Professional BB And Respect

I’ve been reading plenty of articles on Professional Bodybuilding and the lack of respect for the sport.

The issue is the complete lack of honesty in the “profession”.

Nobody really knows how much money these guys make.
Nobody knows how much of their income goes towards questionable supplements/enhancement drugs/hormones.

If a person was in their teens thinking, hey, i want to be a pro in one of numerous other sports, they would have a pretty good idea of what is needed to achieve this goal and what are the benefits of it.

We see pros driving big SUV’s and such, but there is a whole underground to the sport and thier lives that isnt published.

BTW, im not looking to provoke a negative article slashing the sport or ignoring that enhancements dont exist in other sports, im just trying to start good thread on the underground of the sport that isnt spoken about.

regards,
mp

[quote]maxx power wrote:
I’ve been reading plenty of articles on Professional Bodybuilding and the lack of respect for the sport.

The issue is the complete lack of honesty in the “profession”.

Nobody really knows how much money these guys make.
Nobody knows how much of their income goes towards questionable supplements/enhancement drugs/hormones.

If a person was in their teens thinking, hey, i want to be a pro in one of numerous other sports, they would have a pretty good idea of what is needed to achieve this goal and what are the benefits of it.

We see pros driving big SUV’s and such, but there is a whole underground to the sport and thier lives that isnt published.

BTW, im not looking to provoke a negative article slashing the sport or ignoring that enhancements dont exist in other sports, im just trying to start good thread on the underground of the sport that isnt spoken about.

regards,
mp[/quote]

I think pro bodybuilding has had a historically “dark area” because they didn’t make much money. That meant relying on less than respectful means to get paid. That has changed greatly lately in the pro ranks when it comes to the top guys. That isn’t saying that the average pro bodybuilder is getting rich. I am just saying that they make enough now where the Mr. O and runner ups don’t even have to work other jobs anymore. To ask exactly how much they make would require simply adding up Ronnie Coleman’s guest posings, endorsements and competitions. He is clearly making a shit load. Other guys on the bottom aren’t making shit aside from IFBB contracts.

Further, anyone who would tell a kid that this is a great sport to make a career out of is retarded. Most…MOST bodybuilders won’t ever make enough from competitions to keep the lights on. That means the guys it usually attracts are those who don’t work, don’t want to work and are “ok” with doing dirty shit just so they can keep on not working and lifting weights and eating all day.

That is why the sport as a whole has no respect…it makes no real money for the average participant. therefore, the guys who usually run into it have issues to begin with.

I personally could care less if I ever compete as I have other real life goals than just jumping on stage. If I ever do, then I will make that one more thing I want to do well at. I think people who put more into than that are either personal trainers with a shitload of time on their hands, wannabe actors (who think they will be the next Arnold), or jackasses who don’t do shit all day but eat and sleep.

I look up to some physiques for my own personal goals, not because I respect every bodybuilder out there.

I agree with your points. It also seems like a young person who is interested in competitive bodybuilding has to dish out a lot of money over the years in legal (and not legal) supplementation and paying to compete without much of a chance to break into the top percent who actually make money for it.

This differs from a high school b ball or football player who is heavily recruited and has scholarship offers if they have the talent.

D

[quote]Professor X wrote:
I think pro bodybuilding has had a historically “dark area” because they didn’t make much money. That meant relying on less than respectful means to get paid.
[/quote]

I think this is still very true in women’s pro bodybuilding.

I would be willing to guess that once you consider the amount of effort and return that Ronnie Coleman gets from BBing compared to that same effort if he placed it into law enforcement, I bet he is only margionally further ahead.

I know some guys who have been promoted through the ranks in law and now bring in over 100k.

The dark side is, yes, he probably brings in more, but I bet his GH bill alone now is more than most regular cops incomes.

Ive also heard that some of the big guys charge $25.00 for autographs. sad.

[quote]maxx power wrote:
I would be willing to guess that once you consider the amount of effort and return that Ronnie Coleman gets from BBing compared to that same effort if he placed it into law enforcement, I bet he is only margionally further ahead.

I know some guys who have been promoted through the ranks in law and now bring in over 100k.

The dark side is, yes, he probably brings in more, but I bet his GH bill alone now is more than most regular cops incomes.

Ive also heard that some of the big guys charge $25.00 for autographs. sad.

[/quote]

Some of those same guys charging for autographs are relying on that as income to survive. That is why I don’t cop an attitude when I hear stuff like that. If anything, it is a little sad that someone needs to rely that much on signed photos of themselves to make a living. However, if you think about how much they may pull in from one session of that, they are probably paying off an electric bill or two that way. Let them have at it.

As far as Ronnie, I seriously doubt he would be making anywhere near that much as a cop. What street cops do you know of making over 100grand a year? Ronnie makes that much FROM ONE SHOW now. That doesn’t count the other show he may do (The Arnold Classic) or the endorsements and guest posings. You are seriously underestimating how much he is pulling in. Remember the new Hummer he was getting every year?

[quote]maxx power wrote:
I would be willing to guess that once you consider the amount of effort and return that Ronnie Coleman gets from BBing compared to that same effort if he placed it into law enforcement, I bet he is only margionally further ahead.

I know some guys who have been promoted through the ranks in law and now bring in over 100k.

The dark side is, yes, he probably brings in more, but I bet his GH bill alone now is more than most regular cops incomes.

Ive also heard that some of the big guys charge $25.00 for autographs. sad.

[/quote]

Ronnie supposedly has a 7 figure endorsement deal with BSN. that may be spread out over a few years, but I refuse to believe that you know any cops who make multi millions (when you add in the prize $$ from the olympia, and the guest posings, and autographs, and probably a cut from the videos…) per years/years

The difference i was trying to make was focusing on careers, if he focused his attention to law enforcement instead of BBing and achieved similar results, he would be up there in the ranks.

This is a sport that nobody really knows much about as far as income, expenses and the like.