Prince
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I have to be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of writing this type of article. And I also have to pay homage to the great professional bodybuilding writers that would never start an article with the word I. That being said I’ve got to be me. Have you ever heard that saying before? I just got to be me. I don’t try to be the most scholarly writer in these articles because I don’t think that that’s what you guys want.
I don’t think that you want to read an article from a writer that’s talking down to you. I know that you guys are probably just as smart as I am – if not smarter – but we’re not talking about inflation or the price of rice in China or why Pluto is no longer a planet, we are talking about bodybuilding. We are talking about the sport that we all know and love and we want to be able to talk about it as if we were sitting in a locker room or maybe having a couple of beers at the bar.
The reason I don’t like writing this type of article is because a lot of people just don’t get it. They don’t understand that each division has a very special place in the grand scheme of things. Everybody wants to compare The 212 to open bodybuilding. Just like they want to compare men’s physique to open bodybuilding or they want to compare classic physique to open bodybuilding. And while classic physique may be more popular in certain settings it does not mean that it will ever replace the flagship division. Bodybuilding, open bodybuilding, will always be king. But what about the people that say that the 212 days are numbered? What do we say to them? More importantly, what do I say to them since I’m the one writing this article?
Well please forgive me if I dare speak for you as a collective group but I would say that most fans love the 212 because it’s a place for shorter bodybuilders and bodybuilders that maybe are lighter than the average open competitor. Now I know what you’re going to say, you’re going to say well what about Shaun Clarida? He’s probably the lightest guy weight-wise in the 212 and he has been able to win open bodybuilding shows like the Reno Sports Fest. I would agree. Shaun can win open shows. Nathan Epler, a former 212 competitor, just recently won an open pro show as well. And we can’t forget the fact that not one but two former 212 Mr Olympias have gone on to win the open Olympia. We are of course talking about Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan. And I would say that we would be hard pressed to find any open competitor that can easily beat them today. Most open competitors have to settle for being third or fourth to them because of the fact they are so advanced. So if more and more 212 guys are making the cross and never come back, why should there be a 212 at all? That’s a valid point, let’s talk about it.
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