2018 Arnold Classic - Shawn Rhoden 8.5 weeks out

[Ron]

Will Shawn take the win at the 2018 Arnold Classic?

[Fortress]

Warm battle thong fresh from the dryer of peace!

[tres_taco_combo]

Warm battle thong fresh from the dryer of peace!

lol!

[TheOne]

Nope he won’t win shit, he’s a lazy lifter and lazy dieter.  Dexter will win because he’s the best bodybuilder in the line up and unlike Rhoden he shows up in the condition to win a show, not with a moon face and double chin.  No way is Rhoden winning anything.

[WalterWhite]

Nope he won’t win shit, he’s a lazy lifter and lazy dieter.  Dexter will win because he’s the best bodybuilder in the line up and unlike Rhoden he shows up in the condition to win a show, not with a moon face and double chin.  No way is Rhoden winning anything.

Bonac will give Dex a run.

[TheOne]

Bonac is small child in Dexters eyes, a pupil in Dexters class of aesthetics.  He has a lot of learning to do before he reaches the level of Dexter Jackson.  They all do.  I’m hoping to see Wolf step up his game and come in shredded after his neck surgery.

[Matt]

Great post/comments.

I fear for Shawn's health [not sure why I thought it was spelled Shaun.    Hmm].

That said, I hadn't really considered that he may be the way TheOne described him above - sort of free-riding off of his genetics.  In cases like that, a champion with equally good genetics will win if he puts the time in - or a champion with better genetics who is equally lazy. 

Dexter is 48 now though...he has evaded Father Time for this long, but realistically, how much longer can that last?  I'm going to assume five years max - that being, he can stay among the top ranks of the Mr. Olympia for no more than five years, at which point he will gradually decline.  I envision Dexter being 65 with a physique most twenty somethings would want - sans some noticeably aged skin, if that.

So apparently we have two competitors with freak genetics, one who is allegedly lazy, and another who is objectively 48 years old.  It's hard to say who would win in that comparison.

That said, to me, this makes it pretty darn clear that Phil Heath is the deserving Mr. Olympia champion.  How can anyone say that Shawn or Dexter deserves to beat him?  I'm just not seeing that.  IMO, Phil is still the clear champion.  I hope he wins nine, then retires mere months before his 40th birthday, gets off the sauce, aside from TRT, and backs some supplement line - "Record Breaking Nutrition" or something like that.  I also fear for Phil's health, so hopefully that's what he does after winning #9.

[Bevo]

Bonac is small child in Dexters eyes, a pupil in Dexters class of aesthetics.  He has a lot of learning to do before he reaches the level of Dexter Jackson.  They all do.  I’m hoping to see Wolf step up his game and come in shredded after his neck surgery.

He has already beaten dexter at the O, hope he beats him again at the Arnold’s so his old ass can retire and pass on the thong to newer bbers

[Bevo]

Great post/comments.

I fear for Shawn's health [not sure why I thought it was spelled Shaun.    Hmm].

That said, I hadn't really considered that he may be the way TheOne described him above - sort of free-riding off of his genetics.  In cases like that, a champion with equally good genetics will win if he puts the time in - or a champion with better genetics who is equally lazy. 

Dexter is 48 now though...he has evaded Father Time for this long, but realistically, how much longer can that last?  I'm going to assume five years max - that being, he can stay among the top ranks of the Mr. Olympia for no more than five years, at which point he will gradually decline.  I envision Dexter being 65 with a physique most twenty somethings would want - sans some noticeably aged skin, if that.

So apparently we have two competitors with freak genetics, one who is allegedly lazy, and another who is objectively 48 years old.  It's hard to say who would win in that comparison.

That said, to me, this makes it pretty darn clear that Phil Heath is the deserving Mr. Olympia champion.  How can anyone say that Shawn or Dexter deserves to beat him?  I'm just not seeing that.  IMO, Phil is still the clear champion.  I hope he wins nine, then retires mere months before his 40th birthday, gets off the sauce, aside from TRT, and backs some supplement line - "Record Breaking Nutrition" or something like that.  I also fear for Phil's health, so hopefully that's what he does after winning #9.

Who knows dexter’s kidney could fall out next wk as far as we know, he’s staying on the gas hard this time around

I actually fear for his health being close 50 hitting the gas that hard

[Jayel]

Will Shawn take the win at the 2018 Arnold Classic?

Perhaps. But he bought GAY to the next level last year at the O with his metallic pink thong. I dunno who advised him to wear that shit.
He really should have been disqualified.

[Royalty]

Will Shawn take the win at the 2018 Arnold Classic?

Rhoden's chin looks like it has doubled in size

[The Scott]

Will Shawn take the win at the 2018 Arnold Classic?

Where did they find a picture of "Sleepy" wide awake.  Is that dryer his hole in the ground and he just emerged from nappy-headed napping, saw his shadow and declared his SchmOelympia drought to be over?    That is the most awakened photo ever of ol' Sleepy!

