by Christian Duque
So this morning I saw a very interesting graphic that featured Shawn Ray talking about Nick Walker and the chances of him not competing at the 2025 Olympia. Now he is in Vegas, he is in shape, the whole world is talking about him, but yet Shawn Ray talked about the possibility of Nick Walker not making it to the stage. Now before you go and dismiss Shawn as being nothing but a troll, I have to say that it is a very valid point. And the reason why is a very valid point is because Nick has actually dropped out of two consecutive Olympias.
Whether it’s for injuries or other things. In fact last year we don’t even know why he didn’t do the contest and the year before that it was because of a hamstring injury – or vice versa. At the end of the day he didn’t compete. I think what Ray is saying is don’t count your chickens till they hatch. At the end of the day Nick could make it to the weigh-ins, then the check-ins, he could make it to the press conference and then he could decide he’s not going to compete. Now, why on God’s green earth would he do that? Why did he do it the last time? We simply don’t know, but I will tell you as I said in an article I wrote a few days ago for StrengthAddicts, it’s that Nick has put so much pressure on himself that it stands to reason that that pressure may hit a breaking point.
We’ve all heard about what can happen when cortisol levels are all out of whack and we have also heard what can happen when a competitor sabotages himself from competing. There are a number of factors that could take place preventing Nick from taking the stage. But there’s also a red line that I don’t think he wants to cross. We’re going to talk about all of the possibilities in this article less than 2 weeks out from the show known as the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. Nobody wants to talk about this, but we’re going to talk about it. This is not your run of the mill website. IronMag is all about putting out the stories that require thought and will generate lively conversations. This is why I always end the article saying to copy and paste a link to the article you’re reading on all your social media feeds. Because one of the best things about bodybuilding is the fact that bodybuilding fans love to argue and this is a hot button issue if there ever was one.
I want to say for the record that I don’t think Nick Walker is going to drop out. The Mutant has definitely put in the work and that is very important. If we were dealing with a competitor that didn’t do his homework then I would say the chances of a pullout are much higher. This sometimes happens with competitors that ride high on the hype but don’t do the work in the kitchen, don’t do the work in the gym, and quite frankly have not done the work in the mirror. That last one is a very very big factor.
A lot of competitors are not ready for the multiple rounds of comparisons the judges put them through. That doesn’t usually happen at your run of the mill pro show but it does happen at the big shows, like the New York Pro, the Arnold Classic, and most definitely the Mr Olympia. This is not because the judges don’t know what they’re doing, rather, it’s because of the fact that competitors come so ready that the judge often does not want to do a disservice to any athlete. They want to make sure that they look at competitors in every possible angle and move them around to do that. Sometimes the lighting might be ever so slightly different and they want to make sure that they see the competitor as best as possible. Now mind you it’s a cat and mouse game. The competitors hide their weaknesses and the judges have to find them. Those competitors that have not posed for hours and hours in the mirror will drop like flies. I have no doubt that Nick has done everything that needs to be done, but… he’s not in the clear just yet.
I’ve been covering bodybuilding for well over 15 years and I’ve got to tell you that at this stage of the game with a guy in the position that Nick finds himself in things get really spacey the final 48 hours. I’m hoping that he has a coach that’s going to stay with him the whole way through. This is not Nick’s first rodeo but it’s certainly his most important one. This is the guy that was supposed to win the Olympia shortly after turning pro at the North Americans. While he is won the New York Pro three times and that’s a tremendous honor – and he’s won the Arnold Classic, which is another tremendous honor – he has yet to win a single Olympia.
