Bob Cicherillo describes the once in a lifetime experience of seeing Ronnie Coleman in his prime first hand.
When it comes to the best mass monster bodybuilders in the history of the sport – there are only a select few names that appear on the list. For some it’s the more classic look of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Others might mention Markus Ruhl, Lee Haney, or Dorian Yates. But more often than not Ronnie Coleman tops the list. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, we asked Bob Cicherillo who his pick was for the freakiest bodybuilder he’s ever seen in his lifetime. He ultimately picks Ronnie – and explains why there will never be another bodybuilder like him for a lifetime.
Bob Cicherillo has been in bodybuilding for multiple decades. First as a competitor and then as an announcer after his retirement from competing in the sport. He’s been involved first hand throughout many of the biggest moments in bodybuilding history. That’s why we asked him who his pick was for the freakiest bodybuilder he had ever seen in person.
For many younger fans of the sport, they will only be able to see video footage or pictures of past legends in the sport. The difference between a video/photo and seeing a competitor on stage in person can be vast. It’s like seeing a famous painting in an art book and then finally getting to see it in person at a museum. It changes everything about your perspective of that greatness.
So when Bob Cicherillo picks Ronnie Coleman, it may at first seem like the obvious answer. We’ve heard it all before. Ronnie is considered widely to be the freakiest and best bodybuilder to ever compete. But when you hear Bob Cicherillo explain what it was like to be there in person – it reminds us of just how big of a deal it really was at the time.
A picture of Ronnie Coleman competing in his prime (above).
One of the most interesting details Cicherillo reveals is about his experience seeing Ronnie Coleman in 2003. This is considered by many to be one of Ronnie’s best years competing. Cicherillo describes the moment he first saw Ronnie step on stage. He simply laughed. It wasn’t a laugh of mockery. Far from it. It was laughter because he was dumbfounded. He was shocked into a hysterical stupor due to the pure unreal nature of Ronnie Coleman’s physique.
Sometimes you look back at cultural touchtone moments before your time. Something like The Beatles. You see the video footage of them performing live and all of the fans screaming from so much excitement that they literally faint. It seems silly in retrospect. How could they actually be fainting just from a band? But that’s simply how shockingly different and great they were at the time.
Ronnie Coleman is like The Beatles of bodybuilding. For those who were there – they were ripped out of reality upon seeing Ronnie’s physique. It shattered the perception of what was possible. It’s hard to imagine it today. We all know he was one of the best. But how many people feel it?
To get a deeper look into the true impact of Ronnie Coleman’s career – make sure to watch our feature film documentary, Ronnie Coleman: The King, available now on digital right here.
You can check out Bob Cicherillo’s full comments about Ronnie Coleman and the freakiest bodybuilders he’s ever seen in person by watching our GI Exclusive interview segment above!
