Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: BayGBM on June 02, 2009, 06:45:26 AM
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I have always been amused when I see threads here complaining about the lack of money and respect accorded to bodybuilding. We all know that bodybuilding has its share of issues: drug use/dealing, corrupt judging, G4P, shrinking thongs, etc.
Even without those problems there are plenty of sports that generate little to no income for the participants as the article below details. If you want respect go become a brain surgeon, if you want money go become an overpriced lawyer or hedge fund manager, if you want fame go become a rock star. If you think bodybuilding is undervalued how do you think this guy feels? ::)
For Decathlete, Little Payoff From Medal
By JOHN BRANCH
For Bryan Clay, a gold medal winner in Beijing in 2008 and once deemed the world’s greatest athlete, it’s difficult not to feel slighted by a life of near anonymity.
GLENDORA, Calif. — The world’s greatest athlete, as he is often called, pulled a cardboard box from a shelf in the one-car garage of his three-bedroom home. It held his mementos from the Beijing Olympics, not counting the Wheaties boxes with his picture on them stacked on the kitchen counter.
Bryan Clay pulled out a framed photo.
“This one picture speaks everything to me,” he said.
Shot from a high perch, it showed his faceless silhouette standing alone on the wet track of the Bird’s Nest, the Olympic stadium.
The decathlon was once a star-making event of the Olympics, but Clay has gone largely unnoticed since winning the gold medal last August.
Wait a minute. Where is the gold medal?
“That’s a good question,” Clay said. He pulled open an empty drawer. He shrugged. He seemed unconcerned about the one thing that makes him different from anyone else in the world, but that did not change him much at all.
Clay, 29, lives in the same house, drives the same cars (a Chevrolet Tahoe and a Toyota Avalon), and has the same two sponsors (Nike and Hawaii Pacific Health, from his home state) that provide him a comfortable income. He spends most days training at Azusa Pacific University, where he went to college and met Sarah, his wife. They spend most nights at their home, much of which they renovated themselves, with their children, Jacob, 4, and Kate, 2.
When Clay returned from a recent workout, Sarah greeted him with news that five tiny tomatoes had sprouted on a plant in the backyard. He was excited to find more. One of the children soon called from the bathroom to have a bottom wiped.
“I still have to change diapers, clean the house, fix things,” Clay said. “It doesn’t change who you are or what it takes to get through day-to-day life. But it was a dream come true.”
How many world-class athletes dream like this — for memories in a box, for a medal they cannot find, for few of the tangible prizes that increasingly reward athletic prowess? How is it that backup quarterbacks, utility infielders and winless golf professionals live more extravagantly than someone deemed the world’s greatest athlete?
“I try not to think about it,” Clay said. “You do kind of feel slighted sometimes, just because of all the hard work you put in.”
He is preparing for the national championships later this month and the world championships in August, his first major competitions since the Beijing Games. Neither will garner much attention in this country. Maybe becoming the first man to win three Olympic decathlon medals (he won silver in 2004 and is aiming for London in 2012) will give Clay wider recognition. Or not.
Some people stare and cannot place him. Some confuse him with Tiger Woods, to whom he bears some resemblance. The biggest change for Clay is that more people want more of his time. His BlackBerry is usually filled with messages he has not read or heard. His manager and wife sift through the requests .
“Lots of people want you to do something for free,” Clay said. “Which I don’t mind, but it’s hard to say, ‘You know, this is how I make my living.’ ”
Clay was at an event recently with Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic decathlon winner. People zipped past Clay to glimpse Jenner, who may be better known now as the father and stepfather on the E! reality series, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
“You would not believe how many young people knew who Bruce Jenner is,” Clay said. “But it’s mostly because of the Kardashians.”
The swimmer Michael Phelps eclipsed all athletes in Beijing, but Clay barely had his 15 minutes of fame in his own sport. Soon after he fell to the track, victorious and exhausted, Jamaica set a world record in the 4x100-meter relay, ushering Clay to the highlight sideline . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/sports/olympics/02clay.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
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OFF TOPIC! >:(
This thread needs pictures of massive musclemen in skimpy thongs!
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OFF TOPIC! >:(
This thread needs pictures of massive musclemen in skimpy thongs!
He's got nice legs! What more do you want? :D
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'Ya need management, kid!'
