SPEAKER_00 0:02

Alright. Muscle Talk. Series and Sillous Bodybuilding. I got my boy, Chris Masaro, with me, and we are waiting for Lee Priest and uh Elias. How do you pronounce his last name? McCal?

SPEAKER_01 0:18

I didn't say McCall. I've all said Elias before, too, but I just oh you're right. It's it's Elias, though, I think. I I talked to Jordan, uh, his friend, you know, Jordan Hutchinson, and uh you said Elias. I was like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

All right, Elias McCall. I'm terrible with names, dude. Like, honestly, if you don't have a simple American name or an Italian name, I'm gonna fuck it up. Like, if you ever, if you ever, if you ever see my wrap-ups and I talk about these names from fucking Middle East or I I am never gonna get it right.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Like, do you know how many times Andrew Jack, you know, the big Rami. Like, it just isn't you gotta do that. You have to and they're cool about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Oh, yeah, they understand. Do you know how many times I mixed up Hottie with Hani and Hide? Like, you expect me to get those three right? Like, it's impossible. You know, I I don't pull any punches, I I fuck up the names, and sometimes I just people say your name wrong, Livia.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Not really, not really, it's just pretty easy. Yeah, so like mine, they start saying Mazario, Mazzarino. They're sorry to add like four other letters to it. I'm like, it's not that hard.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Well, you know what's funny? When you grow up Italian, you know, I guess it would be just like any other, you know, you understand how it's pronounced.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

And if they got a weird name, you make up a name for them anyway.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

You just call them like uh yeah, big Chris.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

So yeah, fucking every every guy had a uh my was living it up because my latest name's Livia.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yeah, Chrissy, Johnny, Paulie, Vinny.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Yeah, that was it. So my days this so I was always either Johnny, John John growing up for my family. Oh, really? John John, yeah. John John and what happened was this is actually a funny story. One summer, I was in my 20s and we rented a beach house. We didn't go to the Jersey Shore. Everybody by us used to go to the Jersey. We didn't go to Jersey Shore, we went to Long Island, and it was Long Beach, Long Island. They used to have nightclubs there and nightlife and so on and so forth. So what happened was um we used to pre-game before we went to the club. As you should. Yeah, so this one night I pre-I was, dude, I had to be maybe 24, 25 years old. This one night I pregamed way too hard, right? Wait, we were all going to this club, and I can't remember the name of the club. We'd go every Saturday night, a bunch of fucking Guidos, right? Uh from Brooklyn and Staten Island. It was fucking hard. Yeah, it was oh, it was ridiculous, dude. It was ridiculous. So uh uh so so um I don't even make it out of the house. I got so fucked up before we make it. They actually tried to like, so then my friends tried to, they were like, okay, if we could get him in the cab, because we would take a cab. This is before Uber. If we could take a cab from the house to the club and he can make it, he's coming. So they tried to get me in the kit, I collapsed onto the fucking onto the car. They're like, forget it. They brought me back inside, I passed out.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

You need a pickup truck.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

After that, after that, they started calling me Living It Up, Living It Up, Live, because my last name's Livia, and then they started calling me Kryptonite. Oh, yeah. Because from the movie A Bronx Tale.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

When the horse couldn't finish and it was named as Kryptonite, he couldn't even come out of the gate. And come on, kryptonite. That was so uh especially good movie, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Did you did you ever watch uh Jersey Shore? Uh, the show, no, no. Well, what's funny when it first came out, I hated it because I was like, that's not how we are, they're not even really Italian. Yeah, but then later on, like 10 years later, I'm like, all right, it's kind of funny now.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

Like, yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Is like Paulie because he's got like the actual Italian mother and grandmother and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yeah, well, is Paulie the one with the pizzeria whose father owns the pizzeria?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

No, no, not Pauli. I meant Vinny. Vinny's the one whose family owns. He's the one who owns the pizza.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Yeah, he lived, he lived his pizzeria's around the corner from me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I never went there either. I never even ate there. It was around the corner with his star pizza or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

And then here we go. Here is big bad Lee Priest. Oh, let me check to see if if he got Black Ops. Okay. Uh sent. Okay. What's up, Lee? Okay. Big Lee, what's up, dude? How you feeling, man?

SPEAKER_04 4:39

Uh, so so.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Yeah? Everything worked out with your heart and the cardiologist?

SPEAKER_04 4:44

Oh, yeah, yeah, said it was okay, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Good, good, good, good. Glad to hear it, man. Glad to hear it. So we got Chris and Elias or Elias. I don't know. I'll ask him how to pronounce his name when he comes or when he should be on his way. And uh, so Lee, I want to give you a compliment because I was talking to I was talking to Chris a little bit. Um I want to give you a compliment because this is what I mean. This is what I mean. Um, Samson Dowder was one of my first bodybuilders that I had on my channel, and this was before way before he was even an Arnold Classic champion. He won the Arnold first, okay?

SPEAKER_04 5:23

But yeah, he only got a month so people wouldn't think you're racist.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what happened. I'm like, I gotta get a black. That's that token, the token guy. If Johnny Jackson wasn't available, I'm like, fuck. It is what it is.

SPEAKER_04 5:34

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Elias, can you hear me? Is it Elias or Elias? It's Elias. Holy shit, I fucked that up. Elias.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

Yeah, most people do.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

How are you doing, man? How's it going? Thank you for coming on, brother.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

Absolutely, guys. Well, thanks for inviting me, man.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Oh, of course. I try to I try to give uh a lot of credit to the guys that are bodybuilders and our um uh veterans and our blue-collar guys because I don't know how both of those guys do it and compete at a high level like you and Chris do. Uh it's fucking I don't it's unbelievable. But so I try to give you all the credit in the world so that uh you can come on and um I just pay homage and tell you thank you for your service and then come on and we'll talk about the show. But before we get to you, I gotta complain a little bit, right? So hear it. So um what happened? What happened to my what happened to my credit? It's coming, it's coming. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah, I know. So it's coming. So Samson Dattle was one of my first bodybuilders I have ever had on. Now, this is way before he this is I had him on in 2020. I had an old channel, and um, he he came on my old channel, and he came on this channel after he won the Arnold Classic. And um this is way before, like the first time he went on, I think he was competing in like I want to say Hong Kong, it was during COVID. He was locked in his room the whole time. It was a disaster. It was a small show. He came in second, but he came on right after that, and we were cool and so on and so forth. Some of these guys, and I'm not saying him, I'm just saying it looks that way. Okay, I'm just saying it looks this way. Some of these guys get to a certain level and they forget where they come from. Uh, you know? So I've when he won the Olympia, I tried to uh reach out to him. And before the Olympia, he said, Oh yeah, yeah, I'll come on again after after the Olympia. And he won. And then um I tried reaching out to him and you know, I didn't hear from him. Whatever. I I figured, you know, he's busy, guest posing, traveling, so on and so forth. No big deal. This year, after the Olympia, I messaged him again, you know, wanna, you know, why don't you come on? Uh and I don't do it immediately. You know, I understand these guys are busy, so I wait a month, six weeks. I kind of have a strategy. And he's like, oh, well, I'm not really gonna be doing many podcasts right now. And I was like, all right, you know, I understand, you know, and then he's on and Godfrey would trust, which is like one of the biggest podcast comedy podcasts in the world. And I'm like, sure you fuck, you'll go on that one because he's got a half a million subscribers, but you won't come online anymore. So, so some of these guys, you know, forget where they come from, where they started. But like what I was getting at is that's why I appreciate Lee so much. Because Lee doesn't seem to give a shit how many subscribers I am. He's here every fucking week, twice a week.

