by Christian Duque
In a recent interview “The Mutant” Nick Walker stated that he did not like to do so many guest posing appearances. His take was based on the fact that bodybuilders that do these appearances are oftentimes in the offseason and do not look their best. He also talked about how people gave him a lot of crap for his midsection and how he didn’t think it was necessary for bodybuilders to get on stage and do this kind of work. He then tried to make it seem like an industry-wide thing, by stating that 8 out of 10 times there would be distention in the midsections of bodybuilders getting on stage to guest pose.
He also talked about eating in the off-season. He pointed to the wrath of the fans when it came to their favorite competitors getting onstage and not being in contest condition. And I thought this was interesting because here we have a bodybuilder who aspires to be Mr Olympia, who is considered a top contender [on paper], and somebody who is a major draw with fans all around the world. I look at how he looked in Pittsburgh this year and last year and it sort of starts to make a little bit of sense. I think it’s very interesting that Walker feels the need to make it about all top competitors. That whole “8x out of 10x” is bullshit. When did Dexter Jackson, Gustavo Badell, or Kai Greene look like shit when they guest posed? They may not have been in contest shape, but they took their guest posing appearances seriously. The fans only get pissed when a guy looks like trash on stage. Let’s not get it twisted. Nick is telling a half-truth and hoping no one will call him out for it. This is TEXTBOOK Nick Walker. (Sorry not sorry)
As you guys know, I’m not a huge Nick Walker fan in terms of his personality. I don’t like the fact that he has me blocked and I don’t like the fact that he has such thin skin when it comes to criticism. Whether it’s constructive criticism or negative trolling, he’s going to block you because he can’t take it. He can’t accept anyone questioning him. And that’s not really a very strong ambassadorial quality should he ever hold the highest title in sport. He has already held the second highest title by winning an Arnold Classic – even if it was a lackluster lineup that year. Nonetheless, he has won the second biggest title in Columbus, and he has won the third biggest title, three times, at the New York Pro. That being said, he has never held the biggest title and he probably never will. That is because he is a pretty bad ambassador. And in my opinion, he is not someone who works hard enough to be #1.
How can I qualify that? How can I, a mere writer, say that Nick Walker, one of the best bodybuilders on the planet, doesn’t work hard enough? Over the years we have heard this comment made about guys like Chris Cormier and Flex wheeler. “Oh they didn’t work hard enough. Oh they could have done this or they could have done that.” And usually I would say that writers that make those types of statements could very well fall into the category of being trolls, but with some of those guys that I just mentioned earlier, they had the genetics and they had the balance, so maybe they really didn’t work hard enough. I look at a guy like Lionel Beyeke. He had phenomenal structure, beautiful muscle bellies, tremendous flow, but something about his condition just didn’t work in his favor when it came to the contest. So many people thought Beyeke could win the Olympia but he never did. Maybe he didn’t work hard enough, maybe it was something else. Whatever the case might have been, the topic of how hard someone works comes up with elite level guys that don’t make it all the way. When Nick Walker says that he doesn’t like guest posings because he can’t handle the criticism, it makes me think that he’s lazy. Because the fans only get pissed when guest posers look like absolute trash. Don’t come in looking like a pile of shit, and you should be ok.
Guest posing appearances for the top guys can also be a very lucrative supplemental income stream. Not only do they get paid big money, but it’s cash money. Now I’m not saying that bodybuilders don’t always pay their taxes, but when somebody hands you $10,000 in a brown paper bag backstage, who’s to say that everyone pays taxes on every dollar in that bag. And plus, cash is king. If you’ve got a competitor going to a show making $10,000 to strut up and down the stage for 10 minutes and then maybe sign some autographs at a booth after the show, that’s pretty easy money. Not only that, but a lot of competitors will parlay that money and charge for those autographs, or sell supplements from their sponsors at the booths.
I mean there’s just so many different ways to make money through guest posing appearances. And if competitors are already going to be in town for a couple of days at the promoter’s expense, they could also sell private one hour 1:1 training packages with their most hardcore fans. A guy like Nick Walker could easily charge $500 for some lucky fan to train an hour with them and then go get some food at Chipotle. And if you think I’m kidding, think again. And $500 is actually maybe low ball. Maybe if Nick really wanted to promote himself he could charge a grand. In the sport of bodybuilding there’s always a crazy fan willing to spend any amount of money to feel like they are friends with their favorite heroes.
But if money isn’t what motivates a star athlete, maybe it’s respect. Guest posing is a great way to grow a fanbase. It’s also a great way to put your name on the map without having to compete. And if you know anything about working an audience and working a stage, you can definitely create a tremendous amount of buzz for yourself without suffering a 16 week prep to compete.
Guest posing has always been a fantastic way for competitors to make money and get their names out there. So for a guy like Nick Walker to complain about any possible negative feedback or any criticisms, is not only weak, but it makes him look lazy. Does he really want to be Mr Olympia? If he’d rather stay home than guest pose, why is he aspiring to be the sports #1 ambassador to the world? You have to travel an awful lot when you’ve won the Sandow, my man. It’s kind of an unspoken requirement. Maybe instead of being Mr O, Nick should become a full-time podcaster. Then he’d never have to leave home again. He could order his groceries with Amazon Prime and entertain guests in his living room. His only traveling requirements would then be limited to walking over to the fridge, the shitter, and out to the mailbox.
I hope that the Federation and the judges are reading along. Our current Mr O, Samson Dauda, has toured the world extensively. There are countries that he has been to twice and thrice since winning the title. He’s a throwback to Brandon and Flexitron; he’s a throwback to Ronnie and Jay. But imagine if we had a Mr Olympia like Nick. The guy doesn’t want to guest pose, probably doesn’t want to work expos, probably doesn’t want to do in-store appearances. What kind of a Mr O is he going to be? We don’t have magazines anymore, message boards are rather dead, so this guy is going to show up in Las vegas, win a shit ton of money, and then disappear? We already had that with Hadi and Ramy. Do we want that again with Nick?
I don’t know who manages Nick and I don’t know who he has in his camp, but if he’s going to make ridiculous statements like the ones he made in this recent interview, then maybe somebody should get in his ear and tell him to shut up. There is no ambassadorial value to having Nick Walker as Mr O with an attitude like this. You have a bodybuilder who is scared to guest pose – that’s not a bodybuilder that should be the face of the sport. That’s just my two cents. I can’t sit here and say anything but the truth.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Do you agree with me? Do you agree that a bodybuilder that is scared to guest pose because of constructive criticism or negative feedback is a guy we want as the face of the sport? Whatever your opinion may be, I will respect it. Please copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. I guarantee you it’s going to drum up some pretty lively conversation.
