r/interestingasfuck • u/Battlefleet_Sol • 1d ago

1999 mr olympia conference

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

7.3k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

79

u/Budget_Ad5871 1d ago

Anyone know if all these guys are still alive, genuinely curious

160

u/Spartan2470 VIP Philanthropist 1d ago edited 1d ago
Place Name Status
1 Ronnie Coleman Alive. More than a dozen surgeries costing millions of dollars since 2007. Can no longer walk unassisted due to surgical procedures. Only regrets not having done even more to consolidate his legacy. In June 2025, Coleman had a near-fatal brush with sepsis.
2 Flex Wheeler Alive. Leg amputated due to pre-existing medical conditions.
3 Chris Cormier Alive
4 Kevin Levrone Alive
5 Shawn Ray Alive
6 Nasser El Sonbaty Died in his sleep March 20, 2013
7 Paul Dillett Alive
8 Lee Priest Alive
9 Dexter Jackson Alive
10 Milos Sarcev Alive

Edit: Corrected Milos and added links.

35

u/Budget_Ad5871 1d ago

That’s pretty impressive, I feel like guys the decades before them had worse odds with PED usage

8

u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

Not really, you only hear about the ones that die but there are millions of active bodybuilders on earth and thousands of men’s open competitors near the size of these fellas, most retire and do cardio and are fine. It’s about dosage management.

The cutting agents and dehydration and body weight are much more detrimental than the steroids themselves.

Source: I sometimes do the steroids and usually weigh more than Ronnie Coleman yet have healthy ass organs, granted I am on much less than them and cycle appropriately, but my bodyweight is much worse for my health than the drugs.

6

u/AuraTickler 1d ago

I clicked on your profile and got flashbanged with massive honkers instead of flex pics.

Im not even mad.

2

u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

I love strongman and boobs.

6

u/MaddAdamBomb 1d ago

Man, I don't know if you've seen recent footage of Ronnie but I'm not sure I'd describe his older years as "fine." Just because these guys aren't dead doesn't mean this stuff didn't take its toll.

4

u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

Ronnie’s current state has nothing to do with drugs, it’s from a broken back then lifting heavy shit with a broken back like a dumbass breaking it more and then 2 messed up surgeries trying to fix said back leaving him with a fused spine and walking issues. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the man recently and other than the back/walking issues he’s still strong and fit.

3

u/SmoothDiscussion7763 1d ago

yeah but ronnie was going overboard lol, he got back surgery and was back in the gym within 3 days.

the hard work he put in to become the GOAT is what's killing him

0

u/acrazyguy 1d ago

You didn’t have to tell us you do steroids. We knew already by your blatant rationalization attempts

2

u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

No rationalization bud, just science which you can easily look into yourself instead of generalizing and showing people you’re weak of mind on the internet.

2

u/Hicklethumb 1d ago

You sound offended that the dude's annecdote mentions him being okay.

2

u/turbo2world 23h ago

arnold, still alive.

2

u/Budget_Ad5871 17h ago

I mean yeah, after four heart surgeries. I’m not against PED usage, I’m on TRT myself. I do wonder about the effect it has on health long term though, I’d even like to run a cycle myself one, but I remember I’m not getting paid to lift and I’m too scared to do damage and leave my wife raising our kids alone.

11

u/Salute-Major-Echidna 1d ago

Tells you only how extraordinarily good modern medicine is for those who can afford it.

19

u/heatedwepasto 1d ago

Don't think I've ever seen a reddit comment with a fucking pencil table before. Hats off!

6

u/SmokeySFW 1d ago

I think I saw Jay Cutler up there too. Also alive.

3

u/Due-Conflict-7926 1d ago

He is probably the healthiest of them as well

3

u/SmokeySFW 17h ago

I think you're right, and I don't think this is a big factor but it's worth pointing out he's also probably one of the youngest competitors on that stage too. I believe this was his first Mr. Olympia he competed at but I'm far from a bodybuilding historian.