SPEAKER_04 8:28

I don't even look forgiving. Anyway, so I'm just more here, I'm just more here to talk to you. I don't care what who it was.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

And now what's funny is now uh we've become like we're officially friends, we've become like really good friends. Um, so but now I want to I want to get to you, uh Ellie, Elias or Elias. I I apologize, man. I'm terrible with names.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

Elias.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Elias. Elias, okay. It's all good though. So everybody calls me Elias. You come in, um, you come in third at Detroit, and you were basically uh a dark horse. Nobody even had you on the radar. So tell me what that experience was like, man.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

It was it was really cool. I mean, at the end of the day, it's like of course it's gonna kind of be the dark horse. I mean, I'm not like obviously like huge on social media or anything, and it's my pro debut, so like obviously nobody's nobody's looking out for rookies that nobody knows, you know? So they just see my name on there, they're just like, oh, it's just another dude, and they can't if you can't really see any like current or like past in the past year, stage pictures is like okay, it's like cool, he looks big on Instagram, but it's like, but what is he gonna look like on stage? So I think it was a lot of people obviously don't know who I am and they've never seen me in person or they haven't seen me on stage, so obviously it's gonna be that you know, okay, it's like he maybe he'll get first calls, maybe he'll get second, you know. It's we don't know because he's not on stage and we don't know what he looks like. So I don't blame anybody for that. But um it was it was a cool experience, man. I um I really thought that you know, I th I like truly I think that the judges did a did a good job. But say it. I know what you're saying. I know what you're coming.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

I was thinking the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

You know, but but the thing is with the with the with where I placed I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say I should have taken a higher placing. I'm gonna say more of like that where the judges say that blessing did beat me, I do see it. And I'm not gonna like I won't I won't say that like his back was much better, you know, where he was lacking and maybe his legs um and conditioning wise, you know. I think he beat me in other spots, you know, structurally, maybe his 3D muscle that he has.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Let's call the circus circle. He he's not beating anybody structurally. Uh you know, he's not. He has this amazing upper body and his legs, he's cursed. It just can't fucking come up.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

So but he does have that knee issue though.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

So it's still, yeah, whatever whatever the issue is, whatever the problem is, it it you know it's it's it's I think I think blessing looked great, and I think he did a great job.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

And for what for what he has, yeah. The blessing and congratulations to Mo because I think they earned their spots, and you know, that's just more fuel for my fire coming back next year. Because I mean, I'm sure you guys are gonna ask me that, but I'm not doing a show the rest of the year. Okay, good. I'm I'm shutting it down. I'm gonna grow. I've got a ton of travel from this month all the way to August, and then I I'm gonna basically be growing the whole year, rolling into next year, and just trying to be lights out next year. Obviously, that's the goal, but you know, I wanna I'm 28. Excuse me, I'm 28, so I want to take the rest of the year. I want to grow and then I want to be able to go in year after year and be very competitive, versus like I'm not gonna just compete through do three or four shows this year, waste my time and get first call-outs every show or second call out on a really, really good stack and just waste my time like wrecking my health just to be on the map more. And then when I could just be growing for six or seven months and then roll into the next year, do 10 times better, you know, and be actually very, very competitive in a maybe in a top lineup with good guys. So that's where I see, and that's kind of like my goal moving forward. I'm just I'm in it for the long run. I don't want to waste time, and I want to like I want to be competitive with it. It's like I don't I don't want to just waste my time competing and spending money and doing this, and it's just like, okay, here's a fourth, here's a fifth, here's a sixth, here's another third. It's like that's not what why I'm doing this. I'm doing this to be competitive. I have a competitive, I grew up playing football, I was in the Marine Corps. Like, I have a very competitive mindset, and that's why I do it. And that third place got to me even more as it sat. I was happy because it was my pro debut. I'm like, fuck, second would have been a lot better. But then I would have been even more pissed than I didn't get first.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Well, Chris, Chris is doing the same strategy. Chris did one show last year, one pro show. Yeah, I didn't play start though. You did you did the same thing, uh, right? What show did you do? Texas, Tampa? Tampa. Tampa, yeah. So and you kind of did the same thing. You shut it down and you're waiting for this year, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah, and and you know, the only reason I really did that was because it was so close to USA is in the opportunity. But like, you know, I wasn't prepared to you know be truly competitive at a show at that caliber, but regardless, I brought my best. It was right there, it was a week later, you know. So why not? You know, I had a great time. It's honestly helped me a lot, but uh, but yeah, now it's time to actually be competitive as a professional, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

So now let's ask Lee. Well, let's get the the guru. Do you think that's a good strategy, Lee, for these two guys?

SPEAKER_04 13:51

Oh, you know, everyone's got different strategies. And I think back when I was competing, it was more I just did shows because a lot of our contracts back then with the magazines and the supplement companies, you had to pretty oh there goes the close. You had to compete. So, you know, so I'd never really thought about shows because even back then, of course, you know, there was no 212, we just had the one class, the open. I never really thought about whatever, you know, what shows are coming up or how I'm gonna look. I just went in hoping to be the best I could, then what happens happens. So, you know, me playing the size game when I'm competing against NASA and Ronnie knows people's like, I'm never gonna get their size. So I was never, you know, I I never thought I'd need to put on more size. Mine was just, you know, improving what I had and just maybe working on conditioning. So I guess it's where it's different to me type thing. Whereas, you know, they're going up against guys and they can put more size on. Whereas I was I was thinking, okay, I'm happy where I am. I'm not gonna be, you know, off season. Sure, I got the 285 the contest, I'm not gonna hit 240, 250. So I just went into shows, you know, doing what I did. So I never really I never really gave that much thought, really.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Elias, the when you saw Blessing up close and personal backstage, his upper body is absolutely amazing. I mean, he the guy literally has a Mr. Olympia upper body.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Crazy muscle. Oh, it's crazy muscle.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

It's just such it's like and I and I like him as a person. He's very funny, he's very sociable. Oh, blessing's amazing. He's he's a he's a family guy, you know, he likes to shoot the shit. He likes to he likes to play in, but it's it's only good fun, you know? Yeah. Um how how it's and it really is a sin that he can't get his legs up, and I know he has that knee issue. Um how bad is it when you're up close and personal when you see him? Buster like his knee? No, no, no, his actual legs compared to his upper body.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

