by Christian Duque
It’s confirmed that the G.O.A.T. of Classic Physique will be doing the 2024 IFBB Pro League Prague Pro. Many commentators threw water on this concept; however, credit is due to Ivan Bodybuilding who has been predicting this for quite some time. I must admit that while I’m familiar with Ivan, I don’t watch him as much. Especially after everything that went down with Milos not too long ago; however, Ivan knows his shit.
This is a huge win for EVLS, the promoters of the contest. This is also not just some wishful thinking from the promoter. Bumstead is actually doing this and calls it “one more round” before leaving the stage behind him. You’d think people would be happy for the champ, but resentment is already brewing. Some of the fans are actually up in arms. Perhaps it’s a little resentment left over from the GymShark announcement where everyone thought C-Bum would be retiring. When he decided to compete at the 2024 Olympia, he caught many hardcore fans off guard when he announced his retirement. Especially because he was so confident at the press conference.
But that’s just it, Bumstead has always kept it interesting. He’s never been a predictable champion. He’s always been a little mysterious, very honest, and he’s always had his mind on something. Chris is the last guy anyone would ever associate with resting on his laurels. So everyone’s happy for him, right?
Well, not exactly. A lot of the fans feel betrayed. That’s right my friends, they feel betrayed. Now why on Earth would fans of Bumstead feel betrayed? I’m seriously not trying to be wordy here but it is one of those things that leaves me as a bodybuilding journalist just scratching my head.
I don’t quite understand why certain fans feel as if Chris has somehow played them. They were very sad to see him go just a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas, Nevada, but in the same breath they’re now sort of angry at him because of the fact that he may compete at a few more contests. isn’t that a little bizarre? Why would fans be upset with a star athlete that wants to compete just a little bit more? Well, I think it’s because they think that this is not just a one-time gig. I think they think that he was playing with them by retiring in a tearful manner at the Olympia only to now switch gears into open bodybuilding. But I would have to disagree that I don’t think he is embarking on a whole new career. I really truly believe him and take him at his word.
Competing at the Prague Pro in the open is probably something to put on the sort of bucket list of last aspects of his competitive career. I believe him when he says that he wants to spend time with his family and away from the stage.
You know bodybuilding fans really are cut from a different cloth. In any other sport if a beloved hero that had just announced retirement and said that he was going to play a few more games, people would be out of their seats in utter pandemonium. But here there are folks with hurt feelings because they feel like they got duped. Now let me say one last thing about these very bizarre individuals. Number one get over it, number two, he will only probably do a couple of shows in open bodybuilding, and number three with all due respect to Bumstead I don’t know that he really wants to bark up this tree. I understand him doing a small show in Prague and maybe that being a one and done, but if he presses his luck, he’s going to come up against some of the best of the best in the open division And he may find himself at a disadvantage. The last thing we want to see is Chris Bumstead embarrass himself.
Now before I go on, I can already anticipate the hatemail that I’m going to receive by writing this article. Many people will say to me how dare I say that Chris would embarrass himself? He has the greatest physique on the planet. Arnold has said this is what bodybuilding should look like. He is the winningest classic physique pro. I would agree with all of these statements. But that being said, he is not what bodybuilding actually calls for today. Perhaps in Arnold’s mind it is what it should look like, but it is not what the judges are looking for in the here and now.
So while C-Bum may dominate classic physique I don’t necessarily think he would dominate open men’s bodybuilding. Not only that, but I don’t think that he would be able to break into the top six either at the Arnold Classic or the Olympia. He would have to put on a significant amount of size and I don’t know if that is something he is willing to do. Number one because it’s going to take a lot more time than just a couple of weeks or a couple of months and number two there is no guarantee that he’s going to rise to the very top. Again he’s going from one division where he’s Mr Olympia to another division where in all honesty he may not be in the top 10 for the next couple of years. He also needs to think about his legacy in classic physique.
Again, legacy is very important. I often talk about it in my articles for Iron Magazine and it’s because it matters. Historically, legacy can make or break a champion. Even though Chris has won several Olympia titles that does not mean that if all of a sudden he starts competing in the open division and does not do well, that he is going to still have that larger than life status from classic physique. The more times that he loses or places out of the money, the more it’s going to take its toll on that very, very impressive legacy from the classic division. Now if he does one or two contests and he places respectively that’s fine. At the end of the day it’s just to get it out of his system. And I can totally understand that. But to play devil’s advocate, if this is a new page in a new career, things may not go as well as planned. Again it all depends how long he plans to compete. As I’ve stated if he does Prague which is a relatively small show he should be okay, but if he starts getting a little bit carried away and we see him next year at the New York Pro or the Arnold Classic in open, I suspect that at that point he may in fact embarrass himself before realizing that this is not going to be as easy as maybe he had thought.
I know that if I ask people if they want my opinion they’re going to say no. You’re going to say who are you? And hey, that’s a valid response, however, I am the person writing this article. My gut instinct is that Chris is going to do this show in the Czech Republic and maybe one more and that’s going to be it. I don’t think he’s going to embark on a whole new chapter of his career because he’s not a spring chicken, because I don’t think he wants to put on the amount of mass necessary to be competitive in open bodybuilding, and because after his speech at the Olympia leaving the classic division behind – I don’t think that was at all disingenuous.
I think that people in the sport of bodybuilding have become very jaded and very skeptical of pretty much everything these athletes have to say. It’s kind of ironic for me to say it as a member of the media but I do believe it when he said that he wanted to dedicate time to his family while not leaving the sport. He’s only leaving the stage. I would be absolutely shocked if this was a new career move for him.
Also you have to realize that Chris has a lot of business ventures, and that he is not going to put those on hold simply to try his luck in open bodybuilding. Not only that but if the current Olympia champions had been guys like Derek or Hadi, I would believe you, but for him to beat a guy like Samson he would have to put on a solid 50lbs of muscle and I don’t know what that would do to his beautiful proportions and physique. I can only imagine that he would really do himself a major disservice without any guarantee of placing in the top money. And it’s for those reasons that I just don’t see him going to the open as a new career move.
But ultimately what say you? Do you think this is a new chapter in his career or simply something to take off his bucket list? As always , thank you for reading my article here at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Be sure to share this article on all of your social media feeds as it’s surely going to generate considerable conversation.