place if I hadn’t walked in
there and Brian hadn’t
offered me a free member-
ship if I agreed to compete.
Brian is really what makes
that gym special.”
FW: This issue is the Hardcore Special and we have a lot about Metroflex. We interviewed Brian Dobson and all the training features were shot there, too. As its most famous member, can you tell us what is it about Metroflex Gym that makes it a special place? Would you have accomplished what you did in the sport if you had never set foot in that gym?
RC: I wouldn’t have become a bodybuilder in the first place if I hadn’t walked in there and Brian hadn’t offered me a free membership if I agreed to compete. Brian is really what makes that gym special. He put his heart and soul into making it what it is. He cares about everybody and wants them to succeed, and he will do whatever he can to help you. How many gyms and gym owners you know like that? The equipment is great, too, but it’s the atmosphere and the people that set Metroflex apart.
FW: You have the best home gym I have ever seen, with all the equipment any bodybuilder could ever need. I hate to even call it a home
gym. Why do you still go to Metroflex when you could just walk from your living room
into that killer gym?
RC: Again, it’s the environment at Metroflex. It’s just a lot more motivating. I’ve had all the best workouts of my life there. I could never stay away from that place for long.
FW: That being said, do you think some- one can become a great bodybuilder at any gym if they have the genetics and the drive to be the best?
RC: Oh yeah, of course. Look at some of the places champions have trained. That Temple Gym of Dorian’s is a hole in the wall, but he won six Mr. Olympias working out there. All you really need is heavy weight and a lot of heart.
FW: Here’s one that’s always irritated me. Few people want to believe that when you first turned pro, you were a drug-free athlete. Would you like to go on the record now and set them straight?
RC: I never touched a drug back then. All the winners at the IFBB World Amateur where I turned pro were test- ed, along with anybody else they thought looked suspi- cious. You know they targeted me the minute they saw me. I passed the test. You know I wasn’t even 220 pounds at that show. If people can’t believe someone can look a certain way without drugs, that’s on them. They should understand that some bodybuilders do have God-given genetics.
FW: On a similar note, Congress has been on a witchhunt against steroid use in professional sports, mainly baseball, for several years now. With all the problems recreational drugs like cocaine and meth cause in the USA, why do you think the government has invested so much time and money into eradicating steroid use?
RC: I think they are doing it because they’re afraid that kids are gonna use steroids. It’s very sad that there was that one case where the kid didn’t cycle off right and killed himself. They figure if they get drugs out of sports, kids won’t want to use them. What about all those other drugs you mentioned? Every time you turn on a TV or see a tabloid in the checkout lane, some musician or movie star is in rehab. Why
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don’t they test them and keep them clean?
FW: Does it bother you that there are so many wannabe bodybuilders out there who think all they need to do to become a pro is take tons and tons of drugs?
RC: Kids are impressionable. If that’s what they are told, they believe it. The problem these days is you have all these anonymous guys on the Internet claiming to be experts or pro bodybuilders and giving out all kinds of crazy, and even dangerous, advice. I’ve had a few people online claiming they were me and saying stuff! It’s ridicu- lous. But when it comes to kids today, a lot of ‘em don’t want to hear that you got to work long and hard to be a good bodybuilder. They want it now, and they want it easy. So they believe you can do it that way, even if it’s a bunch of bull.
FW: Early in your pro career, few people would have ever guessed you would eventually be the greatest bodybuilder in the world for nearly a full decade. Are there any guys out there right now who you see that type of potential in?
RC: I don’t, but that doesn’t really mean anything. Nobody saw the potential in me, either. There could be some guy training out there right now who could win six, eight, who knows? Maybe 10 Mr. Olympias.
FW: Which of your many victories are you the most proud of? I already know what you’re gonna say. . .
RC: Yup, the first Olympia in 1998. Hands-down, that was the one. Everybody expected you to win, including me. I always thought of you as a future Mr. Olympia, and I never thought it would be in the cards for me.
FW: No comment, no comment.
Everybody knows how I feel about that con- test. Which show do you feel you looked your absolute best at, or is it impossible to pick one?
