by Christian Duque
Sam Sulek took to social media to hint at a big announcement. At the end of the video, a voice sounding very much like Chris Bumstead can be heard. Another twist in the story is that Sam began erasing older posts on Instagram. This has been said was done to start out fresh and leave any semblance of the past as an afterthought. We mustn’t forget that once upon a time Sulek worked with Hosstile Supps and may have repped other brands as a customer. I, personally, think it’s kind of weak to erase old posts because you’re not just removing any ties to other companies, but you’re also erasing the comments that made them go viral.
Since the message boards have largely gone the way of the dinosaur, with few notable exceptions, the community feel in those comment sections kind of makes up for it. By erasing entire posts, all of those comments cease to exist. But I digress. Sam has reduced his posts to less than two dozen and will likely start releasing new posts. There’s a concern there that Sam will totally sell out. And that’s what it might look like at first. How could it not.
For the purposes of this article, I’d like to discuss the danger of Sam losing his cred, what it might look like for him to work with Raw/Revive, and how much stability he’ll have working with Bumstead.
The one thing that Sam has that’s worth its weight in gold is his street cred. He was never about having a production team or employing a number of bells and whistles. Sulek’s videos went viral for their simplicity. Whether he was talking over training footage or sitting in his car. In some ways, he seemed like an old soul. Not to suggest that my man Gregg Valentino is an old soul because he’s ageless, but Sam must have seen Gregg talking in his car over the years. I swear, it’s like I’m seeing a modern day version of The Ramblin Freak. In any event, people really took to that era of Sam. It was a time when he had no interest in competing. People would ask him about it and seemed like the farthest thing from his mind. It wasn’t that he was opposed to it, rather, it just wasn’t something for him. His whole vibe was to eat and train. Eat for growth. Train for growth. His lack of interest in everything else was why people loved watching. I mean he wasn’t saying anything groundbreaking or revolutionary. It was basically just meathead lingo from a guy who loved what he was doing. And then… he signed with Hostile.
Some claim he got burned when he did that. I wouldn’t sign onto that. The fact is Fouad isn’t just a bodybuilder’s bodybuilder, but he’s also a businessman. A huge part of the success of HS is that its owner understands how business works. He doesn’t sign checks or make deals just because of the warm and fuzzy feeling of being generous with fellow meatheads. Some say Sulek’s Hostile deal was a little light, but that also goes back to Sam. He didn’t have much experience being a sponsored athlete and he didn’t hang in there long enough to ask for a raise. I think that when he linked up with Fouad, he was still new to the game. He also didn’t compete.
Now, Sam’s got a pro card, has won a pro show, and dove straight into the competitive side of the sport. This version of Sam is more seasoned and has a better idea of how the business side of the sport works. This version might have a better time working for a company and branding content than earlier versions. Still, the credibility factor comes into play.
If Sam goes from erasing 90% of his posts and starts posting 2-3x a day with Raw-related product posts, that’s going to have an undeniable impact on his fanbase. Remember that Sam’s original core fanbase didn’t care about all that. If his content were to go from organic, tried and true gym-bro content into what’s seemingly an infomercial, that won’t bode well. Everyone – even the most hardcore fan – has a breaking point. If people start to call bullshit on Sam as a person, that’s not something he’ll be able to recover from.
With regards to stability, even though Sam may think Chris is his friend, he’s not. I don’t know C-Bum very well and I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but at the end of the day, he’s a businessman. If Sam doesn’t kill it, Sam will get cut. At the end of the day it’s all about money coming in vs money going out. I have no idea what they’re paying Sulek, but hopefully they will get him some kind of code or affiliate program that calculates metrics and sales. The problem with a lot of codes and links is that the accounting is iffy. If Sam’s pull with his people is real and it translates to consistent, actual sales, then he’ll have good job stability and earnings. The big question is, does Sam have that kind of influence over his followers? And if so, how closely is he guarding it? Because if he squanders away his cred for quick returns, he’ll find himself in the same has-been category as The Liver King. Even though TLK was a con artist, a shill isn’t much better off.
Sam needs to have several coals in the fire. He should focus on competing, his social media channels and brands, as well as working with sponsors. Speaking of sponsors, if he did sign, I hope he looked over that contract closely and/or showed it to an attorney. That’s always a pro move. Very few athletes, even the top Olympians never think to show their contracts to an attorney, first. If the Raw contract isn’t as restrictive as others I’ve seen, Sam could potentially work with other companies as well. Again, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. That’s how you find yourself SOL one day when the honeymoon is over.
All in all, I’m both excited and worried for Sam. Even though he’s a lot more seasoned, now, he’s still like a deer in headlights. I hope he’s mindful of the pro’s and con’s moving forward. Only time will tell what the future holds. What do you expect will happen? As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It will surely draw some lively conversation.
