Shaun Clarida: The Real Giant Killer!

Interview by Ron Harris

The nickname “Giant Killer” was first used by Danny Padilla, who at 5-foot-2 and 170 pounds beat many larger men and placed fifth at the 1981 Mr. Olympia. Decades later David Henry was also known as the Giant Killer. In addition to becoming the first 202 Olympia champion, Henry was also 10^th place at the Mr. Olympia in 2007 in a field that included Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman and Dennis Wolf. Two weeks after the 2021 Olympia Weekend, the 2020 212 Olympia champion Shaun Clarida decided to try his hand at an Open show at the Legion Sports Fest. At 174 pounds he won, defeating 254-pound runner-up Regan Grimes and 270-pound Sergio Oliva Jr., which also meant he was now qualified for both the 212 and Mr. Olympia shows for 2022. If that isn’t a Giant Killer, what is? I spoke with Shaun just before he announced which division he would enter about that decision, his training style, and a new addition coming soon to his family. The Mutant athlete would go on to win the 212 Olympia in 2022, making Shaun a two-time 212 Olympia champion.

It’s been over a year now, but people are still talking about your Legion Sports Fest win. Recap for us why as a 212 Olympia champion you decided to enter an Open show?

I always wanted to, and I always said one day when the timing was right, I would do an Open show. This was just two weeks after the Olympia, so the prep was done, plus I was going to be there in Reno anyway for WOLFpak backpacks. I didn’t want to end the season on a down note. Losing my title was definitely a low for me, so I wanted to redeem myself and give myself a little motivation going into the next season. I reached out to Michael, the owner of WOLFpak, to make sure he was OK with it, and to Chris Minnes, the promoter of the show to let him know I was interested in doing it. I signed the paperwork, and that was it. The timing was perfect.

I want to ask about your nickname, “The Giant Killer.” I see a lot of amateurs calling themselves that on Instagram, but to me a real giant killer is someone like yourself who goes up against much bigger, heavier guys and beats them the way you did at Legion. Does it bother you to see all these other people using that “giant killer” nickname too?

No, not at all. Honestly, I think it’s great. I’m doing this for those guys, all the bantamweights, lightweights and middleweights. They tell me, because of you, I’m gonna go for my pro card or try to do this or that in the sport. I love hearing that. That’s why I put out so much content. It's to show those guys that as long as they put the work in and believe in themselves, and stay consistent, they can absolutely get to that level. I’ve been using the Giant Killer name since 2006. I didn’t proclaim myself to be that. A good friend of mine gave me that nickname years before that and it just stuck. A lot of people probably don’t realize I’m the lightest guy in the 212 division at 175-178 pounds, at least among all the top men. I’m giving up 30-40 pounds to most of these guys. In my mind, I was a giant killer as a 212. The name really took on a new meaning when I won the Legion Sports Fest.

I’m sure you saw 212 Olympia champion Kamal Elgargni try his hand at the Open ranks this past summer. I was in both Tampa and Texas, and he looked fantastic with just a few extra pounds. How do you rate his look as an Open competitor?

I knew he was going to do that. We had talked about it back at the Arnold in March. Out of respect for him I didn’t tell anyone. I thought Kamal looked phenomenal. He was complete and balanced, with perfect conditioning. Honestly, I think he could have won Tampa. Kamal proved he’s a giant killer himself.

As we speak today, the Olympia Weekend is just over a month away, and you still have not announced if you will compete in the 212 or Open Mr. Olympia.

From the time I won Legion, I knew I was qualified for both, and I hoped that doing both was a possibility. Recently I spoke with the IFBB Pro League, and they told me that unfortunately I can’t. That left me with a big decision that I’m still pondering. I’m still talking with my coach Matt Jansen to figure out what the right decision is, but we will make it and announce it next week on my social media.

What do you see as the pluses and minuses of doing the 212 Olympia instead of Open?

Obviously I’ve won the 212 Olympia before, so on paper going into the show I have a very good chance of winning it again. I never see a win as guaranteed. Every man in that 212 Olympia is a threat. I was dead last in 2015 at that show, and nobody expected me to ever come up eventually and win. I take everyone in that 212 class very seriously, but I do have a great chance to get my title back. On the flipside, very few 212 Olympia champs aside from David Henry have done well in the Open. I proved it at Legion by beating Sergio Jr., Regan, Patrick Moore and Cedric McMillan, rest in peace. They had all won multiple Open shows. So for me, going into the Mr. Olympia and placing anywhere in the top eight or top 10 is a big deal as far as marketing, publicity and just expanding that Giant Killer brand. Whatever decision I make will be the best one for me and my team. Once that decision is made, we’re just gonna focus 100 percent on that.

