Classic Lee Labrada Discusses New Physique Divison & More
Classic Lee Labrada
The Hall-of-Famer Discusses the New Classic Physique Division & More
A MATTER OF CLASS
The word “class” could have been invented for bodybuilding legend Lee Labrada. In this feature, he talks about the introduction of the Classic Physique division, how he wishes bodybuilding contests were drug tested and how at age 55, he’s still living the bodybuilding lifestyle.
Lee, what are your thoughts on the recent introduction of the Classic Physique division?
I like the idea that it is going to open up an opportunity to compete for a whole new cast of individuals. I think it’s going to popularize our sport and is going to draw not just new competitors, but a larger physique-appreciating public.
This new division might just light a spark in a dormant audience, that has not been following the sport for some time.
I don’t agree that it will attract a dormant audience, Peter. I think it is going to be a new audience. I think that a lot of youngsters these past few years have aspired to have a muscular physique, but they didn’t have a class in which they could compete— now they do. And this category is not going to replace professional bodybuilding as we know it today, because there is still an audience that wants to see guys push the envelope to the extreme. I mean, everybody wants to see superlatives: see a man run faster, lift heavier, jump higher. In the same mindset, they want to see a man develop a physique to the extreme. We could draw an analogy with motor racing. Our extremists are the high-performing fuel dragsters of the bodybuilding world, while Classic Physique is Formula 1. Two different styles, but still in the same general arena. I am sure Classic Physique will go through some growing— no pun intended— pains, but I think that in two or three years, it will level itself out and hit its stride.
At 5’6’ and a completive weight of around 190 pounds, you have been lauded as one of the most aesthetic physics ever built, and many consider you the best bodybuilder under 200 pounds, ever. Tell us of the moment that the bodybuilding bug bit you.
Physique development always interested me, and as a kid I used to watch Steve Reeves and Reg Park in Hercules movies. Then in 1977, when I was 17, I picked up a copy of a magazine and saw physiques like Arnold, Robby Robinson, Frank Zane and Danny Padilla and I said to myself, “I want to look like those guys.” A short time later, I was entering contests.
This is a hypothetical question that might be difficult to answer. You saw that magazine in 1977, with those tapered type of physiques like Arnold— but say you were born 30 years later and picked up your first bodybuilding magazine in 2007, and saw the physiques that dominated then— would you been turned on by those images in the same way that happened in 1977?
To be honest, I think I would have looked at those physiques and thought them unattainable. The ‘70s physiques, in comparison, were super but still remained in the realms of attainability— not like they were from another world. So as a teenager in 2007, I think I would be saying, “Wow, I would like to develop my muscles but I’m not sure I would like to develop them to that unattainable extent.” I really don’t know if those images would have motivated me to become a competitive bodybuilder.
So tell us about your first contest.
I was living in Jacksonville, Florida, at the time when I saw that 1977 magazine. A few months later at 5’6” and 130 pounds, I entered the 1978 Teen Mr. Jacksonville. Backstage I thought, “These guys are so huge, they’ll blow me away.” But I won. So from day one of my competitive career, I learned that bodybuilding was not all about size. As I learned over the years, it was about symmetrical development, proportion, conditioning and presenting a total package that is fully developed from all angles.
You had a stunningly successful pro career: Seven pro wins, twice runner-up to Lee Haney at the Olympia in ‘89 and ‘90— the latter being particularly controversial as you were ahead at the prejudging. After finishing fourth at the 1993 Mr. Olympia, you made a decision to not compete at all in ‘94 and come back in ‘95 refreshed. We spoke about this at the time, and you said you did come back a little differently than you thought you would after the break, is that correct?
Yes, especially mentally. I was starting to get burned out in ‘93, starting to not enjoy myself so I decided to take a hiatus. I stepped off the merry-go-round and instead of being part of it, observed and took stock of it. I could see bodybuilding’s tectonic plates were shifting. Lee Haney was a big guy but was well proportioned with a small waist; which was a different look than the bigger guys that came after him. The sport had started taking a different direction. I realized that the sport was outgrowing me, and I was outgrowing it. I thought that personally I’d done everything I’d set out to accomplish, with the exception of winning the Mr. Olympia, but I felt that with the direction the sport was going in, that title was now beyond me.
I finished fifth at my last contest— the 1995 Arnold— and decided it was time to go. It’s never easy to make a life-changing decision like that for a professional athlete, but you have to be realistic and know when it is time to depart the scene. Otherwise, what happens is you really do fade to those lower places and then people remember the last time they saw you, and not when you were at your best. Like the prizefighter who goes on too long and ends up getting beaten by guys who really have no business being in the ring with him. I knew that the sport was changing, heading in a different direction, so I made the decision at that point to exit the stage.
You were 35 when you retired, which is not that old these days— today, a lot of guys don’t get their pro cards until that age. In the 21 years since you retired, were you ever tempted to compete again?
The only time I ever felt tempted to come back was when there were rumors a few years after I retired that bodybuilding might become an Olympic sport. With it being drug tested, competing in the Olympics would have been right up my alley.
