Don’t Count Matt Jansen Out Just Yet!

Don’t Count Matt Jansen Out Just Yet!

Let me tell you a couple of three things. For starters, the bodybuilding industry is one that is very much prone to snowball effects.  If you don’t like that analogy, think of a domino effect. The bottom line is many competitors have left Matt’s side because they probably think that’s what they should do. They probably think that’s where the smart money is. They probably think that Matt represents a sinking ship, like he’s going to sell his stocks and his ownership in the various companies, and he’s simply going to vanish off into the bodybuilding sunset. But the reality of the matter as he states in his own official statement, Shaun took second place in Las Vegas, Brett looked phenomenal, and so did many of his other competitors. Quinton Eriya has a very strong case for why he left and he’s made a series of allegations that have yet to be confirmed – allegations ranging from everything from incompetence to fake gear. And again, I don’t know if Matt facilitates the acquisition of contest prep supplements or what, but that’s not what this article is about. I don’t know that he could be blamed any other way for fake gear than that, but again it’s not the focus of this article.

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Also I don’t feel comfortable putting the blame for Nick’s shortcomings 100% on Matt’s doorstep, either. I think Nick is dealing with all sorts of issues and I think he has his own personal demons to overcome. The same way I don’t blame Matt for Nick’s injury, I also don’t blame Matt for Nick dropping out of two Olympias and looking like crap at the New York Pro. I think Nick is a lazy bodybuilder and one that has had a lot of things handed to him. He has left companies, only to come back a short time later. He has left Matt before, only to come back a short time later. And I don’t think this will be any different. No coach knows him like Matt does.

And that’s just it folks. Guys like Shaun are going to have a tough time leaving a guy like Matt who has been with them their entire career to go to a new coach who will not know his body, will not know how he reacts to certain foods, and will not really gel with him until at least two or three shows in. Now I don’t know what Shaun’s age is, but I don’t think he’s 25 or 30 years old, either. Matt helped him get to two 212 Olympia victories, helped him win open shows, and has helped him place top five at open Arnold Classic. I think Shaun has done extremely well with Matt. And if Shaun didn’t leave Matt when RAW dropped him as an athlete, considering Matt owns a piece of that company, then I’m surprised he left him now. But again, I’m sure those guys are on great terms. I can’t imagine that Shaun is not grateful for all of Matt’s hard work and I’m sure that Matt is grateful to have had such a driven and accomplished client as Shaun. I will tell you, though, I would be shocked if those two didn’t work together again. I would be shocked if they didn’t work together for next year’s Olympia. Like I said, I think Shaun leaving was part of a domino effect more than anything else. I don’t see what he has to be angry with with Matt about.

Brett, I don’t know what to say on him. He’s been looking phenomenal lately and If Matt had done a horrible job, I don’t think that would have been the case. I don’t think Brett was self-prepping and ignoring Jansen’s advice either, so the reality of the matter is, I don’t know why Brett left either.

Quinton is a completely different story. He is saying that he lost as much as 20 lb of lean muscle mass. I think that sounds like bullshit, but if he says it and he can prove it, then that is pretty damning. He is also talking about rumors of fake gear. He’s talking about professional negligence and to a certain extent Matt has acknowledged that in his own personal statement. I could see Quinton never working with Matt again, but Quinton did not go as far as Nick or Shaun did with Matt. So if Eriya never comes back, I don’t think that’s going to be that surprising as it would be if Nick or Shaun didn’t.

At the end of the day, I applaud Matt for taking accountability. He recognized that he was not giving it his all and he also recognized that his priorities were not in order with regards to bodybuilding. Anyone who is going to fault the guy for putting his wife and children ahead of preparing athletes for a bodybuilding show is on their own because I am not part of that pack. That being said, I totally understand the athlete’s perspective. They’re not paying Matt not to be a good husband or a good father; they’re paying him to be their coach. If he is not responsible enough to compartmentalize his time so as to be able to offer competent coaching services while still being a good husband and a good father then that’s a whole different story. At the end of the day these athletes entrusted him with their money and with their preparations. They followed his directives to the letter and if those directives led them astray, they have every right to be upset with him and to leave him.


That being said, I think the beating that Matt has taken on social media is a little extreme. But again bodybuilding is a sport of excess. Excess drugs, excess food, and of course excess drama.

All that being said and done, I have no doubt Matt Jansen will resurrect from the ashes like the phoenix and all of the people that left him will at least consider coming back.