Club Shay Shay - Ronnie Coleman Part 1
Episode Date: September 18, 2024Eight-time Mr. Olympia champion, Ronnie Coleman, sits down with Shannon Sharpe at Club Shay Shay for a deep dive into Ronnie's life, career, and incredible journey in bodybuilding. In Part 1, they go ...way back, discussing Ronnie's upbringing in Louisiana where he grew up working on a farm, chopping cotton, and dreaming of becoming a professional football player. He reflects on his time playing football at Grambling State University, describing it as the greatest time of his life, even though a neck injury he sustained there would impact him for the rest of his bodybuilding career. Ronnie talks about his early passion for weightlifting, which started when his mom bought him a 110 lb weight set from Walmart at the age of 12. He also shares stories about his various odd jobs, including working as a sports writer and editor in the journalism department, and graduating cum laude with a degree in accounting. Despite these accomplishments, he took on a job delivering pizzas at Domino’s to make car payments, where he ate pizza every day for two years, eventually trading slices for burgers, fried chicken, and tacos from neighboring fast-food joints. Shannon and Ronnie delve into his entry into the world of bodybuilding. Ronnie recalls walking into a gym for the first time, where the owner predicted he could win Mr. Olympia. After initially placing third in nationals during his first year, people began speculating about whether he was using steroids. Ronnie also talks about his grueling training regimen, eating a pound of protein with every meal, and how his strict discipline set him apart from other bodybuilders who would frequent strip clubs while he stayed focused. He also shares his decision to start using steroids in 1995, and how the path to qualifying for Mr. Olympia was tough, with many struggles that nearly caused him to quit. Ronnie recounts the surreal moment of winning his first Mr. Olympia title, which was so overwhelming that he fainted on stage and doesn't remember what anyone said to him. Throughout the conversation, Ronnie reflects on how his job as a police officer helped ground him and bring a sense of normalcy to his otherwise intense life in bodybuilding, as well as how his weightlifting routine differed from the standard bodybuilding approach. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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I'm Kari Champion and this is season four of Naked Sports.
Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry,
Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese.
People are talking about women's basketballs
just because of one single game.
Clark and Reese have changed the way
we consume women's basketball.
And on this new season, we'll cover all things
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I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports.
Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry.
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Every great player needs a foil.
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People are talking about women's basketball
just because of one single game.
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Sacrificed, thought so paid the price
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That's why all my life I be grinding all my life
Hello, welcome to another episode of Club CheChe
I am your host, Shannon Sharp
I'm also the proprietor of Club CheChe
The guy that's stopping by for conversation and a drink today. Man, he's a legend. The most successful and strongest
bodybuilder of all time. He won 26 IFBB professional titles. He won the Mr. Olympia eight times
in a row, which is a retired Lee Haney's record for the most Olympia victories. He's the first
man to win the Arnold Classic and the Olympia title in the same season. I happen to be at that 2001 Arnold Classic.
He's considered by many to be the greatest
bodybuilder of all time.
Considered he is.
He's a member of the International Sports Hall of Fame.
He received the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award
and inspiration to many walking the world.
Lightweight baby, yeah buddy, the king, the icon.
Here he is, Ronnie Coleman. Ronnie, buddy the king the icon here. He is Ronnie Coleman
Man it's been a while bro. We go back a long way
Cuz I remember when you came back in the late 90s used to come back to rope who used to train me rope man
Yep, guess pose that is as it shows
So we've come you you've come a long way, I've come a long way.
Bro, I got my own cognac.
This is my cognac, shaped by La Portier.
Oh cool.
And I want to toast your career.
The most unbelievable professional bodybuilding career ever.
Thank you.
Salute bro.
Growing up, you're from Louisiana.
Yep, born and raised.
Born and raised in Louisiana.
So growing up, obviously you probably worked on a farm like labor.
Yes, sir, I sure did.
Chopping that cotton.
Okay, so what did Ronnie Coleman want to be
when he was a kid?
I wanted to be a professional football player.
Okay.
Yeah, and I played high school, junior high, college.
Didn't make it to the pros.
Right.
So you played all sorts of, you played football play football you play basketball or you just mainly play football
I'm paying to play football. I didn't play basketball
Did a little track also but football was my thing, right? Okay, so you go to so you went to Gremlin
Yeah, GSU play for the legendary coach Rob Eddie Robinson. What was that experience like?
legendary coach Rob, Eddie Robinson. What was that experience like?
Man, it was a lot of fun.
I mean, we had the greatest time of all,
had the greatest coach of all time, Eddie Rob.
And we lived a joyous, fun life.
And it was real hectic on the road
because everybody was trying to get Coach Rob,
especially when he broke that record.
Correct.
But it was probably the greatest time of my life.
Right.
Greatest experience of my life, for sure.
I often want to go back to those days, but you know how that is.
But that was the greatest time of my life by far.
So you mentioned like growing up you wanted to play professional football, But that was the greatest time of my life by far.
So you mentioned like growing up you wanted to play professional football, you got a college
scholarship to go to GSU, but I heard you injured your neck.
Was that probably the main reason why you didn't make it or was it ability?
Well, I had a lot of injuries, but first of all, I didn't go on scholarship.
I walked on.
Walked on.
Yeah, and tried out and then made the team.
But initially I hurt my back real bad.
Real bad.
It started probably when I was like a sophomore.
I went to the chiropractor, went to the bunch of doctors.
Nobody could find out anything wrong.
But the chiropractor said, you know, I can help you get it back to normal where you'd
be, you know, function real good.
And he did.
And I went to him probably about every single day for about four or five months.
And then I backed off and start going like twice a week. But
uh finally I got it back to where I could function real good and there wasn't
no big problem. I injured my neck one day in practice but it wasn't it wasn't
that serious. Not trying to make the tackle. Yeah making the tackle. It did keep me out for about two days of practice, but you know, that was about it.
