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Ronnie Coleman, 'The King' of bodybuilding, dominated the Mr. Olympia stage, winning it a record eight-times and shattered many dreams in his storied career, including those of 1991 Arnold Classic Champion, Shawn Ray. In a recent interview on the Escape Fitness YouTube channel, the former bodybuilder opened up about how the eight-time Mr. Olympia stole his dreams.
The former Arnold Classic champion mentioned didn't even notice the King until he beat him and won his first title in 1998. Shawn Ray said:
"That's when I took notice of Ronnie. I didn't notice him in Long Beach; I was third that year."
Shawn Ray stated in the interview that he had the best training camp of his life in 1999 and felt good about his chances in that year's Mr. Olympia. However, he was once again overshadowed by Coleman, a trend which continued till Ray's retirement in 2001.
Ray shared that he had a condo at the beach and drove Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and BMWs. He even had some Harleys in his garage. Despite all his success, he felt like he was falling behind and was unable to follow his dreams.
"I had nobody to come home to. I kind of felt like what's it all mean, and you know this guy, Ronnie Coleman, he's stopping me from my dream. I mean, this is what I this is my existence, I want to be, Mr. Olympia. I don't want to be the pace car on the racetrack to watch Ronnie Coleman victory party and I just thought 98, 99, 2000, 2001 I can't take it anymore," Ray said.
The 58-year-old also stated that he couldn't appreciate Coleman's career and his achievements until after he retired from professional bodybuilding.
Coleman shattered the dreams of many bodybuilders in his career
In the interview, Ray talked about the other bodybuilders who were heartbroken by Coleman's dominance. He added:
"When I saw Ronnie Coleman, I thought, What in the hell did this guy do? Like, I thought I was going to be the next Mr. Olympia. Flex thought he was, Kevin thought he was, Nasser thought he was, and Ronnie Coleman leapfrogged over everybody to become Mr. Olympia. Undisputed."
Coleman's series of undisputed wins ended the careers of many bodybuilders. Starting with Flex Wheeler, who retired in 2000, followed by Ray in 2001, and the uncrowned Mr. Olympia Kevin Levrone in 2003. The series continued until 2005, when Nasser El Sonbaty announced his retirement.
