"It's always an honor to be there" - Jay Cutler opens up about competing in Mr Olympia and Arnold Classic during his pro bodybuilding days

Jay Cutler is one of the most successful and famous bodybuilders ever to have been part of the sport of bodybuilding. He has won four Mr Olympia titles in his career.

Cutler also has one of the best comeback stories on the bodybuilding circuit. He was defeated in 2008, but came back in 2009 to clinch the Mr Olympia title, which is considered extremely difficult. Apart from Mr Olympia, Cutler has won three Arnold Classic titles in his career.

The Arnold Classic is considered to be the second most prestigious title in the sport of bodybuilding. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel called Cutler Cast, the former bodybuilder spoke about competing in Mr Olympia and Arnold Classic.

"Yeah, I mean, it was like I said, it's always an honor to be there (at Arnold Classic) but remember, I hadn't won an Olympia title yet. So, this was the biggest title. I had already won the Night of Champions, which is now the New York Pro. So you kind of take a stepping stone forward. This was another check on that list. That Arnold every year meant so much to me."

Jay Cutler further continued:

"Yes, Arnold was a huge reason people attended the show and the name was so large. But at the same time, I was looking at it like a stepping stone to Mt Olympus or building a legacy in bodybuilding. And I think if I just won four Mr Olympias and no Arnolds, would my name be what it is? Because I had that hype so much. Because time and time again, I defended a title or positioning."

Jay Cutler stated that whenever he won the Olympia, he would finish second in the Arnold Classic and when he finished first in the Arnold Classic, it would be second place in Olympia. The three-time Arnold Classic winner claimed he had to deal with a lot of hype.

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Jay Cutler speaks about the prize money of Mr Olympia and Arnold Classic

Jay Cutler stated that Mr Olympia is the biggest title but insisted that the Arnold Classic is also coming up.

"We don't have the schedule yet. We talked a little bit about that. We are going to be present there in the first week of March. Everyone kind of picks what the biggest contest is, but damn, the Arnold this year is almost as much prize money for the Men's Open as the Mr Olympia. If you remember, back when I did it, remember, the Olympia was $100,000 or $110,000 and the Arnold was paying $100,000."

Jay Cutler further continued:

"I think it was only 10 grand more, but once the Arnold started giving out the H2 Hummers, the Olympia started adding the Escalade. Then, obviously, the money is bumped up. Then, it got bumped up to $130,000, until recently it bumped up to two, now it's at $300,000, they're not going backwards right. I have a feeling they're gonna bump it up even more."

Nonetheless, the increase in Arnold Classic's prize money has attracted the attention of a wide range of top bodybuilders for this year's Arnold Classic. Bodybuilders such as Nick Walker, Samson Dauda, Andrew Jacked, Shaun Clarida, and Big Ramy will be battling it out for the Arnold Classic title.