Generation Iron: Natty 4 Life (2020) - full transcript

The bodybuilder at its root

is concerned with self-development
through self-mastery.

If you are in a day and age
where you can more easily get

drug information about PEDs and
how to cycle before you can get exposure

to what the significance or
value of a rep is, that is a problem

because it makes it so that you
are not able to be put in line

to appreciate the art form that
this is, that this represents.

Marker, Generation Iron.
Arnold interview take one.

Arnold, where do you think the sport
of bodybuilding is heading in the future?

What do you think
is gonna happen to it?

In 1977, Arnold Schwarzenegger
took bodybuilding into the mainstream



with a documentary Pumping Iron.

Since then, the sport grew along
with the physiques of the competitors.

As athletes continue to grow, so
do the public's awareness of steroids.

It became a media buzzword
in the '90s

and soon became synonymous
with bodybuilding.

From there,
research and development

of anabolic substances
and exercise science

continued making great strides
and athletes grew bigger.

But is bigger better?

Have we sacrificed size
for quality?

Do steroids help create
a better show for the audience

or are they ultimately hindering
the sport?

When you're a pro bodybuilder, they
are... Every single one is on steroids.

Let's make that clear, right?



You know that, right?

I think the best answer is to
allow the athletes to use the drugs

but provide medical treatment.

If you're gonna be great
in anything,

you have to be a student of it
first.

You know,
is there a limit to growth?

You know,
certainly there's a limit,

but I don't know
that we found it.

I've worked with men
who will say,

"If you told me that taking anabolic steroids
is going to take 20 years off my life,

I would still do it because at
least I would be big and muscular

in the time I was here."

It's risk versus benefit ratio

and I always tell people that if they want
to go down that road that's up to them.

But when you're 25,
you don't give a shit.

Steroids aren't addictive, steroids
have never killed anybody, you know.

There's... There's no physiological
proof, it's never been shown.

It's all what the media
wants you to see.

"Anabolic" steroid users to a
certain point of using the steroids

get left ventricular
hypertrophy,

which is an enlargement
of left ventricle

and they get a lower ejection
fraction, which is heart failure.

Liver & Organ. So, I've been taking
steroids for over 25 years, alright.

So, needless to say, you know, it
does its damage and I'm aware of that.

I'm willing to take...
you know, take my chances

but I'm gonna do it
as safe as possible.

I want to say this, that I
believe in drug-free bodybuilding

and I think it's very, very
important as a person in the spotlight

that when it comes to talking
about what choice should be made,

it's that unenhanced
bodybuilding is the way to go.

And that can be done
in every organization.

Vegas is familiar to me.

It's been the home to one of the biggest
bodybuilding shows in the world, Mr. Olympia.

But today, I arrive to explore a
different competition, the Natural Olympia.

For over eight years, I've
been documenting bodybuilding

and the many organizations
within the sport.

Most of these organizations
have one thing in common,

they generally don't drug test.

The bodybuilders who compete
in these leagues

have gone far beyond
what was thought possible,

across wide variety
of divisions,

each showcasing different levels of
muscularity and types of physiques.

But there is another world left
unexplored in the realm of the sport,

natural bodybuilding.

These international
competitions claim to enforce

strict drug policies
on their athletes

and test them with the same
standards used for the Olympics.

The Professional Natural Bodybuilding
Association, more commonly known as the PNBA,

is the biggest natural bodybuilding
organization in the world.

Despite this, I can't help but notice that
the competitions are much more modest

in comparison
to their untested rivals.

But this is the largest turnout of
competitors in the PNBA's history

with over 450 professional and amateur
contestants from all over the world,

all of them training
and dieting for one purpose,

to win without the aid
of anabolic substances.

This is their story.

Turn left.

About a month ago,

I set out to meet the top athletes
competing for Natural Olympia title.

Men and women with some of the
best genetics and work ethics

who for varying reasons
chose a drug-free path.

Two-time Natural Olympia gold medalist...

The first athlete
on my list was Rob Terry,

a reigning champion in men's
open division for the last two years.

Originally from Wales,
Rob came to U.S.

to pursue a career
in professional wrestling

before making a name for
himself in natural bodybuilding.

At 6.4, he towers
over most of his peers

with a physique
that commands attention.

- Well, how are you doing, Rob?
- Good. How are you?

- Good to meet you, man.
- Very good to meet you as well.

So, everything is set up. We are
gonna be in that chair over there.

- Okay.
- And we'll... Right... Get right into it, man.

So, let's start
from the beginning.

What is Natural Mr. Olympia for
those who've never heard of it?

Natural Mr. Olympia,
it's the biggest, the...

The best title that you can
have as a natural bodybuilder.

Which organization do you represent?
Which bodybuilding organization?

I compete and represent the...
The INBA, PNBA.

The INBA, PNBA is a natural
show where you get drugs tested.

That to me,
was extremely important.

What's bigger than being
the natural Mr. Olympia?

In my mind that was everything
that I am.

I'm probably one of the biggest
natural athletes in the world

and have been
for a long, long time.

You... you don't see too many guys in
the offseason especially that walk around,

280 pounds at six-foot-four, not a
regular thing you see, but I possess that.

I want people in the natural bodybuilding
circuit to be like, "Oh, my God!

This guy, he's huge and it's
offseason. That guy is a freak."

And just accept me and understand
you can do this on a natural level.

I want to be remembered as one of the
best natural pro bodybuilders of all time.

You know,
over the decades we've...

We've seen some freaks
of nature that you would say

"Man, those guys
were on the juice," you know,

"They're... They're taking
steroids, I don't care what you say,"

and you'll hear people...
Hear people say that about Rob.

That's just a statement without,
you know, any facts behind it.

They just look like
they've taken steroids.

I was really developing on a natural
level and I was making big strides

and I just wanted to keep going and
see how much I could do it on this level.

And I feel like I brought my
physique to its natural full potential.

And what I love is that I'm able to
maintain and keep it all year-round.

Rob Terry is a phenom, they
would say, in natural bodybuilding.

He's an excellent competitor,
an excellent natural bodybuilder,

and he is gonna stay, you know, at
the top of the mountain for a little while.

It's asked by Rob to run
his blood work multiple times

and, uh, thoroughly convinced
that, uh, he's natural athlete.

And that's one
great thing about Rob.

Open book, you know, show up at
his house, test him anytime-type person.

And you don't see
that real often.

One of the things that I
told, um, Iron Man Magazine,

I told my sponsors and I also told
the president of the INBA, PNBA,

is that it's really important
for me as a champion of the INBA

to not only be tested
on the show

which I've been tested every single
time that I've won the title, but I...

I also wanted to be tested
throughout the year randomly.

Three, two, three...

Have you ever considered or thought about
taking performance-enhancement drugs?

Given that I have one kidney, it
wouldn't be a good health decision for me.

My body wouldn't be able
to do it.

And it was just one of those decisions
that I made very earlier on in my life.

I know my parents are real pretty
concerned about my general health

but they supported me
one thousand percent

as long as I stayed natural
and healthy.

Rob is very,
very health conscious.

When he was eight years old, he
had quite a life-changing experience.

He... he suffered from
a severe case of hydronephrosis,

which actually meant he had to
have a kidney surgically removed.

I'll never forget the day we went to
the hospital and it was diagnosed.

And Chris and I both thought how
on Earth are we gonna tell Robert

what the problem is and what's
gonna have to happen.

And we were worried
how he'd react to that.

And we were totally amazed when we
told him, he just looked at us and said,

"Well, thanks for explaining
that to me, I understand.

What have I got to do to get
better after the operation?"

- And that was, to my mind, incredible.
- Yeah.

Um, that he had such
determination to get healthy again.

- Yeah, I got it.
- Okay.

Come here. Swing, please.

Pick which one
you want to go on.

This swing? That one? This one?
All right, let's jump...

If you haven't asked
your support structure,

"Hey, this is what I want to do
and this is what I need from you,"

it's never gonna happen.

Do your cardio, do your workout,
prep your meals,

still be
with your significant other

and have them understand
that there are times

when you're really tired
or really hungry

and you don't want to go out and
sit at a restaurant and not eat it.

Straight down there.

I think it can be hard in a
situation where you're with someone

and they don't understand
what you're doing.

I'm really, really fortunate and I'm
really lucky that my wife understands

everything that I do.

She understands everything
that I want to do.

And she's incredibly
supportive of that.

Yeah, I want to say I want to be
the longest reigning

Natural Mr. Olympia champion
back to back.

It's a goal that I'm hundred
percent committed to.

Philip Ricardo Jr., originally
a skinny kid from Brooklyn.

Phil joined the Marines at a young age
where he began building his physique.

He developed quickly
and was soon entering

and winning
the bodybuilding competitions.

