Generation Iron Page #7

bring you back

to the director,

and that was funny.

So just take it and work on it,

and we'll see each other later.

Thank you very much,

it was great.

- It was nice meeting you.

- Nice meeting you, too.

- Thank you.

- All right, take care.

While playing basketball

in college,

Phil realized that he would

never play professionally,

but there was potential

in his genes,

potential that led him

to another sport.

That's right.

I would say quitting basketball,

I mean...

It wasn't really quitting,

I'll be honest,

I just wasn't good enough

to play at the next level.

Those dreams, as far as like,

playing in the NBA,

were just...

they were squashed.

- This is Phil Heath.

- Hi, nice to meet you.

Good to meet you.

At times, nostalgia kicks in.

He loved to play ball just as much

as he loves bodybuilding now.

When the opportunity

presents itself,

Phil enjoys to return

to the court

to shoot some hoops.

When I decided to be a

bodybuilder and quit basketball,

I actually marked down the date,

it was October 8th, 2002,

and then the rest is history...

I got bit by that bug,

and it was an amazing feeling

to know that,

coming from a team sport...

You know,

you're being more concerned

with not just yourself,

but your teammates all the time,

and going against

a different type of opposition.

Playing basketball,

as opposed to bodybuilding,

where it's really

all about my effort.

For me, as Mr. Olympia,

it's not about beating

your competition,

it's about crushing those dreams

of those other guys... and that's what I've

got to do, I've gotta crush their dreams.

It's a gloomy afternoon.

Victor travels to

the Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym

in Syosset, New York,

to see a legend,

his mentor, Steve Weinberger.

Today is his judgment day.

- Hey, what's goin' on, brother?

- 'Sup, Steve?

- How you doin'?

- Good, good, how you doin'?

I'm okay, how you feel?

I'm okay, I've felt better.

Yeah...

how's it coming along?

I don't feel confident.

Lemme close the door...

too much noise out there.

As soon as I got out,

I started training,

and getting back on my regimen...

the training's been good,

everything's been good,

no injuries, you know, and, uh...

Everything's good, it's just,

is it "Olympia good"?

Is it "Olympia ready"?

- Let's see what you look like.

- All right.

For Rikers Island,

you look great, Vic,

but for the Olympia...

I don't think you'll have enough time,

honestly, I'm sorry.

If I was you,

I would shut it down,

and just concentrate

on next year.

I don't think there's enough time,

I'm sorry.

How you feelin', Victor?

I just don't want to talk,

right now.

Please, c'mon.

Hey, V.

Yeah, I just saw Steve.

Yeah, I decided

I'm not doing the show.

He's a guy that's gotten no breaks,

with his sister getting murdered, and...

this is his second time in jail,

and...

just all these problems,

it just seems that...

You never know why some good

people never get breaks,

and some bad people get breaks.

And Victor is one of those good

guys that never get a break,

and I feel bad for him,

I really do.

Hide lives a solitary life in Venice,

California, near the beach.

When he looks across the water,

he sometimes imagines

he can see home.

Though he is married,

he spends most of his time

separate from his wife,

who often travels to Japan

to take care of his family...

a family that has never fully

accepted his life path,

nor fully understood it.

They don't watch my shows,

but they call me

and I call them.

It's a really hard sport.

For me, my thinking is that

they can't enjoy their life.

I was born, born

to be bodybuilder.

I'm a bodybuilder until I die.

I hope that one day

my family understands.

People thought that

it's just impossible

for Japanese or Asian people

to step on Olympia stage...

Because of their structure

or genetics, I don't know...

I wouldn't say I'm small

'cause I'm 5'5".

But I weigh 220,

which is pretty heavy.

Olympia.

Nice... are you gonna win?

- Say yes.

- Yeah, I will.

Yeah, say

"I'm gonna win the Olympia!"

Yes I will.

I'm still, you know,

challenging the title.

If I'm the champion, I would say

there will be a lot of pressure.

There's always that pressure...

you gotta be your best,

'cause you're only as good

as your last contest, in our sport...

No matter how well you placed at the

last show, if you do poorly at this one,

this is the one

everybody remembers...

I think that's why a lot of guys fail,

is because there's so much pressure.

Sponsors drop you.

I better be ready, you know.

I better be ready to bring it.

Here we go!

Fight!

Perfect!

Make 'em grow!

Here we go.

No pain, no pain.

Fight!

That's it!

You got this, man, no pain!

As a competition looms

in the near future,

the pressure builds.

Training and rigorous routines

take a toll on the body,

as well on the mind.

Each bodybuilder seeks out

different ways

to alleviate the stress.

Is there anybody that you're

worried about competing against?

There's probably two guys

in the world who, I think,

if they bring their best,

and I bring my best, they can beat me.

Other than that, nobody's gonna beat me,

so I just gotta come with my best.

I want everybody

to bring their A game,

and if somebody beats me,

I'll shake his hand,

'cause he outworked me,

but I don't see it happening.

I met Phil

at a mutual friend's restaurant

after his second

bodybuilding competition,

that he won his class,

but he didn't take the overall.

And I just knew, like,

I just saw the...

what he was working for,

that he was gonna become great,

and that everything

was gonna go for him.

And he's like "Really...

you really think

I'm gonna make it that big?"

and I said, "Absolutely,

I think you're gonna go

all the way."

I'm glad I have

a family that can go on

this journey with me,

I'm not going at this separate,

and them just watching.

They're there.

They'll be there.

I'll have the list

for tickets for you by tomorrow.

Did you spell my name right?

I'm just kidding.

So here's the thing with Phil and I,

we always got along, man...

I've never had a problem with him...

I was in Denver last year,

we went out to dinner, and then I leave,

and I hear he was talking sh*t...

and I was like,

"Okay, you're a scumbag...

you say one thing in my face

and something else to my back,"

that's fine.

And to me, that says

he's insecure and he's scared.

I don't respect his work ethic.

I don't respect him

as a person, with his attitude.

But he's become

an excellent bodybuilder.

He's not a very good role model

for the sport.

Is he as dominant

as everybody thinks he is?

No, he's not... but I've seen

him train and I'm like,

"Man, his back sucks,

his calves suck,

his hamstrings suck," man, that stuff, you

fix it like this, like, I can't build muscle

nearly as easily as that guy,

and yet I'm doing it, you know?

It ain't all talk

when you're on that stage, man.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes