants to take it you drink alcohol it can give your liver cancer can give you a lot of different things but if you want to drink it it's at your own risk if you want to smoke cigarettes you can get you know a cancer throat cancer but it's at yours you want to smoke what you want to do a steroids or you want to do PD it's at your own risk do you think they need to take that step do you need to do you think they need to start talking about that yeah how do you go about doing that if you were to if you were if you're sitting on the board of mr. Olympia to be able to revise revive this brand what's your approach well I think they undid the way I did it you know I think it would be a lot better because you know I was doing everything everything that I did was prescribed and I had doctors and stuff you know making sure everything was okay everything you use was always prescribed yeah doesn't matter what it was no matter what it was because you know the DA came in and start questioning everybody and you know and like what are you doing what are you taking so you had to be upfront you know cause you know the public yeah so once they did out all that you know I just followed you know the rules so I went in got doctor and got prescriptions for everything you know because like I said DEA was monitoring everything and I made sure you know I would get my checkups and and followed you know protocol and everything and just did it the right way and you know and it was the best thing for me because you know look at I looked in what I went through and I'm still here and you're doing finance you're doing great except for the bad surgeries I went through but everything else was all good just because I I did everything the right way you know got it so did I wasn't buying stuff off the street that's the prop so your slender issue like market stuff not knowing what I'm getting everything I was getting was from the pharmacy being prescribed by doctors you know it's keeping up with my progress and I'm you know I'm going through all these blood tests and everything make at that time well yeah when I was competing so I think if it's done that way you know everybody can benefit and but you know the sport it is not controlled in that kind of way so you think I did it that way because you know I was kind of like forced to do it that way once a DEA got involved and came in what year was that when did you get them got involved I want to say you like oh man what you do they bring us all in is that the same time where Tom Platts interviewed yourself Baker and all those guys or it's at the same era you know right out right after there right after day like maybe a year or two after that so you guys were still uncomfortable to be able to talk you had about the voice and oh yeah but if you were competing today hey here's what's going on these are some of the things I'm using yeah uh I I agree with you there because for me people think I was doing way more than what I was doing anything I know I wasn't doing no none nobody else been doing you know what are you doing more than what your peers were doing or no I kind of think we all can like on the same level okay you know there's only so much you can do you know the way it's gonna be effective you know no matter how much of something you take you know you look at these baseball players and all these guys you know they've taken stuff but they don't look like bodybuilders and stuff like that you know just like normal people so it all goes back to genetics and stuff too you know you gotta be gestured to do certain things you know I couldn't play baseball and probably not football and basketball either but I could be a pretty good body girl do you think like your opinion I'm just curious but opinion was your opinion on allowing it to be used in MLB NBA NFL you think they should just kind of stop going through the peds side because these guys body got to recover and this kind of helps like Lance Armstrong you know he got what he got and all of a sudden his entire credibility was shut do you think that you just need to say look if you want to use it use it do you think no I don't get to be a level playing field for everybody so if I can't use it you can't exactly or if I can use it you can hey are you comfortable with them making it legal for everybody to use it no why not how do you why do you say no and because they're everybody's not going to do it everybody is not going to do it yeah but it but in bodybuilding you have to do it if you yeah exactly so you see what I'm saying but in baseball you don't have to if I don't want to put my son now No so because of that you were saying it wouldn't apply to any other sport except for body exactly huh okay so even in boxing or UFC or any of that you're saying no go no go okay so everybody should be on the same playing field what was the biggest difference you felt with steroids versus GH for you it's pretty much the same thing okay so 1 1 1 doesn't really exist without the other ok got it but it wasn't like one gave more no no no ok I know any side effects afterwards after all these years like anything that you're doing blood today you're noticing none none whatsoever your testosterone levels yeah everything is good are you are you are you believe over the new TRT movement with everybody then you're fine with the TRG on certain people but I believe in you know certain levels of tests are not gonna be produced at a certain age are not going to be produced at a certain age yeah yeah when you get to be like seven day you're not gonna produce the same amount of tests you were doing at 2530 so it's good to take something to get your level side yeah yeah what are the benefits of having a higher testosterone other people but I'm curious to know what you'll say I think it just allows you to be kind of like younger it allows you to be kind of younger yeah cuz you know you're back to being where you were when you're a certain age can I interpret that younger meaning you can at least do some stuff used to in the bedroom like yeah yeah okay that's a good interpretation I had to read into I know you're pretty yeah you know so so that's that's pretty interesting you saying that you know to wrap it up it's the last thing I want to ask you is I got some speed round I'm gonna give you a name and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind no I I'll give you a name or topic use first word that comes to your mind just say whatever's on your mind okay Lee Haney oh right one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time Eddy G Robinson I want a great coaches of all time Patricia Patricia Patricia high-school puppy-love oh yeah one of the greatest lows all time let's go how about middle linebacker Alonzo Johnson oh he was a second-round the middle linebacker that Eagles picked up that you were a middle linebacker yourself you wrote about him in your book you don't yeah you did you talk about Lonzo chest he was a guy that was a drafted second run by the Eagles and you were a middle linebacker you don't member the name okay it wasn't that important that was what it is how about brine Dobson Oh one of the greatest and one of the smartest guys I've ever met Wow smartest guys yeah why do you say smartest go do you recognize the talent in me that I'd never saw he was smart for doing that yeah Joe we there is more Joe is that like one of the greatest minds smartest guys and nicest guys I've ever met in my whole life Kevin LeBrons one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time flex be great is by to be able to voluntary so sad ankles my probably the best nutrition is I've ever met metrics metrics was okay okay yeah about EAS okay okay yeah Yates they saw a great by to be able to Lee Priest great bodybuilder Gunnar great by to be able to Tom Platts great bodybuilder Susan Williamson Oh greatest love of all time greatest of all time that's not ever okay you know I got to tell you man I uh I really enjoyed sitting down with you and I feel the audience hopefully got a different side of you they haven't seen before because I tried looking for something where there's a long-form interview with you where I can say who is Ronnie Coleman and I want to know more I'm hoping they got a little bit of it here because of your opinions Ronnie what are what are some things that if if somebody if a fan knew that they don't know about if they knew about you that's it why that's pretty interesting is there anything that we don't know about you that we would be very interested to know not really really mmm I don't I don't keep got a lot of Secrets you don't keep a lot of Secrets everybody know I got $8 everybody know you know pretty much I graduated from Graham because they're things you know out there nowadays yeah no II like are you of politics guy are you you have a favorite sports team do you you know a you of finance guy like is there anything like that like you follow movies you would any I try to draft interest no I try to dabble in a little bit of everything politics yeah you follow politic really yeah what would interest you have with politics just just a whole nature of the business more the nature the business not personalities no no so you don't get tied on sand I like this guy don't like this guy you just kind of watch the games yeah yeah how it's done yeah how done are you a movies guy yeah favorite over every every every week every week you are movies see we just learned something the money that's every week you go to movies at the theater uh-huh what's a good movie you've seen recently that you said I'd recommend it to other people Oh terminator you like terminator yeah I saw Herman and I thought it was good yeah and I saw Harriet last movie I saw would you think about that I thought there's one movie I saw on a long Harry I'm one a lot on the line what's your favorite of all time do you have somewhere you can watch it over and over again or you you don't have something like that no I know yeah you horrid guy you're a comedy guy you're an action guy action action yeah like you like autumn inators determining almost alone yeah are you this is a love story type of guy know romantic like you you don't watch notebook on rewind I have nothing about music what do you listen to whereas robbery oh do you have a favorite all-time rapper Tupac number one yeah okay big you - who else jay-z okay mmm iq Ice Cube old-school yeah it's new dog okay I like all the old-school guy I don't live in new stuff is there is there song you can put on repeat for like three hours or no no you're not that guys you have a playlist I have played you have a playlist yeah if you're going really heavy what are you listening to Oh gathered his name those guys and okay all right favorite sports teams no no IIIi got season tickets to maverick I've seen ticket to the women's WNBA and that's it that's a good seasons tickets tough to maps they got a good squad yeah Cuban and his team up I've had writing together she says 2001 so I 18 years you've had season tickets for 18 years yeah Wow and the girl just came out with says they came out I've had season ticket very cool Ronnie what business what what where do I find you obviously we're gonna put all the link of your social media but anything you want to tell us about your supplement company how it's doing it's doing great don't really good every year it gets better if there's a product that I found never used any of your supplements and you were to tell me Pat you got to try one of the products what would you say is the first product I got I got to test you out with I'm gonna give you the protein ain't none butter peanut ain't nothing but a peanut yeah so Paul won't we put the link below of a nut butter peanut so if guys want to go try we're gonna put that below and here's what we're gonna do first two people that goes shared this interview on Twitter tag me and Ronnie we're gonna send a copy of Ronnie's latest book signed to you but it's the first two we do it you do it tagged Ronnie Ronnie's handles gonna be right here mines gonna be right here we'll send you a signed copy by Ronnie for you to I want and Bob when you send a tweet to us it's not just shared a link I want to see what you took away from this interview sitting down with Ronnie I know there's a big audience that wanted to hear you come out here and then we'll put the links below to the book they can order on Amazon we'll put the link below to a nut butter peanut you said and then all the other following social media links that he is running preciate you for coming up now a blast yeah I enjoyed it had a good time I had a great time you know if you'll watch this entire interview odds are you probably a bodybuilding friend you're not gonna watch a whole thing if you don't follow bodybuilding and if you do follow bodybuilding Ronnie didn't hold back this the longest I was asking him is this the longest long format interview I've ever done he says nothing's ever been this long for me to do it and he talked about stuff he wasn't like I don't want to talk about this I don't want to talk about that so I actually want to hear from the people that followed the bodybuilding world on how you process his and his answers and his views on the way he looks like mr. Olympia relationship with Joe with all these other things so send me a tweet at Patrick big David my handler I want to hear from you and then if you like this interview had another interview with Brandon Currie that is the recent 2019 mr. Lampe as well as Dorian Yates who's a six-time astro Olympia if you like these topics you're gonna love both of these interviews as well and if you haven't subscribed to the channel please do so thanks for watching everybody take care all right [Music]

