I’ve never been a supporter of cancel culture. I don’t like it nor do I care for the political correctness that it tries to push forward. I also don’t believe in racing to my computer to write an article without having all the facts. I know that a lot of folks like to do that because they like to break the story and get all the hits, but it’s been my experience that that sort of recklessness always ends poorly. The most important thing to me as a writer is to put my name next to articles that matter. This is why I have nearly a thousand articles for IronMag. This is a reputable publication. That being said, we also pay very close attention to what’s trending and what the people want. Anybody that saw this past weekend’s Arnold Classic knows that there is a lot to unpack. But one of the biggest stories is not that Andrew Jacked won the contest or that Hadi may or may not have announced retirement, but everyone’s talking about Martin. That’s right Martin Fitzwater. Because of the fact that Martin did not shake hands with Nick, because of the fact that Nick accused Martin of allegedly shoving him backstage, and because Martin was elated that Andrew won, an angry mob of fans and media personalities took to social media over the course of the last couple of days. It ended with Martin having practically no sponsors and more or less announcing retirement. Now the retirement wasn’t a formal announcement, it was simply Martin saying goodbye to social media, but the mob seems to have celebrated it as a victory. And as a result of that, I’m writing this article. I’m writing this article as a fan of Martin’s but also as a strong opponent of the feelings police getting the better of the sport. Because at the end of the day, this is a sport about physiques, not canceling people, not forcing people into submission, not getting people to go destitute just because that’s what the mob wants.
I want it on record that I do not support bad sportsmanship. Perhaps on the surface that’s what it looks like, but if you have a deeper understanding of the rivalry between Martin and Nick, you would understand where Fitzwater was coming from. This isn’t the result of some isolated instance. There has been a lot of disrespect from Nick towards Martin. Disrespect that has not gone unnoticed. Martin had to take defeat in New York in 2024 despite the fact he had a better physique than Nick. Martin has also had to process less than stellar placings throughout the course of his career. He has never been what I would call a crybaby. He has never been one to throw a tantrum backstage or reject a trophy from a presenter. But the problem with Nick is different. Martin has never had a rivalry like this with anyone else. Sure, there are media outlets that perhaps he doesn’t hold in the highest regard, and there may be competitors that he doesn’t necessarily want to hang out with, but nothing compares to the rivalry with Nick Walker. And it has not been a positive rivalry either. It has been a rivalry plagued with disrespect, both directly and indirectly, that I think reached the boiling point at the Arnold Classic. I think that Martin was not happy with where the judges had him and I don’t think he wanted to be fake a handshake to be like everybody else. He didn’t shake Nick’s hand because he didn’t feel that that was a sincere action.
I think that in the sport of bodybuilding, the media wants the bodybuilders to act a certain kind of way. I think that a lot of Martin’s biggest critics would be happy if he had extended his hand to Nick and maybe offered him a congratulatory message as well. I don’t think that a lot of the folks that are calling for Martin’s cancellation would have opposed that. I think they would have been totally fine with a fake handshake and a fake hug and just fake all around. But why? Well because it fits the perception that they have for the sport. And that’s just not how life works.
When you disrespect somebody, a lot of people take that personally. They keep it in their mind and they may use it as a motivator or they may use it as a past experience that prevents them from getting burned in the future. But at the end of the day if you’re not going to shake someone’s hand and mean it, why do it? Because it’s good sportsmanship? I think that’s being fake, personally. And like Dave Palumbo said just today, Martin didn’t break any rules, he didn’t break any laws, so why is there such a movement to cancel him?
This is like the Giles “Tiger” Thomas bullshit, rehashed, warmed up, and served to the bodybuilding fans. This is a non-story. but at the same time it’s something that people can’t stop talking about. I don’t know if Martin actually retired or not, but he certainly said goodbye to social media for the indefinite future. He doesn’t have sponsors, he’s not posting on Instagram, but people still can’t stop talking about him. Even though they got what they wanted, they can’t let the guy go. He is always under a microscope. This is why I wrote not too long ago for IronMag and StrengthAddicts how Martin is by far the most scrutinized bodybuilder in the current pro circuit. If this guy says anything, writes anything, goes anywhere, it’s under a microscope. It’s like every other bodybuilder has the right to have a private life and has the right to let off some steam from time to time, but not Martin. If Martin does anything, you can rest assured that the usual suspects will be out and about all over the social media platforms taking a crap on him. I mean even Ron Harris said in the comment that he doesn’t think that Martin is a decent person. Why wouldn’t he be a decent person? Because he didn’t fake handshaking another competitor? Because he celebrated Andrew’s victory? I mean, I just think that he’s a human being. I don’t know that anybody can make any moral judgments based on his character simply based on the fact that he has human reactions to human situations.
What the f*ck happened to bodybuilding? What happened to the sport that we all loved so much? Back in the ’80s and 90s, rivalries were serious. A lot of times they ended up in fist fights out in the parking lot. Who can forget Craig Titus and King Kamali? Who can forget Phil Heath and Kai Greene? Nobody called for anybody to get canceled but now because of an alleged shove backstage that nobody saw, everybody wants Martin’s career to pretty much be over? Because he didn’t shake Nick’s hand? Are you kidding me? And what about the sponsors?
RAW Nutrition and Elev8 Foods dropped Martin on the spot. What in the Sam hell is wrong with you guys? So because a mob calls for you to drop an athlete – you drop the athlete? And then Chris Bumstead comes out and makes an official statement saying that he despises cancel culture? Well guess what C-Bum, you just perpetuated it. What you did was cancel the culture. There are no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it, bro. no if ands or buts about it. These companies folded like cheap suits to the angry mob. They couldn’t race fast enough to make the announcement they dropped The Martian. That just screams spinelessness. What kind of a company handles business like that? And it just goes to show you, just because a company is owned and operated by a competitor, it doesn’t mean that that company’s going to stand by the competitor any more than other companies. This is just plain sad.
Like I said from the very beginning, I don’t like cancel culture and I don’t like people forcing their feelings on a sport, or on a government, or on a society. I understand people are frustrated. I understand people are entitled to their opinion. but I don’t think that the sport needs to act based on what a mob wants. And I have to give tremendous kudos to the Federation because in two different instances, one in Prague and the other in Columbus, mobs of angry fans have wanted blood, but the Federation didn’t cater to these angry folks. Unfortunately, a lot of supplement companies and media outlets did.
In closing, where do you stand with the Martin Fitzwater situation? As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article here at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste the link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
