Samson Dauda won the 2024 Mr. Olympia, shocking the world to claim his first title. In a recent video shared via YouTube on October 17, 2024, Dauda discussed taking home a record $600,000 payday, Derek Lunsford dropping to third place and using fewer steroids to achieve his physique.
Heading into the prestigious contest, fans and bodybuilding veterans assumed it would come down to a two-man battle between Olympia winners Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford. However, the bursting fullness and refined conditioning of Dauda stole the show.
Dauda prevailed with an all-time best look with Choopan again settling for second place. Derek Lunsford’s performance resulted in a third-place finish. With the historic night in the rearview mirror, Dauda shared how the victory transformed his life, taking fans through the steps he took to achieve the seemingly impossible.
Samson Dauda Discusses 2024 Mr. Olympia Prize Money Bump, Derek Lunsford Falling to 3rd, and Using Less Steroids to Achieve Winning Physique
Dauda was surprised by the prize money increase at the Olympia since Jake Wood and the company kept it a secret until the final results were announced.
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“I think Jake [Wood] really wanted to shock the audience with that one. He really pulled that one out. Like I said, that no, we are increasing the money this year, not next year. Okay, he really wanted to make it clear and they kept it secret all the way through that exact moment.”
After prejudging on Friday night, Dauda felt he was in a similar position to 2023, so he kept his expectations in check.
“I know I was definitely top three somewhere. Then you’re like okay, don’t think about it more than that. Just think about tomorrow being another show that you got to start again. So whatever you leave at that point, you’ve got to be better.
We were in the same position last year. If you start thinking, am I winning, am I second, am I third? You end up overthinking it, you end up making mistakes because you’re trying to fix things that don’t require fixing.”
At one point before prejudging, Dauda thought he looked small and flat but listened to his wife and ignored his doubts.
“At one point on Friday, I think it was Friday afternoon, I got up I had a nap I woke up and looked in the mirror and I hated the look. I was like this is bullshit, I prepped all this time and I looked like crap. I looked small, I looked flat. I lost my crap. This sucks.”
“It starts spiraling in your head and no matter what you see. You go to all different mirrors. Oh the lighting sucks, and you go everywhere you’re checking for the perfect – I can’t see the same lines,” said Dauda. “We spoke about this so much during the prep. Your mind is going to play that game with you. When it does, what did we say we do? Sit down, have a nap, wake up, let it pass.”
Dauda said his heart ‘literally went through my freakin guts’ when Derek Lunsford was called to take the third-place prize.
“You’re standing there, waiting for judgment to be passed down on you and you have to take it. It’s horrible. You have no control, it’s the most horrible part of the whole thing,” says Dauda.
“Then they said in third place and you hear Derek’s name. Honestly, my heart literally went through my freakin guts. I was like what? I was like okay.”
He said waiting on the final results felt like a walk to the gallows and revealed that he was happy with taking home $250,000 in second place at the time.
“Holy shit Derek is third. Holy shit, I’m top two,” shared Dauda. “When they said top two, can we have Samson and Hadi in the middle of the stage? That walk is like, it feels like the most slow motion, it’s almost like you’re about to walk into the gallows.”
“He said okay, this year second place is we’re raising it to $250,000. I looked over and I’m like, I’m second top two in the world, $250K I could go home with that I’m happy. I would go home with that. I’m good with that.”
Dauda explained that he was on the verge of keeling over after finding out he won the title and $600,000.
“First place they said $600K I felt like I was going to keel over at that point,” he shared. “He said ‘And New’ and I was like oh shit.”
According to Dauda, ‘it was scary’ how little steroids he utilized throughout his 2024 Mr. Olympia preparations.
“It was scary how much less it was. If we didn’t see the evidence in the physique every day going wow, we’ve never seen your body respond this fast, we’ve never seen your body change this much, I wouldn’t believe it was possible.”
If he and his team couldn’t see improvements from a specific compound, they eliminated it from his stack.
“It was almost a case of why are you using this? Can you physically see the result from it? No? Then take it out, you don’t need it. It was debunking so much of those things and bringing it to the most basic form. Okay, so that’s all you need for your body to respond. Anything else, it’s just oversaturating it.”
Unlike Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford who only chose to compete in the Olympia as reigning champions, Samson Dauda is taking a different route. He doesn’t plan to be a one-show-a-year bodybuilder and has already announced his entry for the upcoming 2025 Arnold Classic.
Samson Dauda’s victory sent shockwaves through the sport and completely rearranged the pecking order within the Men’s Open division. As one of the tallest athletes in the category, as long as he brings the conditioning, his opponents will have a tough time taking his title at future contests.
Watch the full video from the Fouad Abiad Media YouTube channel below:
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