Channel: Valuetainment

Views: 1,423,253

Rating: 4.8920565 out of 5

Keywords: Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur Motivation, Entrepreneur Advice, Startup Entrepreneurs, valuetainment, patrick bet david, Ronnie Coleman, Mr.O, Bodybuliding, the king, Colemann, 8 time Mr Olympia, Mr Olympia

Id: s0X1FmZfMWA

Length: 101min 25sec (6085 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 20 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/iknowimanasswipe]

I love Ronnie just as much as the next guy. But he’s not a smart person... at all.

[u/TEAMSESHWADDLES]

He boofed on them painkilllers before this interview

[u/[deleted]]

He kinda came across as a stubborn idiot in this interview tbh. Refusing to admit the heavy lifting hurt him, claiming he never looked in the mirror (wtf), and especially the bit about the squat being easier than the deadlift because "theres less gravity up there". He also came across as being unbelievably arrogant claiming he could beat Eddie Halls 500 kilo deadlift. Ronnie is the GOAT, dont get me wrong. But he was definitely high on painkillers during this shitshow.

[u/TooSpicyforyoWifey]

this interview was very awkward at some points

[u/[deleted]]

when Ronnie met Michael Scott

[u/MrQuitterTheLoser]

Ronnie came across as really bizarre in that interview. The mirror thing is a balant lie as he is seen looking and posing in the mirror in his documentaries, plus the whole sport depends on how you look and pose, so not knowing how your physique looks is ridiculous. Also his outright disrespect of other world records was annoying, a 500kg deadlift? A 1250lb squat, that fact he doesn't know or ask if it was multiply shows how much he was bluffing.