- So I hear you are now with Muscletech?
Yes, I signed a 4 year contract with them, and I am completed my first photo shoot with Muscletech here in Los Angeles last month. I think it will be a great relationship.
- Why did you leave Weider?
It was time for a change for me. I have been there since 1994, and I was looking for a long term and security contract. Look at Weider, even they are going through a change with them being bought out. This way, I can talk to all of the muscle magazines around the world, and be more available in all situations. Weider was a great company, but for me, it was time for a change. I had a lot of good years with them, and will always appreciate everything they have done for me.
- Are you going to do the Ironman?
Yes. Because I want to go for the record, five wins! I got four consecutive wins, and I want to make it 5. I want to leave my mark on this California show! No one will take that away from me. I am really focused on the 2003 shows.
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What about the other shows? What about Jay Cutler competing?
I am going to do the Arnold, the San Francisco show, and also the Australian show. Then I go to guest pose for Muscletech on March 27-28th in Fort Lauderdale, and then April 5th in Washington. Then hopefully, some relaxation and a vacation. Regarding Jay, Jay has got to compete against Jay, and myself, I will compete against me. Hopefully, the judges will look at my physique on that day, not on what I looked liked previously.
- So I hear you moved to Las Vegas?
Yes, I am living here now. I am going to get a house built, hopefully around June, in Southern Highland, Las Vegas. I am currently in the Henderson area, and my son is living with me now. There is less stress in Vegas than there was at L.A.
- Why did you move to Vegas?
I have been wanting to for years. It just became a good time to make the move.
- So what's new?
I am in the process of investing in a restaurant, I will be part owner of Smitty's Southern Chicken & California Grill, and I am going to incorporate a bodybuilding menu in there, right across the parking lot of Golds Gym of Sahara and Decatur in Las Vegas. It will sell many items, including catfish, salmon, chicken varieties, etc. The restaurant is open now. When I finish competing in the future, I want to have some things that I can fall back too, that I have invested in. It has a great Southern Menu. The address is at 4760 West Sahara Avenue #11. Phone number is 702-822-6900. Come try it out when you are in Vegas.
- How is your Ironman and Arnold contest training going?
It is going excellent. I am so focused in what I am doing. It's got to be my best effort in a long time. I was looking at some old photos of me, and I am pretty amazed on how much better I look today than I did in those pictures. You need to make adjustments when you are older.
I am working with Milos Sarcev, and he helps me via a competitor's view on how I can get better. Milos is a very detailed person in the bodybuilding game with a lot of competition experience, but I have been through some pretty good contests myself. I feel that I could get some really good insight from him. Milos, who has competed against me, will honestly tell me what I need to do to be the best.
Furthermore, I think that a lot of people that I have been competing against need to recognize that I took 3rd in the 2002 Olympia somewhat off. If you can imagine, that now I am focused, and have added to my arsenal all the things that I neglected in the past, they are going to see a very focused, very well put together Chris. They are going to see some shit at the Ironman and Arnold. It will be a totally different ballgame now. Now I could see more clearly what I need to look like, what I need to bring to the table.
I am not worried about the weight at all this year. I am in the upper 250's right now, and I still have 4 weeks left until the Ironman. I want to be ready two weeks out, ready to go, and then I will work in bringing in my water. I want to be dry and tight before then. It will be one of my best looks that I have put together. I am highly confident this year. I am very happy about the way I look. That 's when you can really compete at your best. I am here to do my absolute best. My waist is really tight right now, tighter than the Olympia.
- When did you start training and dieting for the contests?
I am not exactly sure, but it was before the beginning of the year. I still was in shape from the Olympia, so it was a little different than starting from scratch.
- Tell me about your diet?
I eat a lot of fish (halibut, salmon, black cod), chicken breasts, a little bit of steak here and there, but mostly egg whites, chicken and fish. I have lots of protein, medium fat, and low carbs. For carbs, I eat rice and baked potatoes. This time, I am not using as much carbs as in the past. I also incorporate various supplements in my diet (including Hydroxycut and Cell-Tech).
- Tell be about your training?
I currently am going to the gym twice a day, around noon and at 6pm at night. In the morning, I get up, do cardio at 8am at the house. I have a routine that I do each day, each week. I will be ready, and in excellent shape.
I have the best package, and I am supposed to be number one. I think the sport deserves to have someone who has a great structure, a small waist, no distended stomach when you turn to the side. I think I represent what a bodybuilder should look like. I hope that the judges will watch the bodybuilders with obvious flaws this year.
- So which nightclubs have you gone to yet in Las Vegas?
Interestingly, I went to the Ghost Bar last night, and sat there listening to music and relaxed there for a while. I don't drink alcohol at all when I am training. In fact, I am not a drinker at all. People invite me to clubs, but right now, my concentration is for the shows. Maybe after the shows, I will celebrate. People still think of me as the same guy in the past. But I am not. It's time to get serious.
- So what about your girlfriends from the past?
I really do not want to get into any of that. That is my personal life, and I am concentrating and focusing on my upcoming competitions. This year, I want to truly focus on my career. I have various habits that I like, like collecting magazines, hundreds of them, like hip-hop and car magazines, and sometimes, little things like this can get in the way. Right now, I need to focus only about one thing. I don't want to deal or argue with anyone at the moment. It breaks my concentration. . I don't want someone who wants to come to the parade, but does not want to help fix the float.
- What else is going on?
I am taking a special interest in helping Davina Medina. I am advising her with her stage presence for the Arnold Classic Figure International coming up in March. I wish her the very best.
One day, I would like to write a book. My knowledge on the experience of the bodybuilding world, on stage, my trials and tribulations, and successes and failures. No one is immune to the trails and tribulations of life. They can hide it, they can lie, but they are there.
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