by Christian Duque
The world of bodybuilding and fitness could not believe what it was witnessing when 6x classic physique Mr Olympia Chris Bumstead announced that he was done competing for good. Although he stated that he would not become a stranger to the sport, it was such a break from everything we had seen and heard up until that point. Even at the press conference just a couple of days prior, the champ had said that there wasn’t really anybody in the lineup that truly challenged him.
Every year the media rallies behind the different competitors and every year the outcome is the same. Every year Chris Bumstead would come out the winner because he was just better. He didn’t elaborate and he certainly didn’t go to the point of saying that the other guys didn’t provide him some sort of competition, but he basically said it without saying it. He brings the size, the symmetry, the definition and the flow. nobody since Breon has been able to beat him. And since then it has always been a question of who is going to place second, third and beyond. The title has been secure with Bumstead ever since he won it and many fans thought he would go another year.
Even during the press conference where he basically said that nobody stacked up to him, he also said that he took it one year at a time. He did not want to even hint at retirement at the press conference and that has caused a lot of people to look at his retirement announcement with a little bit of skepticism. I’m not going to say that it wasn’t real but I am going to delve into it a little bit more in this article. Because after all that’s what we do here. We don’t just take marching orders from a federation or a company or even a competitor.
One of the most difficult things to do is to retire while you’re on top. In fact , I wrote an article about this not too long ago when Chris fooled the entire world with the buildup to the press conference that ended up being nothing more than him partnering up with Gymshark. One of the things I said in that article was what I’m saying in this article. And that is that it is very difficult for a competitor that’s making big money and who’s at the very top from simply calling it quits on everything. And that’s exactly what Bumstead is doing. He said it himself at the press conference just a few days ago. He said nobody was challenging him.
Well, he didn’t say that but he basically said that. By saying that nobody could beat him he was basically saying nobody could challenge him. He stopped short of that because he’s a diplomat. He’s the epitome of a great champion. He will never say that the guys who he has to compete with are not any competition to him. That’s just not the way that he operates. That being said, he is telling the world in the most polite way that he’s the best without question – and yet he’s going to walk away?
If it was anybody else I would call bullshit. However Chris is a part owner of one of the fastest growing supplement lines with his own imprint within that company. He also has a number of business ventures with clothing companies, accessories, and he also has the possibility of crossing over into movies, commercials, and other big ticket licensing deals. Therefore he does not need the stage.
In fact, he has not needed the stage in quite some time. needing the stage means that that is your bread and butter and that without it you would have financial woes. Chris Bumstead has never needed the stage less than he does today. In fact in the last few years he has even made the statement that competing does nothing for his business portfolio.
In other words if he wins another Olympia he doesn’t sell any more protein powder, any more weight training accessories, or any more meals or whatever else he works with. Basically he competes out of love for the sport and because he wants to ensure that he leaves the most respectable legacy possible. Legacy is very important to these multi-year-winning champions.
Although it may be very difficult to leave while you’re on top, the love for the legacy may trump the desire to continue competing until the day comes when they can win no more. I think Chris will go down in history as the greatest classic physique champion of all time. That is until someone comes along and wins seven or eight or nine, but for the near future he has nothing to worry about. And even if somebody were to come along and beat his record, who really cares.
Chris is a lot more than his record as we have been saying throughout this article. He has a lot more than the prize money and he is a lot more than a few popcorn headlines that he gets for winning this show. Chris has transcended even physique super stardom. I will never forget going to the Natural Vitamins Epic Block Party that I always mention in Ozone Park, New York. There were all sorts of bodybuilders there, including Nick Walker, but everybody was there to see Chris Bumstead. I walked five, six, maybe seven blocks of fans patiently lined up waiting to get into the store and the vast majority were there for Bumstead. And that was over 2 years ago. Bumstead’s star power just continues to increase.
Do I think Chris is capable of teasing the fans and really intending to compete again? I guess anything is possible but I don’t see it. The reality of the matter is he had to retire at some point. Could he have gone another year or two and one? I think he could have. But then the question becomes what would his physique have looked like in another year or two? Maybe Chris knows something we don’t. Maybe he is in pain or in discomfort. It still boggles my mind but when I saw the Ronnie Coleman documentary and it became apparent to me that most of the years he was winning he was actually in excruciating pain that was a total shock to me. Nobody knows what these guys go through. We have also seen over the years how much Bumstead hates going through the final weeks of contest prep. That could be said about every competitor doing this level of competition, but I think with Bumstead it was a little bit extra. I think he really truly didn’t like it and I think that more than his body, I think these preps put his mind through the ringer.
And then taking all of that and putting it to one side, there’s also marriage and family. Every competitor has a right to move on. That doesn’t mean to leave bodybuilding behind for good, it just means to have a life. To have a marriage, to have children, maybe to focus more on business. Once Chris stops being the reigning Mr Olympia and goes on to becoming a past Mr Olympia he will have so much more free time on his hands to do with however he pleases. And maybe that’s a big reason why he’s decided to retire.
Now with regards to his retirement send off, I like what Chris said but I think that it should have been bigger. there should have been more fanfare. There should have been more respect given. But then again maybe the Olympia folks didn’t know the announcement was coming. Maybe Chris didn’t give them the benefit of the doubt to create something to really send them off the way he deserved. Maybe it was very last minute and maybe he didn’t even know he was going to make the statement until he made the statement. There’s a lot of moving parts to this type of story and maybe we will never know, but one thing’s for sure, Chris Bumstead is the best. He will probably be the best for a long time, and I can’t imagine anyone breaking his record anytime soon. Definitely not within the next 10 to 20 years. Then again, I might be wrong, but I think it’s safe to say that Chris is the G.O.A.T. of classic physique!!
What say you? How do you think Chris Bumstead will be remembered? And do you think this retirement is real or maybe it’s just the beginning of a comeback? Do you think we will see Chris Bumstead on the Olympia stage in 2025 or beyond? Or do you think this is really it? As always I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.