by Christian Duque
Everyone is super excited about this year’s Arnold Classic. This is the second biggest show in bodybuilding but it’s so much more than that. On paper it looks to be a phenomenal contest with an excellent expo but again there’s so much more that needs to be said about this phenomenal event. It is the show made famous by its namesake Arnold Schwarzenegger. When it comes to bodybuilding there is nobody that comes anywhere near his star power and he is somebody that you will see throughout the contest. Whether you will see him flanked by security walking around the expo or you maybe you see him at the show itself, his presence is unmistakable. This show is always one for the record books.
It’s really a weekend experience. It’s unlike the Olympia or any other show because of the fact that it’s so centered around the fans and it always has been. Many people go to this show from all around the world and sometimes never actually get to see the contest. I know of so many people that will go with garbage bags and get them filled up with free products. It’s not uncommon for fans to wait three, four, even five hours in line to meet the biggest stars. And the fans will gladly wait because it’s not like waiting outside of a record store to buy concert tickets like back in the day. It’s a real community affair. Because while you’re waiting in line you could talk to any number of people and make friendships that may last a lifetime. It is the one place where you can see men and women that are jacked – everywhere in sight. And I mean like totally jacked, like they are ready to hit the stage, but they’re not. They’re not there to compete, they’re there to walk around and meet people.
Folks will walk around with low body fat percentages and be totally ripped. And while you’re waiting in line it’s not uncommon to get samples and freebies from passersby. You could see anybody, including Arnold himself, while waiting in line. It is the only time and the only place I can think of where people gladly wait hours on end with a smile on their face. And if you’re waiting for a real star, a real celebrity, like Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman, they won’t leave until every last fan gets an opportunity to shake hands with them, get a selfie with them, and maybe even some autographed stuff on the house.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are people that will charge you for autographs. This is one thing that my buddy Gregg Valentino used to talk about all the time. He never understood why Lou Ferrigno was charging $25 for an autograph, but hey it is what it is. And that’s maybe a drop in the bucket compared to what some of the more contemporary social media stars will charge. Just last year when Sam Sulek was with Hosstile Supps it’s rumored they were charging $80 to meet him. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but fans were digging deep into their pockets ready to fork over the four Jackson’s to meet their favorite star. And at that time Sam had not done a single contest. This year he’s already won a national qualifier and is on his way to competing at the Arnold Classic Amateur. People are already comparing him to the great Chris Bumstead.
Again, I think that may be really jumping the gun but you know fans, when they believe in somebody it’s hard to tell them to calm down. Fortunately for Sam, though, it’s not just talk, he’s really living up to the hype. He has really brought his A Game to the stage and people are remarking about how gifted he already looks. The only gripe is that he’s a small bodybuilder but that’s hardly negative. He has only done one show. Imagine if he wins the Arnold Amateur and turns Pro!! That would be utterly insane. But even if he doesn’t win, imagine if he takes top five in top form, that is equally noteworthy. As I said, that’s what the show is all about. There’s the Arnold Amateur, there’s the Arnold Open, and then there’s all the other events.
And that’s because the Arnold is not just a physique-based competition. You have everything from fencing to powerlifting. It’s like every sport under the sun is covered. They have had everything from arm wrestling to strongman to powerlifting and then some. And that’s because it’s not just a bodybuilding show, it never has been just that. It is the Arnold Sports Festival. And fans get to experience it all. With just your expo ticket you can see all sorts of events even if you never make your way to the bodybuilding show. But if you’re also doing the bodybuilding show, then you’re going to have one heck of a great weekend. I mean people reserve their hotel rooms a year in advance for this and everybody wants to be in downtown columbus. They want to be able to check out the weigh-in’s, the meet and greets, and they want to watch the prejudging and the night show.
The Arnold is also known for the after parties. imagine bodybuilding and powerlifting taking over a dance club. You can literally be dancing next to a guy who won the Mr Olympia last year. That’s because the Arnold is drawing who’s who of bodybuilders. It always has, but now with a purse of $500,000 it’s only bigger and better. Whoever wins the Arnold Classic in 2025 will have made more money than who won the Mr Olympia in 2024. And that’s because Arnold is constantly raising the bar on his show. And in addition to prize money, there’s also the promise of different judging.
I don’t want to say that the judging at the Arnold is better than the judging at the Olympia, but guys that have not been able to win the Olympia have been able to win the Arnold. It’s a show that a lot of competitors feel is more fair because the judging is more international. Again that may come down to being just a bunch of rhetoric in the long run. Like I said, there’s nothing that I can definitively point to that’s different with the Arnold judging than say the Olympia or the New York Pro, but a lot of people seem to think that because it’s Arnold’s show that there’s more fairness in terms of how the athletes are scored for the prejudging and the mandatories. This may also explain why guys like Kai Greene decided to do their last few shows there and not at the Olympia. It might also explain why last year Hadi was able to win the Arnold Classic after losing the Olympia and to date has not been able to win the Olympia back.
The Arnold is also going to be very interesting because the reigning Mr Olympia has decided to compete as well. So we will see a rematch between Derek and Samson that everybody in the bodybuilding community will be glued to. Imagine if Derek beat Samson, imagine the precedent that would set for the 2025 Olympia!! But imagine if Samson beats Derek and everybody else. That will also give him tremendous staying power in terms of respect and credibility going into this year’s O.
And that’s just it, the Arnold Classic is the second biggest bodybuilding show but it has tremendous significance. It’s the first major show of the contest season and it’s also a contest that has solidified the position of number one contender. I have always been a believer that whoever places runner-up at the Olympia is the number one contender for the following year, but the reality of the matter is that that is true but it’s also false. It is true from the Olympia in question until the Arnold Classic. For those two or three months I would say the Olympia runner-up is definitely the number one contender. But if the winner of the Arnold Classic the following year is a different person, I would say that that person is the number one contender.
In reality there is no special award for being the number one contender but I do feel that whoever wins the Arnold Classic will get more press going into that year’s Olympia than would last year’s Olympia runner-up. I guess that’s up for debate, but the buzz that you get by emerging victorious in Columbus is second to none. Well it’s second only to the Olympia.
With regards to the expo, that’s a whole other animal. Like I said, people will go there with empty garbage bags and come out of there with garbage bags full to the brim. Although companies are becoming a little bit more selective of who they give free samples out to, the really big companies are totally fine giving up thousands of dollars of product if it means generating sales down the road. They’ve already burnt through their ad budgets and they’ve dropped top dollar on booths. What’s another $10k in free samples going to matter anyways? At the end of the day it’s all about exposure, exposure, and more exposure. Many businesses go to the Arnold Classic Expo expecting to have major losses because in the end it’s going to mean tremendous goodwill in the community and limitless selling potential throughout the rest of the year. At least that is the goal and that is the dream.
So will you be going to the Arnold Classic? Will you be going to the expo only or to the expo and the bodybuilding show? And if you’re not going, do you plan on watching the contest on the free webcast? Because that’s another thing. Whereas the Olympia charges you close to $100 to watch the Pay-Per-View and it’s not a very good pay-per-view either, as last year fans were complaining about it lagging non-stop, The Arnold Classic offers you a premier webcast with all the bells and whistles and it’s totally free. So if you’re not going in person, I would imagine you’re going to watch online, right?
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Oh and before I forget, who do you have winning the Arnold Classic in bodybuilding? For me, it’s going to be Martin Fitzwater in an upset. What about you? And yes, I will write an article about why I think Martin will win as we get closer to the show, but for now I will leave you with this preview article.