For the most part, a lot of people think, you know, the lifting the weights is what
injured my back, but it was actually playing football
my sophomore year. And those injuries, they follow you throughout your life.
I mean, it never went away.
And when I got here in Dallas, I picked up chiropractic once again.
And it would be time that I had to go like every day for a while.
And then in 96, I did end your honeyed a disc, getting ready for the Arnold Classic.
Right.
It kept me out for about two weeks,
but I went to the chiropractor. That's when I got into massage therapy also, and that
helped me out a lot. But I still was able to do the Arnold Classic, and that was in
March, it was always in March. And I got it back to where I could squat real heavy and deadlift real heavy.
In 2001, I deadlifted about 800 for a couple reps.
And in 03, I squatted 800 for a couple reps.
So I was pretty, I got it pretty much back to normal use around that time.
Do you think about what could have been had you not had those injuries?
Like, could you believe you could have squatted excess of 900 to a thousand pounds?
Deadlift, maybe 900 to a thousand pounds?
Have those thoughts ever gone through your mind?
Like, man, if I'd have never had these injuries,
I only imagine just how strong I could have been.
Yeah, every single day.
I still regret not deadlifting at 800 more than two reps because at the time I knew I
had already deadlifted it anyway, but squatting it, I was like, if I could only just get two
reps I could get on deadlift, I'll be set.
But I got to it and those two reps were a lot lighter than I thought.
And I was like, man, I could have did at least four more reps with that 800.
It was just that light.
So I'm like, I'm not going to tempt fate again.
I'm getting ready for the Miss Olympia.
I don't want to blow out another disc.
So I like, I know what I do.
I'll just load up the leg press and try to make up for it.
So we went to the leg press.
I loaded it up with 2,300 pounds.
Right.
Well, you couldn't put any more weight on it, Ronnie.
Couldn't put no more weight on it.
That's what I mean when I say we loaded it up.
Yeah.
Y'all about to have every 45 that was in the gym.
Y'all had it on the leg press.
Pretty much, but Brian keep quite a few of those laying around.
But I did do that for nine reps and sort of made up for it.
But you know, it ain't 800 on the squat.
But you also were a powerlifter. You started out as a powerlifter.
Yeah, I started power lifting in high school.
Okay.
And we would go from state to state doing power lifting meets and I did okay.
Nothing spectacular.
I did that for like two years and then our power lifting thing kind of folded.
So I did like my sophomore year, my junior year.
And like I said, I did pretty good.
And when I came out to Dallas, I entered some more,
like it wasn't a full power lifting meet,
it was something like a deadlift meet.
I did a lot of loads in which I deadlifted
probably like 750, the highest I got.
But nothing.
But what weight class you were in, 220s?
What weight class were you in, the 220s?
I started out in 181.
181, what?
Yeah, in high school, remember?
And then I went to 198.
And I think my senior year, I weighed 185 in high school.
I didn't get to 200 till I got to college.
Till you got to college, OK.
I think I went all the way up to like 225, somewhere in there, playing middle linebacker.
So were you, did you lift a lot in college?
I mean, what was your weight program like in college?
We didn't have one.
We didn't have one.
You didn't have one?
No, nonexistent.
If you want to lift weight, they had a small weight room by the side of this room here.
Okay.
That you go, if you got up at like six in the morning, they keep it over from six to
seven for one hour.
Okay.
But it was voluntary.
Right.
But as far as mandated or required weight training, none at all.
Was weightlifting always one of your passions? Oh yeah, yeah.
My passion started with that when I was about 12 years old. Okay. When I was about 10, 11,
everywhere I went people always asked me if I worked out, if I worked out. I'm like no, no, no.
Well, I finally got tired of saying no. I'm like, I'm gonna say yeah. You know?
Right.
So I picked up, I had my mom buy me a 110 pound
waist set from Walmart.
And I started working out in the backyard, you know?
Diplastic was hard.
Diplastic was, yeah, you remember those times?
I do.
And right around 12, you know,
I kind of fell in love with it.
And it just took off from there.
And like I said, I joined the powerlifting team,
like in, I think I was 14 when we started
that powerlifting team.
So that was like a couple years later.
And that's when I really got into it.
But I got that passion from early age,
you know, living in my backyard with my friends.
We all had mostly curl stuff, you know.
We just curled and do some overhead presses, but nothing serious, you know, just having
fun.
And that's where my passion came from, lifting in the backyard.
And now all of a sudden,
you can start to see your body starting to transform.
You start to see you get muscle definition,
you start to get peaks on the bicep.
Yep.
And now all of a sudden, you're like, okay.
Yeah, this is looking good.
You were hooked.
From that point on, you were hooked.
I was hooked from that point on, yep.
You were talking, we were talking early off set
that you had some odd jobs.
I think you said in college, once you got to college, you started, you were delivering
pizzas or something.
Was that college or when you got to here?
No, that was in Dallas.
But in college, I had some odd jobs too.
What did you do in college?
I worked for the police department.
Okay.
In college?
Uh-huh, yeah, in college.
It was called a work study.
Okay.
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Instead of the Pell grade, you got the work study.
You had to go, okay.
Yeah, I got Pell Grant, but they didn't pay the full tuition,
so I had to do a work study.
So I did the police department,
and all we did was just wrote tickets, parking tickets,
put them on the car.
We did like transfer to the bank,
you know, help the citizens drop their money off.
And that was about it.
Then when that work started to run out, the next year I got on at the journalism department
doing writing, sports writing.
And I had a lot of fun with that.
I was a pretty good writer at the time.
And then when the sports editor left, they promoted me to sports editor. And that was
a real, real hard job because we had to put the newspaper together.
Correct.
So you had to measure out everything, measure out your ads and all that. But I never really
cut on but but you know my
Instructor she mostly helped me out with that a lot, but I did all this editing, you know other stories that came in and
It was a it was another great experience for me. So you go to college you're gonna graduate I think you graduated cum laude. Yep instead of thank you, Laudie. I ain't gonna lie, Rod, I was majoring in eligibility.