They're not bad, bro.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

They look way worse.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

Yeah, no, they don't look bad at all. You can just tell where he has that leg issue. It's like uh it's an actual like injury that's holding him back, and it really like that sucks. It sucks because you look at blessing and you're like, this is a good physique, too. And you're just like, if those legs could match that upper body, like I mean, we've seen it. We've seen good blessing, you know. What 2022 New York Pro? Well, yeah, won the New York Pro, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think he won another show that year too, right? He won two.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

He might have, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

Yeah, he did the Olympia. Yeah, that that was the Olympia. He won two shows that year. Um, so I mean, you we we both we all know blessing has a phenomenal physique, and I don't really think his legs are bad. So I mean, me and blessing are friends, but I don't know personally like what what could he do to fix that, you know? Because you you know, like when you have that a knee issue, I mean, that's where you're bending, you know. So if you can't get enough knee flexion when you're squatting or any kind of movement that's gonna like a compounding movement for your quads, it's like there's only so much you can do. And blessing has like very long femurs. Yes, yes, yes. So he's got he's just got long legs. He does. It's a yeah, that's already his disadvantage of his legs being so long, yeah. If you do any compounding movements, you're just gonna wreck your knee even worse. It's just like it sucks. It's like then what are you limited to? Leg extension or like a leg press that's like limited knee flexion on the movement, so it's yeah, I mean, I feel for him, but I mean I'm sure he'll figure out and I don't think he's gonna give up.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

I think he'll figure out no, I don't think he's gonna give it up, but I think it's gonna be an issue that's gonna haunt him for his entire career. Um, uh, but um it's it's it really is a fucking sin because he has this amazing upper body, right? It really might it might go to Brazil, PMMA. Could you imagine that if he did that shit? That would be fucking horrible if he did that. That I would hope to god he would not do that, you know. Don't get that.

SPEAKER_02 17:47

I think for most people that stuff makes you look worse than it does. It does it's fucking horrible, bro. And it's like you can only look so natural. The way that I've seen it, like you can only certain people can put it in certain spots where you're not gonna blur a line to where it's just adding fullness, but it's not taking away detail and separation. So it's like it's pretty clear when people use it.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Yeah, Chris, did you see the video I did where describing about what other reasons they use it besides?

SPEAKER_02 18:15

I don't even know if that's I don't even know if that's like what everybody's using. I mean, that's just what everybody's calling it. Synthol oil, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

It's it's no the the PMMA. Uh I did a video on it when they when they showed the picture of Derek with his leg and whatnot when he was when he was an amateur or whatever it was. So apparently, apparently gay guys use this to inject into their uh komasikiama and uh and make their dicks bigger. Nice. Yeah, and I actually did a whole fucking video on it saying and I showed the clinic. There was several clinics that actually do it. And they call it yourself injecting it, and they call it the girth shot. They call it the girth shot. I was like, oh, you didn't hear me, did you? Yeah, and that and uh what's funny is that video got like 30,000 views.

SPEAKER_04 19:06

John, John, John didn't hear you, he he didn't inject it.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Oh, I didn't inject it.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

No, I know I was giving you shit. I was leaving it.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Oh, you injected it on the would I inject it is the question.

SPEAKER_04 19:19

If my insurance covered, I might get the shot. Too many nerve endings down there. Save your fucking up goes in the wrong spot. Then they're like, now we have to remove it, we have to cut it off.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

Then you know, yeah, like your dick is like all twisted like a fucking curled up boa constrictor. It's like, oh shit.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

Like that guy's arms, like those guys from South America, and their arms go blue and purple and black and look fucking terrible. No, it's like there's no circular circulation.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Yeah, you gotta have something really wrong with your brain to think that looks normal. Like, as it's happened, like it's so far gone. Like, I mean, I feel bad if they got that mental.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

Some bodybuilders, their body dysmorphia is so bad, like they're just constantly having to be on cycle because they're just so fucked up in head. Oh, I can't look, like whatever. It's the same thing. It's like they're seeing that, and they think it's like, oh, this is the this is muscle, this is people's at the end of the day, it's just a reflection of themselves, like, hey, I need to look this way because you know.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

I think it's a little deeper, I think it's a little cultural too, because the girls do it too, and they're asses, they make their asses huge, they get the injections in their asses, they get the Brazilian butt lifts. I mean, it's the same thing as like like anything else.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

It's like here in America getting a boob job, or I mean not a boob job, but like a butt. Yeah, like getting any kind of implants there, you know, besides a boob job.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

The trucks just keep getting bigger. What'd you say, Chris? So down in Texas, the trucks just keep getting bigger. The you know, everything's everything's gotta be a little bigger.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

I'm a big fan of boobs, though, so I don't mind. I like the boobs. So what's your prediction for uh for this uh week's uh UK Elliot?

SPEAKER_02 21:09

What's the full lineup? Well, uh I know we had a couple of guys jump in.

SPEAKER_04 21:15

I think I think blessing, I think blessing's going to it now. Blessing's doing it, yeah. There's a bunch of guys from Detroit. Andrew Martin, yeah. Andrew Martin.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Yeah, Brandon. Brandon, uh let's see. Blessing. Um Andrew Jack.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Mo's doing it.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

Moe's doing it. No, Moe's doing it. Is he really? Yeah, he told me he was gonna do it. Oh, all right. I uh I think Leandro's doing it too. Andrew Jack, yeah. That thing he seems to be. No, Leandro's do Leandro's doing uh Brazil. I had hold on, let me see. I know I have the uh the list.

SPEAKER_04 21:48

I just I think I how was the how is the crowd in Detroit? I heard Fuage saying that you get a good crowd in there, really loud and vocal. Really have Lee, have did have you been to that venue before?

SPEAKER_02 21:59

No. No, but he puts on a great show. It's cool. It's it's in a it's odd. It's a performing arts center. So when you walk in, it's like it's like a hotel kind of weird weird. And then when you go look to the right, there's like this big gym. It's odd. And it's behind like a glass wall. And then when you walk in more to the left, there's like a basketball court. That's where they did the the like kind of ex small little expo. And then when you walk through, you walk to the right where it's like it's literally like walking into a theater. So you walk in, big theater, like up top. And wasn't a ginormous venue, but the coolest thing was this is my fourth show. So I haven't been to a lot, but or I haven't competed at a lot. So when I was doing this show's, this is the coolest thing being on the stage, and I can see the entire crowd. I can see the judges, I can see my wife sitting in the front row and VIP, my coach, my friends yelling. Like I can I'm sitting there posing and I can hear them telling me to do things. Yeah. It was really cool. I mean, I could see the people up top. Like it was it was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

I understand he puts on a fantastic production.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