Eventually, he won enough titles
to earn a nickname, "The Legend."

He's since retired
from pro bodybuilder.

But at 48 years old,
he has decided to come back

to reclaim his title
of Natural Olympia.

My family situation
was... It was pretty rough.

My father, unfortunately,
he went to jail,

so that's why I moved
from Rochester to Brooklyn.

I was a very shy kid,
pretty skinny.

Um, you know, I was in projects,
so it's kind of, you know,

intimidating to be around
that kind of atmosphere.

But it was that growing up
I wanted to be healthy.

And I actually grew up
very sickly.

I had asthma as a young kid.

It was more of a selfish thing,
I wanted to be successful.

And I saw all these other bodybuilders,
you know, being on ESPN and TV,

and so, I wanted to be on TV, I wanted to be
in magazines, I wanted to be on the cover.

But as I've gotten older and
family and kids and everything else,

you see that those things don't matter and
all these things that I do is just kind of,

like, it's nice but it doesn't mean
anything when it comes to eternal life.

I've seen the lifestyle around me,
not just that, you know, drinking, drugs.

I saw my parents, you know, they were
smoking stuff in the car while we're driving.

And me trying to do anything
that would, you know,

deter me from being healthy
by taking some kind of drugs

or putting anything bad
into my system

would be counterproductive
to a healthy lifestyle.

To be honest, I didn't really have
this focused on my radar until really late

and people, you know, are always
asking when I'm going to come back.

So, I thought it'll be just
something good to do.

So, yeah, I feel like I wish I had
more time to just really, really prepare.

But I also feel that I am in a good
place now and I feel I am gonna be ready.

The one thing I'm most proud of
is the fact that I've competed

against probably all the top
natural bodybuilders.

I've been fortunate enough
to have beaten all of them.

Well, we'll see what happens with Rob.
I don't know if that's gonna happen, but...

I will never to see myself
as being a legend,

but I think just because I have
been in the sport so long

and going up against
all the top guys.

When it comes to Phil, he is, to me,
what drew me into natural bodybuilding.

It's the idea that you have
this almost unattainable level

of not just physical appearance
but sportsmanship overall.

Philip Ricardo Jr.
Is a past winner, 2015,

of this Natural Olympia and
he's gonna try to take care of Rob.

You know, been divorced and have, you
know, extended family all over the place.

Not too long ago, my parents
both passed away.

It's nice kind of how God works
where you may lose something

and then you gain
something else in... In return.

Now being engaged to...
To Kelly, it's...

It's amazing that, you know, all the things
I've been through, relationship-wise,

that I was able to find finally
at this age, 48 years old,

a woman that really, I
understand and she understands,

maybe we speak each other's
love language.

I can't wait till Vegas when, uh, we
go to that buffet he's been talking about.

So, that's good.

She's been supportive
the entire time.

She helps cook some of my food
for me if I need it.

And so, having support and having someone
that's not going to make it tougher on me

because it's already a very
tough sport is definitely a blessing.

He has a very restrictive diet,
which, you know,

we already know that chicken is one of the
cleanest protein you could have besides fish

and that is the two things that he's
been eating to prepare for his competition,

which is actually very perfect
for our human body.

So, like I said,
Rob is huge, Chris is huge.

I've learned even in my last
Olympia in 2015 that I won,

I had to go up against
another great legend,

hall-of-famer Michael Waddington
and another guy called Martin Daniels.

These guys are big.

And I knew if I came in just
trying to get as super lean,

that's not gonna beat
those guys.

People could say I have good genetics
but if I show a picture of when I was,

you know, in high school just that kind
of like a straight up and down beanpole

and I think me training brought
out whatever genetics I did have.

To be honest, I can't come
in there saying I want...

I don't want to win
because that doesn't make sense.

If you're a champion, you are
always gonna want to win.

So, it's more of I want to go out there
against guys I've never competed against

and once again test myself,
you know, see where I'm at.

I'm 48 years old now,
I'm not a spring chicken,

and no matter what the outcome,
I'm gonna congratulate the winner

and, hopefully,
I'm congratulating myself.

This is gonna be a dogfight,
you know.

You think testing for steroids
and eliminating it from the sport

would maybe help it
become mainstream?

No, not at all.

You have natural bodybuilding.

Nobody knows who they are.

All these organizations pop up and they try
to compete against the NPC and the IFBB.

They're not gonna get there
because everybody wants...

Has their Mr. Olympia dreams.

They want to step
on that Olympia stage.

You know,
that lure is too strong.

People like freaks. They write
freaks. The... The sport has evolved.

What natural bodybuilding
organizations am I familiar with?

Probably none. I mean, I don't...
I don't really... Like I said, the...

I mean, the only organization
I'm really familiar with is the IFBB.

As for actual set natty
organizations, I don't know

and I don't really even buy that,
you know, all of them are natural.

It's not that drug-free
bodybuilding was as big.

I think number one, the information
of the other realities that exist

wasn't as prevalent
as it is now.

I don't know what started this
whole idea that natural bodybuilding

was supposed to be
unconditioned and boring

and, you know, smaller guys
and nobody comes in conditioned.

I... I really hope that this
portion of this decade and... And...

And this timeframe
in our lives shows people

that it's about the excitement
of the sport,

it's not about your lane, and
our lane is natural bodybuilding.

The choice to use anabolics
in the sport of bodybuilding

is just that a personal choice.

Athletes choose to use these
drugs for different reasons

from expanding the limits
of your genetics

to achieving recognition and
accolades on a bodybuilding stage.

While it is a choice,

it's also assumed the more successful
athletes and media influencers

enhance their bodies and get
more attention because of that.

Mike O'Hearn,
a former PNBA athlete,

has managed to become one of the
most famous bodybuilding influencers

without the use
of anabolic substances.

Though many people, both in and
out of the industry, do not believe him.

Good to see you. I like you guys
all coming in all pimpin looking.

Ready for you.

- It's cool, man, to have your
own gym - Thank you. Thank you.

Welcome to the castle.

Can you tell me how you became
a natural bodybuilder?

How did you get into it and why did
you decide to be a natural bodybuilder?

My dad was a bodybuilder, football player,
mom was a martial artist, so we just...

We all were bred for this.

Started at 9, competed at 13,
Olympic lifting, 14, stepped on stage,

competed against
20 19-year-olds,

and at 14 years old,
I beat them all.

How did you discover -
INBA/ - PNBA league?

How'd you discover it and why
you chose to compete for them?

It was the first show
I discovered that was natural.

Um, and so, it was like in '89,
and they had a show

and I drove down to Northern California
and competed and I won the show.

I just thought it was
a pretty badass thing.

Do people question you when...
When you say you're natural,

- do they question you and say, "You can't be natural?"
- Since I was 13 years old.

- Your whole life?
- Since 13 years old. Imagine that.

I don't think he's natural.

I think... I don't think he's taking
it to the insane levels, you know,

but, personally, I think he's
dabbled in it here and there.

If I had to bet my house
and is Mike O'Hearn natural

or is Mike O'Hearn on drug, of course,
I'd bet my house that he's not natural.

So, I don't want to discount
his hard work,

he is an extremely
hard worker in the gym.

He has an incredible physique.
He defies age.

But I don't believe for a minute that he's
not using performance-enhancing drugs.

The old Michael,
the Mike O'Hearn mystery.

I've known Mike for years and if he claims
he'd be natural then I get he's natural.

You know what I mean? I... I'm not
gonna refute him. But I will say one thng.

I mean people pick on this guy
all the time

but I've been in that Gold's Gym
since 1990 and Mike's been there

and that son of a bitch is there
at four o'clock.

His life is dedicated to building his
physique and no one can take that away.

Could be natural and looks like Mike
it would be Mike. But Mike is probably

the one person out there that if a human being
is capable of doing it, it's probably Mike.

Mike O'Hearn, even I see all these
things that people say about him.

He's been doing this thing
for a long time.

He powerlifts,
he's strong, he's just...

He's just a freak
just like Rob Terry, you know.

And I think that because
he's still affiliated,

he's so involved
with the Federation,

I don't think someone like that
would be involved

if they were doing something
that wasn't, you know, clean.

- I didn't know.
- Did Joe hook it up?

Yeah. I'm doing it. Let's do it.

It really... It doesn't matter
if you do it or don't do it

or if you believe I do it
or don't do it doesn't matter.

I didn't make my career
off of this.

What matters on,
I always say if I did it,

my career would have been over in the
'90s like everybody else's from back then.

And I can't think of anybody that
stayed consistent as long as I have.

And that's solely nutrition.

Mike hasn't competed in years,

but he remains active in a natural
bodybuilding world as a mentor

to up-and-coming talent.

After you. Come.