I didn't even stay eligible.
Yeah, yeah, I was pretty studious when I was going to school.
I studied every single night. I was in accounting, so I had to study real hard.
And I wanted to be the first one in my family to get a college degree. So that motivated me real hard to do everything in my power to get that degree.
And when I got it, it was the greatest feeling ever.
But I kind of regret not staying in college a little while longer because like I said, it
was the greatest time of my life.
Yeah, college was great.
It was the greatest time of my life.
Yeah, that's who we are.
Okay, so now you realize like, you know what, this NFL thing might not work out.
When did you transfer?
What did you want?
You got a degree.
It's in accounting.
Yeah.
I don't know if you ever put that degree to work because you came to Dallas
You started became a police officer in the wrist is kind of go
Actually, I came to Dallas and I tried to get a job in accounting. Okay, I went on a lot of interviews and
Most of the time they were like well, we need somebody with experience. I'm like, well, you give me a job, and I get some.
How am I gonna get it when you won't give it opportunity? Exactly. So, I did that for almost two years. But at the same time, I had a car note that I had to
pay. So I got a car on this college program. You could buy a car, and your first car note
wouldn't do it until three months later.
Wow.
So I went out and bought this car, brand new,
1987 Sunbird GT.
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
And my first payment was coming up,
and I'm like, oh man, I ain't got no money,
I need to get a job, I need to get a job,
I need to get a job real bad.
So I took the first thing that came along.
The first thing that came along was Domino's Pizza.
So you're a delivery driver?
I'm a delivery driver slash system manager.
So I made pizzas and delivered them and at the end of the night, I, you know, collected
all the money and counted it and took it to the bank and all that kind of stuff.
I did that for two long years.
And when I didn't make enough money doing that, I got me a side job delivering newspapers.
So here I am with a college degree, graduated in accounting, graduated cum laude,
and I'm delivering pizzas and throwing newspapers. And I couldn't wait to get out of Domino's
Pizza. Right. So I'm like, you know what, this thing with the accounting is not working
out. So every time, every week I got the newspaper,
there was always a classified ad
and therefore hiring police officer, no experience needed.
So I'm like, oh man, that get on police department.
You know, I can use my mental ability
as well as my physical ability.
Right.
Always got some bad crooks out there trying
to start some trouble. So that's what I did. I applied for the police department. After
two years working at Domino's and Arlington hired me in March of 1989. March 20, 1989
was my first day. And at the time I was living in Irving and when I graduated the academy I moved to Arlington.
Okay.
And I've been here ever since.
Delivering pizza, did you deliver more than you ate or you ate more than you delivered?
I ate way more than I delivered.
If you'd have been an Uber driver you'd have got a terrible grade.
Yeah, exactly.
You'd have been an Uber driver, you'd have got a terrible grade. You'd have been ready to be the all. But I eat pizza every single day, sometimes twice a day.
And now do you like pizza now?
I finally, no not anymore.
I finally got tired of eating pizza about a year and a half into it.
So there was a Burger King next door. I'm like I bet they tired eating burgers
I called Burger King. Hey y'all tired eating burger. They like yeah, I like y'all want to trade pizza for burger. Yeah, I
Finally got tired eating burgers
So there was a Kentucky fried chicken
So I called him with the same, you know problems problems. Yep. Yep. And they was like, yep. So I'm eating fried chicken, but you know, it was like two
or three others in there, you know, and I was trading out taco, tacos for chicken.
I trade out everything for pizza. And it worked out, you know, but after my last year of working with Domino's, I think the only
time I ate pizza after that was when I won the Olympia.
And the reason why, because I love cheese.
And the first thing that came to my mind that had cheese on it was pizza.
So I would eat Domino's.
Well, I didn't eat Domino's.
I probably hadn't eaten Domino's since I worked there.
So I called Pizza Hut, ate Pizza Hut right after the show and I wanted more cheese after
that so I went to McDonald's and got a cheeseburger.
Wow.
So, okay, so now you moved to Arlington and you're a police officer.
Are you power, are you powerlifting still?
Nope. You're giving
up powerlifting and transition to bodybuilding? Yep. No, no, no, no. I would work out maybe,
maybe once or twice a week, you know, while I was on the in the academy in the academy. Well,
when I graduated, and my first day on the job, one of the guys came to me, we were on a call together, he's
like, man, where you working out at?
You're pretty big.
I'm like, I work out at the station.
He's like, oh, there ain't enough weights there for you.
And I'm like, you right?
The size of this room?
No, ain't enough weights in there.
He's like, well, why don't you come to Metrofleck Gym?
So the next day I go to Metrofleck Gym, and the owner, Brian Doff, said, man, you're pretty
big.
You know, I had 22 inch arms.
So I was pretty big.
So you always, you've always cut up, rocked up like that?
Exactly.
And I was like, I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it.
I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to doff said, man, you're pretty big. I had 22 inch arms.
So I was pretty big.
So you always, you've always cut up, rocked up like that.
Exactly.
All my whole life pretty much.
So everywhere I went, you know, I was the biggest and the strongest guy in the room
and actually even in college, high school, everywhere, you know.
So when I went to Metroflake, Brian saw it and he's like, man, you got a pretty good physique there.
You are the take-up bodybuilding. I'm like, no, dude, I can't do bodybuilding. I just got the job at the police department
and I heard those guys had to take steroids and uh, I definitely can't die because I'm a
Kentucky Fried Chicken Burger King guy, you know, and dieting ain't for me.
Yeah, exactly.
It's not for me.
Well, that went on for about, what, three, four days.
That fourth day, Brian finally said, I tell you what, I give you a free membership to
the gym if you compete in this show coming up in about three, four months.
He's like, I teach you how to train as a bodybuilder.
