The Athletes Representative: Bob Cicherillo calls out Fouad Abiad.
In a recent podcast by Fouad Abiad, the subject of Athletes Representative was discussed, and it seems Fouad and his guests stepped out of line.
It has not been a good week for Fouad Abiad and his regular guests. Fouad has managed to grow his YouTube channel into one of the most popular in the industry, but it seems Fouad and his guests totally ignore the fact that a number of important people in the industry watch these podcasts.
If one of his guests makes a controversial comment or reveals some news that was not meant to be heard, Fouad does damage control by deleting the clip. Sometimes it will be too late and they deny that anything was said after the bodybuilding press reveal the story to the public.
This happened earlier this week and Nick Trigili revealed what was said and Fouad and some of his guests tried to deny it, but it was too late.
In the same podcast, Fouad and his guests slipped again when they alleged that the Athletes Representative does nothing for the pro athletes within the NPC and Pro League.
Before Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo’s time, there was nobody to represent the athletes. Shawn Ray was the first to break down the barriers and fought hard for the athletes to have an Athletes Rep.
This is all well documented on YouTube for anybody that would like to educate themselves.
Shawn Ray eventually moved on to other projects and Bob Cicherillo took over and continues to represent the athletes today.
Foaud’s podcast was made in front of a live audience, but the comments made by Fouad revealed that he has absolutely no idea about the history of bodybuilding.
Way before Fouad and some of his guests made a name for themselves in the sport of bodybuilding, Bob Cicherillo was already a veteran of the sport and working hard to make the sport better for the athletes.
It went downhill for Fouad when he said “The Athletes Rep does nothing for the athletes” and continued “I wish there was one person the athletes can go to and actually have a representative that wasn’t closer to the IFBB than he was to the athletes.”
As Fouad continued to talk about what he thinks the Athletes Rep should do, it was evident that he had absolutely no idea of what he was talking about.
The more Foaud and his team talked about the Athletes Rep. the more ridiculous they looked.
Bob Cicherillo reacts and calls out Fouad Abiad
Not long after Fouad Abiad’s podcast was published on YouTube, Bob Cicherillo responded to the comments that were made about the Athletes Rep.
Fouad Abiad refrained from naming the Athletes Representative during his podcast. It is impossible that a former pro bodybuilder, such as Fouad Abiad, does not know Bob Cicherillo is the Athletes Rep.
In his latest podcast “The Voice of Bodybuilding Podcast”, Bob Cicherillo highlighted a number of valid points, challenging all the ridiculous comments made by Fouad and his guests.
Bob revealed that he was the man behind the new divisions that were introduced in the sport, which in return created more opportunities for the athletes.
Bob also had a lot to do with the increase in prize money for the pro athletes at the majority of competitions.
Fouad will surely be speechless after he hears Bob’s valid points of all the work he has done in the past 15-20 years.
No matter how popular Fouad’s podcast is, he must remember that he is not above anybody in the industry. He and his guests might allegedly try (unsuccessfully) to shoot down Nick Trigili and others who criticize him, but when they touch a heavyweight such as Bob Cicherillo, they must be prepared for a reaction.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net is mentioned indirectly on some of Fouad’s podcasts, but the name of the site is never mentioned as Fouad and his brand apparently cannot be associated to this site as we are independent and cover all federations.
The newbies have to respect the veterans of the sport
Fouad Abiad allegedly does not like bodybuilding legend Shawn Ray; he is on record criticizing Shawn on a number of his podcasts.
Fouad now has to live with the fact that it was Shawn Ray that opened the doors for the Athletes Rep. which created better conditions for the athletes.
Fouad must now admit that some of the benefits that he had during his career was thanks to Shawn Ray. Most probably, Fouad will still not admit that it was Shawn Ray who was one of the people that made the sport what it is today.
Getting back to Bob Cicherillo, it seems many forget that it was him and Dan Solomon that created most probably the best podcast in the history of the sport, “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly”, way back in 2005.
Bob Cicherillo is the original “Voice of Bodybuilding”, the popular MC at the Mr. Olympia and other top events.
Bob and Shawn Ray are also bodybuilding’s most respected and knowledgeable historians, but then we have Fouad and his guests that try to shoot down these two legends.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net has had a number of disagreements with Bob Cicherillo and Shawn Ray in the past, but this was all for the good of the sport. This site has always praised and never denied the incredible work that Bob and Shawn has done for the sport of bodybuilding.
Does Fouad Abiad want to be the Athletes Representative?
During the segment about the Athletes Rep., Fouad Abiad hinted that he would not pass the opportunity of being an Athletes Rep.
This is not the first time Fouad suggest that he wanted to take over somebody’s position in the bodybuilding industry.
Just last year, Fouad started a campaign to hopefully replace Shawn Ray as a commentator during the Arnold Classic. After some people in the industry pulled some strings for him, Fouad managed to replace Shawn Ray as a commentator at the 2021 Arnold Classic.
After hearing Fouad on his latest podcast, it seems that he might be interested in trying to replace Bob Cicherillo as the Athletes Rep., but this will be a very difficult task to accomplish.
Fouad is not in the inner-circle of the NPC and Pro League, he is still a little fish among the big sharks in the industry. Fouad might have a successful supplement brand, but it ends there.
As well, after hearing Bob Cicherillo’s reaction to the Athletes Rep. discussion on his channel, Fouad Abiad must surely be having second thoughts of wanting to be Athletes Rep. and will most probably never mention it again on his podcast.
Watch the video of Bob Cicherillo reaction to Fouad Abiad’s comments.
