hurricanes seriously. We
came up with a plan while
we were in Tennessee,
then went back home,
and about a week later—
after boarding up the
house, situating the
dogs—we drove to
Orlando. Of course, we
weren’t the only ones with
that idea—a 2½-hour drive
took four hours. The next
day it would have been
eight hours and the day
after that 14 hours.”
Lewis and family found
themselves in Vegas 12
days before the contest.
“If anyone asked, I told
them I was OK. I told
myself I was OK. But now,
five, six weeks later, I can
see that I was so focused
on the task ahead that
my head was up my ass.”
He hadn’t had time to
process McCarver’s
death or the threat of the
hurricane. “Did it have an
effect on my physique?
I’m sure it did. I would
have said different at the
time to avoid negativity,
but I was having good
days and bad days,
crying a lot. Even though
I didn’t miss a workout,
didn’t miss a meal, it was
a lot of stress.”
STILL DRIVEN
Dominating his 212
Olympia competition
yet again, Lewis captured
his sixth win in convincing
fashion, to the point that
the greater battle onstage
seemed to be the one
for the runner-up spot.
I remind Lewis that after
the 2016 O, Mr. Olympia
Phil Heath commented
that he was sure he’d won
when the athletes first