The uh the back, Gilko killed it with the lights, too.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Yeah, yeah. It was just uh I was hoping that they he'd have a lot more uh swing over from the uh from the uh Arnold Classic. Arnold, yeah. So yeah, I got the lineup for the UK. You got Andrew Jack, Martin Fitzwater, Brandon Curry, Akeem Williams, Hassan Mustafa, Mofuda, Blessing, Patrick Moore, uh, and somebody I never heard of, Abu Kanade.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

That is one of the other guys that competed with me in Detroit. I think he took second call outs. He was uh like one of the shorter guys from the UK.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

And uh what the hell is Hassan Mustafa doing? Like he shows he shows up to these shows and he's not even in shape. You know, he did the Arnold Classic. I think he came in dead last. He looked like just as he looked, he looked like an off-season bodybuilder, you know. We should start calling him Lionel Bett.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

He came in second, second loss.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

He came in what? I think Anthony took last second to last. Oh right, the new kid took uh took last.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Yeah, and uh, I just it doesn't look like he's it I think it's just it's to the point where he I mean Hassan's physique is like a milestat disorder, clearly. Like he's just so big. Yes. I mean you look at him and uh Neck Neckzilla, what's that? Oh yeah, Rubio, right? Yeah, you look at them both and you can see the similarities in the physique where the just muscle just keeps growing. Yeah, and I think when they have when you have that kind of issue, I mean I don't know whether it's it's it's the year or it's just the they look like they have myostat issues, but when you're I think when you're able to grow muscle like that at that level and so fast, there's just there's no detail there, it's hard it when there's no detail, it's harder to get conditioned. You know, there's so much muscle, it's just I don't I think you just lose all the important parts of bodybuilding.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Uh detail. Yeah, I think it being I think it being nice because we've seen Nexility.

SPEAKER_04 25:06

Remember Michael Lockett back in the day? They always said he was my uh my statement. But he's the common chisel, dude. No, not really. Michael Lockett. I mean, but Rubio isn't Ruby L'Avercape.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Rubio's come in shape before.

SPEAKER_04 25:20

But it's still not still not hard. Like they always seem to be carrying that watery look to them, like they're hard, but not they're in shape, but it's like where's that little bit of detail and crispness?

SPEAKER_01 25:31

You know, it's like it's like two pieces of steak and stuck together. Like you lose the lines between the legs and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

It's like you can tell he's peeled, you can see the the veins, you can see it, but it's like, where's that detail that I'm missing out the station?

SPEAKER_00 25:42

I think all that's like no separation in the legs, his his stomach is smooth, you don't see the abs. It just it was a poor performance. Now, whatever the reason is, I mean, I'm probably more gonna uh again, you guys are are way more advanced than I am, but uh whatever the formula he needs, he hasn't figured out yet. Let's put it that way. And I'll I'll be nice and say that.

SPEAKER_02 26:03

I'll be honest, man. I think a lot of it, and like I'm gonna say it straight up. It's either work work ethic or and obviously you look at something like Asani, you're like, it can't be work ethic, right? But it's either work ethic or it's just it's you got a bad coach. And like it that's really what it comes down to. If the athlete has a good work good work ethic, they're gonna come in shape and they're gonna look good. Yeah. If their coach gives them the right things to do, you know? So I mean, and that's how I view it. It's like I have it not come in shape, and it's not because of my effort, and it's not because of my coach's effort. So, like when you cut when you you'll come in shape if you're putting the effort in and your coach is knows what they're doing, and I think that's what there might be something to that because Nick Walker decided I don't need a fucking coach.

SPEAKER_04 26:47

Well, the thing is, the thing is too, between both of them, you know, with their legs and everything else, it's like they could both, if they needed to come in shredded and lost a bit of size, losing a bit of size on them two, you wouldn't even fucking notice it because they're so big. They could afford to if they lost a little bit off their legs, like they lost half of them.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Nick did a phenomenal job, dude. He looked incredible, dude. I was I mean, obviously, we we both know like you look at Andrew and then you look at Nick and you're like, Well, Nick wins a lot of these poses, and then you look at Andrew's structure, it's like, but how does Andrew lose a pose with his structure? Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:22

I think the Arnold class says sorry, sorry, Chris. I'll get right to you.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

I was just gonna say, like, just being there, like I was. I mean, you you asked how he lost, though, but like the way Nick was holding his waist to get like tight and everything in some of these poses, you're like, damn, yeah. Yeah, sitting on like if he stands correctly, he was holding his stomach in better than Andrew was.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

No, Nick Nick that that was like like the Arnold Classic Nick we've seen. Like, that was that was really one.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

I think that's that was that was a really good thing. I think they prefer I think the Arnold Classic prefers a more his aesthetic pleasing physique. If the majority of the majority of Arnold Classic winners have had this beautiful aesthetic, you know, set Cedric. Um Kai was leaner when he won. We're talking all the divisions, but yeah, um, yeah, I got a question though.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

What how did how does uh Nick win the most muscular award but but lose the most muscular pose?

SPEAKER_00 28:17

That's a really good question. Yeah, like that's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

Like I remember watching Tyler's breakdown, and people are like losing in the DMs. I'm sitting here just like, I mean, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 28:28

His Tyler Tyler did say that Derek won the front double bicep at the Olympia too, when you know Hardy and Andrew Jack's front double bicep looked a lot better than Derek's.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

So yeah, it's so strange, man, because it's it's a tough, it's a I think we're in a tough time. You have all these great bodybuilders, but they are completely different. I like it from each other. Oh, me too. Me too. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

I love that the same person's not winning every year.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:54

There is how exciting that is for bodybuilding, yes, 100%, 100%. Although to that classic, too, is to change too. Like Chris isn't doing it anymore, so it's like we just have this back and forth of just these great athletes like going back and forth. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Yeah, there is a part of me that misses Lee's era where they was a dominant champion. Now it is more exciting now than it was right, it was more it's more exciting now, but I like it wasn't exciting for Lee. Yeah, I I like being a bodybuilding fan, and then people saying who's Mr. Olympia, and you point to Ronnie Coleman, or you point to Dorian, or you point to Phil, and you go, That's our champion, that's our Mr. Olympia. He represents bodybuilding.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Um, I kind of there's a part of me that misses that, but the excitement on the Olympia, the excitement at the Arnold, it's not it's you know how great it is being able to make these like uh how like who had does the the fantasy thing and yeah, like it's so cool to be able to do that, and we're like, we don't know this year, or like it's so close, you know. But you know, when Ronnie and Phil were competing, it was just like we know okay, who's gonna be second third? You know, right? Oh yeah, that was it.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

Well, uh Lee, when you had to step on stage next to Ronnie, I know you beat him early in his career, but when he made that transition and he just fucking blew up, what was it like seeing him in person and standing next to him on that fucking stage?

SPEAKER_04 30:28

Pretty freaky, but you know, it was freaky, but then it was almost like you know, I stood, it's hard to say because you know I stood in e Paul Dillette too back in the day. And you know, my first Olympia, Doran was number 12, I was number 13, had to walk out behind Doran staring at his back like that's gotta that's gotta be disappointing.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

That's gotta be out of fire.