Most recently, he has taken
an interest in Adrian Pietrariu,

a Romanian refugee
who stays in constant shape

by competing
throughout the year.

I love this.

- Already, baby.
- Now I get to watch.

From one champ to another, huh.

- Let's throw down today, let's have some fun.
- Let's do this.

Can tell you about Adrian,
your relationship with him,

and kind of how would you assess
him as an athlete as a competitor?

Adrian's focused.
He's very precise.

He's a businessman,
that's first and foremost.

And he does it for himself but
he does not like anybody else to...

If they're gonna take stuff,
he's definitely one against them.

Well, I usually want
to be at 190,

so, uh, it gives me a lot of room to
add some more carbs much lower...

Adrian reveals the plans to finally
step on a pro stage at a Natural Olympia

and compete against top talent
like Rob and Phil.

But he's hesitant to do so.

Nice, nice.

.

Nice, nice.

One thing is, and... And the main
thing for him is to believe in himself,

um, because I know for the longest time
he didn't go to the open and I wish he had.

I couldn't understand
him still doing the...

The amateur shows
and not doing the open.

Right.

So, for me it's just...
It's a different mindset.

Um, I think he looks great.

I'm very curious to see when he actually
crosses over into the pro class how he does.

He's a great competitor
and I... I...

I hope soon that he stops
competing amateur and...

And moves into the pro because
I think he would do... Do well.

Just like you're on stage now,
come on.

A lot of people say, well, that's
not the best because they're natural.

- Uh, you know...
- Any rebuttal on that?

You know, yeah, uh, it is the best because
the other way you're actually cheating.

So, if you're cheating, is that
the best or not the best?

So, if you're throwing in things
that, you know, are ways to cheat,

does that make you the best or does
that make you just the best cheater?

- I'm going off here I'm just...
- You know what I'm saying?

- I'm... I'm... I'm asking you the questions here, baby.
- I'm telling you.

I'm telling you. I'm telling
you. That's the way I feel.

Okay.
- So, if you're using something other than yourself...

Your own best, right, so you're using
ways to cheat, then it's not your best.

When if somebody has low
testosterone or something,

and so, they're already fighting
an uphill battle?

I think you have to do the best
you can with what you have.

You know what I mean? So,
there's a 43-year-old guy at the gym.

Hey, bro,
I used to look like you.

When?

When you're 16?

I'm 41, motherfucker.

You see what I'm saying? So,
there... There's some hypocrite...

Hypocrites out there that say,
"Hey, I look like this.

I'm doing it naturally,"
but they really aren't.

Well, I am, so...

Tell me when you're feeling it.

Yeah, I like to get that pump,
you know.

- No, no, no...
- Like, you feel like to get that blood flowing there.

- Don't show it until you're ready.
- Right, right.

- I like the dryness, though.

Yeah.

See.

The Romanian blood.

- These vampires.

- Right.

Gotta love that.

This is my pro debut, man.

- Uh, I'd been...
So, wait a minute.

Biggest show in the world,
your pro debut,

- you're jumping in head to head with the greatest.
- Yeah.

Then you just said, you know
what, I'm getting in the fight this time.

I don't want to play around
with the amateurs this time.

This time I want the very best
of the best and that's it.

Well, I've been winning at all, so the next
thing is gonna be... What's the next thing?

You gotta go to the next level,
right?

I'm excited being, you know,
on the biggest stage, you know,

with all these athletes from...

The best natural athletes from all
over the world that are coming in,

- I mean, from everywhere.
- Right.

So, it's not like just
the U.S. or just...

- This is worldwide, man.
- This is worldwide.

This is the Olympics
for natural bodybuilding.

Getting ready for this show, is there
anybody that you think you need to beat

or is it you coming in
in your best wins this?

Me coming to my best
is gonna win this.

Play it up, play it up.
Show them everything.

How many shows have you done
drug tested?

So, uh, I've been competing, uh,
since 2009

and, uh, I got tested from the very
first show and every show after...

But people have... People
have scammed and... And...

And snuck past those tests before,
polygraph and urine and blood.

So, how... How is, uh...
You never been busted for it?

Yeah, there's not gonna be
busted if I'm not taking anything.

There we go.
There we go.

It's gonna be very hard to be busted when
you're not taking anything. It's like...

Is it... Is it something more to you than
just competing and doing it naturally?

- Is there something... What is it?
- Man..

You know what it is for me,
how can I eat really clean?

Chicken, rice, fish, turkey,

train hard, put all this
great stuff in my system

and then throw in a substance
that actually ruins my entire body,

uh, ruins my health, uh,
you can end up dying from it.

It sounds very hypocritical
to me.

Now is this what you
normally eat after or roughly?

Yeah, I like to keep it
pretty simple.

Um, I live alone, so for me,
simplicity is, uh, the key.

Is...

How important is nutrition
in, uh, natural bodybuilding?

So, a hundred percent nutrition,

a hundred percent the gym
and a hundred percent mindset.

So, uh, three hundred percent.

Salute.

In '89, we decided to,
uh, escape communism,

we ran over the border with my
parents, my brothers. And my...

My mother being pregnant, they caught us
over the border. They took us to, uh, jail.

My mother and the kids, we went
to, uh, house arrest and my, uh...

My father,
he went to a regular prison.

Two weeks later,
they brought us together.

We said, well, the next place where
we want to go, so, we try for the U.S.,

where the U.S., took us about
three months or so to find out

and then the U.S. accepted us.

So, which...
The U.S. was Michigan.

No, the other one...
right there. Yeah, that one.

When we came to the U.S.,

going from where we were
to coming here

was seemed like almost like
it was heaven, right,

like things
that we've never seen.

Grocery stores, they were full of
just like what do we want to eat.

Toy store, and like what are you gonna buy as a
young kid, right? We couldn't even figure it out.

Just things that we,
you know, never really had.

I thought that all the guys
that were taking drugs

that they were getting
those results by being natural,

by taking the creatine
and all this other supplements,

so, I was like, "They're taking
supplements." I was naive.

So, first of all,
I'm very competitive.

So, I don't like to lose.

I have always trained hard.
I have always loved to compete.

So, when I go to the gym, like, if you and I
train together, then I want to do more than you.

So, if you're doing 10 reps,
I want to do 12, 15 reps.

It doesn't matter who you are.

And I don't like to do
anything half-assed.

How do I beat the guy
that's following the book?

I'm gonna create my own book.

I'm gonna do my own way.

And I'm gonna push myself
so hard

because a lot of us don't know
how much we can really handle.

And I want to win
against the best in the world.

The next athlete lives on the
other side of the world in Qatar.

At six-foot-three, Christopher Oketch is
able to display an impressive physique

that could rival
Rob Terry in size.

Despite splitting his time between
strongman and bodybuilding competitions,

Chris managed to move up
to the third place in 2018.

Oh, hey.

- Let's do it, man. Let's do it.
- Yes, yes.

What do we have here?

In less than two months,

we will see if he's able to close
the gap and take Rob's title.

My trademark
is that I'm three in one.

I'm a bodybuilder, a strength
athlete and a fitness athlete.

So, in my training,
I get to train the hardest.

Maybe I'm probably the hardest,
you know,

worker in the bodybuilding
or the Mr. Olympia coming up.

And I have to train strength
events and bodybuilding.

So, in bodybuilding,
you're training muscles.

In strength events, you... You're
training movements for time.

I was born and raised in a slum
setting in the streets of Nairobi.

We had very big family,
ten siblings.

Pretty much been very active
all my life.

I chose to stay natural
because why

it's the only way that I could have
gone as far as I could in this sport.

Chris Oketch is that guy that comes
from a place that you've never been,

that you've never heard of, but he
comes out of nowhere and you're like,

"Do they all look like this?" I mean,
he's huge. The guy's enormous.

He's quiet, soft-spoken,
but imposing onstage.

I mean you... You see him and you
could be ten rows back in the crowd

and he's just larger than life.

Feeling like a new man.

Yeah.

I want to be that Natural
Olympia, the new Natural Olympia.

And I believe this given that,
you know,

from where I come from,

from where I'm at right now
and my discipline.

The idea of being able
to develop a...

A disciplined way of thinking
that shaped or had a positive effect

on your mental, spiritual,
and physical development,

the thing that I found to help me do that
was cloaked in this idea of bodybuilding.

Learning how to pose, learning
how to show your physique,

learning how to develop
your physique.

Latissimus dorsi, what is it...
This is beautiful. Wow.

Beautiful.

Bodybuilding is all about
understanding what are your weaknesses

and working those harder.

So, symmetry, size
and how cut you're able to be,

those are the three main things,
technically.

My whole life is,
is my passion is to... To...

To change bodybuilding where it really
should be, you know, a beautiful sport.

