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“Be the icons you’re supposed to be and promote the sport” – Fouad Abiad

October 2, 2021

“Be the icons you’re supposed to be and promote the sport” – Fouad Abiad.

The debate whether bodybuilding in the past is better than the present has been heating up in the last couple of days.

Moments after Nick Walker won the 2021 Arnold Classic USA title, bodybuilding legend Berry De Mey made some controversial comments on his official Instagram page.

Berry said, “Not an opinion, just an observation. Older generations of bodybuilders now encourage and appreciate the sport for what they themselves stopped for competing or rejected at the time.”

This sparked a long and heated debate, with a number of legends from the past clashing with supporters of the modern era.

Former legends such as Samir Bannout, Shawn Ray, Robby Robinson and others agreed with Berry, explaining that bodybuilding today is going in the wring direction.

Berry, Shawn, Samir and Robby believe that today’s physiques are not aesthetic. They have been arguing that today’s athletes are too big and not aesthetic. They also believe that the younger generation of bodybuilding stars are abusing the use of PED’s, to the extent that it becomes very dangerous.

Samir Bannout, “You know my opinion on that bro… That’s why I don’t comment much on these posts… I just pray for better days ahead.
“Berry, I blame the STUPID COACHES… I feel bad for the hard working athletes, it’s not completely their faults!”

Shawn Ray, “What’s heated about this? Common sense, two clear eyes. Why make it out to be something other than what it is? Berry is right. Any questions???

Berry and the rest of the former stars, even Arnold Schwarzenegger are convinced that Classic Physique is the way forward. The physiques are aesthetic, balanced and are more pleasing to see.

Arnold Schwarzenegger commented on the state of bodybuilding and the popularity of Classic Physique during the 2021 Arnold Classic: “I was not only impressed (with the Classic Physique Division), I was delighted to see a great performance when it comes to posing and the way they relax their faces. It looks so much more appealing,” Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

“I think this is the direction we need to go, no two ways about it. I think that you really need to build this part of the bodybuilding sports, so that it’s equal to the Open competition. That way people always have choices, and there’s always a good thing with sponsorship money, and get them more cash prizes. So I’m going to work on that because I think that it’s the right direction to go…

“Let’s not forget, they don’t have to take all of this stuff that some of the other guys are taking to be bigger,” Arnold added.

“This is, I think, what the danger is. In this sport, it’s the most dangerous sport in the world. In MMA fighters, you’ve had four guys die in the last ten years. In bodybuilding you’ve had 14 guys over the last ten years. So it just shows you how dangerous it is to take some of those medications and things that those guys take.”

Not everybody agrees with Berry and the gang, modern bodybuilding stars, such as Iain Valliere and Fouad Abiad have conflicting opinions on the direction the sport is taking.

Fouad summed up everything in a couple of sentences, “Looks like a few ‘icons’ are feeling left out. It’s not your time anymore fellas. Be the icons you’re supposed to be and promote the sport. @berrydemey @officialsamirbannout (can’t tag Shawn Ray I have him blocked).

“I’m retired, I miss the spotlight but denigrating the current champions of the day isn’t helping you become more relevant. It’s just pulling the whole sport downward.”

Iain Valliere, “Yaaaawwwwn, old opinions of even older men.”

What can be done?

Classic Physique athlete, Tavi Castro made a very good statement: “Coaches are pushing the wishes of the judges . The judges are pushing the wishes of the federation…”

Only the owners of the NPC and Pro League can change the direction in which the sport of bodybuilding is taking.

The NPC/Pro League is not a federation, it is a family business owned by Jim Manion. The IFBB on the other hand is a federation recognized by the majority of countries all over the world. IFBB President, Rafael Santonja, cannot just make new rules himself, there has to be a vote and then it is democratically passed. The values of the IFBB continues to work on the the foundations created by its founder Ben Weider.

Jim Manion can just wake up in the morning and change the direction of the sport, but there is one major factor… money.

The bigger, freaky looking physiques bring in spectators, which in return allegedly means more money for the NPC/Pro League or the Manion family.

Bob Cicherillo allegedly confirmed that even when female bodybuilders were dying from the abuse of diuretics, the NPC/Pro League were not going to get involved in such matters.

Only the people that run the sport and the judges that award the physiques can change the direction of the sport.

Mass Monsters vs Aesthetic Physiques

Seeing a big physique on stage is always an exciting moment, but at the same time the physique has to be aesthetic and balanced.

Having an athlete walk on stage, bigger than the rest but not looking aesthetic or balanced is not the way forward, and that athlete should not win a show.

As mentioned in our previous articles, this trend started after 6X Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates started his reign.

Dorian did not have the best genetics, but he managed to step on stage with a massive, balanced physique. No bubble guts during that era.

The only way the other competitors was to get bigger. Some lost their pleasing lines and totally ruined their physique, while others decided to step away from the sport.

After Dorian’s retirement, the much bigger Ronnie Coleman reigned the sport for eight years.

In the beginning of his reign, Ronnie walked was the biggest bodybuilder on stage, but at the same time he was aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Evolutionofbodybuilding.net has always argued that when Cedric McMillan is on stage, he has the genetics to win every show.

Cedric has the size and fantastic balance, but he is never as conditioned as his fellow competitors. Cedric is on record saying he rarely diets to get that extreme look.

But if Cedric is walking around with the ideal physique, why is he never winning or placing in the top three? Is this because he is not as vascular as his fellow competitors?

As mentioned before, these decisions all fall in the hands of the judges and what they consider the ideal physique.

Who wins the debate?

Evolutionofbodybuilding.net believes both Berry and Fouad are correct, but both have flaws in their arguments.

Berry and gang have every right to criticize the modern bodybuilder and the direction they are taking. But it has to be done in a way that educates the athlete.

It makes no sense to just point out the negative, solutions have to be made to bring the right balance and educate the young athletes.

On the other side of the fence, Fouad and Iain are also correct in saying that we should support the new bodybuilders and the direction the sport is taking.

Fouad and Iain also have to be honest and admit that some of the physiques on the modern stage should not be there.

Fouad has a very popular YouTube channel, and he can help to promote what an ideal physique should look like, while showing his support to modern day bodybuilding.

Fouad is well spoken and he has a very good way of educating athletes on his show.

Yes, Fouad is right is saying we should promote the sport and not talk negatively about it, but we can take the positives from Berry, Samir, Arnold and Shawn to improve it.

It would be great to see Fouad invite Berry De Mey on his show, to have a good debate. It would be very positive for the sport.