SPEAKER_04 30:51

Back then it wasn't too bad because back then, you know, when you watch those videos of me and Mitsura, I'm always telling Mitsura, don't talk to me. I'm training for eighth place or ninth place because back then the top 10 qualified for next year. So my mind was always set on, I hope to get 10th, I hope they get 10th. So if I got any bedlin tenth, that was a bonus to me. So I always just hope to get in the top 10 each time I did the Olympia. So I never really set on top five or top six, which I got a couple of times, but yeah, I just hope for top 10. If if I if I found Alice in the top 10, I'm like, yes, qualify for next year. So that would that that was a win to me.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

So yeah, you know what? It that that era was uh, you know, nobody can nobody is arguing that that era was the greatest era of bodybuilding. The talent that was coming out of the woodwork during your time, Lee Lee, was in the between Kevin and Sean Ray and Poldolette and Ronnie Coleman and you're Chris Cormier and um uh uh Milo. I mean yeah, I mean these guys were just boom, boom. The structure and the conditioning and the structure.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

I see it now, and I'm I'm not gonna be that guy and say that, but I do think that with you know how like times change from Lee's time to uh obviously mean Chris's time now, but bodybuilding is just so different in the aspect of like what the sport is and how like big it is, and I mean most of bodybuilding is women, but like it really is like 80% of the sport is women. So with that, now I I think in just how we've progressed to society and like the world, you know. Like I said, work ethic is different now, you know. It's I think a lot of people like a lot of people do compete for social media for business purposes, to like to span to expand business, yeah, not just to be competitive about it. Social media presence it in my eyes isn't a bad thing. Like, people gotta make money and people gotta do their thing, right? So, but people are competing in that aspect back then, you know, you just had bodybuilding, right? Yeah, so when you just have bodybuilding, and you like a lot in in Lee's era too, is they're known to be a more hard-working era, right? So when you have bodybuilders that are like, okay, we just have bodybuilding, right? And like everybody wants to be good. There's no other division to go to, there's no social media that you're you're not you're not doing it because you're gonna get likes on Instagram and it's you get that dopamine. You're doing it because you want to fucking win, yeah, right? And it's more competitive as well. I mean, we have that in bodybuilding now, but it's to a different aspect, right?

SPEAKER_04 33:38

But I have to say back then too, because when we worked, you know, we didn't have the social media like YouTube or Instagram or there wasn't really an influencer because back then we always you know trained our ass off because the better you looked, you get more magazine covers which don't exist today. You get the magazine contracts, you get the supplement contracts, and then to keep your contract, you had to keep coming in looking better, otherwise you're scared they're gonna dump you. But I'd even say, like the Arnold Expo D issue is probably one of the biggest ever. And I've been with young Lane that they have influences of different sorts. And you know, I was saying back in my day, you went to a bodybuilding expo in the 90s, early 2000s, all your store is bodybuilders walking around. Now you go to the expo, jam-packed, and I'd probably say 60% of bodybuilders. The other lot look like you're at a skateboard convention, or it just looks like people who are into fitness, but they're doing other things like survey.

SPEAKER_02 34:32

But but don't you love that, Lee? That it's our own bodybuilders and egotistical assholes like exactly most most people, most bodybuilders are. Yeah. Um, so I I graduated high school in 2016, and I was I graduated, I didn't graduate with like a super high GPA, it was like a 3.1. I played sports growing up, and like that's all I'm I ever did.

SPEAKER_03 35:24

That's that's pretty supporting.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

So good. Yeah, clearly. Um I played sports growing up, and that's kind of like kind of I hate to say this, but I grew up kind of in a broken household, so I was always trying to like get out of the house and do shit and like hang out with friends, and then after I grab or after after sports was over in my senior year, it was like, all right, like I was good enough to like play varsity and stuff, but I wasn't big enough to go play college sports or anything. I was like, I don't want to go fucking college, I just want to party and drink and yeah, like girls and um so it was it would have just been me going to college and doing that. And so my mom was in the Marine, she kind of like steered me that way, and because I had no, I was just working after high school and like partying for like two months, and then I ended up talking to a recruiter, um, and I was like, you know what? Fuck it. I got nothing else to do. Like, I'm not gonna be a loser. Like, let's do it. So I ended up signing up and then I left for boot camp mid-August and then graduated on the Marine Corps birthday in November, went to combat training from there. I went to Pensacola, Florida, um, for my A school, and then from there, um, I got stationed in CherryPoint, North Carolina. I was there for five years, deployed twice out of there to uh I went on uh I went to Europe and then I went to we went all over Europe on a ship and then we went down to um excuse me to um the Mediterranean. We were in the Mediterranean just floating around forever. We ported in a couple different countries, um, and then so I was I was flight equipment when I was in, so I basically I can go on a I can work on a bunch of different platforms, so I was aviation and I basically I packed parachutes, worked on oxygen gear. Um, if I was on helicopters, I worked on a lot of ordnance on the helicopters, uh, a lot of explosives. I worked with a lot of like the flight controls and stuff. And then once I got stationed up in New Jersey after North Carolina, um, I went to a different platform. So I went to CH 53s, which is like a big heavy lift helicopter. Uh I cross-trained in there and was like I did a lot of mech stuff, and it was cool. From there, I went to another unit on that base. Um, the last year I was in, one of the sergeants I think got kicked out. So they needed me to come fill a spot there. And it was like, all right, he's getting out in a year. This is like the perfect spot. So it was like my last year was it lined up very well for me for bodybuilding. It was great. My schedule was cake, like we didn't show up till eight every morning. It was really nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or it was sorry, it was like seven, seven thirty. I don't remember. And then we'd go home at like 2:30 every day. It was insane. Um, and then shortly after I left, they changed that. It was like six to four or five every day. I'm like, yeah, that's that's what I was used to, six to five. And then so I got really lucky that last year at least. Um, so line it did, it went well for bodybuilding and being able to prep and stuff. But my whole military career, all nine years, it was it wasn't the easiest. I mean, you can ask Chris, you know, with all the travel, like when we would go on just even detachments throughout the United States, like we go to Kansas for two weeks for um for like some special op um exercises we were doing, or we'd go to like California for ITX, infantry training exercise, just like different events that we would do throughout the year, two, three weeks, one week, two week, half a week, whatever it was. We just traveled a ton. So at least like three, four months out of the year, I'm traveling. So you gotta think too, when you're doing that and you're working 12, 13, 14 hour days, and then you're like, okay, but when are you eating? When are you training? It was like we would travel, like sometimes I would have to work from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. So I would work all night, wake up, go um, or I go to sleep, wake up at like 2 p.m., go straight to the gym, go to work all night. And what I would do too is a lot of the times is I had this, I don't know if she's still in the business, but she used to be in Tampa. I forgot her name. Nick Walker told me about her at the time. Um, I used her, she would prep all my, I'd get all my meals prepped. So like my five meals of the day, and then like my first meal I'd bring with me, like protein powder and creamerites or whatever the fuck I was using. Um, I would get all I'd bring all that with me, and then I would have her ship my meals weekly to the hotel or wherever we were staying, and I would just take them to the hangar and stick them in the freezer. So I had all the meals prepped at least, and I'd pull them out every night, throw them in my hotel room fridge.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

Um, if you were in the field, they don't just they don't when they tell me they're nine to five, I'm just like, you have no idea the preparation.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

These motherfuckers don't know. So, like you you know how it is, Chris, too, like coming from the military mindset, too, and then like you just hear how easy so many bodybuilders are you have, and you're just like you still not coming in the shape, mother.