Everybody that was supposedly behind The Mutant has already won one. Hadi, Derek, Samson, they all have a Sandow, but not Nick. And you have to understand what that does to a person’s psyche, to their self-confidence. In 2024, Nick nearly got his ass handed to him by Martin Fitzwater. At the time Martin’s only Pro was the Detroit Pro. The same Detroit Pro that had all of five or six guys. So the reality of the matter is that Nick has yet to produce. If he does anything outside of the top three his career is pretty much in the toilet. If he doesn’t win the contest, people are going to start writing him off. If he doesn’t compete this year people are going to totally forget about him. Because this wouldn’t be the first time or the second time but it would be the third time that he dropped out of the Olympia. And not just the third time overall – the third consecutive time that the guy dropped out. He’s already used the injury excuse, then he also used the no reason given excuse. If he drops out now, he’s totally and royally screwed. So why would he drop out, though? if he’s done his homework, it stands to reason he has every intention of competing. So what’s going on here? Why is The Mutant competing even a question?
We’re asking this question because of the amount of stress that Nick has put on himself. Last year in Pittsburgh he said he would beat Derek. Then he competes against Derek a year later in Pittsburgh for the first ever open bodybuilding championship there and he loses to him. Then he kicks Derek’s suitcase at the Vegas airport a few days ago and it goes viral. People are already expecting another 2014 Olympia. That’s the last thing sports needs. It would amount to having two of its top guys elbowing it out and getting in each other’s face. A lot of people think that Nick is going to lose his mind at the press conference. Not only is he unhappy that he hasn’t won an Olympia he’s unhappy that the guys ahead of him have. So when Shawn Ray asks the question, I don’t think he’s trolling at all. And the fact that anybody’s asking the question less than 2 weeks out is most definitely striking a nerve in Nick’s whole mindset.
If I was a gambling man I would wager that Nick is in fact going to compete. At this point I think there’s just way too much to lose in terms of dollars and cred. What I think may happen, however, is that he does compete but he doesn’t look his best. That I think is a very, very high possibility. Again, nobody, even close friends like Fouad Abiad, think that he can beat Samson at his best. A lot of people don’t think Pittsburg was that close, either. I don’t know if anybody thinks that Nick can beat Hadi at 100%. And to be real, it’s not because I’m a Martin Fitzwater fan, but I don’t think Nick beats Martin at 100% either. I don’t think Nick beats William at 100%, either.
The problem is, Nick has a very ugly physique, even though he is a conditioning freak and is a mass monster. He’s got the size and he’s got the condition, but he just doesn’t have the aesthetics. He also has some pretty gnarly varicose veins which unfortunately are very hard to ignore. I know that he’s not supposed to get scored down for that just like guys aren’t supposed to get scored down for gyno, but I don’t want to see his varicose veins and I don’t want to see gyno on a guy that wins the biggest title in physique-based sports. Is that shallow? Absolutely, it’s shallow, but it’s a subjective sport. We are judging people based on how they look. You know how they say don’t judge a book by its cover? Well in bodybuilding, that’s the name of the game.
I think what Nick needs is to surround himself with people that are going to keep him in high spirits, no drama, and no talk about the competition. In other words, they can talk about the competition, meaning the Olympia, but they can’t talk about the competition between him and the guys he’s going to stand against. Because I think that right off the bat Walker’s at a disadvantage because guys like Andrew and Samson have far prettier physiques to look at. Martin has a good physique and it’s much more aesthetic than Nick’s. Hadi and Derek wouldn’t necessarily say they have the most aesthetic looks but they’re absolute muscular monsters. And then what about Keone Pearson. Could you imagine if when it’s all said and done, Nick isn’t posing against Derek or Hadi or Samson or Andrew or Martin, but he’s actually battling it out with Pearson or The Miracle Bear. I mean there’s just so much competition and so much talent that if Nick starts thinking about what he’s up against, he might just lose his mind. Like I said, what if Nick’s worst enemy is Nick?
Listen folks, I’m not going to deny it, it’s a shitty question to ask. Is Nick Walker going to do the 2025 Mr Olympia? Obviously he’s there, obviously he’s there to compete, obviously he’s done his homework, but if something goes way wrong, I don’t think it’s totally out of the question for him to simply not get on stage. It’s a question on a lot of people’s minds.
What do you think will happen? Do you think Nick will compete for sure? Do you think he’ll win? As always, thank you for reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. As I said at the beginning of the article, I’ll say it again, please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It is bound to generate lively conversation