You know, this is my heritage,
you know, the history of Greece,

the history of the sports,
the Olympics and it was...

It was the beauty of the...
Of the physique, you know.

The way it was created was because
the direction of what the bodybuilding

was going in the '80s.

The people were getting freaky,
it was becoming unhealthy,

especially when the women starting
to look like men, it ruined the sport.

I wanted to go back to what
really bodybuilding should be like.

I thought it was the time for us
to start a new organization

where it's really truly given even playing
field and it's... It's a natural movement.

Ladies,
face front on the judges.

Natural bodybuilding for me
and the organization

is to promote health,
wellness, life longevity

and to give the elite natural athletes the
platform to compete and be competitive.

We have never ended
traditional female bodybuilding.

I love female bodybuilding.

We want to be able
to enjoy the...

The beautiful physique of... Of
our... Of our female athletes.

Women's figure is a very specific
subset of the category, so I think it's...

It's almost not even fair to
not talk about that piece of it

in terms of the division
as a whole.

The women's figure division

is one of the most competitive
categories in the league.

Alondra Chatman and Tiffany Stosich
are two of the division's top athletes.

Just as male competitors, both women managed
to find time to get ready for the competition

while balancing work and family.

I grew up in West Valley,
so it's kind of a rougher area.

My mom was divorced, so we
kind of didn't live in the nicest places.

We usually rented rooms
from other people

and it was just a hard time
growing up with little money.

And my mom just did what she
could to take care of us, so.

Thanks for looking after us.

So, growing up,
I was kind of like an outcast

and I feel like I didn't grow up
with the best genetics,

like I was always overweight,
I was teased.

And then as soon as I got
into lifting in high school,

I had a coach
that was a bodybuilder

and he wanted me to do
a lot of powerlifting.

So, I felt like it just helped
me learn that through hard work,

you can do anything
that you want.

So, when did you begin
your career as a bodybuilder?

Let's see. That probably
would have been around 2000,

um, that I actually
paid attention to it

as being something
that I might be able to do.

And then, I had a cancer scare,
so that kind of just pushed

everything back for me not being
able to actually get to the stage.

It's always a challenge
to balance career and family.

Being a wife and a mom,
that's definitely a job.

It's not something you can ignore
in any way and have it all function.

The gym is more than a job.
I mean, this is my passion.

And, I mean, I worked for
corporate for several years at Visa.

I left that to open a gym.
We had a small facility.

It was just me
when I first opened.

You just kind of make it work
how you can.

I've done probably
around 20 shows in my life.

I've done a lot of different federations
from, um, NPC, NGA, IFBB Elite Pro,

and then now,
I'm currently with the PNBA.

I just switched to natural
after I had kids

'cause I just realized that I couldn't
compete in the other leagues.

I can say as a woman, that every
five years or so, things change slightly.

The more that I am focused on nutrition
and staying consistent with my workouts,

the less change I see.

The strategy that I have right now is
to maintain and even slightly improve

on what I brought
to the last show.

I'm naturally a bigger girl

and I know like with being a
bigger girl, I can build muscle easily,

but it's not easy for me
to stay lean.

I have to like really watch
what I eat.

And then having hypothyroidism is
another, like, downfall with bodybuilding,

it's like my...
My metabolism is really slow,

so, it's just having to like
work even harder.

I want to walk home with again
the... The gold medal and say,

"Hey, all this work that I've
been doing for the last two years

ended up with me coming home
with that first place,"

because that's literally the biggest show
of the year and everyone wants to win.

Everyone is coming for that win.

I've always been
a hundred percent natural.

The reason why I decided
when I got into the next level

is when everyone was starting
to take steroids

and I just said
that's not what I'm gonna do

and I'm gonna prove everyone
wrong that I can do it without that.

What's a typical bodybuilder's
anabolic cycle looking like?

There's probably 2000 chemicals that have
been... That... That have been derived.

But there's about 150 that have been
produced in the world. And there's about 25.

Anadrol, Dbol, testosterone,
esters, nor-19 drugs,

DHT derivatives,
testosterone derivatives.

Those are steroids.
Then you go on to SARMs.

There's a bunch of SARMs, right,
there's about five or ten SARMs.

It sounds great for SARM, Selective
Androgen Receptor Modulator, right?

There's no question that the
future in real chemistry and science

is looking to a SARM.

The natural bodybuilders, however, are only
limited to over-the-counter supplements

such as protein, amino acids,
creatine, and vitamins.

As the result, natural physiques look
drastically different from the enhanced.

You can judge for yourself.

So, steroids,
how dangerous are they really?

When you look at the research
where performance-enhanced athletes,

especially bodybuilders, when
they get into their 40s and 50s,

they have lots of challenges
with heart, with liver, with kidneys,

with brain
and all of this function.

It has everything to do with
this so-called steal syndrome

because they're stealing energy away
from those organs to maintain that muscle.

Steroids are creating more muscle
tissue because you recover faster,

you put on more muscle than
your body would naturally allow you.

And so, the bigger you get,
artificially,

the more you steal energy
from those other organs

and you cause problems there
long term.

When you use regular steroids, I
don't care if you're 18, 19, 20 or 45,

and you gain that kind of weight,
you know what happens, Sir?

Do you understand what happens?

If you grow this, you're gonna
grow the left ventricle of the heart.

Mm-hmm. Now, you do it in four or five
months, probably microscopic changes.

You're not gonna see it
on a gross level.

You keep doing it, it's just
gonna be like anything else, Sir.

You're gonna end up
having side effects.

Natural bodybuilding aside,
bodybuilding and fitness, in general,

is about health and to... To
kind of have the understanding

that because this is a controlled
substance, that we won't study it

to prove how dangerous
or I'll go the extra mile,

or to disprove that it's not
dangerous, is dangerous in and of itself.

Is it true if you take enough
steroids and you do different things,

are you able to have a higher-level
performance? Absolutely.

For people to say you don't,
they're stupid, right?

But what it does is it can take
someone that's already training hard

and all that and doing great
make him a little bit better.

And so, they do do that,
absolutely.

But the problem is,

is they do it at a cost and we don't
know what that cost is for each individual.

I don't think that natural bodybuilders
or natural bodybuilding exists

because it's not natural to take
the body to a super muscular state.

That's not necessary
for survival.

I mean, the problem is, that
everybody thinks steroids are bad.

I don't believe they're bad.

I believe they're tools to enhance our
quality of life, to enhance our performance,

to take us places the human body
couldn't otherwise go.

Everybody's on steroids.
Everybody.

From the doctor to the lawyer, to the
judge, to the guy who plays, you know,

weekend golf, to the girl who just wants
to lose weight, everybody's taking it.

Because I was natural and still able
to be 260 pounds in my offseason,

when I went into the natural
competitions and natural organizations,

won in short teenage class
and the overall.

And when it came to the idea
of taking enhancements

to become even bigger
and better athlete,

that was, at some point,
very seductive.

A lot of times when you say you're
natural or do do drugs, especially PEDs,

it is "technically cheating".

Steroid is such an ugly word to
the world, you know what I mean?

They use it in such
a bad connotation.

When something's bad, it's...
That's on steroids, you know.

But the funny thing is
when you're sick,

when you're hurt,
if you're burnt or anything,

the first thing you take
is a steroid to get you better.

The fact that when you're on
steroids, everything changes, you know.

There's a whole feeling. It...
It's... It's a euphoric feeling.

When you take anabolic steroids,
it's a euphoric feeling.

I think anybody, athlete-wise, is tempted
to take it because it enhances everything.

Football players do it. Baseball players
do it. We know that it in all sports.

Gymnasts do it. Swimmers do it.
Um, it makes you better.

So, it really just comes down to
the individual how bad do they want it.

The use of anabolics
goes way beyond bodybuilding.

It goes beyond sports.

It's common in the
entertainment industry as well,

where stars are required to go through
radical transformations in a matter of months.

Are steroids prominent
in Hollywood? Yes.

You know, from one screen
performance to the next, you know,

some people have immense
muscle growth,

massive development in...
In that short time.

A lot of it
can't be done naturally.

Now, I've had actors in the past
or pro athletes show up

that I've never worked with that have
started alluding to questions on that

and I just can't answer him
because I just don't know.

It's just not a world that
I want to be affiliated with.

Any actor
I have ever worked with,

every film that we've
gotten them ready for,

we've all looked at it at the end
and we've been really proud of.

Whether they've had enough time or
they haven't had enough time, it's okay.

When you tighten things up,
nutritionally, from a training standpoint,

from a recovery standpoint,

and you really start tweaking things
that people just don't want to tweak,

you'd be shocked to see
what the body can do.

The times have changed.

We look at the superheroes
from 20 years ago to now.

