"I had Samson winning from the time he walked on stage" - Flex Wheeler recaps 2023 Arnold Classic

Flex Wheeler has created a legacy in bodybuilding that is sure to be remembered for a long time. Despite not winning the Mr. Olympia competition, he is considered one of the greatest bodybuilders ever.

Wheeler has won four Arnold Classic titles in his career as a professional bodybuilder. He was one of the toughest bodybuilders and provided good competition to eight-time Mr. Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman.

However, Wheeler often finished as the runner-up when Coleman and he faced off in some competitions. But his post-bodybuilding life has been plagued by health issues.

Flex Wheeler had his right leg partially amputated some years back. Back in 2022, the four-time Arnold Classic winner elaborated on life-threatening issues with his kidneys.

He claimed that his kidneys were starting to show signs of failure. During the 2023 Arnold Classic, the former bodybuilder was awarded the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award.

The California-born bodybuilder has been well aware of the recent competitions in bodybuilding. In a recent video on OlympiaTV YouTube channel, Flex Wheeler, Milos Sarcev, Bob Cicherillo, and Terrick El Guindy were involved in an interaction.

Speaking about the 2023 Arnold Classic, Wheeler agreed with Samson Dauda winning the Arnold Classic Title.

"I had Samson winning from the time he walked on stage. We were talking about this before the show. If Samson came in shape, it’s a done deal. Man, I didn’t know he was weighing damn near 300 pounds. I just knew he was full as a house.

"He actually highlighted some of the guys’ weaknesses. As great as Andrew’s potential is, he (Samson Dauda) severely highlighted some of his weaknesses. He highlighted his back being weaker, he highlighted his legs being weaker, then he took it upon him to be in better condition."

The four-time Arnold Classic winner claimed that Andrew Jacked had a better physique than the one he presented at the Arnold Classic UK. The California-born bodybuilder said:

"Yeah, I thought Andrew (Jacked) was a better balance at the Arnold Classic than ever in England. That look probably would have matched him to be second place, but again, man, Samson (Dauda) just has a beautiful physique like Andrew, but he carries more muscle and he out-conditioned him."

Flex Wheeler also had doubts about whether Nick Walker would have won the 2023 Arnold Classic if he had a stronger upper body.

---

Flex Wheeler opens up about asking posing lessons to Lee Labrada

The four-time Arnold Classic winner competed against Lee Labrada in 1993. He talked about that experience also.

"I remember in 93 competing with Lee Labrada on stage and I was literally hiding behind Robby Robinson because I was exhausted. I was kneeling down, hiding behind Robby, he’s staring at Lee Labrada, and I asked him, I said, ‘How does he do that', and he’s tough, ‘What do you mean Flex', he goes, ‘I don’t know, go ask him.'"

Wheeler continued:

"I go, 'How do you do that', and he goes, 'How do I do what Flex', I go, 'How do you hold the poses, you never get tired you don’t breathe in between', he goes, ‘You practice Flex'. I’m like, ‘Huh', he’s like, 'You know how you go to the gym and spend all the time training, well you have to spend more time posing than training'. That was the era back then. That’s where we came from."

The California-born bodybuilder elaborated on the importance of posing correctly.

"Just because a pose looks good on you, doesn’t mean it’s going to look good on other people. You have to have that body type. Like we were talking before, when you have a physique that’s extremely muscular, you don’t come out and do all these poses, like la-la, like I do, you come out and you do these beastly poses, like Bob said, I want to see you do a hundred most musculars. It has to fit with your body."

Lastly, Flex Wheeler gave his views on Samson Dauda.

"For Samson (Dauda), I don’t know, because his legs are so powerful. I think the way he hits it (front double biceps), maybe he should twist it a tiny bit. We all emulate from people before us, right, I didn’t learn anything, I stole something from everybody I looked at before me. We just emulate it, change it, and make it our own."

There have been differences of opinion among former bodybuilders regarding the results of the 2023 Arnold Classic. While Samson Dauda won the title and Nick Walker finished as the runner-up, they may face off once again this year during the 2023 Mr. Olympia in November.