The subject of drug testing brings us to the 1990 Olympia, so far the only Olympia ever drug tested. How much did you look forward to that drug-tested competition?
Well, I actually looked forward to all pro contests being drug tested from then on in. At that 1990 Olympia Lee Haney, like a lot of guys, was not at his best and I was leading after the prejudging. Somehow, he overtook me in the evening. So I had the major disappointments of not winning and the drug testing lasting just that one year. If drug testing had been continued, bodybuilding would be a different sport today.
Looking back, what was the highlight of your competitive career?
The highlight was winning the 1992 Pro World Cup in Madrid, Spain, which is where my ancestors came from. My parents were there, as were my wife Robin and our newborn son, Hunter. A week earlier, I had finished fourth at the Olympia, with rookie Kevin Levrone taking second. But I beat Kevin in Madrid that day, so that memory really lives in my heart. And even though things didn’t work out the 1990 Olympia, after I felt I was destined to win, the thrill of being ahead at the halfway stage stands out. And then straightaway occurred the low point of my career, as I didn’t win the 1990 Sandow after being so confident I would.
Fast-forwarding, what modern-day physiques do you admire?
I’m a fan of proportion and great lines, so I like Phil Heath. However, I think he is packing too much mass on his frame. I think he would look a bit better if he was a bit lighter, which would really bring out those great lines. Shawn Rhoden is another one I rate; he has excellent lines and I think he will continue to do well.
Of your three sons, Hunter, at 22, is really into bodybuilding. Will he compete?
Yes, he will be completing this year. At 5’9’ he’s around 250 in the off-season, and will be in the heavyweight class that maxes-out at 225.
Bodybuilding has a lot of detractors, so how do you strike a balance between working with Hunter and keeping away from the darker side that exists?
You know, they say the sons of bakers become bakers and sons of automobile mechanics become automobile mechanics. Hunter is devoted to sports and earned a college scholarship to play football. He grew up around bodybuilding, so it did not surprise me that he finally set his heart on competing. I was faced with a situation where I can either be part of the team and help guide him to be the best that he can be, or I could just bow out. To me, the choice was obvious so I gave him my blessing to help in any way that I could.
So, your final thoughts on the launch of the Classic Physique division?
I see this division as a totally new initiative. It’s not turning the clock back to an earlier era. We are not regressing, we are making progress. It’s a class in which a whole new stream of individuals, who would never think of competing in a traditional bodybuilding contest, can take part. I do not think it is going to replace bodybuilding as we see it today. We are launching a new category that allows more individuals to participate in onstage. It is just another way that will help us grow the entire physique universe.
Lee, you run an internationally renowned supplement company and are the father of three growing boys— how do you have the drive and the time to look so great at age 55?
Training for me is like getting up in the morning and brushing your teeth. If you don’t do it, you don’t feel right all day. I have a fully equipped corporate gym here at my business premises, and I have a fully equipped gym at home. I set that up on purpose, so I’m never more than 50 feet away from a gym. I have no excuses for not working out, so I train most days. I train with the same love that I have always had. It is just part of who I am. I have been doing this since I was 16 years old, so next year it will be 40 years since my bodybuilding journey began.
Any final words?
Again, I want to express my gratitude to Steve Blechman for giving me the opportunity to speak to the MD audience. Again, I feel privileged and really excited, and am looking forward to sharing all of my experience and wisdom with all the young bodybuilders. And finally, I thank God that I’ve been blessed with so much, and look forward to helping the new and upcoming generation of classic bodybuilders.
WE GOT LEE COVERED
It was great to learn from Steve Blechman that I was going to be on May cover of MD for the first time in 22 years. I was tickled to death and was kind of ribbing my kids, telling them, “Hey, not bad that I made the cover of MD at age 55.” Of course, they replied, “C’mon, Dad … it’s an old shot.” The one word that sums up how I feel about making the cover is exhilaration— the same type of exhilaration I used to get when I appeared on previous covers. Second word is appreciation. Appreciation to Steve Blechman and the MD team for choosing me as the cover guy for May issue. It is just a great honor, and I couldn’t be more exhilarated or appreciative. –Lee Labrada
THE LEE LABRADA FILE
Born: Havana, Cuba – March 8, 1960
Wife: Robin, married 1986
Family: Three sons – Hunter (23), Blade (20), Pierce (17)
Business: Founder and CEO of Labrada Nutrition (founded 1995)
Current Residence: Houston, Texas
Height: 5’6”
Competitive weight: 190 pounds
Present weight: 175 pounds
Major Wins:
1986 NPC Nationals, middleweight class
1986 IFBB World Championships, middleweight class
1986 IFBB Night of Champions (pro debut)
1988 IFBB Greek Grand Prix
1988 IFBB Spanish Grand Prix
1988 IFBB English Grand Prix
1989 IFBB Dutch Grand Prix
1989 IFBB Finnish Grand Prix
1989 IFBB English Grand Prix