- Joined
- Nov 10, 2023
- Messages
- 233
Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it. This bolded statement is something I need to often remind myself, as physiques like Ahmad Haidar and Tonio Burton are definitely not mass monsters, but extremely impressive and capable of winning competition.
I remember watching the 2023 North Americans overall comparison where Kennedy Anyanwu (5'8-5'9) won the overall. On the side was a shorter athlete, Jose de Jesus Hernandez (ifbbpro.pepetronic1489 on Instagram, that looked very balanced and complete - more so than some of the other athletes in the lineup. I believe he was a bantamweight (65kg / 143lbs), but was very competitive in that overall.
Yes, absolutely. I think my initial intent was more rather "what are some looks 5'7" has historically achieved?" I am aware that these selections are all of elite status with the factors that go into building, presenting, and hopefully sustaining that physique. But as someone still in the process of developing my physique, I used to look to people like Ronnie, Jay, Nasser, Markus as ideals, not understanding that their level of muscularity either A. might not be achievable for myself, and B. there are other packages (Shawn Ray, Darrem Charles, Dexter) that are not mass monsters but still incredibly developed, balanced, and impressive.
When I was younger, I was always shorter than most of my friends and they wouldn't miss an opportunity to remind me. I even had the father of a girlfriend say something negative of my height - so then I decided if I get bigger with muscle, that it would/could make up for the lack of stature. Years later as we all enter adulthood, it becomes rather obvious that no one cares
and now as a husband and father, I know they don't care about my height, just about who I am as a person. I do not think that my initial desire to pursue ultimate mass is something I regret, because many of the disciplines I've learned along the way I carry into other aspects of my life.In general, it does seem to be the case. But with recent people like Samson, Andrew, Blessing, Regan, Quint, Anthony Williams, Sergei Danilov, Oluwatobi Ishola (2024 North Americans overall champ), Devon Barnes (2025 Nationals overall champ) being in that 6'+ range and successfully filling out their physiques, it does seem like the taller folk are coming into the conversation more often. Then again, perhaps these handful of athletes named are the few exceptions, much like people like Clarida/Keone/Angel are some of the few very short competitors that are dominant in 212 and competitive in open.
I agree, this is an exceptional representation of a well developed, balanced physique. At whatever height, this kind of package is something I think anyone can appreciate, even general population.
Martin is one of my favorite physiques in the circuit at the moment. I got to see him at the 2024 NY Pro, when he pushed Nick Walker. I think I even wrote in the 2024 discussion thread after pre-judging that I had Martin winning. But seeing people like Nick/Martin/Tonio in person, and recently Sassan and Bonac next to guys like Kennedy really helped put into perspective that degree of muscularity on that type of frame. Kennedy used to live nearby in NJ and I would see him sometimes at the gym. He's always looked impressive, as well as other local open guys like Akim. But seeing regularly Kennedy in the gym and saying to myself "wow, that's incredible muscularity and quality" then seeing him next to the guys at the 2025 NY Pro really puts into perspective the quality that guys like Martin have. Hopefully he can bring a great look to the upcoming Arnold. I'll add a photo from that 2024 NY Pro. Stu also looked incredible that year.