I teach you how to diet. I teach how to pose. I'm like, dude, you should have led with that
free thing. Because at the time, you know, I was struggling paying my bills and anything
free sounded real good to me. So I'm like, yeah, I'll do it for a free membership. So
Brian taught me how to pose, diet, you know just trained as a bodybuilder. And my first show was Mr. Texas. That show was
April 7, 1990. I went in one first and overall. Wow. My second show, same thing, the next week,
April 14, 1990. I went in one first and overall. And that continued for about a couple months, you know,
and then I qualified for the national. My first year in nationals, I got third. And wouldn't,
you know, you got to get first place in order to turn pro. Correct. So I didn't turn pro that year.
The next year, I will go back to the nationals and I get
fourth.
Damn!
Yeah, I know. I'm going backwards. Same thing I said, damn! But if you could pass the drug
test, you could qualify for the Universe team. And the Universe, they take five guys one from each weight class and you go
compete in the Mr. Universe in Katowice, Poland. Well, the first three guys couldn't pass the
drug test. Matter of fact, there were 44 guys in my class. I was the only one who showed
up to take drug test because I passed because I was drug free back then.
And I go to the universe in Katowice, Poland,
and two o'clock in the morning,
they waking me up, take a drug test.
I'm like, man, well, that's come from,
I already took a drug test.
Well, when we got there, they brought everybody in a room,
a big room, it was a gymnasium actually,
and they made everybody strip down and get on the scale. From everybody stripping down and getting on their
scale, they picked all the guys they thought were on steroids. Of course, me being the big guy out
there and ripped up, they chose me. Two o'clock in the morning, take a drug test, of course, you know, I passed it,
and won my weight class, and that
qualified me to turn purple.
Wow.
Yep.
And I also qualified for the Mr. Olympia from winning,
you know, uh...
I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports,
where we live at the intersection
of sports and culture.
Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry,
Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese.
I know I'll go down to history.
People are talking about women's basketballs
just because of one single game.
Every great player needs a foil.
I ain't really near them boys.
I just come here to play basketball every single day,
and that's what I focus on.
From college to the pros, Clark and Reese
have changed the way we consume women's sports.
Angel Reese is a joy to watch. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.
Angel Reese is a joy to watch.
She is unapologetically black.
I love her.
What exactly ignited this fire?
Why has it been so good for the game?
And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas
be sustained?
This game is only going to get better because the talent
is getting better.
This new season will cover all things sports and culture.
Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network,
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,
or wherever you get your podcast.
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The one thing that I noticed about powerlifters is that they have very dense muscles.
They're normally very, from the back, when you look at their traps their rum boys their spinal erectors their glute their hams
Yeah, they're not legs because you got a squat. Yeah, and you pull a lot of weight that deadlift
There's nothing better for the chain muscles than deadlift. Yep. Yep. That's true. So
Did you know going in that the work that you had done in high school in a little bit?
Did you know going in that the work that you had done in high school and a little bit after college that that was going to be such a big help to you in your bodybuilding career?
At the time, I didn't even thought about bodybuilding because where I'm from, nobody bodybuild.
Correct.
I didn't even know what bodybuilding was about.
When Brian told me I could win Mr. Olympia, I'm like, what's that? He's like, that's the big spot.
He saw that.
Ronnie, you go into the gym,
he sees that much potential in you
that you can be the-
My first day.
First day. From day one.
From day one, he told me that.
And you all natural.
All natural.
So remember I had 22 inch arms without, so.
Yeah!
I still look pretty good. So I remember, cause 22 inches arms without, so I still look pretty good.
So I remember, because I remember the photo, you had the box feign, and you had the police
uniform on.
So what year did you take that photo?
That was 97.
Yeah, 97.
So you qualified for the Olympia, But you won a couple of pro shows.
Didn't you win the Canadian pro show?
My first pro show was Canada and Toronto.
I won my first show in 1995.
And I won my second pro show, Canada again, 1996.
And the whole time, you know, I'm trying my best to get to the Olympia. And I got to the
Olympia by qualifying and winning those pro shows. Yes. My first Olympia, 1992, I didn't get a call
out. I stood there on stage and had, you know, the best seat in the house. They totally overlooked me. They overlooked
me so badly they ain't called me out for no comparison. 1993, I didn't even qualify for
the Olympia because I didn't place in the top three in any pro show I did. I got like
six, seven somewhere down there. 1994, I finally qualified for the Miss. Olympia in 1994.
Still drug free and I go in and I do Mr. Olympia
and I get 15th place.
Damn.
So I'm moving up.
Things are getting good for me.
1996 I qualified for winning the Canada Cup. I go in and I get
11th place. Okay. So I'm steady moving. Slowly but surely. 1997 I qualified by winning the
Canada Cup again. They love me in Canada. They love me and I love them. So that year, you know, I kind of fall back. And Shannon, 1997 was a hard year for me.
My first show of the year, I go in, Iron Man,
I never did these fall shows before,
and I get third place.
And the guy who beat me was a guy about this tall, weighed about 190 pounds,
soaking wet. And here I am, 200 and almost 40 pounds. And he beat me and I'm like, wait
a minute, this ain't supposed to happen. Right. I can't tell a guy that short and that, you
know, that small, that small beat me, you know, I'm 511 all of, I
would like to say almost 240 pounds. And the next week was the Arnold Classic. Okay, I
go into Arnold Classic and Lee Priest has beat me again. I'm going by the call out.
Yeah. And I look, I get back to my room. I look at my girlfriend Vicki gate
She was a pro bodybuilder at the time. I just bought been to it. She worked with Kirk Franklin on the tour. Yeah
Yeah, I just saw it in Cali. Yep
and I
Like Vicki, you know what? I don't need this bodybuilding thing
I got a job with police department with benefits and everything
I like this is my last shows and she looked at me and she's that boy shadow I got a job with the police department, with benefits and everything.
I like, this is my last show.
And she looked at me and she said, boy, shut up.
And I thought to myself, you know what?
