1998 Arnold Classic - The one that aired on national television - UPN

[Parker]

UPN eventually merged with WB to be what is now CW. This was the Rock and Rock Bodybuilding, so they mixed in the music with the posing. But, this is the Arnold Classic that virtually no one could find, as well as the 1997 Arnold Classic

[Parker]

1998 Arnold Classic shot by camcorder

[Mr Anabolic]

Are Flex and Madeline still together?  I would be surprised if they are.

[Parker]

Are Flex and Madeline still together?  I would be surprised if they are.

I believe that they are divorced.

[affeman]

Those guys look like national level competitors today. The sport has advanced big time since then.

[The_Punisher]

Damn, I was hooked thinking this was gonna be a yearly broadcast of the Arnold on UPN.......grrrrr........ .they even showed footage of behind the scenes and "a journey in the life of a Pro Bodybuilder"....... ...priceless moments

[Royalty]

I think that Vince Taylor was more impressive than Flex Wheeler.

[Wiggs]

This is the best Flex ever looked.  I've been looking for this footage for 15 years.   Thanks Parker.  To me, this is the only thing that can compete with 98 Ronnie and 93 Dorian.  98 Arnold Classic Wheeler.  You can put them in any order but for me, I gotta give Flex the nod. He has less flaws than Ronnie or Dorian.   Too bad he couldn't duplicate his condition.  Look at his face, suicide conditioning.

Heath couldn't touch this in his wildest dreams.

[Ronnie Rep]

This is the best Flex ever looked.  I've been looking for this footage for 15 years.   Thanks Parker.  To me, this is the only thing that can compete with 98 Ronnie and 93 Dorian.  98 Arnold Classic Wheeler.  You can put them in any order but for me, I gotta give Flex the nod. He has less flaws than Ronnie or Dorian.   Too bad he couldn't duplicate his condition.  Look at his face, suicide conditioning.

Heath couldn't touch this in his wildest dreams.

Absolutely, been saying it for years. I remember the original broadcast on UPN. Arnold was also quoted as saying Flex was in the best condition as  anyone he's ever seen in the Arnold up till then. If Flex would have come into the 98 O in that condition things would probably been very different.

Thanks for posting Parker, great find.

[BDsauce]

Jesus

Flex looked amazing ....best body on stage ever to me.

[Parker]

Damn, I was hooked thinking this was gonna be a yearly broadcast of the Arnold on UPN.......grrrrr........ .they even showed footage of behind the scenes and "a journey in the life of a Pro Bodybuilder"....... ...priceless moments

I remember it being advertised, but didn't get to watch it. And I was pissed. And I too thought it was going to be a yearly broadcast as well. Didn't UPN also broadcast  the 97 or 99 Arnold as well?

[michael arvilla]

Very cool (Parker) thx for posting this!

[BB]

I remember it being advertised, but didn't get to watch it. And I was pissed. And I too thought it was going to be a yearly broadcast as well. Didn't UPN also broadcast  the 97 or 98 Arnold as well?

Yes, the order went -

Late 80's, early 90's NBC had them. Mid 90's - Espn. UPN was 97 - 99, I'm not sure who got them after that. UPN seemed to shuffle them around, but I remember them sticking with it for a while. Here's an old snarky review of it - http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-08-26/features/9808260273_1_arnold-dance-a-thon-mulled-wine -

"August 26, 1998| By Steve Johnson, Tribune Television Critic.


"Arnold's Rock 'n' Roll Body Building Championships": It almost makes you cringe to discoverthat the Arnold in question is indeed Schwarzenegger. This kind of syndicated special (7 p.m., WPWR-Ch. 50) is apparently what happens when your box-office magic fades. (Look also for "Sharon's Sheer Energy Dance-a-Thon" and, on cable, "Mulled Wine the Meryl Way.") The publicity material seems to indicate that in this program, oily, way-too-tan, over-inflated humans (and I say that with the utmost respect, should one of them happen to want to talk to me about that comment in person) prance about an Ohio stage tensing their large and veiny muscles and gritting their glimmering white teeth to the beat of rock music. Arnold, who came to fame, you'll recall, doing this sort of thing, is the host and producer of the show, set at his World Bodybuilding Classic event in Columbus. It promises to go someplace I would really rather it didn't: backstage. But the really grim news is that bodybuilding has apparently been scheduled to join the Olympic event list in Sydney in 2000. It is a bulletin only Hans and Franz would appreciate. " .

