by Christian Duque
Well the cat’s out of the bag as Sam Sulek has confirmed that he is in fact doing the Arnold Classic Amateur and will be competing this weekend in order to qualify. This is monumental because of the fact that for such a long time we have been speculating as to what his competition plans were. There has been so much talk about this particular competitor that it has made the rounds throughout social media. It’s crazy to think about it but he has never competed before. And the reality is people cannot stop talking about it. I have never seen as much conversation about a competitor’s debut in the nearly 20 years I’ve been covering the sport of bodybuilding.
And I think that is noteworthy because take Iron Magazine for example, I have written nearly 800 articles for this publication and I have never seen this level of interest in somebody doing their competitive debut. Now mind you we’re not talking about a pro debut which stands to reason because that is a huge next step for an amateur competitor in a completely new arena. But we’re not talking about a pro debut. We’re talking about a guy doing his first-ever bodybuilding show. This is a guy who has been at the top of the game for quite some time. Even The Tren Twins didn’t receive this level of interest when they competed for the first time. And they are also viral sensations. So it isn’t so much that Sam has a truckload of viewers, I think it’s bigger than that. I think we’re dealing with a phenomenon here of an individual that has been tried and true throughout the course of his social media fame. He has not been a snake oil salesman, he hasn’t been exposed for any dishonesty. He’s just basically a gymrat who swore he would never compete but who has now decided to do so. He’s a totally normal guy with totally normal goals who’s going through the trials and tribulations of a bodybuilding prep.
I think Sam should be commended for his transparency as well. A lot of competitors will keep their plans for the stage under wraps for as long as possible. Perhaps in his case because of the fact that he is so popular it’s pointless to try to hide it. He’s no longer with Hosstile Supps so he’s arguably not going to have his plans leaked to the press because he probably doesn’t tell anybody about them anyways. Nonetheless, he decided to come clean. He will be competing this weekend to qualify for the Arnold Classic Amateur and if that works then he will be in Columbus at arguably one of the biggest amateur shows in the world.
Is he going there to earn a pro card? That’s always going to be a question but if he’s like any other bodybuilder he’s going to win. This is not a sport for the humble and it’s not a sport for those that are on the fence. It’s not something you decide at the spur of a moment and just take the plunge. It often requires anywhere from 16 weeks to 24 weeks of active preparation. It’s caloric manipulation, lifting at different frequencies, and of course all the hours spent posing in front of the mirror. To a gymrat there is no such thing as mandatory poses or comparisons. It’s all about you – and you alone. You don’t lift for a panel of judges, you lift for yourself. When you’re a competitor – that all goes out the window.
As a competitor you are competing for a placing. I don’t care what people say when it comes to results. The folks that say they’re doing it just for fun or to get it off their bucket list may in fact be doing it for that reason but not when you’re at the level of Sam it’s more. This is probably one of the most popular bodybuilders on the planet and he is not going to put all of it on the line just to go and look like crap. And we know he’s not going to look like crap because he has been posting updates consistently throughout his prep. People have even said that he’s going to die young because of the level of condition and separation that we see. And I’m sure he finds it comical because he seems to be a perfectly rational individual who’s not going to jeopardize his health – currently or in the long term – just for a Coke can trophy. It is very endearing, however, to be said to be that conditioned when you’ve never done a show in your life.
When people are actively taking bets on how long you’re going to be alive for you know you’re doing something right. I know that sounds incredibly fucked up but the fact is we are in an era of bodybuilding where guys get on stage looking puffy. I think that Sam is a throwback to the ’90s. In fact, maybe even to the early 90s when guys had onion-thin skin and had maybe 3% body fat. If he can pull that off then the sky is a limit for him. I don’t necessarily think his health is in jeopardy. I think that after all of the deaths that the sport we have had to deal with, I think that guys Sam’s age are keeping everything closely monitored by a healthcare professional. Or at least I hope so. You just never know with things like that. Even the most transparent competitors do not share their blood panels with the world. Nor should they. Not everything is intended for public consumption. That being said, I do hope that Sam is taking care of himself. I know that when people are young they may feel indestructible but when you are using performance enhancing drugs and especially diuretics, they have a way of creeping up on you. Maybe one or two preps is not really an issue but if this becomes his modus operandi, I could see it becoming an issue in the next 10 to 15 years. And that would still mean he would be very young because I think he’s in his early twenties. Nonetheless I’m speculating as much as the people on the message boards. I’m just going to hope that he is doing right by himself and that he is being responsible.
I also think the fact that he is so dry has made a lot of people think that it has to be because of drug use. And I don’t think it is. If you look at some of the most gifted natural bodybuilders in some of the most stringently-tested federations you will find that they are actually not running any compounds. They are not running steroids, Sarms, diuretics or really anything of the sort. They are tested with urinalysis and polygraph so you know that you’re dealing with folks that are literally just dieting down.
Over the years I’ve interviewed some of the biggest names of the ’80s and ’90s and they always told me they didn’t even believe in a peak week to begin with. They believed in coasting into the final week and the final days of a show. They never crashed, they never had to endure agony because they were slowly and gradually tightening the belt. And if you do a prep that way, then you never have to put your body through the taxing process of sodium depletion, or running diuretics, or having to take more extreme measures. Also, the real test is going to come in Columbus. Right now Sam has said he is just doing a qualifier.
I also think that that is significant because depending on what the qualifier is he’s going to, if he comes into it with a physique worthy of winning the Arnold Amateur, he’ll crush everyone. I can’t imagine that he’s going to run up against any type of competition that is going to really stand in his way. So if he can get an easy win at what would essentially be a warm-up show this weekend and qualify for the Arnold Classic then he’s going to go into the contest with tremendous self-confidence. I don’t care how easy the win is, it’s going to build tremendous drive that he will need on stage. The last thing you want to do is have your debut at the biggest show in amateur bodybuilding. I think the qualifier will help him cut his teeth and get a little bit of stage time before hitting the giant stage in Columbus.
Now the good thing for Sam is that regardless of where he places at this qualifier and regardless of where he places in Columbus his social media star is going to continue rising. People have tremendous respect for the fact that he was able to put his money where his mouth was. What I mean by that is that while he was just a gymrat, a lot of competitors saw him as a bit of an interloper. They saw him as somebody that was basically big at the time and maybe getting ready to cash in and cash out. I don’t believe you need to compete in order to become famous on social media and I also don’t believe you need to compete in order to make a lot of money with bodybuilding. But if you are after legitimacy and the respect of your peers, then competing is necessary. So if Nick does a qualifier and can do Columbus and then decides that that is it for him with regards to competing, he will still earn the respect of competitors of the amateur and professional levels. If he had never even tried, then I suspect he would never have been accepted by them. And being accepted is important.
In conclusion, I’m quite confident that Sam will win his qualifier this weekend and that he will hit the stage in Columbus. What he will do there is anyone’s guess. It would be a fairytale ending if he was able to qualify this weekend and then go to Columbus and earn his pro card. On the flip side though, if that does happen, I can imagine people are going to sound off and scream politics at the top of their lungs. They’re going to steal his thunder and question his victory because that sort of thing just doesn’t happen. It could happen because he’s worked his ass off and looks phenomenal, but haters will still hate. Only time will tell.
As always I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all of your social media feeds as it will generate considerable conversation. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.
