Was it smart for the Olympia to ban Shawn Rhoden? And what does his future hold in 2020?
A CONVERSATION WITH GREGG VALENTINO – is a six part sit down interview with Gregg Valentino – a former bodybuilder who is best known as the “man whose arms exploded.” Gregg is a man now known for his outspoken opinions and insane stories from his years in bodybuilding and drug dealing. Gregg discussed with director Vlad Yudin about every hot button issue you can imagine including transgender identity in bodybuilding, the Shawn Rhoden accusations, and drug abuse issues in bodybuilding. New episodes air every Thursday!
In the sixth and final part of our sit down interview with Gregg Valentino, we dig into one of the most controversial stories of 2019 in bodybuilding. In the summer before the Mr. Olympia, it was revealed that accusations of rape were held against Shawn Rhoden, who was then the current Mr. Olympia champion. Poised to return and defend his title, he was quickly banned by AMI from competing at the Olympia competition. This changed the course of the way that the Olympia 2019 would unfold.
Director Vlad Yudin and Gregg Valentino debate whether or not Shawn Rhoden should have been banned from competing considering that he had not yet been convicted of the accusations held against him. As of this writing, he has still not been convicted as the legal proceedings (as usual) are a long process.
Gregg separates his two thought processes, his reaction as a fan who will be watching the Mr. Olympia and his reaction from a business perspective. These two outlooks lead to a completely different decision in Gregg’s mind. Other topics include the rising tide of mass monster bodybuilders coming out of the Middle East and the world’s reaction to Brandon Curry becoming Mr. Olympia champion – and how he was compared to past generations of champions unfavorably, particularly by Dorian Yates.
Check out the sixth and final part of our sit down interview in the episode of A Conversation With Gregg Valentino above!
