Mon_of_Steel asked Nasser 10 interesting questions, and Nasser has answered 5 of them so far, which I'm pasting below. I made a new thread for it because many others probably didn't click on the original thread not realizing that it contains an insightful statement by Nasser within, as opposed to the typical Nasser threads plagued by immaturity of some other members.
1. What's his opinion on Dexter winning the O?
I think it was too long for Cutler to continue getting contest presents despire his deteriorating look, bad shape and condition. Cutler was no longer acceptable as Mr. " O " because it was too obvious that he was pushed by the financially strong white financial powers, including Manion who still loves black east coast athletes, but even more he loves the white east coast athletes. Also boring Cutler and Cutler's permanent brown nosing for years and telling Manion over and over again that he " admires Yates his body ( because Manion was ALWAYS a Yates fan ) ", had paid off at the beginning but it did not at the final end. Even for the average knowledged bodybuilding fan it was too obvious that he ( Cutler ) was not the best body builder on the planet due to his drummer waist, a biceps tear, atrophying quad muscle, NO vascularity in the upper body, heaps of wrinkles and folds. Even In some contest poses Cutler looked like he had too much baby fat on his body.
So " they " built up Dexter parallell to Cutler because at least both of them have been regularly consistent for years with their physiques compared to many others. Dexter deserved to win the " O" in 2008. No doubt. But if Dexter would have competed in the 90ies, which he did ( = pinnacle of pro body building's development ) with his look now he would have placed high but most likely would have barely reached the top six of the " O "'s. Dexter would have not been able to beat guys in their prime like Wheeler, Ray, Coleman, Yates,...neither physically nor politically. Dexter was and is so far consistent but he lucky that the best body building era with the guys with the best shape, symmetry and size was in the ninties and not now.
2. Who does he think is the next in line for the O, Heath, Wolf, Martinez?
If Martines makes more improvements he can be the new Mr. " O " in 2009 - but will his record be " something " against him and also that he is originally not a NPC athlete but from the Dominican Republic? Heath is also very good but he is too narrow. His nice personality and good demenour can speak for him at the end if he comes in great condition. Wolf is an introvert, worse than anyone else on that stage. He is a foreigner ( who does not live in the US ), regardless if from Russia or seen as German. The judging clique will not give a member of the Aryan race the ultimate title ( we are not living anymore in Arnold's times ). Also Wolf has very weak hams and calves. Most black guys have also terrible ( due to their genetics ) and weak calves but they dont get penalized for it, however it will be taken more seriously in Wolf's situation. Further Wolf has too flat of a back with great lack of size in the lower back. And further Wolf looked better in 2007 than in 2008. He better also stay away from Milos Sarcev permanently. An association with Milos is not good for any aspiring athlete or an average person who wants to be taken seriously. But if you are interested to talk about penis sizes, male sex endurance, drugs in general and drugs in specific and to learn how to cheat people out of your money, then go to Milos Sarcev.
3. Knowing what he knows now about the IFBB, would he still have got into bodybuilding like he did?
I do think that the best body building federation is the IFBB. There is no better one. DeMilia's former PDI was a failure, obviously.
From my point of view there is no alternative to the IFBB despite my and other guys criticism. There are a lot of problems in many associations, federations, institutions,..even in every government in this world. But it would be so much easier to accept " wrong's " from the other side if many more people / athlete's would be paid better, higher and contracts would be longer.
I personally was with Weider 10 + years and made over one million US Dollars in contract money without even counting any other sources of money I earned from the sport. The way I see it I was paid by Weider and not by the IFBB ( despite the prize money ). However I received placements from the IFBB before I turned pro and because I placed high in many shows ( 32 placings in the top three in 33 shows ) I got a higher value / market value which Weider reflected in my income. Basically in one way or the other Weider and the IFBB work together.
There is so much more in the upcoming book regarding the IFBB which I do not like to reveal here. Weider made a body building hero out of me ( photo shoots, my salary increasing which further motivated me,...), not the IFBB despite that it was the IFBB who placed me.
4. If he was 20 today would he get into bodybuilding with the state it's in
Not really, because there is too much work, sacrifice, self torture,....and the pay is too low. There is no money for someone who is even regularly top 15 in the world of pros. The lack of proper reembursement and lack of medical health care makes athletes become more aggressive among each other, creates more hostilities, and less self conscience about potential medical problems. It is not all about money but you can not just live off love of the sport. And a lot of IFBB guys in suits just do not care because they are selfish or / and do not make too much money for themselves either. Pesonally I do not see any major progress in pro body building.
G4Pay, escort service, muscleworeship,...are all part of the dark body building industry. Personally I do believe that people who have a " weakness for money " do all kinds of things which are related to sex / body. This not just the case in ( pro ) body building. And let us not forget there are many people who do not see anything wrong with earning from these acts. This is not a justification but for many people it is really not a big deal, especially if you have tendencies to exhibit your body naturally without clothing.
If body building would be higher paying, the judges would be regularly rotated ( not for most of the time " life long " installed ) and more money would be around then body building would be so much more popular. Even golf, which is not a really athletic sport has more acceptance than body building, because it is so highly paid.
5. How does he feel about Obama being the president.
I think it is good to be away from the catastrophic 16 years of Bush government, but especially the last eight years of the younger Bush. And the last Bush was not really the most intelligent and capable person to resolve inner domestic issues or outside of the USA lying problems. Bush did that what he was told to be done. Even 95 % his speeches have been not written by himself. He was just a simple puppet. From that perspective seen, I think almost everything else after him is " better and good ".
However the problem for Obama, a very intelligent and articulate man, is that it will be more than difficult and in some areas impossible to do a positive " change ". But at least Obama, despite his seriousness in foreign affairs will not pull the US in another war like McCain potentially or Bush. 12 billion US Dollars spent / monthly on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003 has not brought more world stability or " convinced " radicals to realize that they should better themselves due to Bush otherwise coming after them. Bush lacked in diplomacy, vision and peaceful coexistance, hopefully Obama will be not a failure in those areas as well. Personally I think that Bush damaged the American people and its image more than he helped them. We can see this almost every day here. Hopefully Bush can sleep well despite him destroying over 4000 American lives, crippling thousands of " believing in the right thing " US service men and women and being responsible for over a million dead and crippled non Americans who had nothing to do with 09 / 11. It will be more than difficult for Obama to repair what Bush has terminated and permanently or temporarilly damaged. Anyone else than Obama would have not a lesser problem now.