We need to remember a couple of former 212 pros who never got to your level and won the Olympia yet have done very well in the Open. William Bonac has been second and third in the Mr. Olympia and has two Arnold Classic titles, and Hadi Choopan has been third twice at the Mr. O. That must make you wonder, if they can do that well, how would I do?

Of course. I think I would definitely fare well. I proved I can do that at the Legion. But if I decide to go into the Open at the Olympia this year, I’m gonna beat some guys. I’m not saying I’m gonna win it, because I’m very realistic. I know these guys like Ramy, Brandon and Hadi are great. But I know I can beat some of the others for sure.

That’s a topic for debate. Is it better to win the Olympia title as a 212, or would it be more prestigious perhaps to get fifth place in the Open behind the biggest names?

Calling yourself the champion is always number one, to be able to say you’re the best of the best in that category. But to place top 10 this year at the Mr. Olympia with the lineup it has, oh my God. That would be amazing.

When Derek Lunsford got the special invitation to the Mr. Olympia, was part of you upset because you wanted to beat him and get redemption from last year, or were you like, oh cool, that’s the only guy who beat me last year, so my chances of getting my title back are even better? With Derek out of the picture, you would be the favorite.

Derek’s decision was not a factor in my decision-making process as to choosing Open or 212. I take everyone in the 212 class seriously and respect each and every one of them. But no, it wasn’t like, Derek is doing Open, now I am definitely doing 212. I’m not running away from anybody. I never have. If Derek had decided to stay in 212 this year and so did I, so be it. I’m choosing what’s best for me and my team.

Getting back to debates your Legion Sports win sparked, some were saying that if a 212 competitor is good enough to win an Open show, why do we even need a 212 class? Why not just go back to the way it used to be, when shorter and lighter men like Lee Priest, Shawn Ray and the late Momo Benaziza used to kick ass when it was all one class?

I think there must be a 212 class. It can be a stepping stone to Open. Having turned pro as a 143-pound bantamweight, I knew I had to start all over. Had there not been the option of a 212 division, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here right now. Going into the Open class would have been crazy. The 212 division gave me a home, somewhere I could develop, get better and slowly work my way up the ladder. I was able to place top five, top three, win a pro show, get to the Olympia and eventually win it. These are steps. There are a lot of guys in the 212 who probably couldn’t do well in the Open class. 212 gives them a home where they can do well, make money and brand themselves.

The other argument your Legion win started was, why can’t Shaun compete in both the 212 and Open Olympia shows? Why can’t you do both?

There has never been a crossover at the Olympia show, period, and I don’t think they want to start now. It’s a long weekend in general with all the divisions. We’ve all been to amateur shows with tons of crossovers, and we’re there all night. If they did that at the Olympia, it might take three to five days to get through all the judging and finals instead of two days and nights. I respect the Olympia committee’s decision 100 percent and I’m happy to pick one of the classes.

You worked your way up the Olympia from not even placing your first time to eventually winning. Did you believe even that first year when you were out of the top 15 that eventually you would make it to the top?

Absolutely. You just said it right there. I believed. I wouldn’t have been doing this all those years if I didn’t believe I could be the champion. I wouldn’t waste my time, my team’s, or my coach’s time if I didn’t believe that one day, I could be the best of the best. Starting out as a bantamweight, I knew I needed time to build and hone my physique, get bigger, rounder and more balanced. That takes time. I post transformation pics up all the time on my Instagram, but I let people know this is a marathon, not a sprint. If you put on 2, 3 or 5 pounds on a year, eventually that adds up. I went from 154 pounds at my first Mr. Olympia in 2015 to 177 pounds when I won in 2020. You’re not going to go from A to Z in a matter of weeks. It takes time.

I know you started competing at only 118 pounds. Did you have a vision in your head back then of being as big as you are now? I don’t think too many people who saw you back then would have even thought that was possible.