I can't quit bodybuilding because if I quit bodybuilding,
I lose my free membership to the gym.
All you were thinking about was a free membership.
Free membership to the gym because I said, I worked hard for that free membership.
I wasn't about to give it up.
Well, actually I ended up beating these prigs.
Okay.
So I felt pretty good then.
I went to the, I mean, I placed seventh, but they moved me up to sixth, I think, because
NASA failed a drug test.
They did a drug test on us back then for diuretics.
So in 1997, I'm like, man, if I can just make the top five, I'll be all good.
Well, I got 11th. I mean, I got ninth. I'm like, oh, man, I already did this pity party thing.
So that ain't gonna work. Right. I ain't gonna quit. So I continue on and 1998 comes around.
And I qualified in Miss Olympia again and went into Canada.
So you just keep going back to Canada?
I keep going back to Canada every year because I know I got a real good chance of winning
it.
I don't want to like four years in a row, I'm like, okay, I got to go back to Canada
again.
So not to cut you off, Ronnie.
So you're saying I got 15th place, I've gotten 11th place, I've got ninth place,
I've got seventh place in the Olympia,
and I'm totally drug free.
Well, in 1995, Flex Wheeler was winning all the shows
he went to.
Actually, it was 1994.
He was winning, he won all the Classic.
He was on the Tour.
He was winning all the shows on the tour.
And I remember when I was in college, I was always the smartest guy in my class in the
county.
But if I wasn't the smartest, I would go study with the smartest guy to, you know, increase
my grade.
Okay.
So I'm like, I'm going to take that same philosophy with Flex.
So I went to Flex's room.
It was real, kind of late at night. And I'm like, Flex, man, I'm tired of getting my butt whooped all these shows. And I hear you guys, you know, taking the juice, you know, I had to say something.
And he's like, Yeah, man, if you want to get up
there with the big dog, you got to do what the big dog do. Okay. So I'm like, Well, what
do you do? Well, Flex named out a whole bunch of, you know, steroids, drugs that they take.
And he said, I got a buddy that can get everything for you. So I'm like, okay so
my first time ever
Having anything to do with drugs was 1995
1995 and that's when I won my first Pro show
Canada Cup Canada. Yeah Canada Cup and I'm like, okay, I guess
Yeah, so like, okay, I guess flexible don't.
Yeah. So, uh, after that, I'm like, you know what? I'm tired of getting my butt. I'm just gonna do what these guys do.
Right.
But, uh, we ran into a little problem along the way and DA came
in and you know, they was like, what are you guys doing? What
are you taking? So I'm like, what are you guys doing, what are you taking?
So I'm like, well, this is pretty much what I'm doing.
He's like, well, we're gonna have to confiscate that
and you know, and take everything from you.
I'm like, okay.
So I went out and I had these clinics
that you can go to and get, you know,
there was legally.
Right.
The only thing you have to take these blood, blood work.
Blood, yeah, to get the blood done.
Yeah, so I went to one of those clinics and started doing everything legally and but I
had to, you know, take these blood tests and everything came out pretty much normal.
So I was okay.
So I was all right now, you know.
I could do everything legally.
I ain't gotta worry about, you know, getting in trouble
from doing what I was doing.
And from that point on, my career just took off.
In 1998, when I went to the Olympia, Flex was the successor.
Everybody said Flex was gonna win.
Because there was a stretch there.
Lee had took it over, Lee had won eight straight,
Lee retired.
No, no, no.
Dorian Yates come in six straight.
So that's 14 years.
They've only had two guys to win the O.
Lee Haney, he retires after eight.
Dorian Yates wins six, he retires.
Now, Flex is the natural, everybody's like, hey.
It's all Flex, it's Flex, show the loose.
Okay.
And I wasn't nowhere in there
because I hadn't got nowhere in the top five.
Right.
So it was Flex, Nassar, Sean, Kevin.
So in the 98 Olympia
That's what they was calling out. I'm like, oh man. Here we go again
You know, I got nice the year before and I'm like if I could only make the top five man I'll be happy and satisfied because I'm really just doing this for you know, free membership to the gym
I because I'm really just doing this for free membership to the gym. I ain't really thinking about winning Olympia, and that never even occurred to me.
Right.
Because like I said, where I'm from, nobody did bodybuilding.
We didn't know anything about it.
Brian taught me everything I knew about bodybuilding.
Well, the only thing was Flex was winning all the shows and, you know, they were, had those guys,
you know, picked to win the, be the successor. Well, Flex called me on the phone one day and
said, man, what are you working with? I'm like, dude, I'm doing my own thing. He's like, oh man,
I got this guy Chad Nichols, he could, you know, make a difference in your physique. So I called Chad, Chad didn't
call me back. So I called Flex again, I said, Flex, this guy's not calling me back, man. You told me
to call this guy and he's gonna help me out and he ain't calling me back. He's like, no, just keep
calling. He'll call you back. So I called him again.
Well, this time he called me back, you know,
and I'll hook up with him.
He changed everything I was doing.
He changed my diet.
You know, I went from eating five meals a day
to eating six meals a day.
I went from 10 ounces to 12 ounces of protein with each meal to 16 ounces.
You eating a pound of protein a meal?
I'm eating a pound of protein a meal.
What the?
And I'm trying everything in my power to stuff this food and it ain't working.
So I'm like, man, he said I gotta eat this food to get big.
So I just kept eating and eating.
My body finally adjusted to it.
I was finally able to, it took me about three, four months
for my body to adjust 100 grams of protein with each meal.
We talking about 100 grams of chicken, steak, turkey.
You know, that's all.
Were you eating fish back then?
No, I didn't eat fish.
Okay.
Chad didn't have me on fish,
I didn't really too much care for fish either.
Cause I eat fish and I be hungry.
I sure hope you had a lot of fiber in your system.
Boy, you gonna be back on that.
He had me on all kind of fiber supplements.
You know.
And I was going to the bathroom after each meal.
