feel like my body did speak
for itself. I got a unanimous
victory again, against some
really good competition.
The biggest takeaway
from this one is that I was
able to learn a lot about my
physique that will definitely
make 2018 very, very
special. If it goes the way
I think it will, it will be the
most dominant package I’ve
brought to the stage yet.
Because you get the
experience. You know what
your body can do, and you
know what it can’t do.
be whoever dominates the
post-Olympia schedule. And
also, who out of that other
four in the top five is going to
do the Arnold Classic?
Because we have yet to see
any of those guys, other
than Dexter Jackson, do the
Arnold. Those other guys
should be doing the Arnold
Classic—Ramy, Bonac, and
Rhoden—to kind of solidify
who’s that top contender.
For Dexter, there would be
no point in doing the Arnold,
but I think everybody else
should.
You’ve said before that
when you’re in the thick
of your Olympia prep,
you’re not thinking
10
FLEX | JANUARY 2018
about anyone but
yourself. That said, how
were you this year
compared with 2016?
Honestly, I did not care
about anything someone
else was doing. I actually got
some good advice from our
friend [former longtime
FLEX editor in chief] Peter
McGough. Peter literally
said, “Phil, go into hiding like
Dorian Yates used to do.
Don’t post anything online,
don’t even care about what
everyone else is doing.
You’re the champ. There’s
no point in that. Buckle
down and do your job, and if
you do that your physique
will speak for itself.” I took
Peter’s advice, and I truly
After the Olympia press
conference the day
before the competition
started, it seemed
like you enjoyed the
smack talk from other
competitors versus
being offended by it.
Was that just because
you think it’s good for
the sport, or was it
because you thought
the smack talk was
coming from a place
of respect?
I think it was a little bit of
both. No. 1, I came into
bodybuilding as a former
athlete in basketball. And
who talks more trash than
that sport? [Laughs] That’s
like part of the game. So
when I got into bodybuilding,
people would run their
mouth a little bit. And, yeah,
a lot of guys heard me talk
some trash, and it was really
just to get people going that
pay to watch the event
live—to sell the show.
As far as the other guys,
Shawn Rhoden had a lot to
say in the magazine and on
YouTube and stuff, and he
definitely had to eat those
words. He had to really be
quiet. I was expecting a
full-on, onslaught attack
from him, and he was
relatively quiet. And that’s
probably because he knew
he wasn’t on and didn’t want
to make a fool of himself.
I was cool with every
person who had something
to say at the press
conference. If you have