[BB]

Here's the 1989 NBC one, I like the way they edited it, nice and tight -

.

[Parker]

Yes, the order went -

Late 80's, early 90's NBC had them. Mid 90's - Espn. UPN was 97 - 99, I'm not sure who got them after that. UPN seemed to shuffle them around, but I remember them sticking with it for a while. Here's an old snarky review of it - http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-08-26/features/9808260273_1_arnold-dance-a-thon-mulled-wine -

"August 26, 1998| By Steve Johnson, Tribune Television Critic.


"Arnold's Rock 'n' Roll Body Building Championships": It almost makes you cringe to discoverthat the Arnold in question is indeed Schwarzenegger. This kind of syndicated special (7 p.m., WPWR-Ch. 50) is apparently what happens when your box-office magic fades. (Look also for "Sharon's Sheer Energy Dance-a-Thon" and, on cable, "Mulled Wine the Meryl Way.") The publicity material seems to indicate that in this program, oily, way-too-tan, over-inflated humans (and I say that with the utmost respect, should one of them happen to want to talk to me about that comment in person) prance about an Ohio stage tensing their large and veiny muscles and gritting their glimmering white teeth to the beat of rock music. Arnold, who came to fame, you'll recall, doing this sort of thing, is the host and producer of the show, set at his World Bodybuilding Classic event in Columbus. It promises to go someplace I would really rather it didn't: backstage. But the really grim news is that bodybuilding has apparently been scheduled to join the Olympic event list in Sydney in 2000. It is a bulletin only Hans and Franz would appreciate. " .

I remember the commercial for the 1999 Arnold Classic because it had Patrick Lynn and Dexter Jackson in it.

[Wiggs]

Flex is perfection here.

[Papper]

I think 98 was the peak of bodybuilding as a whole.

These guys look great.

[Nether Animal]

Aaron Baker looks a little overbulked... but still a great physique.

[climber]

Those guys look like national level competitors today. The sport has advanced big time since then.

That's not what everyone else here is saying

[The Grim Lifter]

Absolutely, been saying it for years. I remember the original broadcast on UPN. Arnold was also quoted as saying Flex was in the best condition as  anyone he's ever seen in the Arnold up till then. If Flex would have come into the 98 O in that condition things would probably been very different.

Thanks for posting Parker, great find.

Flex would have won the 1998 Mr.O but would he have deserved it? Ronnie was still unbelievable

[Mr Anabolic]

This is the best Flex ever looked.  I've been looking for this footage for 15 years.   Thanks Parker.  To me, this is the only thing that can compete with 98 Ronnie and 93 Dorian.  98 Arnold Classic Wheeler.  You can put them in any order but for me, I gotta give Flex the nod. He has less flaws than Ronnie or Dorian.   Too bad he couldn't duplicate his condition.  Look at his face, suicide conditioning.

Heath couldn't touch this in his wildest dreams.

I think Flex's '93 Arnold presentation was his best, dry as a bone... quite possibly the best BBing physique of all time.  He looked a tad bit watery in '98.  I always preferred Flex over Ronnie.  You are 100% correct about Heath.

Something I found from 1993.  Don't know if this was before or after the Arnold.  The lighting is not the best.

[old-school-lifter]

great standard there in 97, 98

the muscle quality is so much harder, defined, ripped and still with mass and symmetry

I cannot find any 99 ASC footage on you tube

anyone found any

[Ronnie Rep]

Compare the 98 Arnold with the 2015 Arnold. It's a joke where Bodybuilding has gone. Imagine Branch Warren in the 98 lineup