Yep. And another thing was, I couldn't eat five meals.
You know, I've worked full time, please pardon me. I'm working,
working out every day. I'm doing cardio. That's
another thing Chad did. He increased my cardio from one hour a day to two hours a day. And
I'm like, oh man, you really doing a number on me here. And, you know, I made it work.
And I, you know, like I said, I was finally able to eat that, eat those hundred grams of protein.
The only thing was I couldn't get the six meals in.
So Chad was like, well, you need to eat this food
if you want to get big.
He said, try waking up in the middle of the night,
eating the meal and going back to bed.
So that's what I did.
I went to bed every night about four o'clock.
Now I would wake up.
Four o'clock in the afternoon?
No, no, four o'clock.
Four o'clock in the morning,
because you work in the police?
Yeah, I'm working in the police department.
So I would get up at seven, eat a meal,
go back to bed at eight.
A whole hour.
Well, it worked out pretty good. And they caught on and I was able to do an hour
in the morning on on treadmill. I had right by my bed. I get out of bed, jump right on
treadmill with a fasted cardio. Yep, fast cardio. Okay. So I did that and when I finished that I would eat my first meal, go to the gym.
I got there about 12 or 13, I was one.
I only worked out an hour.
Each day, one hour.
Maybe I was 15 minutes at the most.
I would get home about 2, 15, somewhere in there.
I would take a shower, get dressed, go to work.
I had to be there at three.
I got there at three and I would eat my next meal at three.
And get a 45 minute lunch break.
So I'd eat my next meal at that lunch break.
And I got off at 11 o'clock every night.
So I would come home, eat another meal, take a shower and everything
and sit around, do some email. And I would eat my last meal, which was a protein shake.
I just drank 100 gram protein. And I go to bed, like I said, around about four o'clock.
And that was my whole day. Right. And that was my count.
You know, I didn't go to strip clubs.
I didn't go out to no clubs.
I didn't go to no clubs.
You didn't have no time.
I had no time.
There you go.
But come to find out, Flex told me, man,
I went to the strip club every day.
When I got out, I'm going to work out.
Dad already told me I was going to Olympia. I'm like, what? You did what? And he's like, yeah, yeah, got out of my workout. They had already told me I was gonna win the Olympia.
I'm like, what, you did what?
And he's like, yeah, yeah, I guess what I did.
I'm like, dude, I didn't go to no strip club.
I didn't go nowhere.
You know, with job, worked out gym, back home.
So basically, you're eating around, you're eating,
you're eating like every three hours, every two and a half hours? Exactly, every three hours I'm eating a meal. Every three hours you're eating around, you're eating, you're eating like every three hours, every two and a half hours?
Exactly.
Every three hours, I'm eating a meal.
Every three hours, you're eating a meal.
Yeah, and it's working out pretty good.
I'm Carrie Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports,
where we live at the intersection
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Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Caitlin
Clark versus Angel Reese.
I know I'll go down to history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. I explore the making of a rivalry. Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese.
I know I'll go down to history.
People are talking about women's basketball
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And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas
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This game is only going to get better because the talent
is getting better.
This new season will cover all things sports and culture.
Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network,
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MTV's official challenge podcast
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That's right, the challenge is about to embark
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Listen to MTV's official challenge podcast
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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. But if the things weren't going to plan and so 1998 Olympia rolls around everybody saying
for a go in, you know, and we get to show they call in out flex NASA, Kevin, Sean, I'm
like, oh man, here we go again.
All I want to do is make the top five and I'll be okay.
Well, somewhere along the line, they started calling me out.
Okay.
I'm like, okay, things looking up.
I might have a chance to make the top five. Right.
Well, I can remember like it was yesterday.
I'm like, you know, they could be standing there, all six of us on stage.
And I'm like, you know, I don't want to be called sick.
I mean, I don't like God, please don't let me be called sick.
They called our sixth place.
And it wasn't me.
And I'm like, thank you, Jesus.
And I'm like, okay, I got fifth, you know, I've accomplished my dream, did what I always wanted to do, make the top five.
Fifth place card wasn't me. I'm like, wait a minute now, oh, something going on here.
Fourth place card wasn't me. I'm like, oh man, every time it came time for a name to be called,
I'm expecting to hear my name. All the way up to me and Flex standing on stage.
You and Flex standing on stage.
I remember like yesterday.
And I knew in my heart that I was going to get second place.
Because they already said Flex was going to win.
Right.
So I'm thinking the whole time they're going to call Flex's name for first.
And I can remember like yesterday. They called out Flex's name for first. And I can remember like yesterday,
they called out Flex name for second.
And I'm like, and called me out for first.
I'm like, oh man, they done made a mistake.
And I'm like, wait a minute,
no, they wouldn't make a mistake that big.
And I hit the floor.
And I was out, pretty much out cold.
Painting just like that. And the only thing I remember was Vicki
coming on stage and helping me get off that floor. And I didn't know what had happened. I
didn't know I was down on the floor that long until I watched the tape. Flex came over and
said something to me. Chris came over and said something to me.
Chris came over and said something to me.
I don't, I ain't heard of him.
You don't remember none of that?
I don't remember none of that.
And when I got up, I'm like, oh man,
I don't want the Olympia.
This is the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.
I never in a million years thought I went to the Olympia.
I never even dreamed of winning the Olympia because I didn't think it was possible.
But Ronnie, as you're prepping for the show, like you said, okay, we know Dorian retired.
Yeah.
Boom.
Okay.
Flex.
Great symmetry, those round belly muscles.
Yeah, everything.
When you look at the sand down statue, that's Flex Wheeler.
It seems like it's Flex Wheeler.
It seems like Flex Wheeler.
And so hide your prep.
Are you looking at yourself every couple of weeks
like you're looking like, well damn,
I'm getting a little bigger, I'm getting a little leaner,
as big as I am, as lean as I am,
because you always gonna be the bigger man on stage.
