Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Patrick Bet-David met for a special YouTube collaboration on September 18, 2024. During the video, The Rock discusses almost buying the Mr. Olympia and reveals his favorite physique of all time in bodybuilding.
The sale of the Mr. Olympia brand has left many in the fitness community, including The Rock, extremely interested. According to Patrick Bet-David, a prominent entrepreneur and content creator, The Rock acquiring the Mr. Olympia would save its brand and elevate the sport of bodybuilding to unforeseen heights.
Ultimately, the Mr. Olympia organization decided not to sell to The Rock. Instead, they offered the company to the current owner Jake Wood, and President Dan Solomon, who graciously accepted the honor. However, many in the fitness community believe that not selling to The Rock was a mistake.
The Rock Says Arnold Schwarzenegger His ‘Favorite Physique’ Discusses Almost Buying Mr. Olympia With Patrick Bet-David: “We Were Close”
In Patrick Bet-David’s opinion, the sport isn’t what it was in the 1990s, which he described as a ‘very unique’ time in bodybuilding, making a potential acquisition of Mr. Olympia all the more enticing.
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“I’m a fan of the sport I just don’t think it was 10-15 years ago, 20 years ago. I think 90s to me was — 90s and 2000s Mr. Olympia was a very unique time for that sport.”
“They were also coming out of the 80s too as well, out of the 80s aesthetically the bodybuilders’ bodies just looked different, the Arnold’s of the day, Frank Zane. They really had some pretty impressive physiques,” shared The Rock.
The Rock credited bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger’s physique as the all-time best.
“Physique-wise I would say Arnold in his heyday, I thought he had a phenomenal physique,” shares Dwayne Johnson.
Bet-David first opened up about wanting to buy the Mr. Olympia brand. After a meeting with the Mr. Olympia CEO, they expressed no interest in selling the company.
“I’m a fan of bodybuilding, I’m a fan of Mr. Olympia, I’m a fan of all the bodybuilding stuff going on. Years ago, I’m interviewing Ronnie, I went through the whole phase of interviewing all the Mr. Olympias. So, Ronnie comes, Dorian Yates comes, Phil comes, Dexter Jackson comes, I bring everybody one by one by one we’re interviewing and they’re going really good.
I get a call from the CEO of the Mr. Olympia, he says ‘Hey I’d like to meet with you at Prime at Diplomat which is like 30-40 minutes or an hour away from here because we’re in Palm Beach.”
Three months later, they sold to Jake Wood and Dan Solomon.
“So I meet him over there and I’m like hey so tell me blah, blah, blah, listen, I’m noticing some of the stuff you’re saying I you’re calling out with Mr. Olympia on the way we’re doing this and I understand that but what can we do to collaborate? I said forget about collaboration are you guys for sale? I’m interested.
‘No, we’re not for sale.’ You’re not for sale? ‘No.’ At all? ‘No,'” explains Patrick Bet-David. “Three months later they announced Jake Wood bought the Mr. Olympia.”
The Rock claims they were ‘close’ to buying the Mr. Olympia before it was sold. At the time, The Rock and Bet-David thought the company had massive potential.
“How close were you guys of buying Mr. Olympia?” asks Bet-David.
“We were close,” said The Rock. “I don’t know about super close but the discussions were there.”
“I think we were probably sensing it, there’s something interesting there at that time,” said The Rock.
When asked if he was interested now in buying the Mr. Olympia, The Rock gave a simple answer.
“No,” said The Rock.
Patrick Bet-David believes that Mr. Olympia made a mistake in not selling to Johnson because they could have offered acting opportunities to the sport’s top athletes.
“I think its tough to scale and it’s challenging,” said Bet-David. “I told the bodybuilders if The Rock buys Mr. Olympia and say Danny would run it and she would crush it right, if she ran it, and somebody who wins, I’m doing a movie they get a part you’re able to get that recognition and the eyeballs oh my god look how this guy is playing this and that guy is playing this part.
I thought it was a very smart move of them to sell it to you guys. I’m surprised they didn’t. In my opinion, it’s their loss.”
The Mr. Olympia is set to celebrate its 60th anniversary next month from October 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dan Solomon has promised a historic showdown. Derek Lunsford, the reigning Mr. Olympia, will aim to fend off a lineup of elite contenders to become a two-time champion.
While the Mr. Olympia never ended up selling to The Rock, his conversation with Patrick Bet-David certainly has fans wondering how the sport could have benefited from the transaction. Nevertheless, the organization remains a superpower in the sport of bodybuilding today.
READ: 2024 Mr. Olympia List of Qualified Athletes and Rules
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