by Christian Duque
Okay listen folks I want to be crystal clear here. I do not condone violence. I think violence should never be the answer. In fact if someone’s attacking you, violence may not be your best resort. Of course you may be protected, legally, if it is truly self defense, but it may not be the best course of action. Sometimes running, even though it may seem very unglamorous, is the best way for you to stay in one piece. At the end of the day you can keep all that honor bullshit and all of that bravery stuff unless you’re fighting in the US military against an enemy, then chances are you’re just going to be running away from a stupid bar fight or some kind of road rage incident. There is no shame in running and even if there is, like I said, you’ll be in one piece.
Now that all being said, sometimes we are unable to control our tempers. Now before you go thinking this is a massive anti-Mike article just hear me out. Because I can promise you nothing could be farther from the truth. This article is not a pro-Mike article but it’s also not an anti-Mike one. It is an article where I’m going to look at the very real effects of trolling. I’m going to look at breaking points, I’m going to look at a whole host of things before I throw the book at anyone. And in reality I may end up not throwing the book at anyone. Because the blame game only takes you so far.
Now as I write this article there are rumors that Mike is going to be arrested. And that is fine too. Simply being arrested only means that the government has enough to charge you with something. The burden is on the state to get the conviction. Mike will be innocent until proven guilty so even if he is arrested today or tomorrow I could care less. That being said, I did want to at least recognize that I’m aware of these possibilities in the article so that you know that I’m coming at you with the fullest possible perspective at my disposal.
So in my typical form I’m going to be 100% transparent with you. I don’t know either guy. I have never met either guy, that I’m aware of. But I have been around the scene for 15 years. Is it possible that I shook hands with one of these guys or chit-chatted with them in butt fuck Egypt somewhere, maybe, but I don’t remember either one of them. I can tell you I have never chatted with either one of them and really except for Mike doing the podcast with Fouad, I don’t really know anything about either guy. So I think that gives me a good perspective as well because I’m not coming into this playing any favorites.
The next matter that I should address is the fact that I, like everyone else, saw the clip of Mike grabbing Jeff by the throat and throwing onto the ground. I saw that. I saw Mike coming at this guy with rage in his eyes. I agree with many commentators who surmise that Jeff honestly cannot read a room. I mean if I saw a guy like Mike coming at me, with that kind of rage in his eyes, I would be at the very least apprehensive. That being said, people that like to be smart asses online seldom, if ever, ever think the person they’re being a smart-ass to will face off with them one-on-one. And even if that did happen, a lot of smart asses online, which could also be considered trolls by some, don’t ever think that the recipient of all of their bullshit is actually going to go hands-on. Again there are cameras rolling, potential witnesses watching, etc.
A lot of these snotty-nosed YouTubers bank on this stuff. Now I’m not saying that Jeff is a snotty-nosed YouTube punk but in the light most favorable to Mike that’s exactly what he would be. So let’s look at things from Mike’s perspective. At least let’s do that first and then we will look at it through Jeff’s perspective. Again, my only goal is to write a balanced piece. I feel like there’s enough biased stuff out there for you to go and read or watch if that is what your heart desires. You’re not going to find a puff piece here, however. Sorry not sorry.
So let’s say that Mike does a podcast, works out, likes to be strong and doesn’t really like to mess with anyone. Maybe Mike is the kind of guy who is willing to share the knowledge from what he has learned in the gym and in the kitchen with anybody who asks him the right way. And there is a right way to ask these folks because honestly the level of intrusiveness and just downright crassness of a lot of fans at expos and even at gyms with celebrities in the industry has become a real problem. Everything from grabbing these guys, to asking them impertinent questions, to taking certain liberties with them that even close friends wouldn’t. It’s gotten to the point where fitness celebrities not only have to have thick skin but they almost have to be superhuman to put up with all the bullshit.
Now granted, all we see is Mike grabbing this guy and throwing him against the ground in a gym. I don’t think that whatever caused that level of rage dealt with anything said or done at that particular location. I think Mike was dealing with a lot of pent-up frustrations and that came to a head when these guys were in the same room together.
