For starters let me just preface this article by saying that I’m often accused of writing about Nick far too much. This is a little debate that I have with Robert DiMaggio from time to time, but I have to say that Nick is the most popular bodybuilder on the planet. This is a point made by Dave Palumbo and one that I agree with wholeheartedly. I am not a huge fan of Nick’s because I don’t really like the fact that he blocked me but I have been able to put that aside. When I write articles I try to put all personal beefs aside because at the end of the day you guys don’t care about my personal beefs. What you care about is what’s trending and you want to read about your favorite bodybuilders. Nick Walker happens to be that guy. People can’t stop talking about him – love him or hate him – they want to know what he’s up to.
I certainly don’t hate the guy, but I think that top tier competitors that block media personalities or what might be otherwise known as superfans, are not really growing the sport. This is a bone of contention that I had with Phil Heath and others. Initially I was a huge Heath fan, even when he beat one of my idols, Gustavo Badell, at the Iron Man Pro. I met Phil many times and was very supportive of him. When I became very supportive of the late great Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden, it was a little too much for The Gift and he warned me a couple of times and then followed by blocking me.
I don’t allow any competitor to tell me what to write about or how loud to support someone. And as a result I had to deal with being blocked by a seven-time Mr Olympia for the majority of his reign. Did it suck? Of course it did! But I always did my best to keep my personal biases aside because all that sort of thing does is reduce the quality of the articles. And the same thing goes for Nick. I met Nick at the Natural Vitamins Epic Block Party in Ozone Park New York and afterwards I corresponded with him quite a bit on instagram. I thought I offered him good advice and I think he appreciated it, but later down the road when another bodybuilder that I looked up to greatly, Shaun Clarida got dropped by RAW. I guess Nick did not like my commentary and went ahead and blocked me. None of that has anything to do with this article, but I always like putting my cards on the table.
So the question is, should Nick Walker retire? It’s not a question that I’m asking, and quite frankly I don’t even think it’s a legitimate question, but it just so happens that a lot of people are opining that all over the message boards and the Facebook groups. I think they are also making this point because Nick has failed to compete in a low-hanging fruit contest like the FIBO Pro, but has also opted not to compete in high profile contests like Pittsburgh and New York. It’s interesting that he wouldn’t do the latter because he has won that show three times and it’s also interesting that he wouldn’t compete in the former because many people believe he should have won that last year but lost to Derek Lunsford. In any event the question remains, will Nick Walker try to qualify for the Olympia or has he given up? If he has given up for the year, then there is a growing clamor amongst the faithful that perhaps it might be time for him to hang the trunks up and find something else to do in the fitness industry.
Now can Nick Walker have a career without competing at the Mr Olympia? He can definitely have a career by competing semi-regularly and maybe even coming back for next year’s Arnold Classic. We know that the Arnold is always going to invite him because he sells tickets and because he’s a hot commodity. This is after all how the Arnold selection committee comes up with their final decisions. They look at what a competitor has done on the stage, they look at a competitor’s fan base, and they make their decisions accordingly. There is no qualification process for the Arnold Classic. They either like you or they don’t. It’s as simple as that. At the end of the day that’s how the cookie crumbles. And it’s interesting that the Arnold offers the richest purse of all the bodybuilding shows. So perhaps Nick feels that if he comes back to Columbus in 2027 that he can make his money for the year, be part of a major expo, and perhaps try for the Olympia next year or this year or another year, but it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, he is going to have to qualify if he intends to get on the Olympia stage in 2026. I think it’s also worth noting that if he does not qualify for the Mr Olympia in 2026, it is highly unlikely that he would be extended a special invite. I think the special invite has been put on ice and I think that that is great for the sport, the Olympia title, and the fans.
Why have I always been opposed to the special invite? Because I am a firm believer in merit. I believe that you should go to the so-called Super Bowl of Bodybuilding by winning your way there. And the only reason that I call it “so called” in this context is because I feel that the special invites waters down the integrity of the show. I have never liked it. I think it’s a travesty and what I think is an even greater travesty is when the recipient of the special invite goes on to win the title. We saw this happen with Big Ramy and we saw this happen with Derek Lunsford. It’s quite frankly depressing because it is an anomaly of the whole Mr Olympia process. I would have preferred had they kept the point system which still was based on merit then giving out Olympia qualifications to guys that didn’t deserve them. In any event, Nick Walker is not going to get a special invite so if he doesn’t compete again in 2026 he’s not going to be gracing the stage in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This is also why I think that a lot of people believe that this may be the last year of active competition for Nick Walker. He went a couple of years without being on the Olympia stage, there was a tremendous amount of push from his sponsor and from his camp with his whole comeback, and unfortunately his comeback missed the mark. He had a tremendous 2025 and it was looking like he was going to have a tremendous 2026. Even though he placed second to Andrew in Columbus and looked the best he has looked in years, he didn’t win. And I think that an individual like Nick cannot process defeat very well. This is not to say that second place at the second biggest bodybuilding show in the world is defeat, but it is defeat in the sense that he didn’t qualify. It was also defeat in the sense that the house of cards came crumbling down. He was supposedly self-propping but in reality Guy Cisternino was the guy in the driver’s seat. He may not want to admit it, but this is what everyone that has any kind of sense believes happened. And there’s nothing wrong with Guy being his coach, but there is something wrong when Nick is blaming past coaches for his shortcomings and then claiming he’s doing it all on his own, when in reality he is not. It’s dishonest.
I do not believe that Nick should make any final decisions at this point. I don’t think it’s necessary. I think that he competed in 2026 at the Arnold Classic and with that alone he can put to rest any talk of retirement. Someone that is retiring does not compete at all. He competed and he can stop there. I think that if he were to retire now, I don’t know that there’s going to be any comebacks after that that are going to get taken seriously. He doesn’t have any injuries and he doesn’t have any reason to disappear again. But do I think he’s going to try to qualify for the Olympia in 2026? It’s too early to tell, but my hunch is that he won’t. My hunch is that his ego was bruised last year in Pittsburgh and it was bruised once again this year in Columbus. I don’t think that he wants to try again and I don’t know if that is going to be a temporary frame of mind or a permanent one. Nick is a person who is extremely thin-skinned in certain regards and I think that right now what he needs to do is focus on himself and his future.
I would prefer it if he did not make any drastic, unnecessary decisions right now. That being said, if he does not qualify or even try to qualify again, I think a lot of fans are going to be of the opinion that 2026 may be the last time we see Nick compete on a bodybuilding stage.
As always, the most important opinion is yours. 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 guaranteed 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.
