by Christian Duque
Let’s cut to the chase without much of a preamble. This whole article may seem to be about an innocuous kick of a luggage bag at the airport, but I feel it’s a lot more than that. It involves two top Olympians less than three weeks from the Superbowl of Bodybuilding, the 2025 Mr Olympia. The sport has wanted to make these guys rivals for years. Although the sport discourages negativity and wants to foster a positive environment, that’s the goal, but the reality is that pettiness sells tickets.
If Nick Walker and Derek Lunsford go at it in the press, that’s going to create hype. If one guy trashes the other and that guy hits back, now we have a feud. Take the Kai Greene – Phil Heath rivalry. These guys hated each other. Don’t let them rewrite history today. Simply put, the animosity that built up between these two culminated at the 2014 Olympia. At that contest The Predator and The Gift exchanged elbows and ultimately got in each other’s face. Despite Big Steve yelling at them to split up, the damage had been done. The rivalry created tremendous buzz among the sport’s fanbase and successfully managed to get NBC not to run the show. Other rivalries include that between King Kamali and Craig Titus, Rhoden and Heath, and now, quite possibly Lunsford and Walker. This article runs deeper than whether or not Nick Walker kicked Derek Lunford’s bag at the airport while he ate his boring chicken and rice out of a public container. Nick didn’t even make eye contact with Derek.
Could this event have been staged? Was it a joke or maybe something personal? Whatever the motivation may have been, I suspect it’s a preview of what’s to come.
Nick Walker was supposed to be Mr O awhile ago. Some argue that his time passed after he bailed on two consecutive Olympias. Before Nick returned to the stage in Pittsburgh, most people had all but written him off. Everything was looking like he’d hit the stage in Pittsburgh, win in commanding form in front of all the bodybuilding brass, and then have the rest of the year to prepare for the Olympia. The Mutant had no idea that fresh off his big win in Columbus, OH, that Derek would throw his hat in Pittsburgh I mean he just beat reigning Mr O Samson Dauda. Surely that was the last we’d see of Lunsford until the Olympia. Then all of a sudden Derek’s subtle hinting became an open commitment to compete in the first-ever pro open bodybuilding portion of the Pittsburgh Pro. I’m sure Nick, at some point, considered dropping out. Instead of partaking in an otherwise easy win, he was now going to face a former Mr O who just beat the defending Mr O at the second biggest show in the world. I bet Nick was banking (if not praying) that he would win. Pittsburgh was supposedly make or break for Walker. And then his worst fear came true. From the moment Derek took the stage at the President’s show, it was obvious he was going to get the win. You could hear it from the audience, see it all over the message boards, and observe the interactions of hardcore fans on Facebook groups, Reddits, and Instagram. Sure, there were some folks who gave the win to Walker, but most sane/sober bodybuilding fans believed Lunsford won.
I agree with “Sugar” Shawn Ray, the most photographed bodybuilder in FLEX Magazine history, when he stated on numerous podcasts that “it wasn’t close” between Walker and Lunsford in Pittsburgh. And that’s because it wasn’t. Lunsford dusted Walker at around 85%. If Nick Walker – purportedly – at his best couldn’t beat Derek at 85%, could you imagine the level of frustration Nick must have been engulfed in. Up until Derek threw his hat into the ring, people weren’t talking about if Nick would win, but by how much he’d bury the competition. Everyone was going raving for Nick. After Derek dusted Nick, he then hunkered down to prepare for the O. NIck’s big comeback was foiled. All that talk and all that hype just to take 2nd seemed like a colossal letdown. He then went to the NY Pro and nearly got beat by William “The Conqueror” Bonac. I had Bonac winning, just like I had Martin Fitzwater beating Nick at the 2024 NY Pro, but I digress.
The fact is Nick is pissed at Derek. Derek has no reason to care about a guy who’s not in the Mr Olympia club. Derek is far too concerned with real threats in Samson Dauda, Hadi Choopan, and Brandon Curry. Curry is always a threat, even if few people are talking about him these days. Look at William. There’s a guy who pretty much everyone had written off – and he returned, firing on all cylinders. Then, of course, there’s legitimate contenders like Andrew Jacked and my personal favorite, Martin Fitzwater. In my opinion, Walker is a paper tiger. He is, in fact, larger than life with the fans, but he’s a paper tiger against top talent.
Does anyone honestly believe that Walker’s physique bests aesthetic/symmetrical guys like Samson Dauda or Andrew Jacked? Under any other circumstances if I were presented with this question I’d have a hard time not busting out in laughing That said, there have been Mr Olympias in years’ past that didn’t have the prettiest physiques. Not all champions are aesthetically-pleasing, but it makes sense when they are because bodybuilding is a sport that should reward that, right? But beyond not having a pretty physique, Nick is just on another level (and not in a good way). His nickname is actually a fitting one. He’s a freak, a mutant. Is that what we want for Mr O? I know I don’t.
We’re 80% into the article and we haven’t really talked much about the kick of the bag at the airport because that’s not really the point. What we are seeing is a less quality competitor trying to get noticed by a far superior one. This is why Nick constantly jabs at Derek – he’s scared of him. It’s obvious. So whether Nick was trying to be a dick or he was kidding, it doesn’t really matter. Nick Walker thrives on the drama. He needs the attention. I highly doubt this was staged. I’d bet it wasn’t, but notice how unphased Derek is. If it had been staged, these guys would’ve gotten into it. If you were Derek would you get mad? What would the point be? You have a near 300lb guy eating out of Tupperware and kicking your bag at the airport. It’s weak. It’s sad. So Derek walks back and gets his bag. He doesn’t lash out or get heated. He knows Nick won’t be in the Top 3 and may not even be in the Top 5. That’s what makes Walker a paper tiger in my book.
I’m sure The Mutant has more tricks up his sleeve. I’m sure he’ll do something else to Derek, maybe he’ll bump into Martin in the hotel, or throw some shade at Samson. Perhaps Nick will treat us to some of his antics at the press conference. Poor guy, this will be the only way he’ll get press. And to a certain extent, I’m contributing to the buzz Nick’s juvenile act has caused. I mean, here I am, writing an article about Walker’s nonsense for IronMag. That said, I don’t make the rules, I just play the game.
You guys wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t cover this, no matter how silly it is. Go ahead Nick, keep playing your games, because once you hit the stage, I have a feeling your smiles will turn into frowns. I’d love to see Walker do well, but there’s a lot more to this than kicks the bag. This was a kick of helplessness. Nick knows that when Derek, Hadi, Samson, Andrew and Martin take the stage, he’ll have to pray to baby Jesus to get 6th place.
Keep kicking bags, Nick, and we’ll keep writing articles about you.
As always, what say you? I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.