Written by Ron Harris
16 September 2021

 Blessing-Awodibu-Slider

 

 

The Boogieman Will Be Back Bigger and Better!

Blessing Awodibu Goes Back to the Drawing Board

 

Interview by Ron Harris

 

It was one of the most highly-anticipated pro debuts in recent bodybuilding history. Blessing Awodibu had turned pro way back in 2017 but didn’t step on an IFBB Pro League stage until spring of 2021. In the months leading up to that, he had instigated a fierce rivalry between himself and Nick Walker at the New York Pro. But just a week before, the Irishman by way of Nigeria competed at the Indy Pro, and did not live up to the hype. The Boogiemanlooked downsized and flat as a Kansas prairie. Not only was the round fullness of his upper body gone, but his much-maligned legs were still a major liability. A week later at the New York Pro, he appeared fuller but had smoothed out considerably. Awodibu was torn to shreds on social media by gloating haters. What happened? I sat down with Blessing a couple of months later to find out, along with why he had switched coaches and what his plans were to come back from this debacle.

 

Let’s start with the off-season preceding your two pro shows. You linked up with Chad Nicholls a couple of months after what would have been your pro debut at the Arnold Classic Australia, which was canceled at the last minute due to the whole Covid situation.

           

We had a super productive off-season together. I started off 280 and puffy and got up to a pretty lean 296, the most I have ever weighed in my life. Most of that was done in Dubai, where I got stuck for four months after visiting my family in Ireland with travel restrictions. It was a shame that people compared pictures from Indy and New York Pro to my last contests in 2017, saying I had made zero progress. It was hard for me to argue, because even though I had, you never saw it. I wish I had been able to showcase the progress and improvements I had made. It would have been crazy, but shit happens.

 

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We never got to see how you would have looked at the Arnold Australia. How did it compare to Indy, were you bigger or smaller then?

           

I was a lot smaller. It wasn’t a great look. At least for the Indy Pro I was flat but the condition was there. It wasn’t when I was about to head off to Australia last year. Once I saw how I looked at the New York Pro, I thought, hey, Indy wasn’t so bad!

           

You don’t get top three in a pro show without being in shape. All of us who follow you on social media saw how full and tight you were looking a few weeks out from Indy. What went wrong?

           

At 296 pounds, I wasn’t fat. I had some water retention of course, but I don’t gain much fat, ever. I went down to 242 for the Indy Pro, and that was too much. We pushed my body too far. I was almost ready to go on stage at eight weeks out. All I had was a film of water. But from there we just kept pushing. I was excited and I was trusting the process. My goal was to be in my best condition ever. In the process, we sacrificed a lot of muscle mass. I didn’t see it at the time because I was after that condition. Chad was happy. I was excited to fill back out. I thought, once I fill out, with this condition it’s gonna be crazy! I have a naturally high metabolism, and it went through the roof in the last few weeks of prep. We started carbing-up a week out from the Indy Pro. For the first few days of that, my weight was actually going down! By the time my weight started coming back, we were two days out. We were pushing the food in, but I wasn’t seeing any difference. My body was just smashing through the calories. It didn’t even matter how much food I ate at that point. The condition was there but I wasn’t seeing that pop. Even with all those carbs, I couldn’t get a pump at the gym. At the end, we tried throwing in some dirty meals, but that just destroyed my midsection. I never eat shit food, not even in the off-season. I hadn’t had any cheat meals in that prep, either. So when we introduced those things, my body didn’t know what to do with it. It didn’t give us the results we wanted.

 

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I was there, and you didn’t have anything close to a bubble gut.

           

No, but I could tell my midsection wasn’t as small and flat as it usually is.

           

I liked your look at about six to eight weeks out. What was your bodyweight then?

           

At eight weeks out I was in the 270s. At six weeks out I was about 265, and it was a really good look. Chad is a great coach, but it’s all about understanding how my body works. Every pro makes that mistake and over-diets at some point in his career. I’m glad I made that mistake early on. My body can’t withstand being in a caloric deficit for that long.

           

How long was the prep?

           

18 weeks.

           

Maybe you need to only do a 12-week prep next time.

           

Yes, a shorter prep and less cardio. But to be honest, the cardio wasn’t even that crazy. We just pushed my body to the point where the metabolism cranked up too high. It was still going after New York Pro. I looked worse there. Because we weren’t able to get that fullness and pop for Indy, we increased carbs and started throwing in stuff like burgers and cake, all that shit. It didn’t do my body any good.

           

I’ve seen it many times. A guy comes in conditioned but flat at one show, then tries to overcompensate with more fullness at the next one and blows his condition. If you were 242 at Indy, what were you in New York?

           

I think I was 255, maybe closer to 260 for the finals. My condition was gone. It was totally destroyed. It looked like I was there to guest pose. After judging, I was like, I might as well place last. I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted to go out there and have fun, and show the fans how much I love the sport.

 

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To your credit, you got so much hate on social media after that show, but you kept a good attitude.

           

I was prepared for that. I put myself in the shoes of a boxer or an MMA fighter like Conor McGregor. He talks all that shit and builds up the hype. But shit happens in life. It’s all about being willing to take a risk. If you win at the end of the day, the risk was well worth it. Conor got knocked out in the first round. But what do you do? You gotta stay positive.

           

Getting back to your metabolism, you told me a while back that you were a skinny kid, right?

