Chris Cormier reflects on the importance of Chad Nicholls as Ronnie Coleman’s coach.
Ronnie Coleman is a legendary 8x Mr. Olympia champion through a combination of his genetics and unparalleled hard work ethic. He was also helped along the way by a great support system. One key player on Ronnie’s team was coach and bodybuilding guru Chad Nicholls. Through Ronnie’s incredible reign as Mr. Olympia, Nicholls became a legendary bodybuilding guru in his own right. But just how instrumental was Nicholls into Ronnie’s overall success? In our latest GI Exclusive Vault interview, Chris Cormier explains how he thinks Ronnie Coleman wouldn’t have been a Mr. Olympia champion without Chad Nicholls.
After reading the overview of Chris Cormier’s statement above, you might find this to be an extreme sentiment. No matter how good the coach is, the athlete needs to have the talent to back up the coaching. Cormier understands this completely. Chad Nicholls can’t simply transform any man into Ronnie Coleman.
But Chris Cormier also believes that Ronnie Coleman needed Chad Nicholls to provide him with the foundation to succeed. Would Ronnie have been a massive and powerful bodybuilder without him? Possibly. But would he have become the 8x Mr. Olympia legend we know today? It’s impossible to say.
During the filming of Ronnie Coleman: The King, we asked Chris Cormier how instrumental Chad Nicholls was to Ronnie’s success. His whole answer didn’t make it into the film – so we’re finally releasing it in full via our GI Exclusive Vault series.
“Without Chad [Nicholls] I don’t think Ronnie [Coleman] would have been Mr. Olympia.” Chris Cormier bluntly states in our interview. He continues:
“I don’t thinks o. He didn’t have the know how. Being from Texas… they had a lot of competitors there and they get a lot of people at the competitions but it wasn’t the hotbed at the time for knowledge of the sport.”
That being said, the results speak for themselves. Chris Cormier further states that Ronnie Coleman made a massive transformation within a year after teaming up with Chad Nicholls. All of Ronnie Coleman’s genetic strength and hard work suddenly had direction. It was the knowledge and guidance of Nicholls that guided Ronnie’s talents to the next level.
“Flex gave the idea to work with Chad. I don’t know why but that’s what he did. And in that time he went from zero to a hundred.”
Chris Cormier then goes on to give a detailed insider look as to what it was like to train with Chad Nicholls during that time. Nicholls had many clients that he had to manage. Cormier gives some insight into how the process worked and how Nicholls was able to give the attention needed to each athlete.
You can watch Chris Cormier’s full comments about Ronnie Coleman and Chad Nicholls in our latest GI Exclusive Vault interview segment above. You can also watch Ronnie Coleman: The King on digital today. Click here or the banner below to stream or download!