SPEAKER_00 40:39

Like how bro that's why I like to get that's why I like to pay homage to guys like you and guys like Chris and even the blue collar guys. Um, Sean Kriner was nice enough to uh come on here Monday. Sean's a full-time electrician, and he's a competitive bodybuilder and he has a family. That's why I like to pay homage and have you guys on and give you the just do that you deserve because I don't think a lot of people realize what you have to do, and on top of that, get in shape for a bodybuilding show. It's a lot, and it's a lot for a bodybuilder who just makes a living bodybuilding. Can I imagine doing what you guys on top of it?

SPEAKER_02 41:15

It is now because me, I make most of my living off bodybuilding, and then the rest is coaching. And I have I have a retirement too, and like I'm blessed there, but at the same time, it's like when I hear like you just got sponsors and stuff, you're like, Yeah, I have sponsors now too, I know what it's like, but at the same time, I still work and I still like do everything I can to keep myself busy and ready. I'm not I'm not a lazy bodybuilder. I don't care how much money I'm making from sponsors, I'm still gonna freaking work and and do shit. Like, I'm not gonna just sit on the couch and yeah watch YouTube and eat all day. That's not me. Yeah, I wouldn't. Like, I I do posing, I do uh I do online coaching, those are my two main sources of income. So, and then like I have a dog, I'm married. I have a Doberman, that's why I had to include having a dog because it's like a full-charge job. We're all dog people.

SPEAKER_00 42:02

It's funny, we're all dog people here, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, Lee's got two cats, and Lee's got two pits, right? And seven cats, and seven cats.

SPEAKER_01 42:12

Seven cats? I see the two farm here, yeah. Yeah, I know. What about you, Chris? You got dogs three, but yeah, we got two dogs here and a bunch of moose. How many dogs? Me? I got two dogs, and uh, I was joking. We have a lot of moose too.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

Oh, that's right. And the last what kind of dogs do you have?

SPEAKER_01 42:29

Uh we got a golden doodle and a regular poodle. That's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

I have a I have a bulldog and a cone corso. And it's uh Elias, it's funny you brought up it's funny you brought up a doberman because before I got the cone corso, I wanted to get some kind of a guard dog, and I was I was this close to getting a doberman. I I went to go get female Doberman, and they were it was fucking gone by the time I fucking wanted it. You're glad you didn't get it, bro. Really?

SPEAKER_02 42:57

Are you having a bulldog and a cane corso or cane corso? Yeah, you have to a Doberman is not even close to those dogs, they are very different.

SPEAKER_00 43:05

Really?

SPEAKER_02 43:05

You're you're getting. I tell everybody that says they want a Doberman, do not get a Doberman. You don't know what you're getting. You're getting a guard dog, you're getting a freaking animal that needs to be worked multiple times a day. They're they're not just like I'm gonna sit at the door and protect your house, they need to run multiple times a day, five miles, six miles. Yeah, my guys are just fat and lazy. Yeah, these are working dogs. Yeah, Malwaz, Shepherds, Dobermans, like they're not they're not really family dogs.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

Yeah, like we gotta say, Chris.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

I wanted to ask, I want to uh ask Leah. So when it comes to so so, first of all, how big were you when you uh got your pro card? You're still in the Marines. Like, were you still able to run back then? Because everyone always has that question for me if I could run.

SPEAKER_02 43:50

And then yeah, I could I could run till that last year. It was starting to get harder that last year. Yeah. And then I was gonna ask you. 1845 three mile. I mean I know you're you're you're a ranger, right? No, uh paratrooper. My brother's going to Airborne school next month. It's fun to photo play. He's in uh Fort Sill right now.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

Yep. Airborne was fun. We we just finished uh we went through our whole like six-month-long like basic training for uh we're all SF candidates and then went straight to uh airborne. That was like a free-for-all for us as soon as we got out of basic. So it was a good time. I was gonna ask you when you when you went to the field, did you pack meals or how'd you eat? Because I I know what I did. I did some some weird shit to get some protein. I just it was a lot of like stuff.

SPEAKER_00 44:48

Would you hide in a tree like Rambo and kill a pig? What'd you have to do?

SPEAKER_02 44:53

He's killing deers and cooking them in the fire, yeah. Drinking the blood. Um it it was uh it was a lot of like um I know a lot of companies have them like just meal replacement shakes. And like it wasn't like optimal, but it was eating like beef jerky and like bread, and just at that point you're just eating calories to eat food at that point. But I would still try to stay away from junk, like I'm not gonna sit there and eat a bag of potato chips. I would still try to eat like an English muffin with some peanut butter and then a protein shake or like things like that to get calories in still.

SPEAKER_01 45:31

Like I did I did eat all the candy, but out of the MREs, but um nothing wrong with candy, nothing wrong with candy. Not at all. Not at all. Well, we get uh we get cold weather MREs, so I would I was gonna tell him we used to, you know, you do your layout of everything you're supposed to bring, and then I would like show whoever's in charge of me everything I had, and then take half of it out and replace it with a bunch of those chicken packets from uh like Starkist, and like we get the cold weather MREs, so he had the hot water to him. So I just eat this slop of like chicken and rice and just bring like a bottle of hot sauce. I bring like 50 packets of chicken in top of my ruck and just stuff it on there.

SPEAKER_00 46:08

I don't realize how good I got it when my wife gets out. We eat them until they go bad. Jesus. I want to uh segue into two more topics that come into come into together and then I'll I'll let you guys go because I know it's getting late for Elias. Um all right. Do you guys think that Martin Fitzwater is going to be able to redeem himself this weekend? I don't think it'll be Andrew.

SPEAKER_01 46:31

I don't think it'll be Andrew.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

I don't think it'll be Andrew unless he comes in like redded. But I think listen, I like Martin. He's a I I like him as like I know him, and but I don't think that I feel like every time the strat strategies they keep changing, it he keeps coming in worse. Like the only time he came in really, really good was Prague. I feel like he showed up better there than he has at the Olympia. So I don't know what they're changing or what they're doing, but stop changing what they're doing because what they did at Prague looked really good. And they're taking it all the time. Maybe they're not changing things. Maybe what they're what they're doing is like Martin just needs a little bit of a break. His body needs to rest. That might be it. You know, we don't know, you know, when your body is just tired and we'll find out this weekend. Yeah, so we'll see, we'll see, especially with him traveling across the world, you know.