RC: It’s between two shows, with two different looks. When I won the first Mr. Olympia, I still think that was my best condition. But when I won in 2003 at 287 pounds, that was the absolute best blend of size and condition I ever had. Sometimes I still look back at that video and go, wow!
FW: You have said before that you believe Victor Martinez will be Mr. Olympia one day. First of all, do you feel he should have beaten Jay in 2007? And do you also think Phil Heath and Dennis Wolf have a Sandow in their futures, too?
RC: Yeah, I do. But you know how it is. Guys like you, Shawn and Kevin were all supposed to win the Mr. Olympia sooner or later, but you never know what will hap- pen. Maybe Heath and Wolf will each win a couple times or more; maybe neither one will ever win. It all depends on who else is there and how they look. It makes the sport exciting. It’s like trying to predict Super Bowl champions
before the season even starts. A team might look unbeat- able on paper and look like a sure thing, but sometimes another team sneaks up on them.
FW: Time to talk about family now. First off, you surprised everyone when you got married in December of 2007. When did you make the mental switch from a lifelong bachelor to thinking you wanted to be a husband? Any why didn’t we all
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know about this fabulous woman until then? RC: I just knew it was time, just like you did when you met Madeline. She lived in France, so it wasn’t hard for me to keep her under wraps. When you meet the right one, you know it.
FW: Has your life changed in any way since you have become a married man?
RC: Yeah, because now I have a best friend and a per- fect traveling companion. Christine speaks four lan- guages fluently: Arabic, French, English and Italian. She actually negotiated my appearance in Saudi Arabia for me. But I still train, eat, travel, all the same things I been doing for years now.
FW: There was also news late last year that you are the father of triplets. Is it strange to have infants while your oldest child is in her 20s now? I know it was kind of strange for me.
RC: No, it happens all the time these days. I love kids anyway. Being a dad makes you a better person. I should say, being a good dad.
FW: You have been all over the world competing and making appearances. What are some of the
favorite countries and cities you have been to? Where have you been treated the best?
RC: That’s easy. Australia. The fans are awesome. They will wait in line for 3 hours for an autograph or to take a picture with me. I love Australia so much that I did my DVD “On the Road” over there. I love all my fans in every country, but Australia has just been so supportive of me that I got to give it up for them.
FW: What has it been like to be with BSN and watch it grow from an average-size sup- plement company to an industry power- house? They are affiliated with mainstream celebrities and shows like Orange County Choppers and the UFC now.
RC: Man, it’s been a trip. I was the first athlete they ever signed, so I know that my being with the company had an impact on how they grew. In the four years I have been with BSN, they have come so far and it’s been an honor to be with them. They also happen to have some amazing products that I truly love.
FW: What would you say are the biggest obstacles in your life you have overcome that the average fan probably doesn’t know about?
RC: Most people have no idea how hard it was for me to get my accounting degree from Grambling State University in Louisiana. Schoolwork never came easy for me, and college was tougher than anything I had ever been exposed to, academically. Football season was the hardest, because literally all I did was play football and study. I didn’t have time for a girlfriend, or to go to parties, none of that typical college stuff. Many nights I would be up until dawn studying for a test and I would have to go in and take it on no sleep. But not only did I graduate, I graduated with honors. That was probably the biggest challenge I ever faced in life, but I never quit. I was determined to get that degree.
FW: How has your Christian faith helped get you through various challenges you have faced? What do you think that a person misses out on when he or she has no faith in a higher power at all?
RC: If I didn’t have faith, I wouldn’t have made it. Back to my college days, I got down on my hands and knees and asked God for the strength to make it through. And every- thing I accomplished or achieved in life was through His blessings. You have to have faith in a higher power, because we can’t do all this on our own.
FW: When it’s all said and done, how do you want to be remembered?
RC: As somebody who worked hard to get what he did. I’d like to be remembered as a man who was hardworking, dedicated, and had faith in God. The big titles are nice too, but those are what’s really important. ■
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By Robbie Durand, MA
www.musculardevelopment.com February 2009