Basically, the only guy during that time
that could challenge you for size was Nassar.
Nassar, exactly.
He was the only one.
Everybody else was gonna have to beat you with lines,
with peak conditioning. Because when it came to size, could touch you nope nobody had that but you had to be looking at yourself like
Well, okay, you start to see the Christmas tree start to come in you start to see the land when you do the rear land
Everything was coming in. Yep. Yes. Everything was coming in
Only thing was I was working with Chad Nichols and the night before the show
He had me eat so many carbs. I mean, I was eating a thousand milligrams of carbs a day.
You had to carb enough.
Yeah. And he started that like on Wednesday or Thursday. I forget what day it was, and I was stuffing myself with food. And I felt pretty good, you know,
because when I was prepping for the contest, I could only eat 125 to 150 grams of carbs
a day.
A day.
And that's like two meals, three at the most. And when he put me on those thousand,
man, I felt like I was in heaven.
I mean, it was the greatest feeling ever.
Thousand milligrams of carb every single day.
By the time I got to Friday, I was so stuffed.
I was so full, I lost my conditioning.
I'm like, oh man, I messed up again.
I ruled my Chad to make the top five in everything.
So I'm like, call Chad.
I'm like, Chad, man, I done messed up, man.
You're the biggest mistake ever.
I like all my conditioning is gone.
He's like, man, don't worry about that. I got you.
Right.
So he come out of the room, give me some kind of powder, put some water in it, drink that.
Okay. I'm like, okay. Man, I'm going to stay up all night going to the bathroom.
I woke up the next morning. I'm so nervous. I
Ain't looking at a mirror. I don't need to see myself and
Every time I got close to a mirror. I would look away. I'm in backstage I'm like, I don't want to see I look cuz I know I look pretty bad after seeing myself last night
So I avoided all mirrors that whole entire morning the whole entire
day actually I didn't know how I looked until the pictures came out in the
magazine Wow yeah back then we didn't have camera phones no you have camera
phone but Ronnie you know being backstage and I've been backstage and
seeing you guys at the Olympia and the Arnold, but guys know like damn,
pure as a man, Roddy look good,
you see how big and full Roddy look,
man you see NASA, you see.
So were there not whispers going on?
Because I didn't hear anything.
I was so focused on me and trying to make the top five
that I mean Joe Wheeler even came back there.
He'd never say anything to me.
He's like, man, I need you on my team.
And he's like, I can get you guest hosts
all around the world.
All you gotta do is join my team.
I'm like, you want me on your team?
I ain't joking.
I must look pretty good.
He's like, yeah, you look real good.
I'm like, yeah, whatever.
This guy just- He just gassing you up. He just gassing me up. I'm like, yeah, whatever. This guy just he just gassed you up. Just gassing me up. He
ain't really serious about that. Come to find out he was serious
about it. And I still didn't get it. I still didn't know how
good I look because I avoided every mirror that I came by. So
like I said, when they called me for first, I lost it.
I mean, I was in complete shock.
Other than working with Chad, he changing your diet.
Everything I was doing.
Your weight scheme, the sets that you did,
back then there was no such thing as time under tension.
It seems to be the way to go now,
that you bring the rate down as a three tempo down, whole three tempo up.
Ronnie, you lifting weights.
But I noticed when I look at your physique back then,
and I look at the guys now, they don't seem as grainy.
You used a lot of barbell.
You wasn't a machine guy.
You did flat bench.
You did heavy dumbbells.
You did shoulder press.
You did T-bar.
You did barbell row. You did flat bench, you did heavy dumbbells, you did shoulder press, you did T-bar, you did barbell row, you did iron.
Iron, everything was pretty much free weight.
Yes, yes.
And I didn't, I probably did maybe one or two machines.
Right.
And everything was heavy.
Yes, yes, yes.
But even, even, even like the last couple of weeks when guys are normally tapering off,
as far as weight, you were still lifting lifting because I think you were probably like a month out when you squat
at 800, a deadlift.
No, I was a month out when I deadlifted at 800.
Right.
But when I squatted it, I was probably like three months out.
But I was a whole lot heavier too.
So that's why that 800 was so light to me.
I was full of carbs. I wasn't
dieting. And it was super light. I mean, I couldn't believe how light it was.
So you win that Olympia in 98. You got to be on top of the world. You're like, man,
is it everything that you thought it would be? It can't be because you didn't even vision yourself winning it.
No, exactly. You win that.
When you get back to your room and you order that piece of you and Vicky talking,
what's going through your mind, Rodney?
I'm still in shock. I still can't believe I won.
It still hadn't hit me yet.
But, you know, I'm I'm so overjoyed.
I'm like in another world pretty much because I can't believe I just won the Mr. Olympia,
the biggest bodybuilding contest in the world.
Something that I, like I said, I didn't even dream of it.
I never even thought I had a chance.
But I put in the work.
You know how disciplined us football players are? You got to be. And I stuck to
my routine. I didn't never ever cheated on my dad. I didn't go
out and party. I didn't do anything but work on my body. And
went to work every day. That was all I did. And that happened every single contest.
You know, I'm always going, you know, we're always going to challenge ourselves to be
the best.
Even though we are not the best, we're going to challenge ourselves to be the best.
And like I said, I had so much passion for it.
It was the easiest thing in the world for me to go to the gym each and every single day.
And then I fell in love with working for the police department also.
So I had two things that I look forward to doing each and every single day.
Going to the gym and going to work.
I mean, I love where working for the police department
It was so much fun and they gave me a chance to escape being a bodybuilder, right?
You know when I'm at work
I'm just Ronnie Coleman police officer not Ronnie Coleman the bodybuilder and that's all I'm thinking about because
People are they're trying to kill you
So I'm thinking about because people are there trying to kill you. Yeah. So I'm thinking about, you know, making my life.
Yeah.
I'm thinking about making it home each and every single night.
But at the same time, I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
I'm loving what I'm doing because every single day it was something different.
