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My Bodybuilding Education
Kai Greene, one of bodybuilding’s most enigmatic personalities and Redcon1 Elite Athlete, shared his thoughts about competing in the Olympia, what he thinks of Phil Heath, plus some surprising comments on prize money in this 2017 MD interview with the late, great Peter McGough.
‘I believed it was my destiny.’
The Olympia was a very real goal for me. My bodybuilding journey and my rise as a winning pro were completed with a real expectation of making it right to the top. But factors occurred which made it impossible. But I don’t feel a victim. I believe you have to face certain disappointments in life and turn them into opportunities to do something else. You have to expand your vision. You have to change your point of view or your way of viewing the situation. To stress about a door closing leads to an acknowledgment that I am not in control of me. But everything I do is under my control. In pro sports, there is always a business component. It is very fair to say that if you put Kai Greene’s likeness on the cover of a magazine, or recruit Kai Greene’s presence at any competitive bodybuilding event, the magazine and event gain from that. That is a very difficult thing to deny. It is about dollars and cents, and I generate that interest and that revenue.
There was a time I would sacrifice everything for a Sandow. I would have been willing to sacrifice my organs to make it happen. I would have slept in my car. No price was too great. I had a passion to win a Sandow. I believed it was my destiny. It was that belief that allowed me to put 805 pounds on my back and squat down to the floor that made me throw up, but it didn’t put me off doing it again and again and again. I had the passion, the belief, that all this effort was worth it to fulfill my dream.
‘Great deal of respect for Phil.’
Editor’s Note: At the 2014 Mr. Olympia, Kai Greene was very critical of Phil Heath at the press conference and then at the prejudging, he ignited an in-your-face confrontation with the reigning Mr. Olympia that looked like it could have come to fisticuffs. Against that background, Kai later reflected on the man he finished Olympia runner-up to three times.
I’ve always got along with Phil [Kai breaks into uproarious laughter] … well, maybe not always. He has been faced with some interesting challenges that others would be unable to deal with. And he had to deal with all that in public. So I have a great deal of respect for Phil and what he has overcome. You have to have very strong shoulders to support what Phil represents. I think for the 99% of the population who have never been ranked number one in their discipline, it is difficult to comprehend the pressure on him. To be top dog in your field is something most people can’t relate to.
Phil and I are cool now. The man had to have an incredible amount of resilience to be able to hold it together like he did. Just trying to get his head together, and still show up at the Olympia and fight like he did, merits a load of respect.
Realities of Prize Money
I did not make money on stage. A lot of the fans and enthusiasts see these cash prizes, and think they represent very lucrative paydays. But the truth is that for the athlete who’s working to achieve the success they dream of, the dollars-and-cents return is debatable. You do not win money on stage. What you are doing is competing for something else that is an expression of your innermost desire – to continue your journey of improvement. You are not there on stage with the expectation of making money.
My Bodybuilding Education
I am currently working very hard. I am still training and still learning, because the experience of bodybuilding has been crucial to my overall development, not just that of my physique. It has given me an all-round education, and has given me the foundation and schooling that allows me to feel that I intuitively understand concepts that would previously have been very vague. My current knowledge and sense of purpose is a result of being a lifetime athlete and professional bodybuilder.
I came up through the ranks. I competed in all of the teenage bodybuilder competitions. To start from one place, and to be able to understand how some of these bodybuilding fundamentals evolved to apply themselves to other aspects of my life, is a concept I embrace. Understanding that at one time, this 23- or 24-inch arm was once a seven-inch arm, and how everything evolved from there, is essential to keep the education process going. Mine has been a lifetime of developing myself as an athlete, a bodybuilder and a person. The journey helps me understand the more complex ideas of positive self-development.
Realize Your Own Dream
There are new opportunities opening up, which is remarkable given that there was a time when I was an institutionalized young man who looked like he was on a path to nowhere. I realize I still have to work hard at developing all aspects of my life. I think Phil put it best, with something he said in “Generation Iron.” He said the days of an athlete just sitting and spending his whole day in the gym with a hoodie on are over; that will not help you progress as a pro bodybuilder. Some people saw the hoodie reference as a knock against me. Fast-forward and I will go on the record in saying that he was absolutely right.
I am realizing it now more and more every day that you have to continue working hard not just in the gym, but also beyond the gym in business, in your personal life. The ability to realize your own dream is your own. It does not just start and stop in the gym. I still see myself as a work in progress. My best is not behind me; it is still in front of me.
Instagram @kaigreene
Twitter @KaiGreene
Facebook @officialkaigreene
trainwithkai.com
YouTube: Kai Greene
Kai Greene’s Redcon1 Stack
Total War® RTD - pre-workout
BIG NOISE® - pre-workout
ISOTOPE® - post-workout
Yohimbine HCL - pre-workout
MED+KIT® - upon waking
BREACH® - intra-workout
For more information, visit redcon1.com
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