<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
There have been rumors circulating all over the world of bodybuilding and fitness that two of its greatest current competitors do not actually have the best of ties. I wasn\u2019t going to talk about it just because I don\u2019t like to add fuel to the fire. I have always been someone that has prided myself on writing articles and trying to put out content that promotes positivity and harmony. But that being said, it\u2019s difficult to ignore something that has been presented to me on a number of occasions by a number of my readers. After all, what I do here at IronMag is put my finger on the fitness industry pulse. The reason that a lot of people come here is because of the fact that we don\u2019t cookie-coat stuff. We tell it like it is. I know that sometimes that will ruffle people\u2019s feathers. As a result I have found myself blocked on social media by a number of competitors \u2013 including reigning Mr Olympia champions. That being said, if you want to be respected by your audience for your objectivity, you really can\u2019t pick and choose what you want to write about and what you don\u2019t. You can, however, err on the side of optimism. Optimism that whatever beef or whatever misunderstanding is a play will get resolved thus allowing you not to write about it. However, just today I watched the most popular YouTuber on the planet talk about this rivalry and unfortunately I can no longer ignore it. Unfortunately I must weigh in and when anyone weighs in on something from the outside there\u2019s going to be speculation. There\u2019s going to be a certain degree of bullshit, a certain degree of uncertainty, but in the end it\u2019s what your gut instincts tell you. I\u2019m going to share with you what my gut instinct tells me about this rivalry between the reigning Mr Olympia and the reigning Arnold Classic Champion in good ole 2026.<\/p>\n
Now, one of the things that I think is interesting is the fact that both competitors have amassed a lion\u2019s share of the bodybuilding audience. Wherever they go they get mobbed by screaming fans, who want them to sign autographs, give them high fives, and just talk about supplementation and nutrition. After all, we\u2019re talking about the reigning champion of a contest known as the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. But we\u2019re also talking about a man who just recently won the second most important bodybuilding show in the world, in Columbus, Ohio. Jacked won a contest named after the most popular bodybuilder that ever lived.<\/p>\n
You would think that these men would be on the same page. Both poised to growing the sport, both poised to growing the Olympia, both poised to leaving bodybuilding in a better place than they found it. But it seems like there\u2019s tension. And it seems like perhaps Derek might be the one who is a little bit more to blame. Again we\u2019re speculating. I don\u2019t know for sure, but based on what I\u2019ve heard, it seems perhaps as if the reigning Mr.\u00a0 O does not think that Andrew is good enough or maybe decorated enough to stand alongside him. We saw something very similar with Lunsford years ago with Nick Walker when he did not want to do a second training session with him. Ultimately, Derek is a yes-man and will do whatever his sponsor, or the federation, or the officials tell him to do. We\u2019re not dealing with a Lee Priest type here, we\u2019re not dealing with a Robbie Robinson type, either. We\u2019re dealing with a company man. So at the end of the day he\u2019s going to do what he\u2019s told, but he may not do it with a smile.<\/p>\n
The reason that I believe Nick Miller talked about this rivalry was because of the fact that there was some sort of a photo shoot that featured Derek and Andrew. and as it would happen with this photoshoot there was also a training component. And during this training component it seems like perhaps Derek was not super enthused to do a back workout or a leg workout with Andrew. It doesn\u2019t really matter what they were training, but what does matter is the fact that Derek did not seem on board with working with Andrew. And that\u2019s very suspect because of the fact that they are the winners of the two most important bodybuilding shows. What could the rivalry be about ? My guess would be fear and insecurity.<\/p>\n
I have heard on a number of occasions that Derek likes to say that he is 5-0 with Jacked. All five of the times that he has faced Andrew, Derek has prevailed. I have also heard people say that Derek says \u2013 I mean talk about hearsay here lol \u2013 that Derek is going to make it 6-0. Again hearsay, bullshit, uncertainty, you roll that up and you have speculation. Unfortunately since nobody\u2019s going to get this straight from the horse\u2019s mouth, we have to look at a lot of circumstantial evidence and then we have to put that in the salad along with history and with our gut instincts. And there you have it. That said, I\u2019ve been doing this now for over 20 years and I know Derek well. I don\u2019t know Andrew very well, but I know Derek. I know him well enough to know that this sounds like something he would say.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n