Episode 354： Confessions Of A 7 Time Mr. Olympia - Phil Heath
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
179.26892
Summary
Phil Heath is a 7th time Mr. Olympia finisher and 7th place finisher. In this episode, we talk about his journey through the sport of bodybuilding and what it takes to win 7 straight Olympia titles.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
30 seconds, one time for the underdog, ignition sequence start, let me see you put em up, reach
00:00:09.240
the sky, turn the stars up above, cause it's one time for the underdog, one time for the
00:00:17.320
I'm Patrick Bedevi, host of IITM, and today's guest is Phil Heath, 7th time Mr. Olympia.
00:00:22.540
He had some confessions to make, very, very interesting sit down that we had.
00:00:27.060
I think if you're into the bodybuilding world and the fitness world, you are going to love
00:00:31.700
So first of all, before we get into it, how has this event been for you, everybody coming
00:00:39.240
It's a lot different sitting up here, cause I've been sitting over there this whole week
00:00:50.460
I do want to say thank you all, but obviously thank you Pat.
00:00:53.980
Being here has been an incredible experience for me, and I'm sure it has been for all of
00:01:02.620
This is a much different type of conference that I normally attend, but I can tell you
00:01:07.320
it's one of the greatest ones of my life, and I know I speak for a lot of you when I
00:01:14.560
So, you know, you and I have sat down before and we've talked about a lot of Mastrolompia,
00:01:20.480
The part I want to talk to you about is very, very rarely does somebody keep winning over
00:01:27.180
and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
00:01:36.020
You know, if somebody wins a championship one time, you're like, listen, respect forever.
00:01:39.640
Somebody does it two times in a row, much respect, three, three-peat, seven-peat, Celtics.
00:01:45.600
No one in the NBA has done it seven times, and bodybuilding, it's only two people that
00:01:49.680
So, first of all, what is the mindset behind you wanting to do that consecutively and not
00:02:05.040
You know, when I got into the sport of bodybuilding, it was on October 8, 2002.
00:02:10.940
I had just completed my last season at the University of Denver playing on the men's basketball
00:02:19.020
During that summer, you know, I was thinking about maybe trying to play overseas, stuff
00:02:24.260
Then I kind of realized, Phil, you're 5'9", 180 pounds, probably not going to work.
00:02:29.880
So, then I started, you know, hanging out with some bodybuilders on campus and thought,
00:02:39.120
I just, you know, I think I have the physique to try as an amateur.
00:02:43.580
And 10 years, you know, I want to say, gosh, that first 10 years was pretty incredible because,
00:02:54.500
And a lot of the talks that you've had up here, I did get kind of emotional at times
00:02:59.440
because when you're really going to the core of who you are, not a lot of people ask yourself
00:03:05.540
I would even ask you guys, how many of you this morning looked at yourself in the mirror
00:03:12.020
after you brush your teeth, wash your face, like really look at yourself in the mirror.
00:03:19.720
And bodybuilding initially made me have to look at who I am as an individual.
00:03:36.340
Because unlike a LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, I was just talking to Matt over here about it,
00:03:42.560
but unlike anything else, you could be criticized about performance in the office, how you speak,
00:03:49.440
maybe how you dress that day or whatever, you didn't close a deal.
00:03:52.920
We're talking about how you look without your clothes on.
00:03:58.640
You know, a lot of people in here maybe switch outfits.
00:04:04.840
I mean, she probably changes three, four times sometimes, you know.
00:04:11.780
But imagine your job is to be judged by a panel of judges, fans around the world about
00:04:21.340
how you look in just this little itty-bitty clothes and trunks.
00:04:27.120
I knew early on that I really wanted to just have another outlet other than basketball.
00:04:36.680
I wanted to be able to transfer those attributes that got me to play Division I level to something else.
00:04:41.520
And I knew that I didn't have to put my teammates on my back to get the job done.
00:04:53.260
We didn't have the resources that we do now with the internet.
00:04:56.280
You know, Flex Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, right?
00:04:57.880
All these old books, the Nautilus books and all this other stuff, you know?
00:05:07.600
Countless times that I've probably purchased it three times.
00:05:11.460
Like, literally, the VHS would, you know, you know how it works.
