Written by Giles “Tiger” Thomas
20 July 2020

 Phil Heath Greatness

 

Phil Heath’s Gift for Greatness

Will 7-Time Mr. Olympia Compete Again?

 

By Giles Thomas

 

The ‘90s were unique for pro bodybuilding for many reasons. One of which was the outstanding hit-the-ground running rookie years from some of its champions. In 1992, Kevin Levrone, only seven months after turning pro at the 1991 NPC Nationals, won his first pro show at the Night of Champions, and then took runner-up at that year’s Mr. Olympia in Helsinki, Finland. In 1993, Flex Wheeler, just 10 months after winning the overall at the 1992 NPC USAs, took his first win in his pro debut at the Iron Man Pro, two weeks later following that up with another huge win at the Arnold Classic. These kinds of things just didn’t (and still don’t) usually happen in the pro ranks. Normally it would take several years for a rookie pro to climb the ladder and secure a victory, if you look at the history. For many years after Levrone’s and Wheeler’s sensational and atypical start to their careers, this was the case. Then 2006 happened.

 

2006, an Interesting Year in the Pro Ranks

           

Every few years, there always seems to be a year that, in some ways, feels like a changing of the guard. Those at the very top either get beaten, or their physiques and placings start to slip. Their peak years start to drop off as the new bloods pop up and move in, as attentions shift toward the stars of the future. 2006 was that year, as eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman was finally defeated by eventual four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. Jay had been so close to Ronnie from that first second place at the 2001 Mr. Olympia, followed by another second place in 2003, then again in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, the torch had been passed, and we had a new numero uno to carry on the Olympia legacy, from Ronnie over to Jay.

           

Four months prior, a 26-year-old from Denver, Colorado (originally from Seattle) decided, only one year after turning pro at the 2005 NPC USAs, to make his pro debut at Shawn Ray’s Colorado Pro. Phil Heath was his name, an ex-basketball player, well educated, with a physique that simply screamed “potential.” Given that we were pretty much smack-bang in the middle of an era of gigantic physiques with Ronnie Coleman, Günter Schlierkamp, Dennis James and Markus Rühl leading the charge for mega-mass, with Phil Heath we had something new, something quite different. Competing around 220 pounds in his rookie year, he had a muscle quality and separation only usually found in the lighter weight categories like light-heavyweights (under 90kg) and below. The pro ranks were super-sizing more and more with Jay (and others) trying to chase the 300-pound shredded Ronnie “King” Coleman, and they were seemingly all now playing the size game. Phil wasn’t, yet he won the Colorado Pro and following that, the New York Pro shortly after. Fans and pundits of the sport were split: some were raving about him, others, not so much – possibly preferring the more in vogue 280-pound-plus mass monsters. 

 

2 Pro Wins and He Skips the Olympia? Say Whaaat?

           

Yes, actually. Even with the two pro wins under his belt, Phil sat out the 2006 Mr. Olympia. Why? He felt he wasn’t ready to do damage, yet. 2007 came around and Phil’s first Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. Fifth place there at the second biggest pro bodybuilding event on the planet, with Victor Martinez taking first place. The plan now was to shut it down and for no more shows to be entered until a new-and-improved package could be unveiled. In 2008, a few weeks out from the Iron Man Pro, some photos were released that – much like six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates released in 1993 (taken by Kevin Horton of Yates posing six weeks out from the Olympia) – blew minds. Phil wanted to gain, and gain he most certainly did. But, not at the expense of the deeply carved muscle separation that he’d displayed during the two years prior. He was getting bigger and somehow, some way, still managing to retain the quality. It was no shock the Iron Man Pro was to be his third pro victory, following that up with a jump up to second place at the Arnold Classic behind winner Dexter Jackson. 

 

Olympia Debut

           

With three solid pro wins under his belt, Phil finally was now set to make his pro debut at the 2008 Mr. Olympia (despite having qualified the two years running previously). Dexter Jackson did the almost unthinkable and won that year’s Mr. Olympia, dethroning two-time champ Jay Cutler into second place, Phil confidently coming in a nice, cool third. Top three in his Olympia debut. Nice. And up there in terms of immediate impact that hadn’t been seen since Wheeler and Levrone back in the 1990s.  

