Well Sam has done it again, he’s competed at his second Arnold Classic in 2026, and the fans are going wild. Even the competitors are giving him a pat on the back for accomplishing what it took many of them years, if not an entire a full decade, to be able to reach. He’s competing in the second most important bodybuilding stage in the world, but does he deserve it? Is he placing well? Or is he being used for fanfare? At the recent Arnold Classic UK, Sam did not do very well at all, placing almost dead last. But does Sam realize it? Does he understand that he is in fact not somebody that is on his path to winning the biggest titles in the world at this point? Is he aware that he’s probably getting used to a certain exten? Then again maybe he’s also using the contests. H as anyone thought about that?
I’m speaking with Sam, but another regard to the fans. Because here at IronMag we like to keep it real. I’m not going to write an article celebrating a competitor that quite frankly was probably gifted a pro card in terms of being the next big thing. Because he’s not. I know that a lot of outlets want to fan the flames and they want to all but shoot off firecrackers and make toast with champagne, but that’s bullshit. This guy is not the second coming of Chris Bumstead. This guy is not the future of Classic Physique. He is a competitor that should have been an amateur for quite a bit longer and he is somebody that should be celebrated for what he has accomplished. I don’t believe that he deserved the pro card when he got it. I don’t believe that he should have been invited to the Arnold Classic, and the fact that he was invited to a second Arnold Classic does a disservice to so many other much more deserving competitors. At the end of the day this is what bodybuilding has become. It has become a sport obsessed with clicks and obsessed with fanfare. And the Arnold Classic is probably at the top of the heap.
Listen folks, you can’t applaud and throw shade at the same time. Do I like the way the Arnold Classic is run? Yes and no. I like the fact that it’s not political, because if it were political, then Sam would have won everything. It would have been an absolute travesty but if it was political, then he would have. But it’s political enough as to where a guy like him would get an invite because in reality he doesn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve the pro card, but he especially did not deserve an invite to a show like this, let alone two of them. At the end of the day, the Arnold Classic pays the most money and money doesn’t grow on trees nor does it fall out of the sky.
To have a successful event that can pay the kind of money that the Arnold pays, one could argue that it needs to make a tremendous amount of revenue in order to be able to accomplish that feat. Therefore, it might make sense inviting popular people even if perhaps they don’t justify the invite based on their physique. Basically, what I’m saying is the Arnold Classic is as much a business as it is a bodybuilding show. But then again, isn’t every bodybuilding show supposed to be a business? Promoters don’t get into it because they want to feel good at the end of the day, they do it because they want to cut a profit. They have to pay for the venue, they have overhead, they have a lot of expenses – insurance, union fees, just an endless amount of bills to pay. Plus, the good promoters understand that you must be a businessman in order to be successful. If it doesn’t make business sense, then it doesn’t make any sense. Promoters need to make money and shows need to be profitable. As long as that’s the case, then the wheels will continue turning the way they should. And no bodybuilding contest has been more successful than the Arnold Classic.
Therefore, it’s hard to criticize the event for giving Sam two invites in one month. At the end of the day, it’s not like he’s winning and it’s not like he is really in the running to even be in the Top 3, but does he know it? And has he made improvements? I saw an interview of his from the Arnold UK where he said he came in with five more pounds of muscle. I hope that he doesn’t think that what he brought was all that impressive, because quite frankly it wasn’t. This is not to bully the guy because again this is a YouTuber that initially looked down on competing and then decided to do it. He should be applauded for that. He should be applauded for his work ethic and discipline. He should be applauded for being more than a talker because it seems that’s what most YouTubers and content creators are all about these days. They talk and make promises that they never intend on keeping. Sam made a bold statement. He said he would compete and he did. So please no one misconstrue what I’m trying to say in this article. But at the same time to be thrust into the top echelons of the sport when he doesn’t deserve it, that’s absolutely outrageous and that’s not something that I can really turn a blind eye to.
At this rate are we going to see him at the Olympia? He would have to win a pro show but are we going to see him at the Olympia? I think that he has realized that he’s not going to win the big shows, at least not the Arnold Classic shows, unless he’s the best. But what about if he goes to a smaller pro show and wins there? Is he going to be thrust into the Top 10 at the Olympia That’s a big question for me because of how popular he is. The temptation would be to have him at every show. What promoter wouldn’t want Sam in their contest? What promoter is not going to want to include him in promotional materials? And the best part of it all is that they wouldn’t have to pay him. Because when you’re a competitor you lend yourself for shit like that. So, if you’re a promoter you can now start putting this random competitor in all of your posters and all of your placards and not pay him a cent. In fact, you can use his name and likeness as much as you want because he is a competitor just like everybody else. Imagine all his fans buying tickets to the show! Imagine all these fans around the world buying pay-per-view passes to see the contest. Promoters not only would sell big numbers virtually, but they could raise the prices and still make money hand over fist. Having Sam involved in a contest is extremely lucrative. And he translates very well. What do I mean by that?
When I say that he translates very well I mean that his fans are real fans. It’s one thing to get a million hits on YouTube but if all of your fans are spread around the world or if all of your fans are simply fans who click on videos, that’s one thing. But if an individual has fans that will go to contests and buy tickets, go to in-store appearances and buy products, go to exhibitions and wait in line to meet him at a booth, that is totally different. When you have a person on that level, you have a true influencer. You have a true superstar. What promoter is not going to want to have someone like that as a part of their show? And if that means throwing them a placing that’s perhaps a little bit more than what they deserve, don’t you think promoters would want that to happen? Now I don’t know about judges, and judges are not supposed to care which competitor gets more applause or which competitor has more followers, but at the end of the day judges are humans just like everybody else. Could judges fall under the influence of promoters? Well, that’s a question for you to decide. That’s something for you to dig deep into your soul and find your own answer. Because I don’t want to give you mine. Although I’m pretty sure you can more or less speculate as to what I’m implying and as to what I’m thinking.
In any event, I want to give kudos to Sam for doing a second Arnold Classic and competing in two shows in one month. I don’t think the accolades are justified and I don’t think that he deserved a better place than what he got. I just hope he’s not under the impression he’s some kind of a prodigy and thinks that he’s actually on the cutting edge of the sport. I honestly hope that he doesn’t think that he’s pounding on the door of the top three at the Arnold, or much less the Olympia. He is a newly minted pro who should eat a slice of humble pie and work quietly on getting better. Anything shorter than that would be both ludicrous as well as insulting to his fellow competitors, who I’m sure are annoyed with the fact that he has been given so much, so soon, and in such an unwarranted fashion. They didn’t get anything like that, why the hell should he?
But what say you? Did Sam improve from the Arnold Classic to the Arnold UK? Is he really as good as he thinks? Or is he believing in his own hype? What do you think will be his next move?
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article here at IronMag. 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 is bound to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