His nose is getting wider and as said elsewhere, his chin is going full Leno. 

[Matt]

Who knows dexter’s kidney could fall out next wk as far as we know, he’s staying on the gas hard this time around

I actually fear for his health being close 50 hitting the gas that hard

Good post.  I remember there was a post on MD where people were debating what Dexter's net worth was.  Meanwhile, this was just before the 2007 Arnold Classic where he beat Phil, when Dexter said in an MD print article out at that very moment that he had no money and needed to win the Arnold to pay some bills.

Yet people were talking like he was a millionaire, when he admitted that very month that he had no money whatsoever.  I wouldn't be surprised if that is the same situation now, with Dexter having $0 in the bank, and is in a position where he needs to win the Arnold in order to have any money at all.

Sad when you have people making this much money but not saving any at all.  That's why I decided that as soon as I had a million dollars in combined cash and assets that I wouldn't touch it, and just let it make me money, but spend money from that point onward.

PS - great user picture!! 

[milone79]

Great post/comments.

I fear for Shawn's health [not sure why I thought it was spelled Shaun.    Hmm].

That said, I hadn't really considered that he may be the way TheOne described him above - sort of free-riding off of his genetics.  In cases like that, a champion with equally good genetics will win if he puts the time in - or a champion with better genetics who is equally lazy. 

Dexter is 48 now though...he has evaded Father Time for this long, but realistically, how much longer can that last?  I'm going to assume five years max - that being, he can stay among the top ranks of the Mr. Olympia for no more than five years, at which point he will gradually decline.  I envision Dexter being 65 with a physique most twenty somethings would want - sans some noticeably aged skin, if that.

So apparently we have two competitors with freak genetics, one who is allegedly lazy, and another who is objectively 48 years old.  It's hard to say who would win in that comparison.

That said, to me, this makes it pretty darn clear that Phil Heath is the deserving Mr. Olympia champion.  How can anyone say that Shawn or Dexter deserves to beat him?  I'm just not seeing that.  IMO, Phil is still the clear champion.  I hope he wins nine, then retires mere months before his 40th birthday, gets off the sauce, aside from TRT, and backs some supplement line - "Record Breaking Nutrition" or something like that.  I also fear for Phil's health, so hopefully that's what he does after winning #9.

Rhoden is all drugs!!! Just take a look at his offseason physique for proof... he is a good responder and his arms full of oil (no separation between bis and tris).... he is no spring chicken either....

[DroppingPlates]

He takes 'social' media way too serious with that army of hashtags

[Parker]

Rhoden is all drugs!!! Just take a look at his offseason physique for proof... he is a good responder and his arms full of oil (no separation between bis and tris).... he is no spring chicken either....

No separation between bis and tris doesn't necessarily mean oil. Mike Matarazzo had the same issue. Does that mean his arms were all oil?

[Blockhead]

No separation between bis and tris doesn't necessarily mean oil. Mike Matarazzo had the same issue. Does that mean his arms were all oil?

Yes

[Tennisballz]

Will Shawn take the win at the 2018 Arnold Classic?

"My name is Shawn.  I used to be addicted to steroids.  Now I am clean and am turning my life around."

[njflex]

HE has had a great run esp considering his age 'turning pro 'and into 40's,hard to judge how he will finish up on stage'look'like curry looked awesome in gym/room pics,but like curry rhoden has a look like he didn't before a more dense thickness ,question is he's been taking 'shit'for a long time ,what is it that gets these guys 3d thickness,his delts like most theses guys look insane nowadays..

[Nether Animal]

looks ok. back will still suck

[Van_Bilderass]

Do you guys really think anyone can be a top 3 Olympian while being outright lazy? Come on now, it takes some work no matter what.

[Parker]

Yes

Uh, blockhead, Mike's arms looked like that before Synthol was created. Way back when he got his Pro card, in 91. His arms even looked like that when he was a teen.

[The Scott]

Do you guys really think anyone can be a top 3 Olympian while being outright lazy? Come on now, it takes some work no matter what.

Two words - Phildo Heath. 

Two more words - All drugs.

[Iceman1981]

Looks better conditioned here than at last years Mr. Olympia.

[Matt]

Rhoden is all drugs!!! Just take a look at his offseason physique for proof... he is a good responder and his arms full of oil (no separation between bis and tris).... he is no spring chicken either....

A friend of mine who competes in Men's Physique took a picture of him, and he appeared to be much larger than Rhoden...that said, he was out-angling him like mad.  It was one of those fan/expo thumbs up shots, with the mini-juicer out-angling a pro. 

That said, I think what you say factored in...i.e., he was much smaller in the off-season than he was in contest.

By chance, do you know how old Rhoden is?  I can't recall.  I think I had him momentarily confused with Lionel Beyeke, who was also up there in age a little.