Shawn Ray is the man!!! good read

**ibiza69** · 03-27-2002, 05:34 AM

Shawn Ray: $5,000 to the 2002 Mr. Olympia Competitors

Shawn Ray is not happy with the Mr. Olympia prize money, and the way it is being distributed. The top ten at the Mr. Olympia get prize money, with number one receiving $110,000, all the way down with number 10 receiving $10,000. Number 11, 12, 13, and so on receive nothing. Absolutely nothing. The number one show in the bodybuilding world, and some guys receive nothing. True, they get their airfare and hotel rooms paid for, but after working for three months and spending countless hours and money getting ready for the big show in which thousands of tickets are sold, they receive nothing. One can argue that they are not in the top ten, but that is irrelevant here.
So Shawn himself is putting up $5,000 of his own money towards the prize moeny for the competitiors not in the top 10 of the Mr. Olympia 2002! Shawn also has challenged all of the other top level pro’s to put their money where their mouth is in support of the soldiers at war trying to compete at the top level. As the 2002 Mr. Olympia draws closed this year, more will be heard on this issue.

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Shawn Ray always has some great, interesting writings. Here is one of them, from Shawn Ray's web site, www.shawnray.net, commentary by Shawn, titled 'A Fly on the Wall'.

As we soldier on in life it becomes painfully clear that not everyone we meet is what he or she seem to be at first blush. Ever wonder why a person goes out of their way to be noticed by you? How, when under normal circumstances when everyone is quiet, this particular person decides be loud. I’m the first to say, “I’m a people watcher.” I like to observe people from a distance, trying to figure out who they are, what their purpose or profession in life is. As it pertains to bodybuilding, I meet and observe some of the craziest people on the planet!
I have the advantage of traveling for a living, so I have seen just about everything in airports, gyms and other countries. The bodybuilding end of it is similar all over the world. The sport attracts certain “TYPES” of characters, performers and personalities. It’s not unusual to see some of our sports finest dropping their dress pants on stage, out of shape most of the time, hoping get the applause from the fans. Let’s be real, how many times do you see a grown man fully dressed, drop his pants on stage while only wearing bikini under wear at the request of another grown man? The same can be said for the top-level bodybuilder who goes to a show, fat and out of shape, wearing a tank top and sweating like crazy just so the fans can see how big or should I say small, his arms are.

This is the only sport where you have women who get big as they can, only to be pissed when they walk through the airport wondering what the hell everyone is looking at? How many times have I witnessed the puny little upstart bodybuilder with his tight fitting shirt, arms flared and screaming before he starts his next set of Max Bench Presses of 200 pounds! I tell you, if you look around, bodybuilding has some characters.

I am talking about the guy who comes to the gym for 4-5 hours to train his arms, while spending most of his time talking about which drugs to take to get bigger. How about the freak that tries to dominate all the machines, while weighing in at a Buck Fifty dripping wet, couldn’t win the Mr. Next Door Neighbor Contest. I witness all these buffoons but the ones that really bug me are the ones who go to the gym smelling like yesterday, training in a tank top to make matters worse, gross! Some women don’t get it either, when they plaster perfume all over their body before starting to train, talk about repellant, yuk!

When traveling, I have noticed most bodybuilders outside the USA would rather talk about drugs than actually learn about nutrition. I am amazed at how much foreigners think Americans have some advantage in the drug department when most of the stuff in the US is bogus, as well as a Class 3 Felony. When people spend too much time talking about bodybuilding, bodybuilding doesn’t get done! Have you ever seen the fitness babe who one minute is with this pro and the next minute is with that pro? Hello? Like the guys don’t talk, well sorry they do and usually it is not all that flattering for the girl, we see you coming it is a very small circle in this industry.

This is a strange industry for sure, mixed with X-Convicts from Dope dealers to Gay & Lesbian Porn stars. This sport has Wife swappers, Nubain addicts, X-Heads and Schmoes who wrestle women for money, we have them ALL! The only thing I can say is that this bodybuilding industry maybe a small Cult Sport by comparison to major sports but we are definitely a reflection of our society at large. We all know someone or have a family member who is hooked on drugs, gay, party animals, obsessed with their looks, hungry for attention or trying to sleep their way to the top.

The thing that gets me about bodybuilding is that when I started competing, I didn’t sign up for this freak show, I just wanted to compete.

I have come to accept it as part of life’s observations but I have had some serious eye opening lessons from the gutter, with all the smut & drugs. As well, I have seen some true heroic stories by people who over came some major hurdles through training like Anorexia, Injuries, Self-Confidence problems and Illness.

Don’t get me wrong, if you live long enough your bound to see some crazy stuff, it only gets weird when people you know get caught up in all the stuff that you realize how important it is to be true to yourself and respect what you can take from bodybuilding and apply it to enhance your life, as well as others.

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**shonuff** · 03-27-2002, 08:48 AM

its good to see someone who is not just a me me person. Peace

**BIG R** · 06-12-2002, 06:25 AM

It was a noble idea for Shawn! But when he showed up with the 5K the IFBB didnt want to but up the rest of the cash so his idea got scrapped. I hated to see that happen. I might just be a "control" issue.
Did you hear Shawn at the last Big "O" press conference? He was the man. He wants to make some waves on his way out of the sport.

Big R

**silverfox** · 06-12-2002, 06:49 AM

Nuts if you ask me, here is some free money IFBB, and they turn is down. Probably by time they were down with admin fee's and what not nothing would make it's way to competitors anyhow.