Back then, I wasn’t really even thinking about it that way. I was just bodybuilding because I loved getting onstage and displaying my hard work. Eventually once I started learning more about the sport, about the IFBB and the Olympia, and started following guys like David Henry and Dexter Jackson, I said one day I can get there. I knew it would take time. A lot of the guys who started out with me gave up along the way. I knew how dedicated I was and how strong of a work ethic I had, and I knew what my goal was. I never stopped believing I would get there.

Speaking of hard work, you are famous for how hard and heavy you train. I believe that sets you apart from most of your competition. There’s a different look to the physique in people who train that way. Was that always your training style?

That’s the way I love to train. If I leave the gym and I don’t feel like I annihilated myself, whether it’s off-season or prep, I feel like I wasted my time. That’s what gives that dense, hard, crazy look onstage. Look at the physiques of Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates and Branch Warren. They always trained heavy. Ronnie was deadlifting 800 pounds a few weeks out from the Olympia! That’s why he looked the way he did onstage. It wasn’t the diet or the cardio. It was because he trained his ass off from start to finish and never let up. That’s how I like to train and what I feel works best for my body. It keeps the muscles dense, hard and round onstage.

I know you don’t get any heavier than about 210 pounds in the off-season, and I believe that pound-for-pound, you might be stronger than heavier men like Ronnie or Branch. What are some of your top lifts?

I’ve squatted 515 and done dumbbell presses with 170s for reps. I can dumbbell row the 190. Back when I was deadlifting, I could pull 455 for reps when I only weighed 130 pounds. I’m a strong guy. I’ve always believed in progressive overload and just annihilating the muscle.

Do you try to use the same weights all the way through prep?

I try to push just as heavy when I can, but at the same time I’m realistic and listen to my body. If I’m having a day where I feel really off or the diet is really getting to me, I’m going to be smart and lower the weight. But I’m not one of those guys who says, OK, I’m getting ready for a show, let’s focus on machines and cables. Those absolutely have their place, maybe in the last week or two. For me, even if I have to lower the weight with a barbell or a dumbbell, I’d rather put those in my hands. For me personally and my physique, that’s what makes me look different from the others.

I think it’s both a blessing and a curse that we have so many incredible machines now and so many training options. If you look back, Ronnie and Branch used almost entirely free weights. Dorian used a few machines but also kept heavy free-weight movements in. Do you feel like too many of the guys these days might be opting more for machines and missing out?

To each their own. I’m never gonna knock someone for the way they train. Obviously if they’re at the Olympia level, they’re doing something right. I do feel that some of them could bring a different look if they changed things up with their training. I will say this. The lockdown in 2020 was possibly the best off-season I ever had. The gyms were shut down, but my friend had a private gym he let me use that literally only had barbells and dumbbells. Not one machine or cable! All I did were free-weight basics like deadlifts, barbell rows and presses for five months, banging away on compound movements, and my physique completely changed. That’s the year I won the Olympia!

That’s ironic because most of us at that time were complaining that we couldn’t use all those things at our gym. Oh no! I can’t do leg curls! I can’t do my lat pulldowns! I think you might have proved we could be better off as bodybuilders without them. You did level up that year with a rounder, denser, freakier look.

It really was all basic movements. I squatted and deadlifted every week, did rack pulls and bench presses every week, and got stronger at them as the weeks and months went by. I still did the same diet and cardio for my prep that year, but the muscle hung on much better than it ever had before. I know I got thicker because I got stronger on those basic compound movements.

I don’t think you were part of Mutant when we spoke last. How did you become part of their team?

This process was seven years in the making. I head reached out to them in 2015 because I was a big fan of the brand. I knew all the athletes, but they had their team in place at the time. I always made a point to find their booth at expos and go say what’s up. I kept in touch with them over the years and used many of their products. They would send me new products to try also. Earlier this year I ended my supplement contract I’d had, and I got a few good offers from several companies, six or seven. I knew that Mutant had made a lot of changes in 2020 during lockdown, and they had let a few of their athletes go. Now that things have been getting back to normal, I spoke with Mutant owner Jim McMahon on the phone. He wanted Mutant to get back to being a grassroots, hardcore brand for bodybuilders. I hate when a company starts one way, hardcore, then goes off in a totally different direction to appeal more to the mainstream. Mutant always stayed true to their roots, and that’s why I’ve always been a fan. Jim brought some guys back, like Dusty Hanshaw, who you know is a beast. Jim thought I’d be a great fit for the team, and he knew I’ve been trying to get onboard for the past seven years. He made me an offer and I said, let’s do it. The very next week, I was out in Las Vegas shooting content with Ms. Olympia Andrea Shaw, Dusty and Jamie the Giant. It was a fun time and I’m excited for what’s to come. I’ll say it right now. This is it for me. This company is where I belong. They’ve taken very good care of me over these past few months. This is something I’ve wanted for many years, and now it’s here. I’m very excited for the future.

