2008 Mr. Olympia and 5-time Arnold Classic Champion Dexter Jackson won’t be competing again until the 2020 edition of the Olympia this December, but he is still active in the sport of bodybuilding and recently showed no signs of slowing down.
The man known as “The Blade” made a guest posing appearance at the 2020 NPC Body Be 1 Classic contest in Dothan, Alabama last weekend. There was a limited audience in attendance but they expressed their appreciation for the Jacksonville, Florida native as soon as he took the stage. A video of his presentation was shared on YouTube by NPC News Online. He makes it to the stage at the 48 second mark.
With the R&B song “I Wanna Know” serving as the background music, Jackson begins with each of the mandatory poses before going into an individual routine. He concludes by going to both ends of the stage to hit various forms of the most muscular pose.
Even though he’s in his offseason and won’t be preparing for the big contest until at least September, he still displayed excellent condition for a man that is 50 years old and on the verge of retirement.
Jackson is still in high demand as a guest poser by contest promoters because of how he handles himself onstage. Many bodybuilders are known to guest pose in shorts and shoes and appear with a lot of extra mass. Jackson has been credited for posing in trunks and a presentation that is similar to if he was competing in the actual contest.
This was Jackson’s first onstage appearance since the bodybuilding schedule halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he competed at the 2020 Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio where he placed second to champion William Bonac.
His next appearance will actually be as a promoter. The 2020 Dexter Jackson Classic is an amateur contest that will be taking place in the aforementioned Jacksonville. His next contest at an athlete will be at the Olympia. Earlier this year, he had announced that this year’s contest in Las Vegas, Nevada will be his last.
As for the Body Be 1 show itself, it was an amateur contest featuring seven divisions headlined by men’s bodybuilding. The overall winner of that division was super-heavyweight Dominic Wheatley. Other overall winners included Bikini champion Paola Rodriguez, Figure winner Briana Lee, Michael Pressley in Men’s Physique, DiAngelo Freeman in the Classic Physique division, and Women’s Physique Open winner Joan Skipper. Cheryl Hawk competed in the Women’s Bodybuilding contest unopposed.
Featured Image: Instagram/mrolympia08