00:05:20.840
Because you really wanted to understand the history of the sport.
00:05:30.440
And definitely somebody that I admired early on to be a champion.
00:05:36.980
You know, like, he was definitely one of my childhood heroes.
00:05:39.940
Because at the time, you know, growing up, we had the President's Council of Health and Fitness test.
00:05:51.200
Like, this guy's bigger than Lou Ferrigno, like the Incredible Hulk.
00:05:55.400
Like, he's shaped in Adonis fashion that if I could look a little bit like that, I, you know, I'd be so happy.
00:06:03.660
Little did I realize I'd be a lot bigger than that.
00:06:09.420
How did you, mentally, like, when the stomach gets full, you're like, I won again.
00:06:20.340
How does that keep you focused to keep wanting to come back and win?
00:06:24.540
Because sometimes, you know, success is the biggest liar, right?
00:06:32.900
That's the biggest challenge sometimes in business.
00:06:37.040
And you're like, what do I come back again next year?
00:06:40.560
You know, when I did my first Mission Olympia contest, it was in 2008.
00:06:45.820
So I was like, okay, I'm kind of like a LeBron or a Kobe Bryant coming out of high school.
00:06:57.040
Declined to compete because I felt like I needed more experience.
00:07:03.860
He was my boss for Flex Magazine, Muscle Fitness.
00:07:05.960
I had to sit in his office and tell him, no, I need more time.
00:07:13.240
So I placed third at my first Mission Olympia contest in 2008.
00:07:16.460
And upon that night, I realized, it's possible.
00:07:33.060
So when I got that opportunity, and if I may, I'd like to tell you a quick story about this.
00:07:41.160
That following year, I'm thinking, well, I'm going to win this damn thing.
00:07:55.260
And we talk about things that you can't control.
00:08:01.020
Sometimes, when you're dieting the way that we diet, your immune system is very, very compromised.
00:08:07.180
The slightest thing, handling of food, fish, steaks, stuff like that, it could really mess with you.
00:08:13.920
Shaking hands with fans the night before could do that.
00:08:18.900
It's almost like someone getting up and saying, how you doing, Phil?
00:08:25.940
Next thing you know, you're touching your face on accident.
00:08:29.120
You get people from all over the world coming to the Olympia.
00:08:31.440
So, I don't know what it was, but I just remember having the EMTs come into my room at 530 in the morning that Friday.
00:08:52.980
I'm not going to the hospital, but if I throw it one more time, I'll go.
00:08:55.580
But I don't want to go because these fans I just met from all over the world paid a lot of money to see me.
00:09:03.840
So, if I can just compete, I know I'm not going to win, but if I can just compete, I'll be all right.
00:09:11.220
And, you know, I was really disappointed because, you know, you go from third to fifth, you know.
00:09:15.580
And one of the defining moments in my life at that time was the following day we had a photo shoot with Joe Weider.
00:09:23.460
And anyone had ever read a Flex Magazine, especially with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Weider was always there.
00:09:29.880
Well, as he got older, he's no longer with us as of today, but that was the last photo shoot that he would have with all of the athletes.
00:09:37.080
And it was the first time since those days of Arnold that Flex Magazine athletes, Muscular Development athletes, which was a rival magazine, still is, all came together.
00:09:48.460
So, it would almost be like DC and Marvel coming together for Stan Lee and having a photo shoot.
00:10:15.120
While everybody else is, you know, partying it up Saturday, you know, whether they won or lost, you know, they're all having a good time, eating pizza, doing this.
00:10:24.140
I'm thinking about how I'm going to get better.
00:10:35.780
They're like, yeah, but you, you know, you got sick.
00:10:45.720
That's cool that you say that, but I don't, I'm very stubborn and I want to train so hard that I'm trying to make a compelling argument
00:10:53.400
with God in the universe that even if he says no, he's going to be like, well, I got to give it to him because he's just too damn stubborn.
00:11:11.840
Like, like you say, there's certain things you can't control.
00:11:13.860
I get it, but I'm like, I'm going to try to fight this thing.
00:11:34.980
And the announcer, his name is Bob Chicarillo, and he always likes to stall, to create suspense for you guys.