You had, you know, you had
Arnold and Van Damme and Stallone,

now you have Robert Downey Jr.
And Chris Evans,

the image of the superhero
is not massive, muscular freaky.

You don't see guys
like me anymore.

You see more the European look,
the slim look.

Natural bodybuilding is a passion
and a source of pride for its competitors,

but it doesn't pay
all the bills.

While many athletes
stay entrenched in fitness

as personal trainers,
nutritionists, or gym owners,

others have chosen occupations
outside of the fitness industry.

Rob Terry is a firefighter for
the city of St. Petersburg, Florida.

He usually spends long shifts
on call at the firehouse.

What's up, guys?

I'd heard we
hired a professional athlete

and when I first saw him,
I was like, "That's a big dude."

So, it was kind of interesting
and he came through here

and I knew that we wanted him
as part of this family.

Since he has been here,
everybody is really tuned into him

and what he's doing and
following him and supporting him

and we're trying to watch
what he's doing.

And he's very dedicated to it
and it's... It's fun to watch.

Some hot sauce.

I'll take... You know what,
I'll take some hot sauce.

One thing that I do with personnel
when they come through is,

I sit down and talk with them and
try to find out what makes them tick,

inspire them, and motivate them,
but I can't really inspire Rob.

He... He's so disciplined
with everything that he does,

there's really not much that
I can teach him on discipline.

- Do a lot of other stations know that he's here?
- Everyone knows.

Yeah, everybody knows.

I was talking to a friend of mine
who works in Hillsborough County...

and he was telling me how much
weight he's gained and this and that.

And he was like,
"Well, I'm no Rob Terry, but..."

I'm like, "How do you even know
Rob Terry?"

He eats his cereal with coffee.

- I had a lot of questions about that.
- Yeah.

Every morning just the
whole thing of black coffee.

- Yeah, pours black coffee in his cereal and stirs it up and...
- It saves time, right?

- Well, you're following the chicken stock...
- Yes, yeah.

- With coffee right now.
- That's true.

Go get them.

Don't let the old man beat you,
Rob.

- I'll give it my best shot.

Keeping a day job,
it is difficult for us

because, you know,
if you wake up at00 a.m.

to do an hour of the workout
and 30 minutes of cardio,

that's like the first six weeks
of training.

Who's to say you're not going
to need a second training,

or that you do that seven days
a week with a newborn kid.

Um, if I win a bodybuilding show in
the Naturals, even if I do, you know,

the major world championship, what am
I winning, five, seven grand if I'm lucky.

So, it's one of those real double-edged
swords that what makes lasting pros

is their ability to handle
that type of stressor.

Early in the year, I just went through
a whole bunch of, you know, stuff.

My dad passed away. My
mother had passed the year prior.

So, I was trying to,
you know, deal with him

because I was going
back and forth.

He lived in Philadelphia

and I was just kind of helping care for
him in the hospital, hospital and hospice.

And after he passed away, being the
oldest, I had to take care of all of his,

you know, things that have
to do when you die, obviously.

So, there's a lot of stress. And then I
was having to watch my kids full time

and take them back and forth
to school and go to work.

I had to try to pick them up
from school one day early

and try to also get a funeral
arrangement done and I wrecked my car.

I had a SUV wrecked. It was like
everything was just kind of spiraling.

And then about a month later,
after the funeral, I lost my job.

So, it was like,
"Wow, what is going on?"

I just felt kind of spiritually attacked and
everything in life that I thought was so important

kind of seemed a little bit
less important.

And now that I have
this opportunity with this job,

I feel a lot more convicted
to work a lot harder

and to just realize
that I'm very lucky,

very blessed
to have the things that I have

and be able
to be financially secure,

'cause I'd never would even
thought about competing, you know,

in a competition coming up soon
in two weeks.

That was like the farthest thing
from my mind.

Even just going to the gym was...
It was a struggle and challenge.

But I'm just really shocked
that I'm in this position.

So, did my best
to get in shape for the show,

but right now, uh, first
things first, going to work.

Hello, ladies. Good morning.

Uh, oops, let me put my
hat back on.

As you can tell, it's Halloween.

- Hello.
- Hi.

And this is the temptation that I
have to go through every single day.

We actually dress
like this every day.

When you see him in his short sleeves
and you see these muscles bulging out,

it's like you got to go and then ask
further exactly what it is that he's doing.

Then he was eating
all this strange food.

So, we knew there was something
behind all that.

So, I'd get to see some of the other
people that he's competing against

and so, they get to see
the caliber.

And the fact that it's all natural,
you know, it is a big deal, right?

The extent of someone that has a full-time
job, that is technically challenging

but still somehow finds time to compete
at that level is not just impressive

but it's also very
inspirational, motivational.

Is it difficult to combine
bodybuilding, like, competing

and also, you know,
being a full-time agent?

So, I mean, it is challenging.

Um, I mean, sometimes I wish that I had a
job like most of my fellow competitors do,

you know, in the gym
where I'm in the gym all day

and in between clients I can,
you know, knock out,

you know,
my workout or whatever.

But I worked cartels, which was...
Which was exciting, exciting jobs.

- Investi... Like investigation?
- Yeah, investigation, yep.

Uh, then I moved on
to a gang violent crime squad.

So, kidnappings, uh, murder-for-hire, uh,
all that... Those type of violent gangs.

It was my... Kind of my thing.

I knew bodybuilders
that worked blue-collar jobs,

tracklayers, carpenters,
plumbers.

They worked 10 hours, 12 hours,
and then you know what,

they made their way to the gym
and they trained like animals.

When you take, you know,
anabolic steroids or drugs,

they're mainly taken so that
it helps you recover quickly.

You're putting something foreign in
your body that is a recovery agent,

so, you can continue to not
only work out longer and harder,

but it's helping you to heal up so you
can recover from the muscle breakdown

and then you can go ahead and workout
again and work out heavier and stronger.

And as a natural athlete, you don't
have those type of things that you can use

so, you have to be smart
with your nutrition,

your training, to where you
choose a body part that, you know,

you train it one day, but you got to give
enough time to recover and get enough sleep.

Half an inch to three-quarter
of an inch on your arms today.

Being a champion and holding the
title requires constant maintenance

both in and out of the gym.

Oh, yeah, I feel that.

Usually, when you're training with
weight, towards like rep six to eight,

you get that crazy burn,
fat pump and everything else.

With this, it starts from rep
one, so it's as soon as you...

You touch that
and Chris says "Go",

man, it's intense straight off
the bat, you know what I mean?

But, uh, it's all worth it.

No pain no gain, right?

The back and forth padding,
the bicep and tricep,

so that was a prime example
of a loaded stretch both ways.

So, he was getting the best
of both worlds at the same time.

So, I can tell Rob's central
nervous system is really healthy.

He can handle a lot more current than the
normal person that starts on the machine.

Sometimes there's a...
There's a primer phase.

I was able to skip the primer
phase and take him right into training.

So, uh, it was really impressive.
I.. expected nothing less.

Keeping the blood flow,
that's diff, uh...

Is that different?

There's no... A paper cut would
be deadly right now, my friend.

- Keep that paper away from me.
- All right.

So, this is just a pattern work
using thermal imaging.

So, sympathetic nervous system,
parasympathetic.

They both go like this
all day long.

What ends up happening is if
one's high and it's always revved.

That means he's not gonna heal
like he should.

To the center and to the left.

Push it, push it, push it.
To the center.

Keeping him strong here will
keep him strong rest of his life.

Good, let's see what we got.

Let's go do some scraping.
Let's do it, the fun stuff.

Which side you want to start?

Ah, we'll just start
with left side.

Left side.

It can be pretty painful
and he knows that, you know,

I don't want him
to lighten up on me.

We talked about that at the beginning,
you know, we... We go, you know, so. Yeah.

There were some people
I got to, you know, even my...

What I call my desk jockeys,
I got to go light.

They can't take the level
of pain that he can,

but the more that this is done,
A, the easier it is,

but the, B, you just get kinda
used to it and by it's cool.

There's release.

Because with some people when
I do, it lasts like 10 days.

- They get like, well, I did your lat what, a couple of weeks ago?
- Mm-hmm.

That thing was magenta, fire-red, like
real bad like, but he also heals quicker.

Between his eating, between all the other
stuff he's doing, he's recovering really fast.

People will eat like crap
and that takes a lot longer.

Sweatin' It

You and me, both.

I'm doing all the work here.

All right.

.

- Holy snap!

Yeah, look at that.

Chiropractic is more of a mechanical,
biomechanical balancing of muscles

and joints, the spine,
your facade as we see it.

But really, that facade is held
up by the structure behind it

which is all of your cells,
all of your organs

and all of what makes
that area of your life healthy.

