No direct comparisons but any athlete would love to hear praises about himself/herself from an absolute great of his/her particular sport. In cricketing terms, it could be like Sachin Tendulkar praising Shubman Gill among Indian cricketers.
As far as bodybuilding is concerned, legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger being wax lyrical about Chris Bumstead in a recent viral video would fall in the same category. Schwarzenegger, arguably the most popular bodybuilder in the history of the sport, speaking highly of the Canadian athlete is enough a validation of approval for the latter.
Arnold Schwarzenegger all praises for Chris Bumstead endorsing opinion that people want to look like him
It was during his presence in an interview on a YouTube channel named “Nick’s Strength and Power” that Schwarzenegger used terms such as “extraordinary”, “most popular” and “great physique” to describe Bumstead, who is nicknamed Cbum.
Not relying on experts or judges’ opinion, Schwarzenegger talked about how Bumstead is a fan-favourite and that there’s nothing more which an athlete yearns for. Schwarzenegger also pointed out how a lot of modern-day fans aim to emulate Bumstead’s physique.
“He [Chris Bumstead] is extraordinary and I tell you, I always feel like the insiders have their own favourites and then there’s, the, the viewers, the spectators, the fans, and he’s the most popular, if you think about that. I think that he’s the most popular bodybuilder right now,” Schwarzenegger said on Nick’s Strength and Power in December.
“And so that, what does it say, it says that everyone out there says that’s the kind of a body I want. So, people really say [that] I want to look like Chris or like Ramon [Queiroz]. I mean they are fantastic competitors who have a great, great physique.”
While Schwarzenegger had won as many as six consecutive titled between 1970-1975, Bumstead has currently won four titles in a row in spite of suffering from a disease to doubtlessly become a modern-day great. Although in a different category named “Classic Physique”, it would be quite an achievement for Bumstead to win two more consecutive titles to equal Schwarzenegger’s record.
