Retired IFBB Pro Shawn Ray has described the current era of bodybuilding as the ‘wild wild west.’ In a recent interview, he opened up on the dangers of steroids and overeating which have become growing concerns among athletes, especially in the Men’s Open division.
While easily one of the most outspoken talents to ever compete, Shawn Ray has a firm understanding of the sport, and the demands necessary to reach the highest level. He gave former six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates all he could handle throughout his dominant reign. In 1991, Ray reached the pinnacle of his career, having laid claim to gold at the Arnold Classic.
Although Ray’s prime physique better-represented qualities on display in the golden era, complete with aesthetics and a small waist, he first-hand witnessed Yates usher in a new era of mass monsters. However, Ray believes that trend has only worsened atop the Mr. Olympia stage lately. He contends that bodybuilders have negatively impacted their health with the overconsumption of food and performance-enhancing drugs.
Shawn Ray Says Bodybuilding ‘The Wild Wild West,’ Believes Athletes Are Overusing Food and Steroids
Likening bodybuilding today to the Wild West, Ray believes there are no preventative guidelines in the IFBB Pro League to protect athletes from products or PEDs.
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“Our sport is kind of like the wild wild west. You can bring into it anyone you want,” said Ray. “We have people on the fringe of our sport offering up concoctions to our athletes because it is a federation but there’s really no guidelines to stop an anyone from giving an athlete a product.
Anybody can come in, say here take this it’s going to take you to the next level, there’s no one to stop you. There’s going to be guys that are going to capitalize on that.”
In his heyday, athletes were entering the sport at a much younger age. However, nowadays, many talents embark on their bodybuilding careers in their late 20s or early 30s.
“The guys coming now are in their late 20s, some in their early 30s, trying to capture this 10-15-year window that they missed. I started early and most of us in my era started early.
A lot of the guys are teenage national champions, Jay Cutler, Branch Warren, these guys were phenomenal teenagers. The guys we see now are coming in so late in the game that they’re trying to overcompensate getting way too much food in them, way too much drugs in them, way too much weight on, and trying to make up for lost time and it doesn’t translate,” said Shawn Ray.
He worries that bodybuilders are sustaining damage to their bodies and don’t have a moral compass in place to slow down, whether it’s a matter of eating or drug use.
“When you do so much damage to your body and you don’t have the moral compass or the friends around you to say pump your brakes, find a different activity, shoot some pool, go play some basketball or whatnot. It depends on your level of involvement.”
As for the concerning number of bodybuilding deaths, Ray says that’s a normal part of the sport, as with any other discipline like boxing or racecar driving.
“For Ronnie, it wouldn’t be surprising if he died in the gym. Would we feel sorry for someone where that’s their passion? I mean, we don’t have the same kind of reservations when we see a racecar driver or a boxer but they die all the time. So, bodybuilders that die doing what they love doing, for me, I’m a little jaded.”
Lastly, Ray urges that ‘no one is holding a gun to your head to be a professional bodybuilder,’ adding that if you die while doing it, it’s no different than passing away from any other sport.
“I don’t have the same sorrow or sense of loss when this is what they chose to do. No one is holding a gun to your head to be a professional bodybuilder and if you die while you’re doing it, it’s no different than if you died being a racecar driver. It’s never the right time to die, even at old age.”
Ray isn’t the only accomplished bodybuilding veteran to offer his two cents on athletes dying. Former four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler has talked about it, underlining that ‘people are running scared’ given the concerning number of athletes who have passed away too soon.
Shawn Ray continues to pay close attention to bodybuilding and its dangers. He believes competitors today are too fixated on size via food and drugs rather than taking proactive measures to ensure they live longer lives.
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