Phil Heath is one of the best to ever perform on the Olympia stage, but faced threat after threat on his way to establishing a legacy. In a recent interview with Chris Williamson, Heath reflected on his storied rivalry with Kai Greene and explained why it was greater than Ronnie Coleman’s and Jay Cutler’s.
Heath was renowned within the Men’s Open division for his freaky fullness, density, shape, and round muscle bellies. Having competed against fellow champions such as Jay Cutler, the late Shawn Rhoden, and Dexter Jackson, “The Gift” was accustomed to battling with top-tier talent on stage.
However, fans might know him best from his heated back-and-fourths with fellow Open standout Kai Greene. The two were staples at the top of the division for years, and at one point, even got into a scuffle on stage, which many now deem as one of the most memorable moments in bodybuilding history.
Other figureheads of the sport have given their respect to the Kai Greene and Phil Heath saga, like Cutler and Olympia Owner Jake Wood. According to Wood, Heath’s and Greene’s rivalry is the best ever because of the way it played out on stage. Looking back at his reign, Phil Heath recapped his time competing against Greene.
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Phil Heath Talks Psychological Warfare & Kai Greene Rivalry, Explains Why It Was Bigger than Jay’s and Ronnie’s
Phil believes his bodybuilding rivalry with Greene surpassed the intensity of Cutler’s and Coleman’s.
“I think it’s, I think it is the greatest rivalry. I think it’s bigger than Jay and Ronnie’s just because they were friends, we weren’t. And I think we wanted to be friends… Kai and I, but I feel because of us both wanting something so freakin bad and during the social media era… one camp, the other camp, they’re talking so much and we can see the chatter that it kind of made it look like, so you don’t like me Chris?
It’s like high school, are you talking shit? And you look at me weird, like ‘Alright, what’s up?’ I know that Kai had to play psychological warfare because this is bodybuilding, it’s not MMA, it’s not boxing, it’s not even basketball or football right? It’s just a person lifting weights and dieting and doing heavy amounts of cardio and posing that it’s hard to impose your will on someone physically, so he’s got to figure out how to beat me.
So, for him to start a fight, like in 2014, flipping the hair and all this other stuff, I don’t blame him! People used to get mad at me for accepting it in my friend’s circle. But I said, ‘I expected it.’ They said why did you expect this, I said, ‘Listen, it all started at the damn press conference.’ But I knew he was going to do something. I didn’t know what I was going to respond,” shared Phil Heath.
Heath discussed Greene penning his signature over his face on Mr. Olympia posters and talked about his experiences with mental warfare.
“This fool [Kai Greene], [signed Mr. Olympia posters] on my face. I’m like, ‘Oh it’s like that?’ And he wrote Mr. Olympia? I’m like, ‘Okay, how many times did he do it?’ A whole row of them, I’m like, ‘Oh he’s trying to send a message.’
So basketball mentality comes out right now, this is – I love it, the disrespect, now I get to make this more intentional. He has no idea what I look like. He’s going to probably try to say something at this press conference why? Because that’s what I would do, know thyself, know how to respond versus react.”
When he had the scuffle with Greene on stage, Heath said fans were cheering on the action.
“It felt like high school when everybody is like, fight, fight, fight, fight, and then you’re basically getting into it and then there were the fan’s energy that I felt, that got calm because all you could hear was – if you were there you would be able to hear Steve Weinberger’s voice get elevated, and they turned the music up louder. I guess they were trying to drown out the crowd noise. They kind of were [cheering it on].”
Then, Heath reflected on losing his Mr. Olympia title in 2018 and admitted Kai Greene was the first and only athlete in the IFBB to call him. Even though they aren’t friends, Phil says he and Kai still greatly respect each other.
“We’ve had a few conversations. Kai Greene gets credit for me because he was the first athlete in the IFBB to call me after I lost in 2018 and he was the only one. He was the only one that picked up the phone and we talked at length.
That made me feel. I mean, it wasn’t like emotional like I’m going to cry, it was more like the person knows me the most is the one I battled against the most, right? And he basically gave me some much-needed words of like ‘They didn’t beat the Phil I know, they beat an injured one. You’re still the best ever.’ And to hear that, it made me feel good.”
“We still got to be like, ‘I respect you, but fuck you, man.’ And I’m cool with it. I saw Kai last year at the Gym Shark event here in California. And we were both like, there’s just that vibe. We both know that it’s cool.”
“All he had to do was be who he was when he did those Arnold Classics, and then the 2012 Olympia and he might of got me,” Phil Heath shared.
Kai Greene has also discussed his time sharing the stage with Heath. In a Muscular Development interview with Ron Harris, Greene revealed that he hadn’t retired and added that he hated Heath but praised his work ethic and his accomplishments.
With rumors swirling that Heath might compete next year, perhaps fans could see him return to the stage in due time. Regardless, his rivalry with Kai Greene will be difficult to surpass given how badly both men wanted the Mr. Olympia title.
RELATED: Phil Heath Talks Chris Bumstead’s Legacy & Why He Won’t Use Trenbolone or Insulin
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