Samir Bannout is opening up on the future of Men’s Open bodybuilder Nick Walker. In a recent YouTube video on Oct. 30, 2025, he discussed Walker’s decision to fire his coach and argued that his waist is a fixable issue.
Nick Walker headed into the 2025 Mr. Olympia with overwhelming hype. He nearly stopped Derek Lunsford in his tracks at the Pittsburgh Pro, but settled for runner-up after fading slightly during the finals. Instead, “The Mutant” secured his qualification with a statement win at the New York Pro.
When it was time to shine against the best, Walker missed the mark, falling to sixth place. Having time to digest the outcome, Walker decided it was best to part ways with his coach Kyle Wilkes. There appears to be some bad blood between the two since they stopped working with each other. Now, former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout is tackling the controversy.
Samir Bannout Talks Nick Walker’s Waist and Firing His Coach: “There Must Be a Reason”
In the video, Bannout addressed Walker’s waist, which he believes contributed to his drop at the Olympia. He called the issue fixable despite others suggesting it was a genetic limitation.
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“I think Nick Walker did very good at one point but whatever happened to him at the Olympia… yes, I think he paid the price for that. But guess what? Only God is perfect. Let’s come back and put more effort into fixing that issue [his waist]. I think it’s fixable.”
As for why Walker parted ways with his coach, Bannout was uncertain but believes there’s a valid reason:
“There must be a reason. I don’t know exactly what it was but I heard his coach saying the inflammation in his stomach that caused it [the mistimed peak],” said Bannout. “I think Nick is smart enough to find out the reason and I don’t know what’s going on between him and his coach.”
He added that Walker’s coach could have made his waist problem worse.
“We’re not going to bullshit and say that Nick deserved to win the Olympia or to be in the top three, no. Nick Walker needs to fix that issue. Is it fixable?
Yes, it is. Maybe whatever his coach was doing made things worse, not better, and Nick is aware of it. He expects himself to be more waisted, expected to be tighter, but the fact that he didn’t, I don’t think it has anything to do with day one or day two, if that ruined the peak. I think a good coach can control that.”
Aside from Bannout, other bodybuilding veterans have discussed Nick Walker’s next move. Shawn Ray and Bob Cicherillo believe it would serve Walker’s interests to wait and target the last two Olympia qualifiers of the 2026 bodybuilding season.
Walker will navigate training, diet, and supplementation solo in the meantime. Time will tell if he chooses to throw his name into the 2026 Arnold Classic, scheduled for March 5-8.
Watch the full video from the Old School Labs YouTube channel below:
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