by Christian Duque
One of the most talked about topics in bodybuilding right now isn’t regarding an upcoming contest or a viral video or trend. It’s not about who’s going to compete at the upcoming Arnold or Mr Olympia next year, let alone who’s going to win. It seems that one of the biggest topics of conversation right now is what the future is going to look like for two of the most celebrated bodybuilders on the planet. Two guys who both have won the top title in the sport.
Two guys who are capable of winning another Sandow but that now their future remains somewhat uncertain. No, they have not been injured and they have not gotten into any trouble with the federation, but their future is as much at risk as if they had been. Because the reality of the matter is both of these superstar athletes have used only one coach for most of their heyday. This is not to say they have not worked with different people during different parts of their career, but when it comes to being at the top of the game, they both swore allegiance to one man.
That one man is Hany Rambod. But Hany has officially retired from coaching superstar clients. What does this mean exactly? Does it mean that he will no longer coach? No, it does not mean that at all. What it simply means is that he will only train and prepare lifestyle clients. These are people that want to stay in shape but do not necessarily want to compete. And why would he want to do this? Because lifestyle clients are the people that keep supplement companies in business. While they may hire superstars to appear in the ads, top bodybuilders usually are not the ones buying the supplements. Why should they buy supplements when they get them for free? The people that buy the supplements and/or the people who rely on the supplements without the use of exogenous, synthetic hormones are the core customer base. Most of your natural customers will never look like the athletes in the big promotional materials, but they spend all of their money on the whey protein, the pre-workout powders, the creatine supplements, etc.
It was a very unusual announcement to say the least. Most coaches at this level do not retire. If anything they may take less clients but they’re certainly not going to walk away from star talent like Derek and Hadi. To be quite honest, I don’t understand it, but this did happen shortly after Matt Jansen lost pretty much every big name athlete in his roster. I don’t believe Hany was in this predicament, but could have been a factor.
I don’t think Hany feared ending up like Matt Jansen did, but I do he saw what guys like Samson were doing. What’s to say that at some point Derek and or Hadi decided they no longer needed him and wanted to prep themselves? This is always a chief consideration given the fact that coaches do not want to become obsolete. And that’s exactly what they have been. Samson had the support of his wife who also did much of his preparations. There were some rumors that she wasn’t really prepping him and others believe that if she was she was only doing so in a secondary capacity. After Samson won the Olympia I think most of those critics silenced themselves for the greater good.
It’s very hard to say that anything is wrong when you win the biggest title in the sport. So if Samson could do it semi-independently, what’s to say guys like Derek and Hadi wouldn’t be able to follow suit? And save a truckload of cash.
That being said, I don’t think that Hany retired from coaching superstar clients because he thought he would no longer be in demand and I also don’t think he did it because he didn’t want to wind up like Matt. I’m just saying that these are concerns he may have had and may have reflected on before making the final decision, but I think ultimately he did what he did because he wanted to spend more time with his friends and family. But the question becomes can Derek and Hadi look as good as they have before, without their superstar coach in their corner?
Lee Priest has gained substantial notoriety in this subject matter for saying that coaches are largely an unnecessary extra. They cost the athletes a lot of money and they are not really all that helpful. Guys like Lee and other old school bodybuilding purists do not believe that top-tier competitors need to have their hand held. They don’t understand nor do they value most coaches because they really don’t bring anything to the table. They are essentially telling the bodybuilders what they already know.
I think that’s true to a point but I also think that when dealing with exogenous, synthetic hormones, sarms, diuretics and other powerful agents aimed at making a competitor look their best, that the insights and experience of a coach can come in quite handy. Again competitors don’t have a lot of time to play with and the stakes are very high. Therefore I do believe in the need for premier coaches is critical.
The problem is there’s so many lackluster ones that they tend to muddy the waters for the sport of bodybuilding. A guy on Hany’s level can really be responsible for that extra little bit to get a superstar champion to win either an Arnold classic, a New York Pro, or the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding, the Mr Olympia. And it’s not just me saying so, it’s Hany’s track record. It’s what he has been able to accomplish as the force behind some of the biggest names in the sport. That’s no coincidence folks! The man is very gifted and speaking of gifts, he’s the man behind The Gift, Phil Heath as well. He has been the man behind some of the best champions in the sport of bodybuilding. The question is, when you remove him from the equation, do the best champions continue being the best?
That’s the million dollar question!
That is where we are right now. Hadi took second and Derek took third, but as I have said before, Martin could have just as well beaten both of them. I think the fact they placed where they did was because they were Mr Olympia within the recent past but who’s to say they will not be in the top three in 2025. Look at Brandon Curry. He barely placed in the top 10. So he’s got to be thinking if he should be retiring soon because the alternative would be for him to possibly be outside of the Top 10.
No Mr Olympia should find themselves in that situation. Nonetheless the question is, can Derek and Hadi do what Samson did or will they have to find another superstar coach that will essentially take over from Hany and tell them what time it is.
The question is who is Derek going to pick? Who is Hadi going to pick? Does anyone think they will solve the problem on their own? I personally don’t, but maybe you do. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s sure to generate some pretty lively conversation.