In the internet era of bodybuilding for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction video; and there might not be another person in the industry who’s elicited more reaction videos as of late than Sam Sulek.
Since bursting onto the scene just over a year ago, Sulek has become one of the most popular and influential figures in all of bodybuilding, and recently drew the attention of 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman.
Sulek's unconventional approach to training and diet have sparked their fair share of controversy from a number of prominent voices in the bodybuilding community, including IFBB Pro Nick Trigili, who’s made several reaction videos of his own commenting on Sulek’s content.
At the heart of Sulek's rise is his unique 'trash diet,' which is known to be filled with gallons of chocolate milk and Krispy Kreme donuts – completely flying in the face of conventional wisdom in comparrision to most traditional bodybuilding diets. Despite the raised eyebrows, Sulek's ability to craft a world-class physique is undeniable, and his approach raises intriguing questions about the relationship between nutrition, aesthetics, and overall health in bodybuilding.
8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, who was famously known for incoporating non-traditional training and diet techniques during his prime, recently took to YouTube to provide a play-by-play commentary on Sulek's training routine.
“YEAH, BUDDY! HERE WE GO. ANOTHER JACKED KID COMING UP. MY MAN IS JACKED UP Y’ALL. LET’S GO, SAM. SHOW ME SOMETHING.
However, it's not just Coleman's encouragement that has put Sulek in the spotlight. The question of whether Sulek's physique is natural or enhanced has become a topic of intense debate inside the bodybuilding community. And, in true Ronnie Coleman the former champ didn’t hold anything back when it came to giving his opinion about Sulek’s Natty or Not status.
“Oh, come on now! There ain’t nothing natural about him except for the hat he got on”
Right now, there’s a solid argument to be made for Sulek as being one of, if not the most, influential figure in all of bodybuilding. Recently he even managed to draw the attention of none other than Joe Rogan, who also weighed with his thoughts on Sulek’s steroid use.
However, despite the controversy, and the fact that he doesn’t appear to have any plans to make a run at competing on an IFBB stage, Sam Sulek’s personality, and unconventional approach, have garnered him admiration from megastars in the bodybuilding world like bodybuilder 5x Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead, who sees a bright future for Sulek in bodybuilding.
Even though in some ways Sulek’s explosion in popularity appears to be somewhat non-traditional compared to industry stars from past generations, in other ways his rise to fame also feels like it falls right in line with the way the new era fans are consuming bodybuilding culture right now. He’s an unconventional star who just so happens to have landed smack dab in the middle of an era that bucks what used to be conventional norms. So even if he never sets foot on an IFBB stage, it seems like there’s a strong likelihood that his influence on the next generation of fans and competitors will be far greater than anything that winning a pro league title could ever bring him.