00:11:43.120
So, he says, like, the last, the next name I read is going to be your 2010 Mr. Olympia champion.
00:11:48.260
I had just previously got second place at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic that same year.
00:11:53.920
So, 2009, I got fifth, came back six months later, got second, thinking, I'm back in it.
00:12:13.360
So, and you're like, what do you mean froze up?
00:12:21.600
And everybody's like, yay, and he and I are friends at the time, and I'm happy for him
00:12:33.520
So, for me, when it comes to bodybuilding, I look at every little thing.
00:12:39.480
So, I said, you are the biggest, and I'm sorry, excuse my language, you're the biggest
00:12:48.160
And one of my friends heard me say, they're like, why are you calling yourself that, man?
00:13:03.860
They announced Jay Cutler's name, and I go, why did I exhale, guys?
00:13:27.260
Phil, you just got second place at the Arnold Classic.
00:13:32.940
Oh, you just came back from placing fifth the year prior.
00:13:40.160
Like, I'm friends with Jay, man, but I had you winning.
00:13:52.780
But I sure as hell went in front of those reporters, man, prior to the show.
00:14:03.020
So that following year, I said, I'm not going to do any promos, nothing, until I own it.
00:14:14.820
And that meant, I don't have to talk about this.
00:14:18.780
I don't have to talk about what I'm doing tomorrow and this and that.
00:14:21.920
And screaming from the mountaintops and doing these Instagram videos and Facebook and this and that.
00:14:27.680
I have to look in that mirror and I have to say it to myself one damn time and look at myself and be like, man, you ain't ready.
00:14:41.060
So then, when I won the Olympia in 2011, it's a different type of exhale.
00:14:49.720
You close your eyes and then, for some reason, my life flashed before my eyes.
00:14:57.940
It went all the way back to when I was a kid, like your kids, like that size, all the way to the current time in 2011.
00:15:07.320
But it showed every defining moment of my life, every why in the road, every time where I was.
00:15:14.160
Because, I mean, I'm talking about like, my birthday is a week before Christmas.
00:15:25.580
I remember being about your kid's age, your oldest kid's age.
00:15:43.000
I mean, I don't know what it feels like to really have anything anyway.
00:15:48.400
Stuff like that, to watching my first high school dance.
00:15:53.560
One of my friend's brothers got shot in the face six times, ten feet away from me.
00:16:08.140
And then it was just like, and that's when the tears come.
00:16:17.900
From the heartbreak to the lies, to the deceit from others.
00:16:25.400
Like you just said, I'm a basketball player, right?
00:16:31.400
So, it was, when you talk about what kept me going, that moment right there was like, it's worth it.
00:16:43.200
No one else knows what that feels like in this sport because I was the 13th Mr. Olympia champion.
00:16:51.080
So, imagine, only 13 people climbed that mountain.
00:16:54.040
So, to answer the question, how did I keep it going?
00:17:08.600
I like the video game Mortal Kombat for some reason.
00:17:17.960
But, so, if you ever play the game, you start here and there's like a totem pole of competitors.
00:17:30.860
I was like, it's not about the competition anymore.
00:17:44.780
Five, six, seven, and eight is the final level.
00:18:00.740
To the point where we barely even talk anymore.
00:18:13.220
And, then I said, you know, there's another perch up there with this guy named the Austrian Oak.
00:18:24.940
So, I remember the year I was getting ready for it, in 2017.
00:18:31.620
And, I said, you know, I got something to tell you.
00:18:34.760
And, he and I have a very interesting relationship.
00:18:42.740
And, I'm sure, Pat, you have definitely met someone who isn't really your enemy.
00:18:50.420
But, you can, like, stand in the same room, shake their hand.
00:18:54.900
Not say one freaking word, but have a long conversation.
00:18:57.580
It's like the movie Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr.
00:19:01.800
Before he, like, punches the guy or whatever, he's having a conversation of what he's going to do to him.
00:19:23.380
I'm going to pay homage to a legend and I'm going to remind him because, in this day and age, young people don't do that.
00:19:29.900
They forget where they come from and they don't show respect.
00:19:32.740
So, it's one thing to be very competitive, but you've got to show respect.
00:19:36.480
So, what I did was, I said, you know, obviously, I'm at your show exhibiting for my company.