 

2009 … a Step Back or a Setback?

           

With his Olympia qualification gained with his top three at the 2008 Mr. Olympia, Phil did no other shows in 2009; he was now ranked number three in the world and only one show really mattered to him that year: the Mr. Olympia. Riding the wave of the promising third place the year before with Phil’s popularity soaring globally, with Jay Cutler sliding seemingly and with Dexter Jackson in his sights, it was a safe bet that Phil Heath was potentially the main contender for the 2009 Mr. Olympia. Then, disaster struck his physique. Food poisoning (from fish) hit him like a ton of bricks the final days before the show. He was dehydrating and flattening out, real fast. Carbing up, filling and drying out was now jeopardized and slipping away from him, even faster. Managing to hold on to his condition very well considering, he struggled to bring his absolute best to the stage in Las Vegas, falling to a still respectable – albeit disappointing for him – fifth place. With Jay Cutler successfully managing to retain his title again for a third Olympia win with Dexter dropping to third, this was a step back. 

 

2010, Kai vs. Phil 

           

Eager to regain some ground after the slip in placing at the Olympia, Phil decided to enter the Arnold Classic for the third time. With a fifth (2007) and a second (2008) place he was, on paper, one of the favorites going in. Dexter was regressing in terms of his placings, while 2009 Mr. Olympia runner-up Branch Warren (rapidly improving) seemed to be his biggest competition this time. Then showed up a new-and-improved version of New Yorker Kai Greene that I personally feel was Kai’s all-time best version. Tight waistline, super dry, amazing presentation and overall just so much to handle for anyone to go up against. At the end of that day in Ohio, it came down to two men, Phil and Kai. Branch placed third, 2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson was fourth. Kai won, and Phil Heath placed second.

           

Later that fall in September, Phil was anxious to get back up in the winner’s circle, where he – and many others – felt he belonged. I was at this Olympia, and sat right in front of the great eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney; he and I disagreed. Why? With Kai tumbling down to seventh in this event (chasing the size a little too much, maybe?), this went from Kai vs. Phil, to Heath vs. Cutler; a three-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, no less. Phil was ON and for me, was the clear winner. Jay? I didn’t have him top three. It certainly wasn’t the same Jay we’d seen steamroll over everyone in 2009 with ease, from the perspective of this fan/spectator/reporter.

           

As I heard Lee Haney saying over my shoulder, he agreed with Jay Cutler winning. I seemed to forget myself momentarily, and disagreed with the great man, spinning myself around, blurting out “Phil had that EASY!” before apologizing, Lee finding amusement in the situation. So, we had Phil on the rise physically and in terms of placings (second), with a Mr. Olympia (Jay) that, although took his fourth (and final Mr. Olympia) wasn’t managing to hold on to that dominating, crush-all-in-his-path-just-f’in-give-me-my-Sandow-as-soon-as-I-walk-out look of the 2009 Mr. Olympia. 

 

2011, Rise …

           

This was to be the year, after five years of steps forward and steps back, but with continual improvements to his physique, that Phil Heath was to display a look that will go down in history as one of THE greatest all-time Mr. Olympia looks. Like Lee Haney in ‘91, like Dorian Yates in ‘93, Ronnie Coleman in ‘03 and Jay Cutler in ‘09, as soon as he walked out for prejudging it was game OVER for the competition. Jay (second), Kai Greene (third), Victor Martinez (fourth) and Dennis Wolf (fifth) were handily defeated. No question in anyone’s mind that the rightful winner – and new champ for the foreseeable future – was to be Phil “The Gift” Heath. 

 

Unbeatable Phil

           

From 2011 to 2017, Phil Heath was JUST that; simply unbeatable. Winning an incredible seven Mr. Olympia titles and Sandows (he possesses three different types of Sandows from his dominating reign), he almost made it look easy, stating one year: “I think I’m going to win 10, then bounce,” meaning he will retire on his own terms, unbeaten once he got the title 10 times, then leaving on his own terms, allowing others to then have their chance of enjoying being Mr. Olympia; and not a single moment before that.