And so, by me using
the science that I learned,

I am able to keep my cells functioning
more optimally so that my facade,

which is my physical body,

can be used further down the
road without running out of gas.

So, that tells me
there's something going on.

That you're probably tighter
from this side, okay?

There's something happening
in here we got to work on.

So, that way, you are making sure
you're standing completely upright.

Everything else from this view
looks perfect.

You... You have to maintain
your facade which are...

Is your body from the internal
cellular level and when you can...

Can maintain
that inner workings,

you can continue to advance
and enhance your physique.

We call it mature muscle.

And muscularity
comes mainly from, uh, age.

If you have that muscularity when
you flex, you definitely see it come out.

The conditioning side of that muscularity
is when you diet and you train long enough

that you're actually making
your skin thin enough

to where you're able to see
those extra striations coming out.

So, you can see some older guys
that may have more muscularity,

but then if the younger guy has more
conditioning and you see stuff popping out,

it'll make them look more muscular
and you see more definition.

So, like you should be able
to see like an anatomy chart.

That's kind of how
I would look at it.

You're trying your best
to look like an anatomy chart.

I think that's the kind
of distinction between the two.

Over time, the body likes...
Will adapt, right?

And epigenetics, you're able to
actually control your genetics

to a point by your environment
and your stimulus.

And if you consistently
stimulate the muscles

and they get used
to working out often,

then over time, you get those
larger mature muscles

that, um, is usually a little
bit older group

that you'll see
in the natural world

that really come out
because of the muscle maturity.

And it's just that constant, uh, consistent work
that they put in year after year after year.

And in Rob's case the, you know,
five to seven days a week,

pretty much his whole life,
you know,

working out at his level and being
blessed with some good genetics and the...

And the right training and
nutrition, he's been able to pull it off.

Three hundred grams of this.
This is every day.

As competition draws closer,

athletes begin dropping fat by
restricting and adjusting their diets

to visually enhance look
and size of the muscle.

2 Grams off.

Where I am right now
with my prep,

I would just sparingly space
my meals throughout the day

because I have such an early start,
you got to think it's gonna be a long day.

From-00 a.m.
to potentially-00 p.m.

or even later,
depending on when we have calls,

I just need to space out my food
throughout the day.

Tomorrow is when that happens.

For now, we keep it
about eight meals a day.

Three weeks before a show,

then have to eliminate
some things out.

So, I'd have chicken
with, uh, less condiments.

You have to have
a calorie surplus, not deficit.

So, you have to eat enough calories
and get the right macronutrients

so, you're building muscle,
getting enough protein,

but you're also having enough carbohydrates
and fats to cushion your muscles,

cushion your tendons, so when you're working
heavy, you know, you're not getting injured.

In bodybuilding, you have genetics,
you have work, dieting, and chemicals.

Which is the most important
in your opinion?

It is the food. You ask any
professional bodybuilder

from Jay Cutler to Ronnie Coleman
to Dexter Jackson to Phil Heath,

they'll all tell you... Everyone will
tell you the same thing, it's the food.

Genetic is number one.
Okay, genetics is number one.

I don't care who you are or how hard
you train, I mean, the genetics is supreme.

Hard work, genetics have a huge,
probably one and two over anything

because a lot of people
are gonna just take drugs

and still look like shit,
you know what I mean?

So, you do need the hard work
and you definitely need the genetics.

So then comes the... Then comes
probably the drug part.

Everyone always says it's, you know,
80-percent nutrition, 20-percent training

and I always kind of go
against that

and I say
it's a hundred percent mental

because I've seen people who
are not genetically gifted individuals

do some pretty incredible things
with their body.

And I feel like it really
just comes down to discipline.

What makes
lasting pros isn't genetics.

The most important piece of
bodybuilding is a frame of mind

and the frame of mind needs
to be on season, off season,

at the show,
after the show, on social media.

Like all of these things will
make you the best bodybuilder.

Whatever he hits, he destroys.

Can you kind of explain the, uh,
bodybuilding in a nutshell,

meaning that the cycle
leading up to the stage?

Meaning that you have to bulk up,
then you have to cut, deplete yourself.

Anytime you're getting ready
for a show,

what you want to do is take an off
period, uh, so you can put on muscle.

And during that time, that 12 weeks,
you'll raise your cardio periodically,

you'll cut the calories
periodically

and then just keep trying to recover
and retain all the muscle you possibly have

because at that stage, it's hard to put
on muscle because you're in a deficit.

So, especially for the natural bodybuilders,
it's the toughest thing in the world.

I'm drinking
my two gallons of water,

maybe the day before I'll go to
maybe a gallon and three-quarters,

um, may be the lowest,
a gallon and a half,

but I don't really cut all
my water,

where before, I used to do
all those different experiments.

Some people want to be
very, very, very cut.

Some people want to have
a little more size, right?

So, the more cut you try to get,
the less of a size you will have.

Keeping in mind, I'm pretty
much depleted right now.

Yeah, so,
I'll start peaking tomorrow.

Tomorrow I do my last cardio
in the afternoon,

then boom, try to fill up,
get ready for Saturday.

So, right now, as you can see me
packing, uh, getting ready for States.

Flight's leaving
tomorrow morning.

So, this... This is like just a
little stuff that I'm taking with me.

The competitors arrive
to Vegas tired, exhausted,

depleted of water
and hungry for victory.

They check into the hotel rooms and wait.

The staff prepare pavilion 11
at the Rio Hotel & Casino

for the next two days
of the competitions.

It's difficult not to compare PNBA's
Natural Olympia to the IFBB's Mr. Olympia.

Aside from sharing
similar names,

both competitions represent the best
in each league, the top of the mountain.

But considering the production that
goes into the Mr. Olympia contest,

it's evident that PNBA
has a long way to go

if they eventually want to
catch up the popularity and scale.

The PNBA has a big roster
of competitors,

but almost no fans aside from
family members and friends.

The Natural Olympia
top winner gets $5000,

which is roughly one percent of
Mr. Olympia's $400,000 prize money.

I wish everybody comes
and works with us.

All the other
natural organizations,

I want them to be close with us
and work together.

I... I'd like to see that because that way
no one can deny natural bodybuilding.

But we don't have the sponsors.

But if we all unite
and work together,

INBA, PNBA will always grow
and become better.

You should marry a federation
that marries the idea

that you've hit
their judging criteria.

And as much as we want to admit that
bodybuilding is a very, um, subjective sport,

the subjectivity between federations
is also a very subjective thing.

I married the federation that
treated me as an athlete the best

and I married the mentality
of natural bodybuilding.

For me, I believe that any athlete
that really wants to push themselves

in terms of their boundaries

and really stick
to the ethos of,

"Look, I don't care
how many people say it's a lie.

I'll take a blood test. I'll take
a hair test. I'll take a urine test.

I'll take whatever test you want to prove
that I'm natural," the INBA was it for me.

So, every show
that I participate in,

if I am selected
and even shows that I am at,

even if I am not participating, I am
eligible to be selected to be drug tested.

We do in season
and out of season testing.

No other natural organization does
that. Only INBA, PNBA does that.

So, every year, - W.A.D.
- A comes up with the new standards.

So, what are the banned substances
and the INBA, PNBA test their athletes.

It is pretty different
from show to show.

They can either do it
before registration,

whereas you're registering
they'll say,

"Okay, we're gonna go to the bathroom
and we're going to do an A&D sample

and they'll have a, you know, a
representative from the federation

that'll be there in the bathroom
watching you pee into a cup

and, you know, you fill out
the whole form, the...

The form that's for the W.A.D.A
compliancy that's going to go to the labs.

We have two different labs, and,
um, once those are turned in, you know,

you'll get your results back
and, hopefully, you pass.

- I'll start with you.

You don't want to fail
a test in this organization

because of social media
these days.

There's something called
"The Wall of Shame."

And you are posted
on the Wall of Shame.

You are banned from competing
in this organization

and it's out there
for everybody to see.

So, you can come to our website and
you can see exactly if somebody failed,

banned for life, boom, boom, boom,
here it is, everything it's all about it.

Guys that are doing substances
that are taking steroids,

they're not gonna give credit
to the natural guys.

They don't want to because they want
everybody to believe that that is the way,

that they are doing it
naturally.

But don't come into my world,
not give me credit

and then say you're natural
because then I don't respect you either.

I can't respect somebody
that's lying.

Is it possible to beat the test?

I'm glad that we use a urine test, I will
say, uh, because that's a pure system.

I would... I would... you know,
but from the competitors' side,

if they were prepared, um,
certainly, they could beat it.

There really isn't, um, a way to really
prove that someone is lifetime natural,

if that's your question, or if they
were on five or ten years ago.

