IFBB Pro League Vice President Tyler Manion and Hany Rambod linked up for a podcast. On December 20, 2024, they discussed Chris Bumstead’s final contest in the Open, Olympia prize money, and whether politics play a role in placings at events.
The bodybuilding calendar delivered some spectacular moments in 2024. Shortly after laying claim to his sixth consecutive Classic Physique Olympia title, Bumstead emotionally stepped away from the sport only to come back for one more competition in the Open division at the EVLS Prague Pro. While he didn’t earn gold, he came close in second place against Martin Fitzwater.
Meanwhile, Samson Dauda secured his first Sandow trophy against Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford. In addition to earning a prestigious ring, he was awarded a staggering $600,000. With the sport in a constant state of growth, Manion and Rambod sat down for a candid discussion.
Tyler Manion, Hany Rambod Talk Chris Bumstead’s Final Contest, Prize Money, and If Politics Affect Mr. Olympia Placings
During the YouTube video, Manion touched on Bumstead’s legacy as well as ending his career in the Open Bodybuilding division.
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“The fact that he wanted to end where he started in the Open, which is so crazy, I remember at North Americans, he actually looked amazing. He won his weight class and the overall, everybody loved his physique, but Justin Rodriguez was there and he was huge obviously, a super heavyweight and he was peeled out of his mind and it was like too much muscle.
But everyone was like this kid is so good. Then Classic got created and he ran with it and everything else. But I thought it was so cool to see him in the Open. He’s tall with a huge frame. Obviously, he filled out a lot from the Olympia. I didn’t see him in person but still from what I saw he looked a lot better there than he did at the Olympia.”
Manion called Bumstead the ‘greatest Classic competitor ever.’
“He got to compete against a guy who was top five who was just fourth in Martin, and Martin I think was sharper at the Olympia but also, Chris is the greatest Classic competitor ever.”
As for whether politics play a role in placings, Manion underlined that ‘fitting the criteria’ for a given division is all that matters in the end.
“One of the big things is politics this, politics that, Hadi won, right? Before him, Big Ramy is from Egypt, he won. We truthfully don’t care where you’re from, other than fitting the criteria for your division, we don’t care about your entire background. It does not matter once you get on that stage. We’re looking at just your body on stage,” he shared.
Of late, visa issues have hindered athletes from competing in the United States. Manion said the organization has done everything within its power to help bodybuilders like Behrooz Tabani with these struggles.
“Obviously, fans in different countries they get very passionate behind their people, so they could care less how good anybody else looks, they are only focused on their people.
Anybody can do it and we’ve had a ton of Iranian athletes have success. We’ve done everything we can to even help Behrooz, right? Another Iranian athlete that’s incredible. We would love to have him here in the States and competing in the States.”
In time, Manion hopes the process becomes easier for international athletes.
“I can only hope everything gets better and athletes are able to come here easier and we’re able to eventually do something there,” he adds.
Lastly, Hany Rambod discussed Dauda’s massive $600K purse at the Olympia, revealing that it’s equivalent to the prize money earned by bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman over six years.
“In one Olympia, Samson, this last year, won $600K that was equivalent to six of Ronnie’s titles. I think it was stagnant for a while. I think now with everything that’s going on, the synergies of everything with social media and all these companies that are seeing the value and that’s not even the mainstream yet. The sky is the limit.”
From Chris Bumstead’s impact on the sport to prize money and politics, Tyler Manion addresses all aspects of bodybuilding. With the addition of a new Fit Model division in 2025 and 2026, he anticipates significant growth under the IFBB Pro League umbrella in the coming months.
RELATED: Tyler Manion Announces NPC/IFBB Expansion of Natural Bodybuilding Contests Worldwide
Watch the full video from the Hany Rambod YouTube channel below:
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