           

Oh yes. At one point my brother took me to the hospital because I couldn’t gain any weight no matter how much food I ate. They even prescribed me something to boost my appetite, but nothing worked until I started lifting weights and gaining lean muscle tissue.

           

It’s funny that underneath this massive body you have now, you still have that same skinny kid’s metabolism.

           

Yes, and that can be a good thing once you figure out how to use it to your advantage.

           

To Chad’s credit, it’s almost impossible to nail a prep with an athlete on the first try. It usually takes two or more shows to get a feel for how the athlete responds to all the variables involved.

           

Right, and I want to make it clear that what happened with my two shows has nothing to do with why I am with a new coach. I’d always heard about the guys from Kuwait. Back in 2017 when I was going for my pro card, I had no sponsor and I was tagging Oxygen Gym and telling my followers to do it too – get The Boogiemanto Kuwait! It took a while, but right before I stepped on stage in Indianapolis, Abdullah Al-Otaibi messaged me to wish me luck. I had so many messages that I didn’t see it until much later. When I did, I started thinking again about going to Kuwait, because you get that hands-on experience. When it comes to working out, they will make you do things you could never do on your own. They push you past your limits, and I feel that’s what I need right now. I need mass, and when you’re talking about gaining mass, Kuwait is a no-brainer. It’s what they do! I know it’s not easy. A lot of guys went over and came back home not long after because they couldn’t take it. I feel a lot of good things will happen once I get over there and start working with Abdullah.

           

He definitely has a track record with men like Big Ramy, Brandon Curry and Roelly Winklaar, just to name a couple.

           

Bader Boodai is excited to have me over there, and they are working on my visa now.

           

So is it a done deal, Abdullah is your coach now?

           

Yes. I feel like he understands exactly what happened with me at Indy and New York Pro. After New York, I shut everything down. I got my blood work done and got off everything to give my body a break before I start my next off-season. Three weeks later, Abdullah asked me to send him some pictures. The first thing he said was bro, your metabolism is crazy, you’re still in shape! We started talking, and he explained exactly what had happened to my body and why. He knew!

           

When you talk about needing more mass, I’m sure some people think you’re out of your mind. But to those of us with “the eye,” we can tell what your physique is capable of looking like once it fills out. I see your potential, and you can be very good once you make those improvements.

           

I look at my pictures from Indy and I get excited. I have a vision in my head of what I will look like once I bring up my legs and fix a couple of other things. Once I do that, it’s gonna be crazy.

           

The two things that can never be changed are bone structure and muscle shape. You have the wide clavicles and small waist and hips. Your limbs are a little on the longer side. Your arms are filled out, now you need to get your legs to match. I see what’s possible, and you’re only 29 years old.

           

I am young still, but I need to get it done now. I don’t want to be competing in my 40s. My plan is to get out in 10 years, while I am still young and healthy. Maybe get into Hollywood. I have ideas for bringing the fitness lifestyle to Nigeria – I have a lot of things I want to do.

 

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The last thing I want to talk about is your massive social media presence. After Indy and New York, some people said you need to stop making posts and videos and just crawl into a dungeon where you would just train and not come out until it’s time to compete again. They clearly have no understanding of how critical social media is to every business and every athlete’s career today.

           

Social media is everything these days. This is the social media era, and I believe it can help bodybuilding grow so much bigger and more popular than it is right now. People can talk shit, hate me, or whatever, but the narrative of the rivalry between me and Nick Walker had everyone talking. It had everyone glued to bodybuilding for 10 weeks straight! How many videos did people make about it? Thousands. It’s exciting and I would do it all over again. The fans want to be entertained, and I will always do that for them.

 

I’d say that without all that buildup, most would have seen your third place at your pro debut at Indy as a major accomplishment. Instead, a lot of fans turned on you.

           

But that’s good! When you aim for the moon, you still end up somewhere up high. I carry myself as the best, as a champion. If I don’t live up to that, the fans will be angry, and they should be. I am mad too, and disappointed in myself. Next time I will make sure I live up to expectations. I messed up, and I own up to it. To my fans and my haters I say, sorry guys. I will come back bigger and better next time. We grow through failing and overcoming obstacles. Falling and getting back up is how you make progress and win in life. The Boogiemanwill be back, and he won’t let you down again!

 

Instagram @blessing_awodibu

YouTube: Blessing Awodibu

Also featured on Redcon1 YouTube channel

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Blessing’s Redcon1 Stack

 

Isotope®

GI Juice®

Grunt®

Total War

Big Noise

Cluster Bomb

MRE

Fade Out

 

For more information, visit redcon1.com

 

Contest History

 

2013 IFBB Arnold Amateur Europe

Junior, did not place

 

2013 IFBB European Amateur Championships

Seventh, Junior Heavyweight

 

2014 IFBB Arnold Amateur Europe

Junior Champion

 

2015 IFBB European Amateur Championships

14th, Light Superweight

 

2017 IFBB Arnold Amateur Europe

Super Heavyweight and Overall

 

2017 IFBB World Amateur Championships

Second, Super Heavyweight

 

2017 IFBB Diamond Cup Portugal

Super Heavyweight and Overall

 

2017 IFBB Diamond Cup Czech Republic

Super Heavyweight and Overall

 

2021 Indy Pro

Third Place

 

2021 New York Pro

Sixth Place

 

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

 

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