Yeah, but if we get back to Rob
Terry, personal opinion is that

there would be some parameters
if he was on the steroids

that, uh, would've been needed to, you know,
build size, if that's what got him big.

And there would be some...

Some effects that others might
have been able to erase over time

that it'd be tough
for a Rob Terry.

Again, in these natural shows, there's
a lot of guys who did steroids for years,

then come off, and if they're off
for five, six years, "I'm natural."

To me, you're natural
if you've never taken anything.

The testing is... Is a joke.

I go back to what I'd said a few
minutes ago, everybody's taken it.

You going to say goodbye?
Daddy is going to the gym.

- Okay, I love you.
- I love you.

- Have fun.
- Bye.

With one day
before the main competition,

the athletes take advantage
of their time with a final workout.

At such low body-fat percentage,
they use lighter weights to prevent injury.

Staying relaxed, yet, mentally
prepared is equally important.

Stress can make the body unpredictable
and have a drastic impact on placings.

While the other professional
athletes get ready for tomorrow's show,

Adrian shocks everyone with a
decision to compete on an amateur stage

for the last time,
before his pro debut tomorrow.

Um, I'm going to be competing
as a amateur,

uh, my fifth show
so far this year,

which is a little bit
of a challenge,

but, you know, I'm kind of
enjoying the challenge.

You've never seen someone
go and win an amateur Olympia,

like cleaning the whole house, meaning you
winning your division and other division

and you're against everybody
else in all their divisions

and then the next day go
and... And do it in pros.

Like you normally win,

then you get invited to go to pros
and then years later, you do that.

I mean, he's really gonna
do this back to back.

I hear you say these times. Let's
keep it under wraps. You got time, man.

Now, there's amateurs that win
PNBA pro qualification quite often,

but that type of athlete
doesn't want to be pro.

They want to compete
whenever they want,

wherever they want, they just
want to remain amateur.

It's crazy. I mean, look at Adrian, all
these years, he's been an amateur athlete.

It's... It's a mindset.
You have to be ready and it's...

There's no going back, really, I
mean, once you turn professional.

This means Adrian will have to be in
peak condition for two nights in a row,

a delicate process that involves
limiting your water and food intake

to be at a very low
body fat percentage.

This process is grueling
to do for one evening.

Doing it for the entire
weekend could be dangerous.

You know, two days out from
the show, you look really skinny,

you know, kind of like stringy,
if you will.

If you front-load then you'll... At the
beginning of the week, you'll put a lot of carbs

and then you'll kind of cycle
them down and still try...

And your muscles would be
fuller at the end of the week.

If you deplete and then back
load, then you're going...

You're gone
from basically nothing

and at the end, you're throwing
them all in to kind of fill out the muscle.

Like a peak week can't fix a bad
prep, but a peak week can ruin them.

From Italy.

We got a repeat champion
here in the gold.

Winner of the Men's Open Natural
Bodybuilding for the Natural Olympia...

Adrian establishes his dominance
in the amateur division once again

with another
first-place victory.

Some may call it a selfish victory as he
has been a pro caliber athlete for a while

and, yet, he feels satisfied.

But tomorrow, another battle is
looming and this time against the big guys.

It is the best a
body's gonna look right on stage

and it's the worst
the person feels.

And it's the most unhealthy
as well.

The water depletion and all
those things and playing with it

and playing
with your carbohydrates and...

And toying with how your body functions
off of insulin and all that kind of stuff,

it's... It's a crazy thing
to look that beautiful...

- Right.
- For a split second.

You really take your body to
a place that it's uncomfortable

and where it really
shouldn't be,

kind of how I was for the last
five days, for instance.

I mean, hormones are completely
out of whack, I'm cold all the time,

my nails are blue, everything
is messed up, you know,

and you're not supposed to take
your body to those places.

All right, we have
our Pro Men's Open Bodybuilding,

what everybody's
been waiting for.

He's a serious threat in
this lineup to Rob Terry's title.

His name is Christopher Oketch.
Christopher.

Today, I'm feeling very, very good,
feeling happy and ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow's gonna be... It's gonna
be a fight. It's gonna be a big fight.

Another serious threat to Rob
Terry's Natural Olympia title

comes by the way
of Philip Ricardo, Jr.

I know that in order to stay,
you know, within striking distance

and to be healthy and live
a long healthy lifestyle,

which is what natural
bodybuilding is all about

and what the PNBA,
INBA is about,

I know that I need to just stay
within striking range

just in case
these opportunities come up,

like competing against
the best in the world here, so.

I mean, this is the deepest
lineup of pro men bodybuilders

that the Natural Olympia
has seen

in the seven years that
I've been covering the show.

So, now I ask Rob Terry,

what kind of package you're bringing this
year to compete with these new names?

I'm here because I set
a challenge to myself.

This means everything.
This is the Natural Olympia.

I am the reigning, defending,
Natural Mr. Olympia Champion.

"Reigning, defending".

And I am gonna do everything
that I can to maintain that

and I will put on a fight with
every single one of you tomorrow.

So, you guys can file off
stage now. Thanks, guys.

We notice that Adrian is absent
during the press conference.

We try to check in on him,
but his reply was brief.

Heavenly Father, thank You for
this beautiful Saturday morning,

this event that's coming up for
us that you've just blessed us with,

being here is a very special day
no matter what the outcome is,

celebrating together, Father.

We're so grateful to have
this beautiful team for me

and that You blessed us to
continue this great relationship.

And, Father, we just are looking
forward to a special day

and a special evening and the
rest of our time here in Las Vegas.

And just, thank You,
for just being You, Father.

You are just so great, awesome and just
the God of the universe and we love you.

- In Jesus' Holy Name we pray. Amen.
- Amen.

You ready for this?

- He's born ready.
- You're ready for this, right, Mason?

You got your little firetruck;
you got your snacks.

- Come on.
- Got the food.

Let's do this.

As the men apply tan to look defined
under the bright lights of the stage,

it's show time for Alondra
and Tiffany.

Come on out, sweeties.

.

USA.

234, Netherlands.

385, USA.

356, Alondra Chatman, USA.

257, Tiffany Stosich, USA.

Welcome to the stage, ladies.
Welcome to the Natural Olympia.

The best in the world, ladies
and gentlemen, are right here in...

For all of the judging, there is a judging
criteria that is specific to the INBA PNBA.

You do muscularity, um,
conditioning and symmetry.

Um, so, they're all judged
in two different rounds.

Basically, their first round is
when you do your quarter turns.

So, when you're doing your quarter
turn to your right, quarter turn right,

that's when they look
at your balance

to see if your upper body and a
lower... Your lower body, you know,

are balanced and look...
I mean, match up.

If you have skinny legs then you're
probably going to get marked down.

So, they give you certain poses that will
help you judge those different criteria.

And a lot of times,
to be honest with you,

is not just about that because
you're not always doing a point system,

but it's who's the best physique
on stage.

Well, then turn to your right.

All right, I'm gonna call
out the top five ladies.

I want to congratulate all of you for
gracing the Natural Olympia stage.

It's very, very difficult.

You're all top athletes in the
world, here at the Natural Olympia.

257, Tiffany Stosich, USA.

Both Tiffany and Alondra are called
out as two of the top five finishers.

Tiffany takes home fifth place.

State USA.

As the rest of the medals are awarded,
Alondra is the last woman standing.

227, Aisha Kimball, USA.

Your winner, gold medal,

$5000 cash prize,

number 356 Alondra Chatman USA,

Pro Figure Open Natural Olympia.

A couple, uh, of gold medals
here today,

so, one for Evening Gown and one
for Pro Figure Open, so, amazing.

Twenty-two ladies on stage,
a lot of good competition.

Um, I've been training hard
all year for this and we did it.

We made it.
First place, so, oh, my God!

I am... I don't even have words.

Without any notice, Adrian
is spotted backstage again

fixing his tan in the final
moments before the competition.

With a change of heart,
he's finally ready.

He decided to step on a stage
against the best in the world.

Yesterday,
I was very like, like going,

I'm nervous and emotional and like, "Oh,
my God! You know, am I gonna win again?

Am I... you know, what's...
What's going to happen?" Right?

So, I thought I wasn't gonna do
today, but then I said,

"You know, something,
I need to be here.

I'm here and, uh,
might as well just go all out

and, uh, go with the big guys and
just see what I'm made of," you know.

I mean, I won everything, so
what else am I gonna do, you know?

I can go back and do that again, or
I can go to the next level like, right?

So, this is the next level
for me. So, here I am.

- Good to see you. How have you been?
- Good to see you, man.

- How are you doing?
- You too. Good.

- Really good.
- How you feeling?

- How is it going, man?
- Going well. Will. Very nice to meet you.

So, like,
how are you feeling today?

I feel really good, you know.

