First and foremost, I want to applaud Sam Sulek for sticking to his guns and seeing his decision to compete all the way through. You have to respect an individual who competes out of love of the sport and not for anything else. Sam is a guy that has written his own ticket. He has had good sponsorships and he has also flown solo. He is somebody that has become a viral sensation but not because of some bullshit diet (like The Liver King) or some nonsense about being natural when he wasn’t. He has been nothing but transparent with his followers and as a result he has earned their respect. The same guy that you see on his channel is the same guy you see in person. That said, one thing that a lot of people always wondered about, was whether or not he would ever compete. He has never been one all too-interested in earning a pro card or competing for money. I think he’s the kind of guy that knows that if he really wants to make a living it’s not going to be competing, but rather making content and working with companies that he believes in. Nonetheless, there is a credibility factor that was not present with his content up until recently. To most people, Sam was just a gymrat. I hate to use the word “just,” but bodybuilding is a sport that involves competition as much as everything else and I think that competitors didn’t know what to make of Sulek until now.
Whether Sam decides to do more shows beyond the Arnold Classic Amateur is entirely on him. A lot of the reactions that I have heard about his first bodybuilding show have been nothing but favorable. Some folks have said that he is really not a classic physique competitor, rather, a small bodybuilder. I don’t think anyone means anything negative by that statement. It just so happens that bodybuilding has lost its way. It used to be a sport that embodied what classic physique is today. That’s why so many guys from the 70’s and early 80’s got excited when the division was first introduced. That being said, I think Sam is too big for classic but not big enough to be competitive in open bodybuilding. So what’s he to do? The answer is simple, but most can’t take it. All it really involves is patience. He needs time to grow and he needs a real coach in his corner.
If Sam is serious about competing and moving up the ranks, then he needs a solid year with a real coach. One year is the fast track. Personally, I’d say 1-2 years is where it’s at. At the end of the day it’s not about hitting the compounds hard or training to the point of overtraining or anything like that. What he needs is good nutrition, good training, and someone to take him under his/her wing. It isn’t a question of eating more and more and more as Rich Piana used to say because that is just as bad as training to the point of burning out. What Sam needs is somebody that understands how his body works. Not how other people’s body works, but how his body works. From there, they need to figure out a game plan for a good solid year or two. There’s no glory in failing time after time and learning that way. Sam has the money and will power to find a good coach and stick to the plan. This one show has shown us as much. He’s not just talking. He’s walking the walk, too.
Could Sam go pro one day? Absolutely. Will he go pro in 2025? I highly doubt it, but let’s say he’s given a pro card. Let’s say politics plays a little bit of a role. Would it be the worst thing? Absolutely not.
Sam brings so much interest to bodybuilding that I, for one, would have no problem if he was given a freebie. He also wouldn’t be the first and he surely won’t be the last. That being said, if he is given a gift it would not be that obvious. In bodybuilding politics are present – I don’t care what anyone says – but they are more subtle than giving a guy that’s done all of one show a pro card the same year he started competing. I do think that Sam brings an undeniable entertainment factor to the stage. If he was involved in a competition, whether handing out trophies or battling for a placing, I have no doubt that he would have a direct impact on ticket and booth sales. And there aren’t many competitors we can say the same about. Sure, everyone likes to talk a big game, but can they deliver? Survey says? NO!
At the end of the day viral sensations usually don’t compete because of the fact that they don’t really get anything out of it. In this situation, I think it would be a win-win all around if Sam can showcase his physique and battle with others while growing the sport. I don’t know why he gets the truckload of views that he does, but he seems to have a very strong bond with his subscribers. And it’s a bond that transcends YouTube. People will actually come to see him at a booth or at a bodybuilding show. That right there is real power. That right there is a real influencer.
Do you think Sam should go pro in 2025? Does it matter if he can ever win a pro show or even get on the Olympia stage? Is the entertainment value important enough to give him the keys to the kingdom? I say, sure why not? If it’s going to grow bodybuilding and it’s going to make it entertaining, then I think it’s worth it. But the purists – for sure – will argue that this whole thing isn’t about entertainment, what matters is flow, symmetry, muscularity and posing. And they’re right to a point, but they’re also wrong. Take wrestling, for example. If the wrestling on TV looked like the wrestling in high school or college – nobody would watch it.
Entertainment needs to be present. Entertainment is what sells – it’s why Sam can make a living making content and why without it, people fall asleep at bodybuilding shows. I don’t see any harm with having Sam compete as a pro even if maybe he didn’t entirely deserve it. What’s it going to hurt to throw him a bone? I don’t know, the more I talk about this, the more I feel like a hypocrite. I should be preaching hard work, but but I’d rather see sold out shows and bodybuilding actually becoming more in demand. Many of today’s promoters think they can accomplish this end with fancier light shows or dance music blasting from all angles of a stage. Clearly, they haven’t a clue what’s cool.
