Lewis has enjoyed his retirement but a hefty payday would get him back on stage.
Roughly a yr ago on the time, James “Flex” Lewis officially retired from competitive bodybuilding. A seven-time 212 Mr. Olympia champion (2012-2018), Lewis finished his profession widely considered one in all the best bodybuilders of all time. Today, with the icon perhaps trying to scratch that competitive itch, he may return to a stage. That’s, for the correct incentives.
On Apr. 24, 2023, in a video profession discussion shared on Lewis’ YouTube channel, the athlete breaks down his feelings a couple of potential return to skilled bodybuilding. Lewis maintains that for a seven-figure offer (at the least $1 million), he would consider competing and donning his posing trunks again.
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After Lewis retired, it opened the door to former 212 competitor Derek Lunsford receiving a special invitation to compete within the Men’s Open on the 2022 Mr. Olympia. Lunsford would take home a runner-up finish at the competition. Lunsford’s absence as one in all the heir apparents to Lewis’ former 212 title reign could mean there’s one other opening for the icon to step back in.
Nevertheless, considering the commitment at a training and dietary level, Lewis wouldn’t just return to skilled bodybuilding seamlessly. As competitions just like the 2023 Masters Olympia re-enter the fray for skilled veterans, Lewis’ return would have to return at the correct price — a payday of at the least $1 million. (Note: Lewis, at age 39, wouldn’t be eligible for the Masters Olympia until the 2024 edition when he’s 40 and meets the competition’s age requirement.)
“Obviously, my name has been thrown in the combination this yr [for the 2023 Masters Olympia], and I said, ‘Let me dispel this at once, I’m alone journey, it’s definitely back to the stage,’” Lewis said “… If there was a monetary draw for me, I’m all in. For me, it needs to be a seven-figure monetary draw. It needs to be because for me to walk away from what I’m doing at once, that’s what my sacrifice is, unfortunately.”
Within the approximate yr since his retirement, Lewis has maintained a gentle influence within the bodybuilding and strength community over various media platforms — even recently serving as a social media correspondent through the 2023 World’s Strongest Man. His status as a legendary Olympia champion seems to supply him a measure of respect for his opinions and thoughts on the present state of the game.
Being such a giant name on paper, Lewis compared his ideal payday to compete as a bodybuilder again to that of more traditional sports.
“I really think bodybuilding was as fruitful as lots of the other sports on the planet like golf and basketball and football,” Lewis said. “The contracts these guys are getting paid, it’s insane … No person [in bodybuilding] was ever really in a position to carry the torch into the realm it could possibly be to potentially be one in all the sports which might be getting huge contracts for sponsorships … Where you’re in a position to win a show and it’s a seven-figure win for a show otherwise you get seven-figure sponsorships because bodybuilding is, if not one in all the toughest sports on the planet … It’s 365/24/7. You’re all the time serious about what you’re eating and what you’re training.”
The 2023 Masters Olympia has an overall prize purse of $229,000. Lewis now joins seven-time Mr. Olympia champion (2011-2017) Phil Heath as the newest iconic bodybuilder to take care of they might return if the compensation was incredibly lucrative.
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Lewis’s position appears to be gaining more steam within the bodybuilding world. As among the elite athletes proceed to push their bodies to the limit, and the game appears to be growing in popularity, the celebrities of the game might want larger paydays. On the very least, something like that would potentially lure Lewis back to the stage to shine once more.
Featured image: @flex_lewis on Instagram