It takes a lot to impress “The King” Ronnie Coleman—after all, this is the guy who’d squat 800 solid-ass pounds and claim it was “light weight” in his prime. But even the eight-time Mr. Olympia winner had to give it up for Morgan Nicholls (@raising_mayhem on Instagram), a 13-year-old aspiring powerlifter who in March impressed Coleman by squatting 405 pounds for two reps.
See the lift here, and see if you can catch the ode to Coleman by watching the clip here.
Coleman, one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time, called it “the most amazing feats [sic] of strength I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” But Nicholls isn’t just any freakishly strong teenager, and he actually has a unique connection to The King. His father is Chad Nicholls, a top sports nutritionist and former bodybuilder who trained Coleman during his prime.
“He was the guiding force behind my entire successful Olympia reign,” Coleman wrote of Chad, who also trained the legendary Dallas McCarver.
As if that weren’t enough, Morgan’s mother is Kim Chizevsky, a four-time Ms. Olympia. So yeah, Morgan—who goes by “Mayhem” on Instagram—already has genetics working very much in his favor. He also knows, though, that training is equally, if not more, important.
Here he is at age 11—we repeat, eleven—benching 135.
Both Coleman’s and Chad’s posts are full of people questioning whether someone so young should be lifting that amount of weight. But here’s the thing: With proper supervision and know-how, Morgan should be just fine. His father is an uber-qualified professional who knows what to look out for and could easily correct his son’s form if need be.
The King believes that if anyone could break his and Lee Haney’s records for most Olympia titles, it’s Morgan.
While that remains to be seen, we can appreciate the freakish strength this kid has by admiring some of his Instagram posts. Check out some of his impressive lifts below.
