Everyone often says they want to grow the sport of bodybuilding. Some people focus on marketing, others focus on physiques, but I think one of the most important ways to grow it is through accessibility. When it comes to going to the gym and building muscle, that is something that pretty much anyone can do. Even if you can’t afford to go to a gym, you can get bags of sand or bags of water or you can use your body weight or that of your friends. You can always figure out a way to train. You can always figure out a way to eat better and to find lean quality proteins to sustain a transformation. But what happens when you want to go see a bodybuilding show? Whether it’s at the local high school or it’s the Olympia. What then?
Bodybuilding shows cost money to do and they cost money to see, but everybody fan dreams of the day that they can see a professional event. Every bodybuilding fan dreams of the day they can go to the Olympia. There are so many fans right here in the United States that will never experience it. and they could potentially buy an airline ticket, get a hotel room, and get tickets to the show. It might be outside of their budget but it’s conceivable. If they save money they can do it. But what about fans abroad? What about fans in other continents? What about fans that make just enough to eat? Yes, they can build their physique and yes they can eat clean but they will never know what it feels like to see the Olympia in real time. That’s kind of sad if you think about it. It’s like following a sport that you can only see from afar. And to me honestly, I think that’s one of the barriers to making physique-based sports bigger.
The Olympia is the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. It is the only show that decides the best in every division. Whether it’s men’s physique or bikini, whether it’s bodybuilding, whether it’s 212. Whoever competes there emerges as the best in the world. That’s part of the allure of being part of that production. And if you have ever seen the cost of tickets to the Olympia they can get quite astronomical. Not to mention the fact they sell out in record time. Everybody wants to be there. This is the oldest show in bodybuilding. It’s the show that Arnold won, it’s the show that Ronnie won, it’s the title every single bodybuilder wants. Sadly, very few fans can experience it. Moreover, very few outlets can even cover it because press passes are extremely hard to get. In fact, many press passes will allow for media on the expo floor or possibly in different parts of the venue but they can’t film the actual event. There are very stringent rules when it comes to that. And while there is usually a livestream it isn’t cheap. Nothing about the Olympia is cheap. It is very much like the FIFA World Cup. It is out of reach for most of the fans because of money. And like I just said, it’s not exclusive to bodybuilding. Every sport has this problem. And every sport wants to make it better. But wanting to do something and actually doing it are two totally different things.
I’m sure that you’ve all heard the great news by now, Jake Wood, owner of the Olympia Weekend, has made the livestream to this year’s event totally free. Olympia President Dan Solomon broke the news on his social media platforms and word has spread like wildfire. For the first time in a long time, maybe ever, bodybuilding fans all around the world are going to have the opportunity to watch the greatest event in the sport in real time at no charge. That is unprecedented. It speaks to the vision and to the generosity of Jake. Before him, the event was owned by conglomerate. It was one more asset. It was just like a tabloid magazine or processed cheese or cigarettes. It didn’t really mean anything. And that is where I think the difference lies. Jake is a businessman, but he loves bodybuilding. He single-handedly saved women’s bodybuilding. He gave women’s physique brand new life. but he also brought back the Masters Olympia. He has done so much to make bodybuilding better. And one of the best things that he has done is made it accessible. Now fans that could never see the Olympia will get a chance to see it. And who knows maybe that will motivate them to make the necessary budget to have them see the event in real time. But we all know that most people that see it will never get to travel to Las Vegas, but that’s okay too. Because it’s going to give them a renewed love of the sport. It will be a sport that will really come to life for them. Even if they can only see it from their computer screen, that’s a huge win. It will finally let them see what they have been imagining all these years.
I remember back in the day, we used to watch the Olympia at the gym on DVDs and VHS tapes. Some of those Olympias were years in the past but it was still an opportunity for us to see what really went on. We got to see what happened backstage, we got to see what happened on stage. We were able to see the press conference. Nowadays people have to watch bits and pieces that make it out to a myriad of YouTube channels. And usually they have to watch while the YouTube personality commentates over it. They don’t even get the tip of the iceberg; they never get the feeling of being there. What they get is so processed that they might as well not even watch it. Then you have the ones that illegally stream it and the quality is absolutely is absolute trash. It’s almost unwatchable. But now it’s going to be available in the highest quality to everyone. no strings attached, FOR FREE!! That speaks directly to the vision that this promoter has – to the vision that his team has.
You need to understand that by this point Jake is only going to lose money. He’s going to forfeit all of the money that he would have made selling live stream packages. You have to realize that he has already sold the booths, he has already sold the advertising, he’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart. I understand that it’s hard for people to understand that there are people out there like this, but he is one of them. He could have made his money twice or 3x over in any number of other business ventures. And he may have lost money over the years – I don’t know, but I will tell you that he loves bodybuilding. He’s in it for the long haul. And that’s exactly what this sport needs.
In a very real way Jake Wood is a modern day Joe Weider. Just like Joe, Jake could make money in several different ways and probably a heck of a lot easier than investing in physique-based sports. But he does it because he believes in the athletes. He believes in their efforts and he understands their sacrifices. He wants to reward them by giving them the absolute best stage on the planet to compete on. And he’s even talked about the possibility of moving the Olympia Internationally maybe once every five years. That speaks to his commitment to fans all around the world. And only somebody that loves the sport and loves fans would ever even contemplate such a move.
Now I know that the critics are out there, and yes there are going to be critics, because there are always critics. They’re going to say that I’m kissing ass. They’re going to say that I’m only writing this article because Jake is my friend. But people like that are bitter. No matter what good comes their way, they will always find a reason to be bitter. That’s their problem, but it certainly isn’t mine, and it doesn’t have to be yours.
I am through the moon right now. I am so happy and so grateful to Jake for his tremendous gesture and his tremendous generosity. I hope that you all take advantage of it. I hope that you all make the Olympia Weekend something that you spend your time on. Buy all the protein snacks you want, have your energy drinks ready, and spend the whole weekend from beginning to end watching the Olympia Weekend Livestream. If you can’t make it out there, at least you will experience it on your laptop or your cellular device. Make sure to enjoy it!! And DON’T YOU DARE MISS IT!!!!
Once again, I want to give tremendous kudos to my friend Jake Wood on his heart of gold. 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’s 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.
