Maxx Charles has been a consistent threat in Men’s Open pro bodybuilding. It also seems like after 2020, his star is ready to rise to the next level and fight for the first place spot at the Mr. Olympia. We had an opportunity to speak with him just after competing at the 2020 New York Pro.
Listen to the full Maxx Charles interview here:
Charles On 90s Bodybuilding: “F*ck Yeah They Were Better Than Us”
When we first asked Maxx Charles about the today’s era of bodybuilders, he was against the notion that today’s athletes are worse than previous eras. He believes that rose tinted glasses put past athletes up on a higher pedestal. On top of that, the pandemic has greatly affected this year’s bodybuilding season. Charles thinks that perhaps fans are conflating these two things to negatively criticize today’s current pro bodybuilders.
That being said, he does have one exception to this thought. Maxx Charles believes that the 90s era of bodybuilding was far greater than most athletes competing today. He includes himself in that criticism as well. Specifically, he’s referring to the late 90s and early 2000s era of Ronnie Coleman, Flex Wheeler, Kevin Levrone, and Shawn Ray, to name a few.
“Now if I had to be honest, depending how far back you’re talking,” Maxx Charles stated in our interview. He continued:
“IF I’M TALKING ABOUT RONNIE’S ERA. BETWEEN RONNIE, FLEX, AND KEVIN – FUCK YEAH THEY WERE BETTER THAN US. THAT ERA RIGHT THERE IS, LIKE, UNTOUCHABLE.”
Vlad Yudin followed up asking exactly why this specific era is better than today. What makes that period of time different than his thoughts on other past eras? Charles continued to explain:
“BECAUSE YOU HAD GUYS LIKE THOSE GUYS. THEY HAD EVERYTHING. THEY HAD THE CRAZY GENETICS, THEY HAD THE WORK ETHIC, AND THEY HAD THE PHYSIQUE. THEY HAD THE CONDITION, THEY HAD THE SHAPE, THEY HAD THE FULLNESS. THEY HAD EVERYTHING.”
Check out our latest GI Exclusive full interview with Maxx Charles above!
Charles Opens Up About His Struggle To Eat Enough Food To Build More Size
Maxx Charles faces a rare problem that you don’t hear about from many bodybuilders. Charles has a weak appetite and finds it hard to eat even more than one meal a day. This has created a struggle for him throughout his career to build enough mass necessary to be competitive against his peers. Over time, Maxx Charles has found a way to make it work for him – as we’ve all seen his mass monster size on stage.
Yet that doesn’t mean Maxx Charles’ struggles with food have ended. During our interview, he admits to having to eat solely liquid egg whites for every single meal in his final weeks of bodybuilding prep. The reason? He can’t bring himself to eat enough protein for his physique.
While Maxx Charles has been able to force his way into a massive physique, he also admits that he would most likely be able to grow even more impressively huge if he were able to eat more. He gleans at the possibility of an alternate version fo his physique – one that is leveled up due to consuming more meals.
As to why he’s unable to build up an appetite? Maxx Charles is not sure. He theorizes that perhaps it’s due to his background. Being born in Haiti, his heritage is used to surviving on little food. Perhaps genetically his body has adapted to not needing higher amounts of food.
Regardless, Maxx Charles is still dedicated to finding a way to improve his diet to grow even more and improve his physique further. Charles is already a promising athlete with some strong placings under his belt. While it’s interesting to hear a bodybuilder open up about his diet in this way – we hope to see him further succeed in the future.
Wrap Up
We spoke with Maxx Charles for just under an hour. So there are many other topics we covered than what we can break down in this article. We also discuss his performance at the New York Pro, his predictions for his performance at the Mr. Olympia 2020 (which we can now compare to the reality – having seen the results), and many more!
You can watch Maxx Charles’ full candid interview in our latest GI Exclusive above!