And that is because I have been trolled and I know what it’s like to get beyond a breaking point. I have never gone hands-on, but I will tell you that I have thought about it. Because at the end of the day that’s exactly what a troll is going for. They want to make you so angry that you literally have a nervous breakdown and you’re powerless to do anything about it. I mean look at Rich Piana. Rich slapped the hell out of Jason [Genova] because he thought Jason was trolling him. He didn’t understand Jason’s condition and he didn’t appreciate the fact that Jason doesn’t have an ounce of evil in him. But by the point that he saw Jason in close proximity, all he could do was slap the daylights out of them. And that’s probably what happened here between Mike and Jeff.
Aso looking at it from Mike’s vantage point it is possible that Jeff knew exactly what was going to come. It is possible that he read the room just fine. It is possible that he let Mike go hands-on and that may be why he didn’t respond. It may be because Jeff wanted to have the last laugh on Mike by seeing him get arrested, prosecuted, and possibly slapped with a lawsuit. These scenarios are all within the realm of possibility. It would make Jeff into little less than a psychopath, but it is within the realm of possibility.
Now let’s look at things from Jeff’s Vantage point. I don’t know very much about Jeff but I know that he’s a natural bodybuilder and he’s very proud of what he’s accomplished in the gym. He’s very proud of what he’s been able to do with his physique and is very proud of what he’s been able to do with his strength. He has competed in natural bodybuilding at elite levels and done very well. He has broken personal records at regional strength meets and also done very well. He has done all of this as a natural, drug-free athlete.
Now here’s the thing about some natties. if the natty is all about their own personal journey – that’s great. But it’s when natties starts passing moral judgment on competitors that decide to enhance that we have a problem. And this does not stop with Jeff. This goes back to the days of Skip LaCour, this goes back to the days of when the Universe was tested, this goes back to an ages-old argument between “real” gains vs chemically-enhanced ones.
But that is also a bullshit analysis because the people that use performance enhancing drugs are working their asses off too!! They’re starving their asses off, they’re doing fasted cardio, and they’re going through peak week just like everybody else. There is no such thing as a magic pill or a magic serum that’s going to make anyone into a professional bodybuilder, much less a top tier professional bodybuilder, without hard work and discipline. But it’s that kind of arrogance from certain natties, that is, dare I say like Jeff, that probably pisses people like Mike off to no end.
I have to say we are trying to look at things from Jeff’s perspective but I’m already having issues with it because of the fact that there are natties out there that are very judgmental and they make folks’ blood boil. Again, enhanced people don’t go out of their way to make fun of natties, but there are certain natties that go out of their way to pass moral judgment on people that juice for whatever purpose that may be – whether it’s competing in a physique-based competition or competing in a strength-based competition. And I have to be honest with you. I can see where the friction might escalate to the point of no return if it just keeps compounding and compounding.
I want to go back to the beginning of the article, however, and stress that I do not condone violence. And I’m not saying that as part of some ploy to be politically correct or to cover my ass. I’m saying it because I’ve never believed in violence, but I’m also saying it in the same breath as I’m saying I can understand how a troll can push even the most sensible person over the edge. I don’t know if that’s what happened here, but from what I’ve heard, there is that smart alecky natty bullshit at play and I just don’t know how much of it there was. I don’t know how much Jeff went after Mike. All I do want to say is let’s wait until investigations are conducted, trials take place, before we throw the book at Mike. Let’s also not throw the book at Jeff because we don’t really know what set this whole thing off.
I could probably type another three pages, but let’s stop here. There’s pictures of Jeff with bruises on his neck. I’m sure Mike feels terrible about what happened, but only time will tell how this is going to play out. I would love it if these guys could just work it out with a handshake and just be done with it but I suspect Jeff is going to want criminal charges, lawsuits, and definitely tons and tons of media coverage. But hey I would love nothing more than to be totally wrong. Also, kudos to Fouad for not ditching Mike. Real friends don’t run away – even if their friends may be in the wrong. And ahame on people who tried to pressure Fouad to turn his back on Mike. That’s majorly fucked up.