Exclusive Interview By John Stamatopoulos With Ronnie Coleman
March 6th, 2001 - Hello once again friends. Today I have the honor of interviewing the best of the best! He is "simply the best" that bodybuilding can offer today. He wrote history in 1998 when he won the Mr. Olympia, even though the previous year he was just 9th! (He became the first Mr. Olympia that came from so far behind.)
He recently wrote history again, when he became the first bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia and the Arnold classic in the same year! For all the people that love this sport he is undoubtedly "number 1" in our eyes. For baskeball fans their favorite is Michael Jordan. For tennis fans their favorite is Andre Agassi. But for bodybuilding fans his name is RONNIE COLEMAN!
Ronnie was introduced to competitive bodybuilding by Brian Dobson, the owner of the Metro Flex Gym in Arlington. He won the heavyweight and overall title in his first bodybuilding contest, Mr. Texas, in April 1990. Ronnie graduated from Grambling State College with a degree in Accounting.
He recently ended his 12-year police career, in order to not miss opportunities to compete and fly to bodybuilding appearances. He will remain a reserve officer with the department, working two days a month.
RONNIE COLEMAN'S INTERVIEW!
1. Q. Ronnie, the biggest dream of a competitive bodybuilder is to win the Mr. Olympia title, and that's something that you have already done 3 consecutive times. Now, since you are just the 10th person in Mr. Olympia history to fulfill this dream, is there something that you still want to accomplish? Maybe to break Lee Haney's record?
R.C. I just want to be the best bodybuilder that I can be as long as I can be. If it includes breaking Lee Haney's record then that is something I would cherish more than anything in the world.
2. Q. You will compete in the Arnold Classic in a few days. If you win, you will be the first bodybuilder in history to take 1st place in both, the Mr.Olympia and the the Arnold Classic. What was the reason for this kind of decision? Was it to accomplish something that no ex-Mr. Olympia has done in the past, or is it something else? (This interview was taken few days before the Arnold Classic. He Won!)
R.C. Yes that is the main reason why I'm doing this, I'm also trying to bring as much publicity to bodybuilding as I can. I want this sport to be more recognized than it currently is recognized. I too would love to get more recognition as the world's greatest bodybuilder and be someone to look up to as a role model for young kids.
3. Q. A Mr. Olympia should train very hard, eat many times per day, recuperate adequately, and use cutting edge supplements. What supplements do you currently trust and use?
R.C. I use a variety of Weider supplements, I take Zinc, Magnesium, Multimineral and all of these are by the Schiff line. I take ZMA, Vitamin C-1000mg. Vitamin E-400IU, Weider Dynamic Muscle Builder, Creatine ATP by Weider, American Bodybuilding Turbo Tea, Speed Stack and my favorite to take everyday is Pain Free by Schiff recently named Move Free.
4. Q. Let's turn back the time and go to the year 1992. In your first Mr. Olympia that was held in Helsinki, you got just 16th place. My question is how easy or how difficult was it for you at that time to believe that you will get the Mr. Olympia some time in the future?
R.C. I never in a million years believed I would become Mr. Olympia. I was just competing to have fun and that was my only intentions back then. But if the oppurtunity came for me to make money, I would be more than happy to do that, but I never cared about becoming Mr. Olympia because I didn't think I had what it took to become Mr. Olympia.
5. Q. This is my last question for you Ronnie, and it's quite "hypothetical" but I believe it is a good one. Let's say that it would be possible to have a bodybuilding contest where the only competitors would be you, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, and Dorian Yates, and all of you in their prime condition. Who do you believe would win?
R.C. Come on now, this is the age of Ronnie Coleman who else would win... but I couldn't have beat them in their hey days.
By John Stamatopoulos
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rcinter.htm