It was never the same day every single day.
And that's what I look forward to doing something different every single day. And that's what I look forward to, doing something different every single day.
And I had so much passion for working for the police department, I would do it for free.
And in actuality, that's what happened in 2001 when they told me I could no longer work for the
police department. Why you couldn't work for them? Because I was taking off too much.
I would take off for like three months for the Olympia.
Every show I would do, I would take about almost maybe two
months to a month sometimes.
But the regular shows, there wasn't that much time.
Yeah, but Ronnie, you weren't really doing one show.
I can only recall you doing maybe a handful of times
you did two shows of the season.
You did the Arnold in 01,
and you did the O in 01.
But for the most part, you didn't do it for one show.
One show every year, but you know,
that one show was the most important thing
For sure.
in the world to me.
And I also did the European Tour after.
Yeah, you did the tour, yeah.
Every single year. So, the Miss. Yeah, you did the tour, yeah. Every single year.
So, the Miss Olympia and then the tour.
And on the tour, we had like sometimes seven shows.
Right.
And I would do seven shows in 11 days.
And you know, that's a grind.
It is.
I mean-
Because traveling, you got to hold water.
Oh, exactly.
It's hard
Sees your name. I remember this one show
There's one tool. I
Was doing everything in my power to get rid of water
No matter what I did
It wouldn't come off. I'm getting fifth place sixth place
Everybody's beat me and Kevin is winning every show. So I'm like, man, how is he winning all these shows?
How is he keeping his conditioning?
So I put a flex wheel on him.
I went by his room, like, it was almost midnight
when I got there.
He had his room.
He was still up.
I'm like, man, what are you doing to win all these shows? How you keeping your conditioning?
He goes over to his coffee maker,
pulled out his coffee maker,
poured me a cup of coffee,
and then he pulled out a bottle of vodka
and poured that in the coffee.
I'm like, what the hell are you going to do with that?
He's like, here you go.
I'm like, dude, I don't drink no vodka, man.
I can do the coffee, bud. I'm like, I'm going to what the hell you gonna do with that? He's like, here you go. I'm like, dude, I don't drink no vodka, man.
I can do the coffee, but not the vodka.
He's like, you wanted to know what I was doing,
this is what I'm doing to win this show.
I'm like, okay.
Yeah.
You didn't try it either, they give you all the coffee.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
I drank that coffee, I'm like, man, this ain't too bad.
Give me another cup.
But you up peeing all night though.
I'm up peeing all night again.
And I go to the show the next day and man, I win.
I beat Kevin.
And this was in 1997, so that was a pretty big deal for me.
I had never in my life be giving him my whole
time. Kevin won the 91 men's national. That's where he turned pro at. And he got second
in the Olympia the next year. So I'm thinking, hey, you know, things looking up for me. I
got a chance to do something in this sport now. So I put that all behind me and I never did that coffee and vodka thing again.
Plus I hooked up with Chad.
He had something better than that.
He had some kind of powder.
He would pour it in and he would put it in a glass and put some water in it.
Drink this.
I'm like, okay.
And it would help me go into the bathroom for like two hours straight, every 20 minutes.
Yeah.
Dropping all this water.
And it worked pretty good.
But don't you worry about running when you do that
or flattening out, because a lot of times
the water is what's in the muscle.
It gives you that full look.
And sometimes you could flatten out.
You're out seeing guys look so good,
the day before the show, and then get on the show,
I'm like, bro, what did you do?
That's why I was eating a thousand milligrams of carbs
every single day, so I wouldn't flatten out.
And I never did.
Them carbs really did a number on me, did the trick.
Because it's about to go into something.
Because you cut your water.
Yep.
And now you put the carbs in to pull the water that,
to put the water back into the muscle.
Exactly.
And we...
It's like a science project, really, it is.
Yep.
And another kick, I ain't never told nobody this,
we would use insulin to make it go faster.
Insulin would push it in the muscle real quick, real fast.
Right.
Where, you know, if you tried it without it, it wouldn't work as good.
And all of that, it worked to a T. I know I was big on stage. I was ripped. I was full
Yeah, you know and that's how I beat those guys
Wow
So I'm trying to figure out okay, so what was your rep and set scheme? Yeah
He had me doing like 20 reps, you know to start out my way. No, no, no, no
You know, to start out my first thing. With that heavy ass weight?
No, no, no, no.
This is a warm up.
Okay, what I was going to say.
You do it with that heavy ass weight.
I'm pyramidin' up every set.
So I'll start out at like 135 on the bench, 20 reps, put another plate on there, 15 reps,
put another plate on there, like 12, 12 reps.
And my last, you know, with another plate would be 10 reps.
Nothing under 10.
Yeah, nothing under 10.
And if you watch me work out, I'm never locking out.
No.
And the reason for that is I'm trying to keep the tension
on the muscles the whole time.
And when you lock out, you hurt your joints.
You get a lot of joint pain.
Right.
And I stayed as far away from that as possible.
And people thought I was doing half reps. I'm like, no, I ain't doing no half rep. I'm
doing a full rep on the muscle. I ain't using my joints at all. And I never had any joint
problem. Even to this day, I'm still doing 20 reps with everything.
This concludes the first half of my conversation.
Part two is also posted, and you can access it
to whichever podcast platform you just listened to part one on.
Just simply go back to club Shae Shae Profile,
and I'll see you there.
I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports.
Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry,
Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese.
People are talking about women's basketballs
just because of one single game.
Clark and Reese have changed the way
we consume women's basketball.
And on this new season, we'll cover all things
sports and culture.
Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network,
iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Black Effect Podcast Network
is sponsored by Diet Coke.
I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four
of Naked Sports.
Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry,
Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese.
Every great player needs a foil.
I know I'll go down to history.
People are talking about women's basketball
just because of one single game.
Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.
Listen to the making of a rivalry,
Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese,
on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,
or wherever you get your podcast.
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