           

Following a certainly manufactured villain role in the first “Generation Iron” movie in 2012, Phil was portrayed as the gifted athlete, coasting by on incredible genetics, driving flashy cars, training half-assed on shiny machines – and I feel, edited and structured to paint him as the spoiled, privileged champ with the Rocky-style underdog Kai Greene; living in a dingy apartment and riding the subway with the other “normies.” It did little for Phil’s public image. It proved to not be the best combination for him: Phil is a confident, straight talker, but combined with the accessibility of the explosion of social media, the fans attacked and went at him for his entire reign.

           

Phil, not taking any shit from anybody (why should he?) fought back, using it as fuel to keep winning – and to also keep making it look as easy as possible. After all, “success is the best revenge,” they say? But, it wasn’t easy; he just made it LOOK easy as he was so dominating on stage. That’s perhaps the hardest thing for many people to grasp when they see someone just SO damned good at something; they believe perhaps that it comes easy. And that confuses them. Besides, it has been said many times that if you win more than three Mr. Olympias, the fans get bored and they revolt. Lee Haney experienced it; Ronnie Coleman experienced it also. Plus, everyone loves a good underdog story and “Generation Iron” certainly handed that to the fans on a silver platter in the form of Kai Greene. But, as incredible as Kai was, even he couldn’t take out Phil Heath. Phil was just that good. Sorry … nah, not sorry.

 

My Perspective of Phil Heath

           

I’d always been a huge Phil Heath fan – his physique for me was THE best of his era. But I didn’t really know him, the man. Aside from a brief dinner with him and Jay Cutler at the 2014 FIBO in Germany, I knew little of him as a person. He was polite, respectful to be around and felt strongly at that dinner in Germany that if you were respectful and cool to him, he would return the courtesy, which I certainly experienced. In 2017, attending a heavy metal concert in London (Five Finger Death Punch), I decided to do a couple of minutes of Instagram live, and seconds in, a name popped up on my live feed. It was Phil. I was dubious, checked the account and it WAS him!

           

“My favorite band, Giles, I bet you didn’t know this?” We messaged back and forth for a couple of minutes; I was buzzing, but shocked. Phil was reaching out to me, this was amazing, but why though? Two years later, after establishing more of a connection with Phil, he had been our first guest on “MD Global Muscle” (November 2018), and he was incredible on that. It helped us to really launch the show with a bang and hit the ground running. I even got a bit emotional at the end of the interview; certain things he was saying resonated with me heavily at that time.

           

In 2019, I decided to launch an MD Global Muscle Pro Tour, and Phil was the first to pop into my head as someone I’d love to take around the UK, connecting him with the fans so they too could get away from any preplanned, preconceived notion they’d been exposed to previously. To just discover for themselves who he was as both an icon of the sport and for who he was as the person – himself, with no spin, no bullshit, just 100 percent authentic Phil Heath.

           

A couple of days into the tour, while driving to our next appearance (in Wales), he brought up the jumping on my Instagram live back on December 21, 2017. “You know why I did that, Giles? I always felt from your MD videos and what you wrote that you didn’t really like me, so I thought I’d reach out to you.” I was stunned as I racked my brain trying to remember what I’d said and wrote, where and when. By the end of the tour, I felt I had a much clearer idea of Phil Heath and who he really was. I was constantly surprised by his intelligence, insightful nature and iron mindset; he over-delivered and impressed every single fan that came to each of the eight-day long UK tour dates, leaving a huge impression wherever we went, the running positive theme of his seminars being “Get better, not bitter.”

           

On the tour, it was clear to see, however, that Phil was at a fork in the road in his life and career. One road leading to competing again; after all, he felt that the 2018 Mr. Olympia should definitely have been his and an eighth Sandow would tie him with Haney and Ronnie. The other road, to pursue other projects; acting and working on multiple new businesses (six at last count) and to simply leave his legacy as Mr. Olympia, as it was, with seven Sandows that no one can ever take away from him and to go down in history as without doubt one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

           

Which road will he take? On social media recently, he stated clearly: “I haven’t said I’m retired, guys” and is remaining fairly guarded about his million-dollar documentary “Breaking the Olympia.” Whatever Phil Heath does next, he will be great, he’s simply too gifted not to. We will just have to wait and see what comes next.

 

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