Given Bob Cicherillo’s experience as a bodybuilder-turned-announcer, his opinions carry weight anytime he takes to a microphone. In a recent Voice of Bodybuilding podcast, Cicherillo called out biased coaches and laid out the prerequisites required to be an ‘expert’ in bodybuilding.
‘Facts don’t care about your feelings, that’s what I’m putting out,” Bob Cicherillo said.
Earlier this month in Columbus, Ohio, fans could hear a pin drop before Cicherillo announced Samson Dauda as the new 2023 Arnold Classic winner. En route to winning his first Arnold Classic title, Dauda defeated Nick Walker, who placed ahead of him at the 2022 Olympia in third place.
While ‘The Mutant’ admitted the results were difficult to accept, he implored his fanbase to keep conversations surrounding the contest and judging respectful. Cicherillo watched the event live and made several videos sharing why Walker came up short on the judges’ scorecards. He believes Dauda possessed a better combination of factors like conditioning, balance, proportions, and symmetry.
Even though fans were optimistic about Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay‘s comeback, he finished fourth. Some in the sport believe the Egyptian native was being punished for factors outside of the competition. With no hard proof, Cicherillo explained why the former two-time Mr. Olympia was unable to bounce back in first place. Furthermore, Cicherillo made it clear that he doesn’t speak for the IFBB Pro League and that there were no conspiracies regarding Ramy or Nick Walker’s recent performances.
In his latest undertaking, athletes’ rep Bob Cicherillo defined an ‘expert’ in bodybuilding and laid out why fans and coaches have inherent biases when evaluating physiques on stage.
Bob Cicherillo Says Bodybuilding Shows Can’t Be Called from Computer Screens, Explains What Makes an ‘Expert’ in Sport
Bob Cicherillo underlined that unless someone is watching the show live, their expertise is diminished by “50%.” In addition, he highlighted that coaches make the ‘worst experts’ because they tend to hold biases.
“Is Lee Haney an expert? Well, anybody would think an eight-time Olympia champ would certainly be an expert but not all the time. Now, Lee happens to be one because I’ve known Lee for many many years and he’s got a very good eye when it comes to bodybuilding and current champs. He does follow the sport and he’s at a lot of the shows. His track record is what makes him an expert,” Bob Cicherillo shared.
“Everyone’s got a different perspective, we talked about it in the past, if you’re a fan, which is definitely going to be more on the biased side. How about a coach? Well, a coach could certainly be considered an expert except coaches are some of the worst experts because of their bias. Because they can’t separate themselves.
You get into judges, judges certainly are experts, they are experts in assessing a physique. Absolutely, that’s what they do. A lot of the ones at the pro level do it for a living and they span the globe.”
While Bob agrees fans/coaches are entitled to opinions, he stressed they aren’t all valued the same in the bodybuilding community.
“Whether you’re there 15 feet away or whether you’re home makes a huge difference. If you’re home… your ability to be a quote expert is already diminished 50% – it doesn’t mean you aren’t entitled to an opinion, don’t get me wrong, everyone is entitled to an opinion but not all opinions are valued the same. They don’t all hold the same weight. Your opinion as you’re there and in a good spot is going to be much greater and taken with much more authority than someone who isn’t or heard it through a third person, much like the telephone game when you were in grammar school”
Coaches and trainers are crucial resources while preparing for a bodybuilding contest, but Cicherillo said their personal biases often cloud their judgment.
“Coaches are the absolute worst when it comes to being a quote ‘expert,’ they may be an expert of how to prepare somebody for a competition, what supplements to take, what diet to use, what cardio, how much, when, where, drink this then, eat this then, dial you in, dry you out, get you ready — that’s their expertise,” said Bob Cicherillo.
Cicherillo Says Fans Telling Him How to Assess Physiques is Hypocritical
Cicherillo believes his experience in the sport qualifies him as an expert despite never winning an Olympia title.
“Or, ‘well Big Ramy is a two-time Olympia,’ well, who are you to make assessments of what he needs to do with his career, you didn’t win two Olympias.’ Well, first of all, I don’t need to win Olympia to have an opinion right or an expert opinion. The hypocrisy is overwhelming when you consider that someone is telling me, who has never been in the gym or on a stage, has no expertise whatsoever, and they’re telling me what I’m saying is wrong. I don’t know. It’s a little hypocritical.”
“I see some of these people out there – not that you have to be a world-class bodybuilder to have an expert opinion or to be an expert. Some of these people I can’t for the life of me figure out why they call themselves experts. You as the consumer as it would be. Please choose wisely when you’re listening and who you’re listening to and take that into consideration.”
Following the 2023 Arnold Classic, fans have turned their attention to the next Mr. Olympia competition taking place November 2-5 in Orlando, Florida. Cicherillo wasn’t shy about breaking down the lineup. He maintains that if Samson Dauda is anywhere close to 100%, he’ll be calling his name as the winner later this year.
RELATED: Big Ramy Training Partner Dennis James Calls Out Bob Cicherillo for ‘Misleading’ Comparison
As anticipation builds for the next Mr. Olympia event, Cicherillo predicts Derek Lunsford and Dauda will be equal threats to Hadi Choopan‘s title when they meet for the rematch.
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