SPEAKER_00 47:28

We'll see how he says it all the time, man. He goes, If if uh stop doing crazy shit, stop changing things around. If you look good, just say it. He says it all the time. It's a God's honest truth.

SPEAKER_02 47:38

But Martin's got it, man. We all know Martin's got it. I think he's just gotta 100 figure a way to like uh like emotionally just keep it in because he's not a bad dude. He just he's fiery, and I think it like the maturity gets the best of them, it gets the best of them. Exactly. He's not a bad guy, like he's gonna be able to get the biggest.

SPEAKER_04 47:59

Yeah, well, I think that's where he's gonna probably redeem himself because you know, okay, if Andrew wins, and let's just say Martin got second or third, everyone's gonna be waiting just to see how he reacts to that placing. And you know, I think he's gonna have his head on right this time. And yeah, and I think sports sportsmanship would be a lot better because you know, back then even you'd be in that spot where okay, you're angry, he hates Nick with a passion, so he's not shaking his hand. But then Martin's biggest mistake was when he's in that angry mood and all fired up, he kept reading the comments, and people were just beating him down and beating him down, and you know, most people just go, fuck it. Martin's like, No, I'm coming back at you. So then Martin was just going back and forth with him, and that's just getting him all wound up once you get in that headspace. It's like you can't do that, man.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

Lee, you want to know something? You want this is funny. I actually got uh an insult, but it was very creative. This insult was very creative, and it was it was it was last year, it was last year, it was last week, the last time you were on. And somebody wrote, uh Lee, John's uh seems like a really good guy. You should have him on more often. And I'm like, This motherfucker. So I wrote a podcast like it's my podcast. Lee's the fucking you son of a bitch. I think I think they're just fucking with you. I think so too. All right, let's last topic, and then I'll let you guys go. Mike Summerfeld. Is he gonna make weight? And if he doesn't make weight, what is he gonna do? Wesley's gonna beat him anyway.

SPEAKER_04 49:26

I had Wesley beaten him at Tissano at the last time.

SPEAKER_02 49:29

I think he looked fucking good, but good. I think Mike will win if he can't make weight. Yeah, that's the big question. But if it if it doesn't, well, I'll say this, I'll reset this. I think Mike will win if he makes weight and he doesn't have to like brutally make weight to the point to where he can't fill out. Yeah, you know, he's just so flat, it's gonna take a week to come back.

SPEAKER_04 49:50

You know, um I think I think that's what might get him though, because he's finding another.

SPEAKER_02 49:54

Wesley is competing four weeks back to back. You know, that's gonna play. Yeah, Wesley just did uh he just did Arnold, he just did Detroit this week and then next week. When are we Arnold the next week, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:11

It's next weekend or this weekend? Yeah, next weekend. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 50:15

And Wesley, I was talking to Wesley a couple of days ago, and he even said he gets better at every show, and it just happened to be a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 50:21

He was better at Detroit for sure.

SPEAKER_04 50:22

Uh Wesley likes it. Wesley is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 50:24

Bug out, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:25

And he goes to UK a lot. He goes to Dino's gym, and it's only an hour flight. So really he's treating this as like a home grounded bandage. So I think he's gonna but he's he said he's mentally gonna be more relaxed, so he's hoping to even look better than he did at Detroit. And I was thinking the same thing with Mike making weight, he might have to come down too much, flatten out, and won't have time. Uh I'm not sure how the Arnold over there does their weigh-ins and then competing. I just don't think Mike will fill out in time if he has to really drag himself down.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

Chris, what does he if he can't make weight this time? Where does he go from here? Because if he can't this this is gonna be the third show that he can't make weight if he can't if he can't uh do it this time.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

I mean, I don't even know, like, because there's there's still a gap between classic and open, even though so I was gonna bring up the fact that you know what what you guys thought about Wesley winning King of Detroit over Mo. You know, I thought Wesley looked pretty pretty insane, but um, I don't know. I think there's a Wesley that I think. Yeah, I think he looked insane.

SPEAKER_04 51:23

He was very dug out like a two physique. Yeah, if that was Judge Bodybuilding wise, Mo would have one, but I think just because it was the fans is like a popularity type. It was almost like clearly what it is at that point. It's pretty much like a fancy. Yeah, fan favorite award type thing.

SPEAKER_00 51:38

But where does Mike Sommerfeld go?

SPEAKER_04 51:40

If he can't make weight this what's his what's his weight because he's not he's not super tall, can he? That's it. Could he could he do 212, Mike Summerfield?

SPEAKER_00 51:49

He could do 212, but I think he's five. I think he's my height, I think he's five eight, if I'm if I'm if I'm wrong.

SPEAKER_02 51:54

I think Mike's physique is beautiful, and I I like Mike's more than I like Dito's. Like I think Dino or I think Mike should have won the Olympia because when I see a lot of people look at a lot of the physique, I'm like, this is a complete physique, this is very classic. Look at his waist, look at how he poses, his back, his left. Like I look at that physique, I'm like, this is a complete physique, and this is very classic. A lot of people at Dino's phenomenal physique too, and I'm like, this is just as good, but it's a completely different physique. And to me, it's got way more gaps and it's missing spots than Mike's.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

I don't think he's complete. I don't think Dino's as complete, you know. I agree. Like when people say classic, I'm like, okay, which classic are they calling 90s classic? Are you calling 70s, 60s?

SPEAKER_00 52:39

Because I even think I even think Terence Ruffin is more classic than Dino to be honest.

SPEAKER_02 52:44

Yeah, and and that's where I when I see the the judging with classic, I get confused sometimes when they pick certain people, but I'm like, okay, I see it. And then sometimes it depends on the show too. But when you're looking at a show like Olympia with the highest level competitors, I look at them and I'm just like, I don't get it sometimes. Like when they picked Dino, I was like, I yeah, I guess it could have been either way, but I'm just uh so many people and me were just like I'm leaning towards Mike. What am I missing? Like, what am I saying?

SPEAKER_01 53:12

Like it's not it's not actually classic, so like they called it classic, but I think the whole idea of classic now is just this more streamlined, taller physique. Yeah, just to be stuck. I think the standards have changed, yes.

SPEAKER_02 53:24

Yeah, I think I guess if you're looking at what the standard is, Dino is closer to what Chris's look. Well, I don't know, because Chris was complete, and Mike is more complete than Dino is when you look at his physique, especially from the back. So it's like that's what I'm still missing it.

SPEAKER_00 53:43

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:44

Um don't try, don't try working out. You'll you'll never work it out. Oh my god, you'll put a mouth. I can't still work out.