I feel... like I say that the battle
against myself for 16 weeks was a success.

Um, that's something I can control
every single day, every single minute.

Um, I just feel I did
the best I can.

- Today is... is a... I'm... I'm... I'm up against 30 guys.
- Thirty guys.

I want to say that's one of the
biggest natural bodybuilding lineups

- that this organization might have ever had.
- Right.

Um, that's what I've been
told, so it...

It's gonna be a huge battle from... From
start to finish and when we get up there,

you know,
we're all gonna have to work.

Well, listen.
Good luck with everything.

Hey, I appreciate it.
Thank you so much. Thank you.

- Rob, right here.
- Thank you.

Rob Terry, here.

- 171.
- Right here.

Ooh. Let's fucking go.
Let's do this.

Matt Porosky, USA.

142, Jonas Notter, Germany.

347, Christopher Oketch, Kenya.

345, Robert Terry, USA.

Ladies and gentlemen,
this is your PNBA league,

Pro Men's Open
Natural Bodybuilding.

- Let's rock.

All right, gentlemen,
just listen.

Can we make sure the judges
can see your number?

118, if you could lead those
gentlemen to the blue line, please.

Follow him off, gentlemen.

Behind the blue line,
the blue line, my friend.

Gentlemen, step back
from the red carpet, please.

Looking good, baby.

Gentlemen, if I call your name
and number, you are in the top five.

The 24 men on stage get
narrowed down to the top five.

184, Tommy Thompson, USA.
Come on back.

305, Robert Terry, USA.
Come on back.

373, Shevon Cunningham, USA.

322, Philip Ricardo, USA.

276, Chad Havunen, USA.

Adrian falls short of the top
five with a sixth-place finish.

Christopher goes from the last year's third
place finish down to the disappointing ninth.

They are both given participation
medals, same as the other competitors.

On this stage,
every athlete gets a medal.

Bodybuilding is such a subjective
sport and I think that, you know,

over time, um, there are favorites
that are... That are generated,

you know, and that... Just like in any
other organization as well that, you know,

the judges are like all that,
you know, that's... That's the guy.

I mean, he's... He's gonna win unless
somebody else comes... Shows up and beats him.

The judges dictate a lot. It's
people's own opinions of it.

It's very superficial, you know.

You look at it and you... You might
like blondes; I might like brunettes.

Let's talk about bodybuilding
in general.

The subjectivity of even what
you're looking at is always there.

So, still then, getting a bad feedback
from a judge gives you a bad frame of mind.

So, what makes you a good bodybuilder
is your ability to take what they've said,

take out the bias, but understand
that the actual judging criteria

and change what you're doing to come
back to look like what they want to see

because, ultimately, they are the
ones who were gonna hand you the title.

In this sport,
it can be very subjective.

So, even though, someone
may have like the great balance

and maybe even good
conditioning,

there could be someone who's,
obviously, bigger, a better poser,

and presents
their physique better.

So, presentation is important,
even though,

it's not specifically judged
as far as points are concerned,

but if you know
how to present your body,

you can sometimes beat out someone
who may have better genetics, you know,

better symmetry, better balance,
better muscularity.

Final five posing routines of the
Natural Olympia with number 273,

Shevon Cunningham, USA.

The top five athletes take the stage
one last time for individual posing.

It's a privilege to be
selected as the best.

It's what every competitor
trains for.

Sidelines here, right on the wings,
right in front of the podium, please.

Shevon Cunningham,
Chad Havunen, Philip Ricardo,

Robert Terry, Tommy Thompson,
top five in the world,

PNBA league, Pro Men's
Natural Bodybuilding Open.

Thompson, USA, congratulations.

Congratulations.

273, Shevon Cunningham, USA.

Rob and Phil
are the last two men on stage.

The next name called
will be second place.

Second place, and a silver medal

and $2000 cash prize.

305, Robert Terry, USA.

Your champion,
first place, gold medal,

bumped up to a $8000 cash prize,

your champion PNBA league,
Pro Men's Bodybuilding Open,

the pinnacle of natural sports,
Natural Olympian,

number 322, Philip Ricardo, USA.

- Yes!
- Congratulations.

Oh, my God!

So, what was going
through your head

when they announced Rob Terry,
second place?

I just was already looking
forward to just being humble

and accepting second place,
honestly,

because I just, you know,
I've seen him,

I've seen what he's done
for the past couple of years.

I just didn't feel like...
I... I don't know,

I didn't have the confidence
that I was going to be able to do it

even though people were
saying stuff. I've heard that before,

you know, and I look
at other bodybuilders,

I'm just trying to put myself...
The respect that I have for him.

Um, so, if I had gotten second,

I was just ready just to be
prepared, emotionally, to accept it,

congratulate and hug him,
all that good stuff.

But for me to...
Yeah, it just didn't make sense.

The number I was expecting
to hear is 322.

Get my second place.
Be happy with that. But wow!

- Chocolate bar, first thing.
- Yeah.

Absolutely.

Make them toes wiggle.

You're free.

So, what do you think... I mean, in
today's world of bodybuilding, right,

what can be done to make
natural bodybuilding more popular

and more, you know what I mean, more
spread as opposed to enhanced bodybuilding?

What made the original
bodybuilding great?

Do you think it was Arnold
Schwarzenegger's physique?

- I don't think so.
- Well, he put it on the map originally back in the...

Yeah, but what do you...
What... What put it on the map?

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Muhammad
Ali, those personalities...

- Mm.
- That's a different level.

And that's what... That's
what started bodybuilding.

So, for somebody to make natural bodybuilding,
top notch, you need that personality.

- You need... You need those stars.
- It can't be the body.

Yeah, you gotta have the stars.

I know that people want to go,
"No, it's... It's the body, it's the body."

Arnold... Arnold did it
because of the personality.

- Thanks, man...
- No, bro.

- For the interview, man. Appreciate it, man.
- Absolutely.

Nobody can deny
that Arnold Schwarzenegger

brought bodybuilding
to the mainstream,

but the sport has grown in his absence
as well and became its own niche.

But is it true is one
larger-than-life personality,

all that natural bodybuilding
needs to reach the next level?

After Arnold left the pro
stage, Lee Haney showed us

that the boundaries of human
physique could go much further.

Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman
continued the evolution,

growing in size while managing
to stay conditioned,

eventually, creating a new
term, the mass monster.

Many people today refer to
bodybuilding as a freak show.

And whether that's negative
or positive,

there's one fact
that can't be ignored,

more and more people
are tuning in.

So, is Mike, right?

Does natural bodybuilding need a
personality to make it successful?

Can bodybuilding rely solely
on the beauty within the sport

or does it need
to be more than that?

Do we need it
to be a freak show?

I'm thankful that we're getting some
different, uh... Some different things

that potentially could create a platform
for us to be, you know, more widely known,

uh, but even in the IFBB, if you look at the
disparity between them, the money that...

That the open bodybuilders make
and that men's physique guys make,

those men's physique guys
look phenomenal.

They're bodybuilders
in board shorts, but...

But they... They're not
the open bodybuilding guys.

Those are the guys
that draw that...

I mean, they're...
They're mass monsters.

They're like...
They have that absolute wow.

I'm... I'm hopeful that we're able to,
you know, kind of find our niche in...

In the sport in that, you know,
that we can draw eighth, you know,

a fraction
of what the IFBB draws, but...

But, you know, it's gonna be... That's a
tough... That's a tough mountain to climb.

For every time I meet
an athlete that tells me,

"Hey, man, I am the so-and-so, so-and-so
champion of such and such and such,

this year or that year.
I won..."

"Well, what is the name
of the organization?"

I always ask them what the name
of the organization is.

They're afraid to say
the name of the organization

because there's also built
within that the distinction of,

"Well, I'm a natural.
I'm an unenhanced athlete."

And that's why whether...
Whatever way you...

Whatever side of the fence you fall
on, there's no reason to really shun or...

Or... Or discredit or, you know,
I think it all has value.

I think it really does
have value.

I don't dislike people who use
performance-enhancing drugs.

The only thing I care is that if... If
that's your standard of competition,

then there are competitions for
you and I would love to go see them,

I'd love to patron them and I'd love
to be your coach or your supporter.

This is time right now for
natural bodybuilding to grow.

This is the time where everybody's seeing
that health is the most important thing.

Natural Pro Bodybuilding
provides an option

for athletes
who want to be competitive

without the possible risks that come
with performance-enhancing drugs,

but it still has a long way to
go to reach wide recognition

and, ultimately, it will be up to the
audience to decide what's more popular.

But for these athletes, being natural
stands way beyond recognition,

social media hype,
or even mainstream success.

My pleasure, my friend.

What time is it?

Cool.

Boom.

You did that, champ.