Danny Hester believes Lee Priest didn’t have enough power to change bodybuilding for the athletes.
Lee Priest was a bodybuilder now seen in two ways. He’s either a man brave enough to speak the truth that others shy away from, or he’s a troll that’s all bark and no bite. Part of the reason Lee Priest ended up being banned for life from the IFBB was due to his major criticisms of the IFBB. He even claims to have tried to gather all pro athletes together to stand by his side and initiate change. But that didn’t happen. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Danny Hester shares his take on why no pro bodybuilder wanted to follow Lee Priest against the IFBB.
In our conversation with Danny Hester, we got onto the topic of Paul Dillet. A legendary bodybuilder and close friend of Danny Hester who eventually left the IFBB to return to Canada and started his own bodybuilding federation – the WBFF. Danny Hester explains how at the time, Wayne DeMilia, ran the Mr. Olympia. Paul Dillet didn’t really get along with the way Wayne handled things. This lead to frustrations and aggravation that eventually led to Paul leaving the IFBB.
Another bodybuilder who had major issues with Wayne DeMilia is Lee Priest. So much so that Lee found himself dubbed The Dark Horse of bodybuilding. He was often outspoke with his distaste for how the IFBB was handling its athletes and eventually was banned for life. Before he was banned, Lee Priest supposedly tried to unite the pro bodybuilders together in standing up to the federation and changing things. This never happened. Far from it – majority of bodybuilders wanted nothing to do with Lee Priest.
That’s why we asked Danny Hester – if there were athletes like Paul and Lee so fed up with the way things were being handled at the time in the IFBB, why didn’t the pro bodybuilders stand behind Lee Priest? Danny believes it comes down to a simple fact – Lee never won a Mr. Olympia competition and was not a top athlete in the sport.
Danny Hester believes for real change to happen that unites all of the athletes, a current frontrunner and multiple Mr. Olympia champ would need to speak out. Not after they retire, as many athletes have done, but during their prime. When they have something to lose – it shows the real stakes of what this person would be willing to lose. That would inspire the rest of the athletes to band together, to “unionize” so to speak, and demand big changes.
Lee Priest was not that person. So instead of a revolution, there was barely even a whimper. Ultimately, Lee Priest shot himself in the foot more than anything else – and now his career will mostly be remembered for his troll-like behavior.
Check out the full GI Exclusive interview segment with Danny Hester above!
