My initial article had a title that included the word still but I don’t like to use that word when it comes to a seven-time Mr. Olympia that never really left. I think the word still seems almost like a knock. And there is no knock here. Sure, in the past, I would have told you that Phil had very thin skin and I probably would have said that that was a little disappointing. When I say thin skin I’m not talking about onion skin, I’m not talking about the skin tight muscle that we all look for in a great bodybuilding champion. I’m talking about sensitivity. irritability maybe is a better term, but I digress. Years ago, Phil blocked me and he even told me why. He said that I was too vocally supportive of the late great Sean “Flexatron” Rhoden. And even though that was many moons ago, it’s still kind of stings. because I remember when Phil beat one of my heroes, Gustavo Badell at the Iron Man. I remember meeting Phil in 2008 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I remember being a big fan of his and then when he blocked me it kind of hit me hard. I stopped being a Phil Heath fan with that. Nonetheless, I have always tried to be somebody who recognizes tremendous achievements – both on and off the stage. “The Gift” was a competitor that was about the business. He was like Ronnie and Jay in that regard. He was unlike a lot of the current champions that don’t really see the bigger picture. Phil was a guy that could have gotten eight, nine, maybe even 10 Sandows. His physique was just that good. There was a time when his midsection was a bit questionable, but he fixed that when he came back in 2020. He was firing on all cylinders; he stayed in the mix and had he not given up, he probably would have won back the Olympia. Phil had so much going on for him. His work with The Rock, his had multiple businesses and income streams, he was happily married. The guy had it all. That said, there comes a point in time when bodybuilding just doesn’t do it for some of these guys anymore. It’s no longer interesting to the top guys if they’re not winning anymore. They lift for fun, but competing? They’ll only compete if they’re winning.

Make sense?

But Phil didn’t leave the sport he just stopped competing. His status was very much like that of Chris Bumstead. I mean after you win so many times there isn’t much left with the stage. but unlike Chris, Phil didn’t win at the end. Phil’s end was more like Ronnie’s. He saw his run come to an end because of another competitor. And like Ronnie, Phil wasn’t able to get the title back. What’s really sad is that when he came back, the guy that took the title from him was not on that stage. Phil never had that rematch that he wanted. Nonetheless he came back and he looked phenomenal. He looked like those first few years where he was dominating the stage. I think it was different for him then. Even then when he came back and looked so good, Kai wasn’t there. Throughout his run he had this competitor who pushed him, that was relentless, and had the tools to beat him. When that guy wasn’t there, I don’t think his heart was quite in it. Who’s to say that Ronnie would have been as great if he didn’t have Jay chasing after him all those years. I guess that’s a question for the ages.

Phil has always kept the muscle on, though. Unlike Kevin Levrone, for example, who downsized tremendously for movie roles, Phil has stayed somewhat within reach of the stage. And that says a lot. Very much like Kai, Phil could jump into a contest in six weeks if hewanted to. So could Jay. These guys may not be as big as they were when they were competing but they aren’t much smaller, either. Then there are guys like Dexter retire fully and they will probably live much happier lives. Honestly, it is taxing on the physique to carry large amounts of muscle, but that being said, Phil never got huge. He was never one of these mass monsters walking around at near 300 pounds. That was part of the reason he was so successful on stage. Because he wasn’t about trying to outsize everybody else. His whole thing was class. He had a very artistic physique that a lot of people thought looked like a throwback to yesterday. Even though he had narrow clavicles, he was able to build something truly special. And when he posed on stage everybody wanted to stop what they were doing to look at him. There’s a reason why Jay Cutler picked him out of the crowd. Jay didn’t have to do it, but he did it because he saw true potential. And granted, when the two first met, Phil was a baby bodybuilder. I don’t even know if he was taking anything at the time. His physique looked quite natural, but it also looked incredibly gifted (pun intended). The Gift was truly one of the greatest bodybuilders that ever walked the planet.

And here’s the thing that bodybuilding fans don’t like to recognize. It’s that their favorite competitors retire. They always keep hope alive for a comeback. I tell people that Phil already came back in 2020 so why can’t they just let the man retire? They can’t let him retire because the man doesn’t look a retired athlete. If Phil looked like Dexter, then people wouldn’t be asking this question. The Dexter we see today is muscular and healthy, but he looks nothing like he did when he was on top of the sport. He’s just too small. He looks like Kevin did when he was doing movie roles. Now that doesn’t mean that they can’t get back to where they were. Kevin is a great example. Even with excruciating pain, Kevin was able to put on a tremendous amount of muscle and competed with the best in no time! Dexter could do the same, but why would he want to? I think they’re over that. I think they want to live long and healthy lives. But Phil and Kai, they’re still very much within striking range. Why haven’t they jumped? Will they ever?

When Phil put out a video just a couple of weeks ago, it got a lot of people talking because he was looking surreal! He looked like he was getting ready for something. Just like when Jay did the Fit For 50 – everybody thought he was going to jump into the Masters Olympia.  He said many times that even though he was going to be in Romania, he wasn’t doing the Masters O, but everyone, myself included, hoped that he would change his mind. The question is, is Phil just toying with us or is he maybe considering it? We have heard before that he has said he would do it for a million dollars, but we also know that nobody in bodybuilding gets paid to compete. You get paid if you win, but nobody gets paid to compete. Would Heath be the exception? I don’t think so. but I could see a rich bodybuilding fan wanting to see him back on stage so badly that he or she gets the old checkbook out and makes it happen. The question then would become, would Phil actually, do it?

See that’s the thing also, there’s a lot emotionally speaking when doing a show. I can’t even imagine what Phil’s prep must have been like in 2020. He was going back to a sport that he dominated for seven consecutive years, but also to a sport where his last year, he lost. What must he have been thinking? And would he want to do something like that in 2027? I don’t care for how much money, would he want to put himself through that? Would he want to put his mind through that? I mean, his physique is pretty much there, like I said it’s within striking distance, but I think it’s more psychological than physiological. I think it’s more mental than anything else.

At the end of the day, I think Phil may have learned a thing or two from Kai. I think these guys know that the fans are dying to see them compete again, so they throw us a bone every so often, because they know it’ll go viral. They know that the fans will never let them down. And as a result of teasing the idea of a comeback, they can sell shirts, powders, and books. It’s come down to nothing more than a marketing gimmick.

Do you think Phil Heath will make a comeback in 2027 – or beyond? Or do you think that he’s simply messing with us?

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.

p.s.

I bet PHIL is loving this. We’re a week out from the Olympia. An Olympia, he’s not even doing,  but here we are reacting to his most recent photos and debating whether he’s coming back or not. Also, in nearly 1,000 articles for IronMag, I’ve never end with a p.s. But hey, we’re not talking about just anyone. We’re talking about 7x Mr. Olympia Phil “The Gift” Heath!!

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.