Every person that has been backstage or onstage at a bodybuilding show will tell that competitive spirits can get high. While many athletes consider making it to the posedown a win in itself, the greatest in the sport are there for one reason; to win.
One shining example of this is Bryan Jones in the Classic Physique division. As he told Dennis James on this week’s episode of “The Menace Podcast,” Jones isn’t only showing up to have a good time. That even applied at the 2020 Olympia, his first year on that stage.
“The first time, most people go, you know, just to go, but I was like ‘I think I have a legit shot, you know. I heard from my coach and my fiancé, ‘if you don’t win, you can make top five.’ I said ‘well, I’m going for all of it,’” he explained to James. “There’s no point in going just to be seen in my opinion.”
It turned out his supporters were right because he did in fact place fifth in Orlando this past December. Champion Chris Bumstead won his second consecutive Olympia that year. To place in the top five on the Olympia stage in a debut is quite the accomplishment. Jones attributed the success to his mindset.
“I was like ‘I got nothing to lose.’ So there was no pressure on me. No one knows who I am. What’s the worst that can happen?”
That won’t be the case for the 2021 Olympia. Jones has a lot of eyes on him this year, and he is already qualified for the big show thanks to his placing in 2020. He is committed to competing in the Tampa Pro before that, but he made his intentions for this season very clear.
“I’m like ‘alright, what to do now to be in the top two or try to get the title? Let’s see if I can be a little bigger possibly, muscle quality wise,’ you know. I’ll probably add onto my stage weight, like three or four pounds, but keep my aesthetics.”
Get to know this rising star by watching the full episode of The Menace Podcast over at the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel. All shows air every Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. The audio podcast is also available on Spotify.