(http://media.80stees.com/images/products/Rocky_t-shirt_bum_link.jpg)
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I've said this MANY times on here
Just because there are a FEW sports that generate large amounts of revenue doesn't mean ALL do. Its just not possible by the very definition that some do. The appeal and interest will ALWAYS be limited.
At least with bodybuilding your trophy is your physique and by god do we make sure its noticed...
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this guy's not even gay, how does he expect to make money? ???
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this guy's not even gay, how does he expect to make money? ???
That about sums it up.
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When you're passionate about bodybuilding and can't seem to understand that it's just on a cult status, a blip on the radar screen even in the sports world, you just tend to get frustrated about it, that's all.
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'Ya need management, kid!'
'I ain't no bum.' >:(
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Aaahhh better...
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Aaahhh better...
holy fucck!
you gotta be kidding me
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I've said this MANY times on here
Just because there are a FEW sports that generate large amounts of revenue doesn't mean ALL do.
BODYBUILDING IS NOT A SPORT! ::)
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BODYBUILDING IS NOT A SPORT! ::)
well yeah I agree...
but if we consider it as a parallel to "sports" then these issues come up... as athlete income etc. etc. come into question
perhaps thats the key issue here that bodybuilding is not a sport and shouldn't be compared as it is a sole entity...
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BayGBM, respect this 8)
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Clay has a great physique for the IFBB's forthcoming men's figure division.
He'll have to learn to relax those quads, though.
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Aaahhh better...
The thong, the abs...big respect from me.
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Aaahhh better...
I think we should have a 101lb class for midgets this guy would take it hands down ;D
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OFF TOPIC! >:(
This thread needs pictures of massive musclemen in skimpy thongs!
time to gay up this thread
:D :D
[/slurp]
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time to gay up this thread
:D :D
[/slurp]
Slurp on this :P
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me likey :P
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But with bodybuilding you are always walking around and people know what you do. It's a very dedicated sport but there are plenty of others that are close (not so much in diet).
This guy is very high in many sports, that's like winning the Lightheavyweight class at the Nationals with great symmetry. You arn't going to get the same amount of attention as Trey Brewer because he's so much bigger, his quads are crazy etc.
Or Michael Phelps who is the best at everything.
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But with bodybuilding you are always walking around and people know what you do. It's a very dedicated sport but there are plenty of others that are close (not so much in diet).
This guy is very high in many sports, that's like winning the Lightheavyweight class at the Nationals with great symmetry. You arn't going to get the same amount of attention as Trey Brewer because he's so much bigger, his quads are crazy etc.
Or Michael Phelps who is the best at everything.
EXACTLY and why this is a very "cool" thing to do
I have said this once and will say it again because a great physique invites mostly hate
"Bodybuilding is a big FUCK you to others" just like that guy you pull up next to at the lights in maserati or ferrari
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his wife is his manager? there's his first problem
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his wife is his manager? there's his first problem
Who cares? Way too much yapping and not enough musclemen in these threads
(http://www.musculardevelopment.com/photos/transferred/SN850611.jpg)
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nubain ampulls, cigarettes, telephone number on scrap, car keys.
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Clay is the best athlete in the world..its a shame the Decathlon has lost so much of its glimmer.
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Clay is the best athlete in the world..its a shame the Decathlon has lost so much of its glimmer.
Didn't it peak with, and then fall of a cliff after, Bruce Jenner? I couldn't name another decathlon winner if my life depended on it.
btw, Bruce has been under the knife so many times http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/ ranks him as "no longer human!" :-[
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Didn't it peak with, and then fall of a cliff after, Bruce Jenner? I couldn't name another decathlon winner if my life depended on it.
btw, Bruce has been under the knife so many times http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/ ranks him as "no longer human!" :-[
Who cares about these scrawny runners! >:(
Getbiggers want to see massive musclemen! :P
(http://www.musculardevelopment.com/photos/transferred/_W5Q1940_DYDRROXOHC.jpg)
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Who cares about these scrawny runners! >:(
Getbiggers want to see massive musclemen! :P
(http://www.musculardevelopment.com/photos/transferred/_W5Q1940_DYDRROXOHC.jpg)
great composition
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slurp
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I have always been amused when I see threads here complaining about the lack of money and respect accorded to bodybuilding. We all know that bodybuilding has its share of issues: drug use/dealing, corrupt judging, G4P, shrinking thongs, etc.
Even without those problems there are plenty of sports that generate little to no income for the participants as the article below details. If you want respect go become a brain surgeon, if you want money go become an overpriced lawyer or hedge fund manager, if you want fame go become a rock star. If you think bodybuilding is undervalued how do you think this guy feels? ::)
For Decathlete, Little Payoff From Medal
By JOHN BRANCH
For Bryan Clay, a gold medal winner in Beijing in 2008 and once deemed the world’s greatest athlete, it’s difficult not to feel slighted by a life of near anonymity.
GLENDORA, Calif. — The world’s greatest athlete, as he is often called, pulled a cardboard box from a shelf in the one-car garage of his three-bedroom home. It held his mementos from the Beijing Olympics, not counting the Wheaties boxes with his picture on them stacked on the kitchen counter.
Bryan Clay pulled out a framed photo.
“This one picture speaks everything to me,” he said.
Shot from a high perch, it showed his faceless silhouette standing alone on the wet track of the Bird’s Nest, the Olympic stadium.
The decathlon was once a star-making event of the Olympics, but Clay has gone largely unnoticed since winning the gold medal last August.
Wait a minute. Where is the gold medal?
“That’s a good question,” Clay said. He pulled open an empty drawer. He shrugged. He seemed unconcerned about the one thing that makes him different from anyone else in the world, but that did not change him much at all.
Clay, 29, lives in the same house, drives the same cars (a Chevrolet Tahoe and a Toyota Avalon), and has the same two sponsors (Nike and Hawaii Pacific Health, from his home state) that provide him a comfortable income. He spends most days training at Azusa Pacific University, where he went to college and met Sarah, his wife. They spend most nights at their home, much of which they renovated themselves, with their children, Jacob, 4, and Kate, 2.
When Clay returned from a recent workout, Sarah greeted him with news that five tiny tomatoes had sprouted on a plant in the backyard. He was excited to find more. One of the children soon called from the bathroom to have a bottom wiped.
“I still have to change diapers, clean the house, fix things,” Clay said. “It doesn’t change who you are or what it takes to get through day-to-day life. But it was a dream come true.”
How many world-class athletes dream like this — for memories in a box, for a medal they cannot find, for few of the tangible prizes that increasingly reward athletic prowess? How is it that backup quarterbacks, utility infielders and winless golf professionals live more extravagantly than someone deemed the world’s greatest athlete?
“I try not to think about it,” Clay said. “You do kind of feel slighted sometimes, just because of all the hard work you put in.”
He is preparing for the national championships later this month and the world championships in August, his first major competitions since the Beijing Games. Neither will garner much attention in this country. Maybe becoming the first man to win three Olympic decathlon medals (he won silver in 2004 and is aiming for London in 2012) will give Clay wider recognition. Or not.
Some people stare and cannot place him. Some confuse him with Tiger Woods, to whom he bears some resemblance. The biggest change for Clay is that more people want more of his time. His BlackBerry is usually filled with messages he has not read or heard. His manager and wife sift through the requests .
“Lots of people want you to do something for free,” Clay said. “Which I don’t mind, but it’s hard to say, ‘You know, this is how I make my living.’ ”
Clay was at an event recently with Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic decathlon winner. People zipped past Clay to glimpse Jenner, who may be better known now as the father and stepfather on the E! reality series, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
“You would not believe how many young people knew who Bruce Jenner is,” Clay said. “But it’s mostly because of the Kardashians.”
The swimmer Michael Phelps eclipsed all athletes in Beijing, but Clay barely had his 15 minutes of fame in his own sport. Soon after he fell to the track, victorious and exhausted, Jamaica set a world record in the 4x100-meter relay, ushering Clay to the highlight sideline . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/sports/olympics/02clay.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
So brain surgeon is the only respectable career? ???
Bodybuilding isn't a sport, so your entire argument is irrelevant. I'd liken its prize to something more along the lines of a beauty pageant like the Westminster Dog Show, but I think that has bigger prize purses.
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Slurp on this :P
geez your a straight I can tell, post a muscle man with some butt plz!
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Didn't it peak with, and then fall of a cliff after, Bruce Jenner? I couldn't name another decathlon winner if my life depended on it.
btw, Bruce has been under the knife so many times http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/ ranks him as "no longer human!" :-[
it's so hard to even look at him on the show, his face looks stretched to shit almost like he is dead or something.
jt
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nubain ampulls, cigarettes, telephone number on scrap, car keys.
I really like the cigarettes part of that ;D