Watch the full uncut GI Exclusive interview with Melvin Anthony.
Melvin Anthony is a bodybuilder that was in his prime between the second Golden Era of the 90s and the modern era we see today. He competed from the late 90s through to 2008. In the prime of his career, he often placed in the top six at Mr. Olympia. He is also best known for his incredible posing routines.
A lot has changed in bodybuilding over the years since Melvin Anthony competed. Which is why we decided to get his perspective on modern bodybuilding, particularly how posing has evolved, and also his take on the latest trends in the sport.
Over the past few months we’ve released multiple GI Exclusive segments from our interview with Melvin Anthony. Now we’re releasing the full length interview including topics such as the best bodybuilding posers of all time, how to beat Big Ramy at the Olympia, and how today’s era compares to previous decades of the sport.
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Listen to the full Melvin Anthony interview here:
The Ultimate List Of The Best Bodybuilding Posers Of All Time
While the focus on posing has dwindled over the years – there is still hope in the form of select bodybuilders with incredible posing routines. That’s why we asked Melvin Anthony to list his picks for the best bodybuilding posers of all time. He mentions younger bodybuilders like Terrence Ruffin – but the biggest standout to him is Kai Greene.
Fans of bodybuilding are no stranger to Kai Greene’s sometimes bizarre but often beautiful posing routines. He would wear costumes and masks (for guest posing) and incorporate interpretive dance into his routine alongside mandatory poses. His entire persona was based in this art. His interviews are often poetic, just like his posing. He has always seen bodybuilding as pure art. This explains his skill and passion behind painting and his recent line of comic books.
So was Kai Greene the second coming of Melvin Anthony? Was he influenced by Anthony’s career? Anthony will be the first to admit that Kai Greene is one of the greatest, if not the number one greatest, poser of all time. But their styles are very different. Anthony details how his posing came from his street background. He would incorporate hip hop and breakdance style into his routines. Kai Greene feels more like abstract poetry. Two very different forms – but both dedicating to evolving the routine into something more.
Ultimately, Melvin Anthony struggles to come up with even five names for the best posers of all time (he eventually locks a solid five names). This is an example of just how few and far between true elevated posing is in the sport.
Melvin Anthony: Bodybuilders Today Train Hard, But They Can Train Harder
Melvin Anthony doesn’t want to to knock the new school era of bodybuilders. He understands how general sweeping statements can paint a broad stroke on a very diverse group of athletes. That’s why when we asked him about the current state of bodybuilding – he was very careful with his words. He doesn’t think that there is a bad training ethic in bodybuilders today – but he does think that it could push to the next level to match the greats of yesteryear.
In fact, history is very important to Melvin Anthony. He worries that we are not focusing enough on the history of bodybuilding to learn from what was done in the past. Anthony thinks that social media and short attention spans might be preventing bodybuilders today from reaching their best.
“I’m not saying they’re not training hard,” Melvin Anthony states in our interview. He continues:
“I’M NOT SAYING THAT THEY ARE NOT WORTHY OF WHAT THEY ARE GETTING ON STAGE. BUT THERE’S A LEVEL THAT THEY CAN GET TO THAT THEY HAVEN’T TAPPED INTO YET. AND I BELIEVE THEY WILL. HOPEFULLY THEY’LL GET IT. HOPEFULLY THEY’LL START TALKING TO A FLEX WHEELER OR A JAY CUTLER – ‘HEY MAN, HOW DID YOU TRAIN. CAN YOU SHOW ME WHAT YOU DID?’ WATCH HOW THOSE GUYS TRAIN… I’M NOT SAYING THEY’RE NOT TRAINING AS HARD. I JUST THINK THEY CAN TRAIN HARDER.”
How To Beat Big Ramy At The Mr. Olympia
While this is not a guarantee for Big Ramy, Melvin Anthony believes that it will take more than him being “a little off” to lose the title. Judging is meant to be as objective as possible. At the end of the day, though, it’s a subjective sport. Judges will see Big Ramy differently than in previous years. He’s no longer a competitor hungry to win his first Olympia, he’s now a returning champion.
So Melvin Anthony believes that the only way Big Ramy will lose is if he is defeated by a “knock out.” What he means by this is that either Ramy has to make significant mistakes to his physique or someone has to show up with a next-level physique than we’ve seen so far. Big Ramy has a lot of mass on his side – but his conditioning is where he has struggled in the past. No one will be him on pure mass alone – so all other competitors will need to be more perfect than they ever have been in order to surpass Ramy. Or again as we mentioned earlier – Big Ramy would have to make a huge mistake.
Melvin Anthony acknowledges that everyone on the stage has a great challenge ahead of them. Big Ramy has the pressure of either matching his 2020 physique or making it even better. The other competitors all need to try and contend with Ramy’s massive size.
Wrap Up
Melvin Anthony discusses many more topics than what we can cover in this single article. He also talks about bodybuilding gurus and their role in a bodybuilder’s health, how strong modern bodybuilders’ dedication is compared to the past, and more. That’s why you should check out the full GI Exclusive interview above!
