Phil Heath went down in the history of bodybuilding as one of the icons whom several others looked up to. He birthed an era where the sport turned competitive and brutal, with banter, debates, and several on-stage rivals. Amidst all this, he won seven consecutive Mr. Olympia titles and even returned for a potential eighth before parting ways with the stage.
Recently, he and celebrity photographer Charles Lowthian took a look back at one of his most picturesque moments backstage. Heath was sporting an oversized pump cover, some shorts, and spray tan while flaunting his physique that burst from the seams.
However, there were many features and context to the picture that made it special and momentous for fans and him alike. To begin with, the pump cover had a large print of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator movie poster. Fans are not strangers to Heath’s admiration for the star who has cited, on several occasions, how he transformed his life for the better.
Lowthian, next, revealed the story behind the picture he clicked that made it iconic. Turns out, the photo was captured moments before Heath stepped up on the Mr. Olympia 2017 stage. In the caption, the photographer recalled the tense moments off-stage.
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“Backstage at the Orleans Arena with the world’s number one, just before Phil Heath walked under the spotlight to earn another Sandow statue, winning his seventh consecutive Mr Olympia victory!”
Heath had won his final Mr. Olympia title but fans knew he wasn’t done competing just yet, despite tying with his inspiration, Schwarzenegger. At the time, however, he wanted to take some time off and he recalled those moments in a recent conversation at the Menace Podcast.
“I just didn’t feel like it was for me. I just felt like being tied with Schwarzenegger is something that no one else can…”
Yet, he made a grand comeback in 2020 not only to redeem himself but due to the words of his good friend, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. In a detailed account that eventually led to the origins of his documentary, Heath recalled how his return to the stage transpired.
Phil Heath credits Dwayne Johnson for his return and final run in 2020
For someone as iconic as Heath, the bodybuilding community wasn’t enthusiastic about bidding adieu to him immediately. In 2017, when he won his last Sandow statue, he maintained his great conditioning, partially due to plans to film a documentary on his journey through his successful career. He had teamed up with former wrestler Dwayne Johnson to create the movie but observed that it was missing something.
He recalled on the Menace Podcast how the tension that often came during competitions was not present while filming. Additionally, Heath needed a redemption arc and a climax that could add some oomph to the whole story. That’s how Johnson convinced him to return to the stage one last time before waving a final sign on stage.
Although initially skeptical, Heath relented and thought about the whole scenario. He realized that whether he lost or won, he was comfortable with the idea of not competing anymore. And that’s how he breathed life into one of his most successful ventures on the silver screen.
