by Christian Duque
We have all seen the power of social media over the years. Kali is an individual who has created a brand for himself that has evolved over the years. He is someone who got started doing prison videos and evolved into a fitness celebrity, a motivational speaker, and a gamer and more. When he got off the ground he was talking about life in the pen. He discussed how to create prison meals and how to get around prison politics and be successful behind bars. At the time people were enthralled by that. I myself being a licensed attorney have never really cared much about prison life. I value my freedom and I certainly would never put myself in a position to live as a number. I don’t like taking communal showers, I don’t think I would enjoy living in a cell with a bunkie and if I wanted tats, I’d go to a shop and get some.
That being said, a lot of people look at doing hard times the same way they would as in making big gains in the gym. Everyone comes to the proverbial table with a different set of priorities. For some getting jacked and living in a dog-eat-dog environment is what it’s all about. They can do that behind bars, they can do it through enlisting in the military, or whatever else floats their boat. At the end of the day, it takes all kinds. I’m not here to tell you what to watch, I’m just sure to write about what’s popular. And Cali was making a killing when he was all about prison-life on social media. In fact, that is where Slap City came from. You had all sorts of people waiting in line at big fitness events to get slapped on the back by Cali and his crew. For a good few months (if not a year or more), it served as a ridiculous rite of passage for low IQ gym bros looking to be part of something. I’m sorry, but you have to be some kind of a fool to wait in line to take your shirt off and get slapped on the back by a bunch of roided-out ex-cons. I think I might even have a video somewhere that I’ll share in this article.
When the whole Slap City thing became politically incorrect and expos didn’t want any part of it, guys like Cali had to evolve. Now that’s often a lot easier said than done. For example, if you are a one-trick pony and your trick gets removed you may not have something else to fall back on. In the end, viewer engagement is a very strategic and complex feat to accomplish. And then you throw the algorithm into the equation – you’re really talking about making things more difficult. because social media wants its biggest stars to have staying power. This is why they are constantly changing what it takes to be number one. But whatever Instagram, Youtube, or Facebook threw at Cali, he always figured out a way to come out on top. And that is because he was always switching it up. He was always leaving his viewers wanting for more. So when the Slap City thing came to an end he evolved into fitness.
A lot of guys in the sport looked at him and Rich and people like that in the same breath. They wanted to believe that you could attain that level of muscularity, that sheer definition, even that gnarly separation all through hard work. And that’s exactly what Cali did. He never glamorized anabolic steroids, at least not then. Guys like CT Fletcher then became the norm for Cali. He wanted to be someone in that realm. He wanted to advocate hardcore training and a militant personality. I think he was able to tap into his prison content to give a little bit of that edge to the fitness game. Because at the end of the day talking about lifting weights and eating tuna and rice and green vegetables can only go so far, especially when you’re not talking about the juice and the supplements that really make the difference. In fact Cali was not only able to tap into the prison vibes for training content, but he was also able to bring a prison drink into his fitness game, as well. This is what Hyphy Mud was all about. Basically it was just instant coffee and Coca-Cola. It sold like hotcakes.But when that got a little cheesy, Cali then moved into changing his eye color, getting into video gaming, and putting it all together to create some sort of magical recipe for success. It worked – yet again. He hit the jackpot once more.
But as they say, all good things come to an end. In Cali’s case they did not actually end but he had to totally switch gears. When he had a major health scare and found himself hospitalized, he had to put the brakes on being huge and had to start looking at ways to reinvent himself, yet again. And it’s at this point in time that he started the whole motivational speaking crap. It was also during this time that he started advocating against drugs and talking more about holistic approaches to longevity and sustaining a healthy fit lifestyle. He has been able to change, reinvent himself, and always rack in the big money. Unfortunately now, he’s under scrutiny of guys like Kenny KO, Johnny Bravo, Coach Greg. People are starting to call bullshit on his bullshit. The reality of the matter is there is nothing all that special about Cali. It’s just marketing and marketing and more marketing.
Unfortunately for Cali he has also dug himself in for a battle that I don’t think he can win. Well, maybe he can win a battle here and a battle there, but I think ultimately he will lose the war. As I have often said, there is a certain amount of puffery that goes on in bodybuilding. It’s okay to a certain extent because some exaggeration is no different than some airbrushing or some goon-lighting, but when everything you’re about is bullshit, that has a way of catching up to you and that’s unfortunately a place you don’t want to be in. If enough people call your bullshit out, you lose credibility. And credibility is one thing you cannot get back. At least not for a long time. Look at Liver King. He’s still hanging on but at what level? He’s making a fraction of what he was making just a couple of years ago. And will he ever be at the top of his game like he was then? I would say probably not. He made his money and he got his fame and now he’s sort of on life support in terms of being a celebrity in the fitness game. Will this be Cali’s fate as well?
Only time will tell but people are starting to really turn on Cali. They are turning on his brand. They are questioning his work ethic and they are questioning everything about his journey. If people don’t believe you they’re not going to identify with you. Like I said, things don’t look to be on the up and up for this once high-and-mighty Jim superstar. And the more he fights back against the people scrutinizing him, the more he puts himself into a corner that I don’t think he can get himself out of.
What’s your take on Cali? Do you support him? Do you believe in him or want to follow in his footsteps? As always, thanks for reading my article here at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to share a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s surely going to generate some lively conversation.
