The sport of bodybuilding has its loyal fan base and people who look to join their ranks, but there were other fans that were looking for an alternative. They wanted the experience of competing and presenting their physiques onstage but were inspired by a different look.
Enter the Men’s Physique division. These competitors are smaller than their Mr. Olympia counterparts but still appear very muscular, wear shorts instead of posing trunks, and still have the joy that comes with hard training to look their best on contest day. They have a different appeal but the fanbase of that division has been growing by leaps and bounds.
The 2019 Men’s Physique portion of the Olympia weekend brings its own drama and excitement to Las Vegas. There is a new champion who looks to start his own run to greatness while the contenders hope to dethrone him and take his place as the new leader of the pack. Here are a few names to watch for as well as the entire group competing for the title.
Brandon Hendrickson
Hendrickson won his first Olympia last year but isn’t satisfied with only one. He wants to start a run of consecutive wins and establish dominance over the division. With the title comes the bullseye, and the other men in the field will look for any weakness he may have had last year. Therefore, he should have taken an objective look at himself and improve on what he found to be flaws. If he did this, a repeat is likely.
Raymont Edmonds
Edmonds was last year’s runner up and still considers himself the number one contender to Hendrickson’s title. He’s hoping to come into this show bigger in the upper body while maintaining his small waist. If he can come in wider without it affecting the flow of his physique, Hendrickson may be in for a serious struggle. If Edmonds isn’t better than last year, he will likely fall below second.
Andre Ferguson
Ferguson has been a top contender for the last few seasons now. He finished 5th last year but won the Arnold Classic show in March of this year. Ferguson is one of the more popular athletes in this division because of his numerous victories as well as his strong confidence. He will need all of that and a harder looking physique if he wants to leave Vegas as the champ.
Ryan Terry
Terry finished 3rd in 2018 and is also a former Arnold Men’s Physique champion. The UK native is always a threat in any show he enters because of his symmetry and million dollar smile that he flashes when posing. The issue is the other contenders will likely be bigger and when everything else is equal in bodybuilding, size wins every time. He will likely need the others to be off but if they are, he will capitalize.
2019 Olympia Men’s Physique Competitors
| Dean Balabis | USA |
| Yasser Fernando Chala Blandon | Colombia |
| George Brown | USA |
| Bhuwan Chauhan | Canada |
| Julian Colley | Canada |
| Carlos DeOliveira | Brazil |
| Raymont Edmonds | USA |
| Andre Ferguson | USA |
| Xavisus Gayden | USA |
| Anthony Gilkes | USA |
| Brandon Hendrickson | USA |
| Kyron Holden | USA |
| Ahmed Abdul Jalil | Egypt |
| Ondrej Kmostak | Czech Republic |
| Joseph Lee | USA |
| Corey Morris | USA |
| Carl Presendieu | USA |
| Ramses Rams | Spain |
| Arya Saffaie | USA |
| Akeem Scott | USA |
| Suruqah Shabazz | USA |
| Ryan Terry | UK |
| Kimani Victor | Canada |
| Anthony Woods | USA |
Featured image: @mrolympiallc on Instagram
