Nick “the Mutant” Walker, Mr Olympia 2021
Okay, okay, if I had to bet money, I’d say Big Ramy will win the 2021 Mr Olympia. But I think Nick Walker “could” win. I think he has a real chance. If pressed, I’d say the top eight might look something like this:
- Big Ramy.
- Nick Walker.
- Hadi Choopan.
- James Hollingshead.
- Brandon Curry.
- William Bonac.
- Hunter Labrada.
- Iain Valliere.
I wonder why so many “big name” bodybuilding commentators underestimated Nick Walker before his Arnold Classic win in late September, and why the same commentators appear to be underestimating him again, before the Olympia? For example, Nick is a regular on Fouad Abiad’s excellent podcast. As much as Fouad has praised Nick, he isn’t predicting that Nick will be seriously challenging for first place at the Mr Olympia. Not only that, Fouad has often implied that Nick’s physique displays freak size and not pleasing aesthetics.
I disagree. Sure, Nick’s big, but I’d argue that he’s also aesthetic for an open class bodybuilder. Speaking on Muscular Development’s “No Way Jose” podcast, Jose Raymond has said the same. And why is Nick Walker aesthetic? Well, for one thing because it is wrong to criticize him for having a “blocky” waist: wrong because of the way his waist is balanced by the size of his arms and overall proportions, and wrong because he keeps his abdominals so hard and tight.
It’s very notable, too, that Nick has learned to pose in a way that accentuates his strengths and pretty much eliminates his weaknesses. So, for example, Nick crunches down on his abs in the front double biceps pose. In this way, he showcases his great arms and conceals his long-torsoed, short-legged structure.
Similarly, James Hollinshead has been developing his poses to accentuate his strengths and minimize weaknesses, which is one reason why I expect him to deserve a very high placing.
But back to Nick Walker. If Nick has a wide waist, it’s still less wide than that of true Olympia great, Jay Cutler. Jay’s midsection never hurt him because, like Nick, he kept it hard and flat. And hell, Nick Walker has some advantages over even Jay Cutler! Better arms, back, and glutes, and almost certainly better hamstrings.
Nick Walker can beat all this year’s top Olympia contenders in at least some areas. He has better arms than both Big Ramy and Hadi Choopan. He’s bigger than recent editions of William Bonac, who’s struggled to match the fullness he has displayed in the past (in the 2018 Arnold, for example). Meanwhile, Nick’s back beats that of Akim Williams and he will almost certainly be better conditioned.
Then there’s Brandon Curry. Everyone likes Brandon, and he does indeed seem like a great guy, and if the contest were Mr Upper Body he’d be a sure champion. And yet I’ll never understand how he won the Olympia in 2019 and placed second in 2020 when both years his legs were among the smallest in the entire event. (As a side note, if bodybuilders are penalized for having short biceps or high lats or a thin lateral triceps head, why does it seem like there’s no cost to having poor calf genetics?)
I’d definitely rate Nick (and others) above Brandon. In many ways I preferred Akim Williams to Brandon at the 2020 Mr Olympia. Brandon only beat Akim in two respects: a better upper back and an edge in terms of conditioning. Otherwise, Akim was equal to Brandon or, in the case of his side leg, for example, far superior. And yet being realistic, while don’t think Brandon will deserve to place very close to the top this year, he’ll likely do well anyway. Clearly, the Olympia judges like him and, given that he’s a returning champion, they’ll want to show him respect.
Anyway, that’s my take. Nick Walker has been the most exciting thing in bodybuilding in 2021. Perhaps the most exciting thing since Phil Heath ten years ago.
*****
POSTSCRIPT October 11th:
(1) The results are in. On the whole, I’m not surprised at all, although in line with my predictiones, for me the top two WERE Hadi and Nick. They displayed the best balance and symmetry, and were by far the best conditioned. I honestly don’t know what the judges think they’re seeing when they look at Brandon’s legs.
James Hollingshead underperformed this time. He just came in flat. His arms looked small when he was standing beside other competitors.
(2) A word on George Peterson’s tragic death. I won’t make any assumptions here about what happened to George, however, let’s face it, at least some of the many recent deaths in bodybuilding have to be linked to the drugs in the sport. And someone has to try to do something — preferably before too many more deaths occur.
I don’t see how you can have modern bodybuilding without steroids (movie stars on gear would be dwarfing the Mr O), but maybe some kind of regulation on the most dangerous steroids, as well as diuretics and possibly insulin? Then perhaps obligatory health checks (especially in the weeks or days before a show)?
This would cost the IFBB money, and yet if people keep dying, it could kill the sport entirely. The public and media could turn on bodybuilding …
