Lee Priest has no qualms when it comes to setting the record straight or people for that matter. In a recent YouTube video, Lee Priest took issue with newly-turned Pros who refuse to compete more often. In addition, he scrutinized other bodybuilders who choose to only compete once a year.
“A topic that comes up and I’ve seen it a lot on podcasts and I don’t know why, why aren’t the pros competing?
Lee Priest competed as a professional bodybuilder for decades. While he wasn’t the typical mass monster seen in Men’s Open, Priest still boasted impressive fullness and symmetry while on stage. After retiring from the sport, he went on to give his unfiltered opinion on the sport and its athletes.
Previously, Lee Priest scrutinized the Olympia show organizers for not listening to their athletes. After the 2023 Mr. Olympia, Priest was quick to bring attention to what the show was lacking which included poor lighting. Bodybuilders also have to maintain their conditioning for over 24 hours since the event is held over multiple days, which can have negative effects.
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Lee Priest Thinks New Bodybuilding Pros Who Take Time Off Are ‘Pretty Pathetic’
Now Lee Priest returns and isn’t holding back, this time aiming at bodybuilders who earn their pro cards and then immediately take time off. Priest doesn’t understand what is preventing competitors from participating, especially ones from the US who don’t have to travel far.
“We just had a few Pro shows and I think there was six in one, seven in the other, no real big names. Even like the Orlando Pro, a Pro show in America, the 212 had more people than the Open.
“Even there, the names were from European. You have Americans with Pro cards living in America, you don’t have to travel far and you’re not doing a show?” asks Lee Priest.
Lee Priest makes the point that competitors are coming in older and older leaving them with less time to grow and improve in the sport.
“Granted when I was turning Pro, guys were turning Pro in their mid-20s now guys are in their 30s guess what? Time is going to fucking run out. I got to sit back, no! You compete as much as you can! Competing, you learn your body. Competing, you learn how to diet, what you can do. A contest prep. These fucking idiots and you know who you are. You’re probably watching this now, who sit out, going ‘I need a year off, I need another.”
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Priest gets into the misconception that it is unhealthy to compete too often, underlining the positive health ramifications that arise during contest preps.
“You can still grow eating clean, getting ready for a show because you’re still taking drugs. That’s another one we hear, oh doing too many shows is unhealthy. Really, how is that, explain it to me.”
“We have a contest prep where all your meals are super clean. The majority of people do cardio once or twice a day so your cardiovascular is good, you’re training with weights, that’s also a bit of cardiovascular and just training in general.”
“You’re eating super clean you’re doing cardio and you’re training with weights, and you’re using gear. Now let’s go off-season, the majority of Pro bodybuilders in the off-season don’t do cardio, don’t eat clean, well some eat clean but higher amounts of food.”
Lee Priest feels that after earning a pro card, it should be made mandatory to compete a few times a year, though he acknowledges that the prize money is the same as when he was doing shows, stressing that it should be increased to bring in big names.
“What needs to happen, Bob Cicherillo if you’re listening, if you get a Pro card you should have to compete at least 2-3 times a year because another thing that comes up yes because the prize money sucks! It was $10,000 when I used to win in the 90s and 2000s, and it’s still $10,000.”
“Yes, the promoters should help. The promoters need to sell tickets and everything else whether it be pay-per-view. And the only way to do that is to get some of the big names in those shows. Look, the guys turn up in Pro shows they might be good Pros nobody knows them but they are not top-tier Pros.”
As a solution, Priest thinks that the IFBB should limit how many pro cards it hands out.
“They are giving out too many Pro cards. The Pro feels watered down people just get it now to put on their Instagrams and Facebook, such and such IFBB Pro. If you got to tell people that, it tells how fucked you are.”
Lee Priest Emphasizes the Importance of Athletes Competing Multiple Times to Hone Their Bodies
Lee Priest uses the NFL as an example to prove that bodybuilders should compete to practice and perfect their craft.
“Are you going to learn to peak your body for a show when you do it once a year? You do it a few times a year a few shows back to back you can learn so much from that. Learning how to do your water, how to do your carbs, using diuretics or whatever drugs.”
“You’re learning all the fucking time. Doing one show a year to qualify for the Olympia, it’s a hit miss, this way you can get your fucking thing down. No other sport does that. Oh, do one show a year. Nah, I’m only going to play one tournament a year. An NFL team, whoever was around at that time.
Tom Brady, ‘Oh, I’m just going to do just one show a year. I’ll come to the Super Bowl the rest of the year I’m just going to sit out and I’m just going to do training,” said Priest.
Wrapping up, Lee Priest feels that bodybuilders now are the reason why the sport has earned a bad reputation and urges athletes to step it up.
“Come on. And you wonder why this sport is looked at as being pretty pathetic and a joke with lazy cunts who won’t get off your ass and compete.”
“The IFBB should make you fucking compete that’s for sure,” said Priest. “Get off your fucking asses and do it. Like I said, you get pretty pathetic, real pathetic.”
One bodybuilder who isn’t taking a back seat when it comes to competing is Rubiel ‘Neckzilla’ Mosquera. After winning at the 2023 EVLS Prague Pro Amateur, Mosquera went on to compete that same weekend at the EVLS Prague Pro taking third behind Samson Dauda and Michal Krizo. Now Mosquera is preparing to take on all comers this March at the Arnold Classic.
In regards to money, some fans believe that compensation plays a factor in bodybuilders competing more. Arnold Schwarzenegger is helping with that problem after increasing the Arnold Classic prize money to $300,000 rivaling Mr. Olympia’s $400,000. That is certainly a huge incentive, not to mention the bragging rights they earn for winning.
RELATED: Lee Priest Takes Aim at Obesity: “Putting Food in Your Fuc**ng Mouth is Not a Disease”
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