The winner of the Mr Olympia is the person who sets the standard for the entire division and every athlete within that division looks to him as the guy they have to beat. Nick doesn’t have an aesthetic look and that’s a major problem as far as I’m concerned. Bodybuilding has always been a sport that rewards symmetry and flow. This is what Joe and Ben Weider envisioned. Just look at the Olympia statue. Eugene Sandow was the definition of balance. That physique wouldn’t even get a pro card in Men’s Physique (the least muscular division) today. The sport has lost its way. Sandow had proportions and a look that was pleasing from every angle. This model continued from Larry Scott (the first Mr. O) all the way to 1983 with Samir Bannout (aka The Lion of Libya).

As much as I love Lee Haney, he was the champion who changed the sport. Haney was all about “mass with class,” and he lived that to its truest intention; however, his reign created a shift in size. From there is where I think the sport started to have mixed priorities. Was size suddenly the most important thing? And even if it wasn’t, it was a driving force.

Bodybuilding slowly but surely stopped being about art and gracefulness, and more about the freak factor. After Haney, it really became a runaway train with Dorian Yates. There wasn’t anything aesthetically pleasing about The Shadow. The guy was just huge and gnarly. He was grainy and he was a monster in the gym. This made the sport bring about other freaks like Paul Dillett and Nasser El Sonbaty knocking on the door. If you have a freak as Mr. Olympia, then you need to out-freak the freak. Similarly, we’re going to see the same thing happen today. No one is going to try to beat a guy nicknamed “The Mutant” with aesthetics and symmetry. To beat a mutant, you must be an ever bigger mutant.

There are those who will stick to their guns. They won’t subscribe to the mass monster look, but they’ll keep doing their thing in terms of staying true to the essence of bodybuilding. They may or may not see success. I suspect the sport missed having a guy on top who was a freak, but not necessarily an ankle biter. Guys like Lunsford and Choopan are gnarly and ripped, but they’re ex-212 guys. You can’t inspire much freak factor when you’re not tall enough to get on the rides at the state fair. The fact is, we’ve been seeing a shift to bigger, taller guys with many of the recent victories in the sport. Guys like Walker, who may not be super tall but is taller than Lunsford, Choopan, and Fitzwater), as well as taller guys like Dauda, Jacked, and Krizzo.

One look at the 2026 Olympia Top 6 and you see that Derek looked like an absolute midget. I think they want to move away from that. I mean Derek was throwing up #3 signs, implying he was about to win his 3rd title and got relegated to a disappointing 3rd place. Many people don’t even believe he deserved that place. I’m one of those people. Despite having a great back and wheels, I wasn’t super impressed with the 2x champion. Nonetheless, I’m happy he was able to lose with some honor. Look at what they did with Big Ramy. He not only lost his 3rd Olympia, but he took an embarrassing 5th place. I guess that’s what you get for being a no-show at an important guest posing and not giving any kind of explanation until 10 days later. Coincidence? I think not.

The bottom line is that the judges are the ones who seal the deal. Derek had no shot. He was at best an afterthought. They was Nick, who won the prejudging, and Samson, who won the finals. Derek won nothing. They were between two giants. A mass monster and an aesthetic bodybuilder. They picked the mass monster. That’s a ringing endorsement for all the future Markus Ruhls of the sport. It’s not me saying so, it’s the most important judging panel in the sport saying so. And where were the aesthetic guys? Your guess is as good as mine. They were nowhere to be seen. The fact is that this move was a long time coming. Bodybuilding has lost its way. The powers that be gave those of us who actually love bodybuilding, Classic Physique. That was our carrot, but that’s about it. Bodybuilding is going to just get freakier and freakier. Why, though?

Well, that goes back to marketing. For some reason, freaks apparently sell more protein powder, more shirts, and more tickets to shows. I haven’t seen any metrics to prove this and I doubt they have, either. But when you read the fans’ reaction, they like the monsters more, and always have. And the Olympia has a history of rewarding them as well. The Arnold, however, is totally different. Maybe that’s because their champions have rarely been freaks. And that might be because of Arnold’s influence. Even though The Oak is not a judge, he makes his displeasure known when a guy who he considers to be less than stellar wins his title. Plus, The Arnold has the richest purse, even more than the Olympia. This is a carrot to those who don’t want to ruin their lines to potentially beat Nick at being the biggest freak on the planet.

Nonetheless, the sport is going to shift gears. Don’t believe me? Just watch. It’s just how the cookie crumbles. People like me, Shawn Ray, Bob Cicherillo, and others will whine and whine, but the sport will shift gears. Nick Walker will likely hold the title for a few years as well. I always thought this moment could come, but it’s here. It’s a fact. Some can choose not to believe it, but all you have to do is go back and watch the replay from the 2026 Olympia. That said, Nick is rumored to be doing the 2027 Arnold Classic (the same colossal blunder that Samson made). If Nick loses in Columbus, there’s the chance he’ll be a one-time Olympia champion. Only time will tell. I certainly don’t The Mutant bad luck, but I can’t stand his look, and I think it spells disaster for the sport.

That said, I do think Nick will tour the world, do well with fans, and speak to the media. I think his plan for growing the sport is probably a great one. Will he make more fans? More than likely. Will he change the tone from Lunsford’s annoying arrogance? Sure, he already has. I like Nick as a person and I’m sure I’ll like him as Mr. O, but I can’t like his look. It’s not personal, it’s JUST BODYBUILDING. But that means something to me. I don’t think having a Mr. O who looks like a cartoon character is going to help us win mainstream recognition. Maybe to the guys who think the sport should stay in dungeon gyms, that means nothing, but I suspect the lion’s share of bodybuilders and bodybuilding fans want to see more mainstream love. We want to see the sport back on tv. I just don’t think having a look like Walker’s gets us there. But hey, that’s just me.

What say you? Do you agree with me, or do you think Nick as Mr. Is Olympia a good look? As always, thank you for reading my article, here at IronMag. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article for all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.

Author Bio:

Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.