00:19:42.920
But, I just want to tell you it would be an honor to be tied with you for seven.
00:19:48.680
I'm going to be training my ass off to make sure that happens.
00:19:55.360
And, he and I, like I said, we have a very interesting relationship.
00:20:00.160
But, he looked at me and he knew that I wasn't messing around.
00:20:04.740
It wasn't just because we've all done that shit.
00:20:06.400
He stands back, hugs me, and grabs me and says, and he can't really say, you're going to do it because Dexter Jackson is standing right next to me, who's a one-time Mr. Olympia.
00:20:28.920
And, stuff like that, those type of moments, you know, I always keep with me and say, you know what, Phil?
00:20:33.780
Like, if you need some validation, I mean, here it is.
00:20:36.220
But, you don't have to continue to seek it from others, okay?
00:20:39.360
Sometimes, I think what happens a lot of the time is, there's some people that I met in here, they were talking about their goals and aspirations for health and wellness.
00:20:47.340
You know, the first thing I told them is, stop posting all your pictures on Instagram.
00:20:53.220
Try your hardest to just keep some of that to yourself.
00:20:56.800
Because, you don't need validation from these strangers because, like you said up here, the white lies are going to be there.
00:21:01.500
They're going to tell you how great you are because they don't want to hurt your feelings.
00:21:22.520
But, this is what it really takes to be a champion is that you really have to dissect everything.
00:21:27.560
Every data point that Patrick is talking about of, like, business, I have to do that with the amount of sleep I get, which isn't much, how much water I drink per hour, the meals that I have to prepare.
00:21:45.160
By the, I actually had to switch to the metric system because I'm like, you know what?
00:21:49.920
Like, this doesn't make, this ounce of stuff that makes no sense to me anymore.
00:21:53.620
So, how many grams of protein, carbs, fats, like, all your macros, like, everything has to be portioned out correctly.
00:21:58.740
Every picture that I have, I probably have two terabytes worth of photographs and videos that no one has ever seen because it's not for you.
00:22:09.240
It's my systems, my strategies, my protocols, like, and then I probably will write a book one day.
00:22:15.340
But, I had to do all these things to understand my process.
00:22:18.080
So, on October 8, 2002, I made sure that I was taking a picture every week, front, back, side to side, trying to hit these poses, whatever.
00:22:24.760
Then, started critiquing myself, started flipping through the magazine, saying, you know what?
00:22:30.360
How about I print these pictures out, take a Sharpie, and start drawing what I want my body to look like.
00:22:39.840
Then, referencing the magazine, who's got the better shoulders?
00:22:55.560
Okay, let me combine all this stuff and make it work for me.
00:22:58.100
But, let me do this because every year your body changes.
00:23:04.440
That's why we see all these different diets and stuff running around.
00:23:07.780
So, that's when you have to be a student of yourself.
00:23:09.600
But, what's been interesting about this journey is that I can be honest here.
00:23:16.320
Me winning the Olympia was not as hard as people think.
00:23:24.480
Things like, you talked about my father passing.
00:23:43.800
And, unlike you, most of you, I'm on social media and I get hammered.
00:23:47.880
Because, we like to pull our athletes down, we like to, you know, it's funny, in bodybuilding, if you post up a picture of your body, you have to expect someone to like it and not to like it.
00:24:02.240
They're not the judge, but every day, constant.
00:24:06.220
I can't even exhale up here and like slouch because someone could take a picture.
00:24:16.680
I know he's wearing street clothes and this and that, but, like, you could tell, like, he's not even ready to win the Olympics.
00:24:24.620
So, imagine, like, when you're at work, it would be like Pat and another analyst right here all the time, all the time, every day, all day, every day, all day.
00:24:38.280
But, you know, what's cool is that I signed up for it and I understand it's a game.
00:24:52.020
I got to say, Phil is the easiest guy to interview.
00:24:55.100
I asked one question and he went for 30 minutes.
00:25:01.720
And, by the way, if you haven't already subscribed to Valuetainment on iTunes, please do so.
00:25:09.220
And, if you have any questions for me that you may have, you can always find me on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
00:25:17.020
And, I actually do respond back when you snap me or send me a message on Instagram.