SPEAKER_00 53:52

I just would like to say if he can't make weight this weekend, um, which I think he's going to, but I if he can't, I think he makes a good open bodybuild. I say take time off. He has a beautiful physique. Take time off.

SPEAKER_02 54:06

I think he just he really wants that battle.

SPEAKER_00 54:09

I think so too. And and why kill yourself if you can't because then you know the promoters get pissed off, they promote that you're there, they promote that you're gonna be there, you're a big star, you can't make it. You disappoint the fans, you disappoint the promoters.

SPEAKER_02 54:22

I think Mike is too close to like if I was second place and I was right there, I would not move to open. I would I would suck down where I need to and I'd figure it out. And I think me and my coach would figure out a game plan because I think if you suck down, he'd come in more dug out. Yeah, he's behind it looks like he was behind Chris, now he's behind Dino. Like, that's got a light of fire under your ass. Yeah, good point. Good point. So, and then now he's going through the the trials of not making weight. So, like I can only imagine in his head, he's like, This is like this has got to be my year. Let's do a die, right? Right.

SPEAKER_04 54:55

I was still I was still surprised he just fucked up. And once he didn't make weight at the Arnold, I would have been telling Fuad, I'm at your show next week. Why you waited so long and missed out? I'm like, you're in shape. There's a show next weekend. How the fuck could you not be there and do it?

SPEAKER_02 55:10

Yeah, well, to be six pounds is brutal, though. If he was already sauning and like stuck it down and flat, and you still got six more pounds of taking that pound and he's already chiseled.

SPEAKER_00 55:21

That's fucking you're right. That is brutal. Yeah, people think six pounds, six pounds is is a lot when you're yeah, when you got no water and no body fat left.

SPEAKER_04 55:31

There's a good movie I watched on the plane. It's called The Cut. It's got Orlando Bloom. Um, it's got a few other actors in you'll know, but it's about a guy who's down on his luck in boxing, lost a fight, and he's trying to make a comeback. So they got him this fight, but he has to make this weight. And it's got it, they're all going through the they're taking clam DNP. One of the other boxers passes away, but it's a bad movie. All the shit they're going through is just showing him, trying to make this weight, putting him in sauna suits and then in an ice bath and he almost died twice. It's called the cut. It's not a bad boxing movie, but it's just showing the shit they had to go through to get him down. Because I think it was like 180 something and it was pretty lean already. They had to get him down near like 156. And the guy's like, I can do it, but I've only got a week, and the shit he was putting him through was like, fuck, I was getting sick watching the movie. I'm like, fuck.

SPEAKER_00 56:22

Just a side note, and then I'm gonna let you guys go. Elias, did you ever I I I have this uh I don't know, I like watching these reaction videos, and there are these young kids, like maybe you know, less than 30 years old, maybe maybe your age, a little younger, and they've never seen certain movies, and they've never seen Full Metal Jacket. And the the the sh the thing because these young kids like 21, 25, they think movies are Disney and superhero movies.

SPEAKER_04 56:54

They like wicked, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 56:56

So then it's like well, they they have these reaction videos on YouTube, and they've never seen Full Metal Jacket, and the the shock on their face when the drill full metal jacket is nothing like actual boot camp, it's 100 times worse.

SPEAKER_02 57:16

Gunny makes that shit look soft, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:18

Uh see, and they they are they are mortified by the insults, uh, and what they are not even close, like the especially the women, like they're watching it like the 21-year-old girl, and their mouth is open, like they can't believe it. You know what I mean? It's it's phenomenal. I get such a kick out of reactions from them.

SPEAKER_04 57:38

I don't I don't know what it's like in the States, but I know I've got a friend here who's in the Air Force and he does all these special missions, but he sometimes gets in charge and he's had to go into the office a few times because he spoke roughly and bad to some of the people and they put a complaint in on him. Like, fuck, even doing the boot camp style stuff, he's getting dragged into the office because these little precious guys are he spoke to me really mean. I'm like that's fucking ridiculous. You're gonna go to water. It's like you're gonna, you're not gonna, if you go in the water, not gonna be nice, buddy.

SPEAKER_00 58:08

So hate to tell you. Unbelievable. Um, all right, gentlemen, I'm gonna let you guys go. Elliot, thank you for coming on, man. I'm gonna invite you on again. You're a great guest. Thank you very much, and uh congratulations on that third place uh victory. And uh thank you very much for your service. Chris, of course. Uh uh, thank you for coming on, man. I appreciate it. What show are you doing this year? Are you competing this year? Me, yeah. No, I'm oh him or me. No, Chris. I know he said he's he's packing until next year.

SPEAKER_01 58:38

No, we're very, very busy. So I mean, once I'm out of the army, we're uh we're moving, and then uh I mean, me and Andrew are married, but we haven't had our actual wedding yet. So we're gonna do that this year. So I do not want to be dieting during that. So we're gonna do something early next year.

SPEAKER_00 58:53

And me and Lee are trying to figure out what hotel you hotel will stay in in Nashville. Where's I gotta do it?

SPEAKER_04 58:59

We just go on to Nashville to get drunk and you can't do you can't do gummies, and I'm gonna eat junk food. That's what happens when you're a washed up, retired 54-year-old bodybuilder.

SPEAKER_00 59:11

Lee, you guys want to come? It'll be more than more than uh it'll be fun. We're going for the weekend in the first weekend in June. Uh there's a there's a uh uh fitness expo in Nashville, and we're going down just to hang out. If you guys more than you're more than welcome to come, it'll be a blast.

SPEAKER_04 59:25

You can't invite anyone. We need someone to bail us out. Come on.

SPEAKER_02 59:29

Yeah, I know, really. You guys are ever in Dallas, let me know. Come hang out for a little bit. All right, very cool, man. Very cool. We'll go get we'll go get some lunch or whatever.

SPEAKER_04 59:38

Uh never, never, I never spent much time in Dallas. I lived in Austin, Texas for four four years. I used to drive up to Dallas occasionally or down to Houston, but always stayed in Austin for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 59:48

This is like the hub for bodybuilding now. Is it real? Oh, yeah, a lot. That's right. A lot of people move the Sean Clarita. Used to go to my gym and move down to the road.

SPEAKER_02 59:55

Sean lives 10 minutes down the road from me. Drawing minutes down the road. Brandon lives 30, Justin lives like five minutes down the road, Kennedy lives like 10 minutes. We're all like right here in McKinney.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:08

Very cool, man. Very cool. All right, guys. Thank you, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:11

You gotta take me a brisket.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

All the love and respect for you guys. So I apologize.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:16

Say that again. I was just saying if I'm gonna go down, he's gotta give me some good brisket.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:22

Well, if you guys ever come up to fucking Jersey, I'll take you out from good Italian.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:27

It comes up that way. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:29

I know, only for the food. I know. Um, all right, guys, thank you very much. All the respect and love in the world. Lee, I'll fucking call you tomorrow. Okay. All right, later, fellas. Later, guys. Thanks for having me on there. Yeah.