by Christian Duque
When I stop to think about the Totally Awesome Lee Haney I think about a variety of things that make him earn that title. I want to tell you something, as a bodybuilding writer and as a bodybuilding fan, I make a conscious decision whether or not I’m going to call an athlete by their nickname. Sometimes it’s a nickname they think up on their own, other times it’s a nickname that’s given to them by people. Maybe you use the nickname, maybe you don’t. I’m not going to call someone The Lion of Lebanon unless they were the greatest bodybuilder out of Lebanon of their day. Samir is that guy! The same thing goes for The Totally Awesome Lee Haney. Why is he totally awesome? Was it a product of his physique? Was it a product of his work ethic in the gym? Or was it something else? Was it a collection of things?
Well, that’s a lot of questions to start out an article with. I mean you’re not here to answer my questions, you’re here for me to entertain you. You’re here for me to enlighten you. You’re here for me to give you a different perspective than maybe the one that you have. I can see all of these fine points. I absolutely do. But I also like articles where I myself am trying to figure out whether or not I recognize an individual for whatever it is they’re promoting. It’s sort of a litmus test in my mind. They can either come out as legitimate or they can come out as a complete shill. And let me tell you we have plenty of shills in our industry, from The Liver King, to the guy that supposedly only ate a 1,000 calorie meal a day, to people that hang upside down or try to sell you ostrich eggs claiming that they have growth hormone capabilities similar to that of IGF1.
The reality is, if you’re going to call yourself something totally awesome you have to live up to it for me to recognize it. And Lee Haney not only lived up to it, he far exceeded even that nickname and I’m going to tell you why. I’m also going to tell you why so few bodybuilders leave while they’re on top. And by bodybuilders, especially in 2024, I’m using it for all 10 divisions collectively and simultaneously.
It’s hard to walk away when you’re on top. When you’re making the big money and when the media is all over you. Look at Chris Bumstead. He may have 24 million followers on Instagram but imagine what his mindset must be like. On the one hand he says that winning another Olympia really doesn’t do anything for his wallet. He says the show doesn’t really do anything to his followers. He also says that winning the show doesn’t do anything for supplement sales. So if winning the top title one more year represents so little incentive then why is he there year after year? Why do so many athletes – particularly those on top – put marriage, starting families, starting their own businesses, they put it all off so they can keep competing. If competing and being on top is so inconsequential, why is it so hard for top athletes to walk away? I will have you know that Lee Haney’s decision in 1992 was probably one of the most difficult ones of his life, or was it?
You see, Lee Haney made history. He beat Arnold’s record. He had no desire to win 9 or go double digits or get a dozen. He got eight and made history. His successor was not able to beat his record. His successor’s successor was able to tie it. And no one has ever come close since. But even if Haney’s record had been broken, does anyone honestly think that would have kept him up at night? He simply didn’t care. It’s not that he didn’t care about the sport or that he didn’t care about the fans, but he had done what he came to do. He had achieved every single goal he set out for himself and clearly surpassed them – vastly surpass them. That is why he is The Totally Awesomely Lee Haney. And it is also why he left when he was on top.
Even though Dorian may make the case that he pushed him to the edge in 1991, Lee was still able to win on posing. And maybe if he would have come back in 1992 with Dorian in mind and a physique that could stand the test with his he may have won his ninth olympia. Again we can’t for a second count out one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time simply because the 1992 Olympia between Lee Haney and Dorian Yates never happened. It didn’t happen because Lee was running away from Dorian, it didn’t happen because Lee had done what Lee wanted to do and it was time to walk away. And mind you he didn’t walk away from the sport, just from competitive bodybuilding.
Now the question becomes can Chris Bumstead do as Lee Haney did? Or will he go down like all the others that have got to get that wake up call that they are no longer the top cat. And sometimes one wake up call isn’t enough. When Ronnie took second to Jay that would have been a good time to retire. That would have been the cue for him to hang them up. But he needed to be reminded of it, he needed to have it reiterated. Because maybe he didn’t think his end was really here. And when he competed at the 2007 Mr Olympia and was relegated to fourth place, at that point it was enough of a wake-up call for Ronnie to finally retire. But then you look at other past Olympia champions like Dexter Jackson who took 9th his last Olympia. Or you look at Samir Bannout, who we talked about earlier in this article, he was a past Mr Olympia and he wasn’t even placing in the top 10 towards the end of his career.
Each bodybuilder and physique-based athlete needs to make that determination on their own, in close consultation with their families and their camp. But I must say that while it would be the opportune moment for Chris Bumstead to walk away, I really don’t think that he will. It’s nothing against C-Bum, it’s just that most athletes are not able to do what The Totally Awesome Lee Haney did – leave on top, leave after you won the biggest title in the sport, leave the fans wanting for more, but you put yourself first. I just don’t know if Bumstead has the courage to do that. I don’t know that most athletes that have that number one spot have the courage and the vision for the future to do right by themselves at the present time. And it’s not just a matter of courage. It’s the fact that you are on top of the world and once you no longer defend that title you’re just like everybody else.
What’s your take? Do you think we will see Bumstead at the 2024 Olympia weekend as a competitor? Do you think he will continue to defend his Olympia title until someone knocks him out? As always, thanks for reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.