“It was like a nightclub” - James Hollingshead slams ‘poorly lit’ and ‘cold’ 2022 Mr. Olympia backstage 

The 2022 Mr. Olympia has become a top topic since its conclusion last month. The event has been heavily criticized by many for its poor setup. Popular Men’s Open bodybuilder James Hollingshead became the latest athlete to slam the event as he shed light on the poor backstage conditions.

Claiming that Olympia’s backstage was poorly lit and cold, Hollingshead stated that it felt 'like a nightclub'. The bodybuilder slammed the event organizers and said it was a chaotic experience.

Hollingshead, who finished 12th at the 2021 Mr. Olympia competition, said that the organizers needed to work better on 'creating more order backstage'. Speaking in a YouTube video on January 3, 2023, he said:

“It’s weird behind the curtain of the stage, it’s kind of chaotic. So, I think we need to work on creating more order backstage.”

He went on to state that there was 'no room to move' backstage. Dubbing it a nightclub, Hollingshead said that past venues had comparatively better backstages. ‘The Shed’ added:

“Just not good space backstage. When I watched this interview with Jay [Cutler] Evan [Centopani] – that was a big reminder for me of what the Olympia backstage was like many times. It was literally a room that could cater for hundreds of people with [optimal] lighting like this, so you can see what you’re doing. Gym equipment to pump up in this kind of lighting so you can see what you’re doing.”

He continued:

“I kind of felt sorry for the ladies that were tanning, they had to walk around a key light like what I’ve got here in order to be able to tan people and see what they’re doing. It was dark. So dark. It was like being in a nightclub.”

Hollingshead says multiple issues affected Olympia competitors

According to James Hollingshead, poor lighting, lack of space and temperature affected bodybuilders. He stated the conditions could have caused the competitors to look worse during their poses and said:

“These are things I’ve mentioned: the light and the space, the route in which to get backstage. The temperature of the backstage. But this is the super bowl of bodybuilding. It’s meant to be the show of shows. It’s the king of kings. So, with that, you expect a certain level of — you just expect a certain level of execution."

"This is not a shot at a federation. This is not a shot at a person. This is me expressing what I feel needs to change and [the issues I brought up] were overlooked. And I know many other people feel the same. It’s unfortunate that people feel like they can’t say it because if we don’t say it to you, nothing is going to change.”

The bodybuilder added that the competitors were forced to share rooms backstage with the media as well. He revealed that the 'multitude' of other people backstage affected the mentality of the athletes and said:

“Their little gym area was too small to fit every Olympian in there because there were over 25 plus Olympians at one time and then obviously, we had to share backstage with other classes when they came back, especially Bikini — it became very hard to move around. There was literally no space for anybody and I’m sure they would say the same.”

With his comments, Hollingshead joined a list of bodybuilders who have spoken against Olympia’s production team.

Earlier, four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler had also slammed the event’s organizers. Dubbing the backstage production 'a mess', he said that the Men’s Open competitors were left to suffer backstage for hours.