My first Mr. Olympia was 1991 and that was in Florida against the great Lee Haney, who became Mr. Olympia in 1984, and I started training properly in 1983.
You win the Mr. Olympia, you are the best in the world. There is no better than that. Some people will think back prior to the 1950s, where Mr. Universe was the top guy. They say, 'Are you Mr. Universe?' 'No, I'm Mr. Olympia, which is the best of all.'
I didn't start out planning to be Mr. Olympia I just wanted to be the best that I could be, but my goals changed as I went along. I wanted to be the British champion, and then I wanted to be a pro, then Mr. Olympia.
I never thought I could win Mr. Olympia when I started my career in 2002.
Even when I was on vacation after the Olympia, I was looking for gym to train in. Not only was it 24 hours a day, it was 365 days a year. That may have been a little too extreme, but that is what got me there from that little backstreet gym in England to becoming Mr. Olympia.
My father is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, and yes, he was the Terminator! He is also a former Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia, two titles he earned as a champion bodybuilder.
The easy road in Olympia is a yes vote. That's the easy road in Olympia. The easy road in Olympia is not carrying the banner for freedom and liberty. The easy road in Olympia is worrying about getting reelected. The easy road in Olympia is going along to get along.
I went from 185 lbs to 285 lbs, became a 7X Mr. Olympia, tying Arnold Schwarzenegger, and competed against the most determined and fittest athletes in the world. This took hard work, tremendous dedication, and knowing what, how, and when to train.
It is a lot of pressure to prepare for the Mr. Olympia.
As Mr. Olympia, I have to go above and beyond. It's more than just showing muscle.
I quit working in the police force full time only after I won my third Mr. Olympia.
It is fortunate that I am quite a secure person and my training flew in the face of what everybody else was doing as they were all just copying what the American bodybuilders did, as reported in the magazines. But it didn't take long before people were listening to me: it happens when you are Mr. Olympia.
When little old ladies recognize a guy who was Mr. Olympia, that's saying something. That means I've been able to cross lines as far as marketability is concerned.
I was Mr. Olympia and everywhere I went I had to project this image. After some time you start wondering what part of that is really you and which bit you're doing because it's your job.
I think we have a good foundation which Mr. Lee Kuan Yew laid down, but you have to move forward. Now the question is what can Mr. Lee Hsien Loong and his team, and all our younger ministers can do now to build on the foundation which Mr. Lee Kuan Yew has built.
I never set limits or created mental barriers. You may have read that I imagined my biceps as big as mountain peaks when I did my curling exercises. This visualization process was essential if I was to gain the kind of mass and size I needed to win the mr Olympia contest against monsters like Sergio Olivia and Lou ferrigno.
The treatment from the Arnold Classic to the Olympia is, of course, a little bit different, but overall the quality of the shows and the way they are put on... I think they are the same. It's just that the Olympia has been around for so long, and it is considered the Super Bowl of bodybuilding.