Enough about bodybuilding, let’s talk about life. You’re going to be a dad. Congratulations!

Thanks! Yeah, that came way out of left field. My girlfriend and I had been talking about it and starting to work on having a family. After a couple of years, nothing was happening. From there we took the attitude that if it happens, it happens and if doesn’t, it's OK. A few months ago, she came to me and gave me the news. Life has already changed for the better. Everything is focused on the baby. We found out we’re having a little girl. That’s my new personal motivation. I did have to make some changes in the gym, because my girlfriend has been my training partner every day for the past eight years. My good friend Ivan stepped up and took the reins, and he’s been in there with me every single day.

And when is the due date, I think I read on your Instagram it’s only a few days after the Olympia?

Yeah, I messed up the timing! She’s due the day after Christmas, 10 days after the Olympia finals. She had told her doctor she needed to travel to Las Vegas for my show, and the doctor told her, you’re not going anywhere! It’s not safe to fly that late into a pregnancy. She will be watching at home on pay-per-view with some friends, and half of Signature Fitness Gym is coming out to watch me.

Let’s just hope your daughter doesn’t arrive early!

No, hopefully maybe a couple of days late.

Last question, why don’t you post more progress pics? Here we are just a few weeks away from the Olympia and I haven’t seen one.

Anyone who knows me or who has been following me knows I don’t. I believe in working in silence. Even when I competed in other federations years ago, I wouldn’t tell people what shows I was doing. I would just show up. I have no problem with people posting pictures and videos in tank tops or with their shirt off. If that’s what keeps you going, go for it. I would rather work in silence and give people that anticipation like, what’s he looking like? What’s he going to bring to the Olympia? If I posted stuff every day, people have already seen it by showtime. I am looking forward to showing my progression, and I do make progress every year. I want people to be shocked at the show when they see me. Until then, you will see me training in hoodies or big T-shirts. That’s me. The gym is where I bust my ass and put the work in, and the stage is where you guys all get to see the end result of that hard work on display.

I can’t wait to see it!

You won’t be disappointed.

Postscript: Decision Made! At 10:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 16, Shaun finally let us know that he will be returning to the 212 Olympia for 2022, the title he won in 2020 and lost to Derek Lunsford in 2021. “Losing my title in 2021 was a fuel and motivation to come back this year bigger, better and more determined than ever,” he said in a short video on his YouTube channel. So while we won’t get to see Shaun on the Open Mr. Olympia stage just yet, we will see him battle the best 212 pros in the world and quite possibly do what no man since Jay Cutler did in 2009 has done, regain the Olympia title after losing it. The Mutant athlete would go on to win the 212 Olympia in 2022, making Shaun a two-time 212 Olympia champion.

Instagram @shaunclarida

YouTube: Shaun Clarida

Pro Contest History

2014 New York Pro - 13^th Place

2014 Toronto Pro - 12^th Place

2015 New York Pro - Seventh Place

2015 Toronto Pro - Second Place

2015 Vancouver Pro - Winner

2015 Puerto Rico Pro - Second Place

2015 212 Olympia - Did not place

2016 New York Pro - Third Place

2016 Arctic Pro - Fourth Place

2016 Puerto Rico Pro - Second Place

2016 212 Olympia - 13^th Place

2017 New York Pro - Second Place

2017 Europa Dallas - Winner

2017 212 Olympia - Ninth Place

2017 Phoenix Pro - Second Place

2018 New York Pro - Winner

2018 212 Olympia - Seventh Place

2019 212 Olympia - Third Place

2020 212 Olympia - Winner

2021 212 Olympia - Second Place

2021 Legion Sports Fest - Open Winner

2022 212 Olympia - Winner

Shaun’s MUTANT Stack

ISO SURGE™

FLEX FOOD™

BCAA 9.7

GEAAR™

MADNESS

PUMP

CREAKONG

CARNITINE

GLUTAMINE

For more information, visit iammutant.com

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

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