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were so capacious and his back was so
dense and detailed that you failed to notice
any narrowness. It was an illusion, and
bodybuilding at its best is something of a
magician’s act, forever distracting. Make
them focus on your strengths as well as
the overall excellence of your physique
and the previously seen flaws will vanish.
PERSISTENCE PAYS
In 1994, Wheeler was seemingly on the
verge of ascending to bodybuilding’s
summit. After his
stunning second in the
previous Olympia, his
rookie year, he stayed
out of competitions in
the spring and summer
of ’94 in pursuit of
the ultimate title that
fall. But on June 9,
returning from Dr. Dre’s
house, he totalled his
Mercedes and broke
his neck in a crash
that could have easily
left him paralyzed or
dead. Remarkably,
he returned and won
a contest and finished
second in the Arnold
Classic less than eight
months later.
It was even harder
to come back from
another traumatic
health scare. After
placing third in the
2000 Mr. Olympia,
Wheeler was diagnosed
with kidney disease. He
retired. But two years
later, he returned to
nab a respectable
seventh in the 2002
Olympia. In his final
open contest in early
2003, he was third
in a stacked field.
Downsized, Wheeler
wasn’t his old self, and
yet, with his classical shape, he was still
one of the top 10 bodybuilders on the planet.
In September 2003, he received a kidney
transplant.
Since then, even in middle age, Wheeler
has remained remarkably fit, as evidenced
by his still-swollen arms, now striped with
tribal tattoos. But Phil Heath had yet to enter
his first novice show when Wheeler last
posed. A whole new generation has
assumed the sport’s top spots. After 15
years off the Olympia stage, can this living
legend make a third dramatic comeback—
this time in a new division? Wheeler knows
comebacks. Twice he’s returned from near
death to shut up the haters. By those
standards, this one seems almost easy.DON’T CHASE NUMBERS
In the mid-’90s, when Dorian Yates was
collecting Sandows at
118 and hitting136 in the
off-season, the
temptation for Wheeler
was to chase ever
bigger numbers
on the scales. He
resisted. That wasn’t
his game. He wasn’t
going to beat Yates with
bulk size, and trying to
do so would have been
playing into the six-
time Mr. O’s calloused
hands. Instead,
Wheeler kept his
classic lines and added
strategically. In the
process, he crushed
every behemoth in the
jungle—except for
Yates. Don’t waste your
time googling “Flex
Wheeler 136 kg,”
because you won’t
find any nonmorphed
photos. By staying
within striking distance
of contest weight
year-round, he never
expanded his waist like
so many of his
contemporaries. Using
the mirror, not the scale,
as his guide, Wheeler
remained classic, even
when he was hitting the
stage at 109. That’s why
he should still be able to
slim down and go classic in the Olympia at 52.TEAM UP
In Gold’s Gym Venice, Wheeler was the star
player on a team. Trainer Charles Glass was
the coach. Wheeler’s frequent teammates
were Chris Cormier and Rico McClinton, twoWheeler was lucky to escape a 1994 car crash alive.
Eight months later, he was second in the Arnold Classic.