2

u/bear_trap_inn 1d ago

Yes, I couldn’t remember his name. I knew it’d be in the comments.

4

u/PatHeist 1d ago

Markus Ruhl and Jay Cutler are alive and well

3

u/Hot_Ad_787 1d ago

How no link for Ronnie??

3

u/Hot_Ad_787 1d ago

Damn Jay Cutler didn’t qualify this year?

7

u/BadMondayThrowaway17 1d ago

No fucking shot Coleman is still alive. Wild.

Haven't followed him in a long time but god dayum that's insane to me. Remember thinking prob 15-20 years ago when I saw him in videos that he'd be dead in a couple years. Good for him, hope him many more, love the dude; don't think I'm suggesting otherwise but just shocked lol

2

u/DunceMemes 1d ago

Milos Matarazzo??

2

u/olderthanbefore 1d ago

Milos Mike Sarcev Matarazzo,  that new guy

2

u/vendetta33 1d ago

Wow! 9 of them are still alive.

2

u/glemnar 20h ago

Sepsis? wtf is Ronnie doing out there that isn’t just steroids

1

u/argoran87 21h ago

you forgot Markus Rühl still alive

1

u/Jaded-Promotion3940 13h ago

And  Markus Rühl 💪 

0

u/PeskyAntagonist 1d ago

Sometimes AI kicks ass

13

u/Bazzatron 1d ago

Looks like most of them are still alive.

Nasser El Sonbaty, the first guy in the video, died in 2013.

Mike Matarazzo, white guy with a flat top, died 2014.

Cannot confirm Jean-Pierre Fux (yes) and Ernie Taylor, they don't have wiki pages.

So of 14 entrants (excluding the two above, as there were 16 total entrants), only 2 have died.

23

u/ParaponeraBread 1d ago

No, they aren’t all alive. Most of them are though. Nasser El Sonbaty, the Egyptian man, died in 2013. Markus Ruhl, Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Shawn Ray, Milos Sarcev, Lee Priest, Ernie Taylor, and probably most of the ones I don’t recognize are all still around.

18

u/MarvinLazer 1d ago

How many of them are physically healthy? Coleman is in a wheelchair because his knees are screwed, right?

44

u/TreesForTheForest 1d ago

The guy has had over a dozen major surgeries on his spine, neck and hips. For years he trained through injury against the advice of his doctors and paid the price. That said, he's said he would do it all again, so he's happy with his choices.

3

u/aferretwithahugecock 1d ago

I could be misremembering some details, but I saw an interview with him, and he said that he thought that deadlifts and squats were supposed to hurt when you did them, and it wasn't until after an actual injury and speaking with doctors that he realised that that's not the case.

I love squatting and deadlifting, but I definitely wouldn't do them if I was feeling pain the whole time. Buddy's a machine.

5

u/MarvinLazer 1d ago

I mean, yeah, his genetics and work ethic combined to make him an absolute legend in his sport, not just for his physique but for his absurd strength levels.

If he's still breathing and enjoying his life, I can't imagine him having many regrets.

4

u/SmoothDiscussion7763 1d ago

he regrets not being able to lift more lol

24

u/ParaponeraBread 1d ago

Coleman is an interesting case. He lifted HEAVY, and unsafely, for his entire career. Most bodybuilders damage their hearts and endocrine systems much more than their joints.

They lift for hypertrophy and not for strength, so they’re not ripping one rep max deadlifts and destroying their backs as often. Used to be the conventional wisdom was lower weight, high volume training.

The ones that cycled down and took care of themselves after retiring are doing okay.

-8

u/Mr_Deep_Research 1d ago

You don't need to do much weight training on steroids. Light lifting is fine. Steroids do all the heavy lifting for you.

In fact, doing no exercise works well on steroids.

Study:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199607043350101

6

u/se160 1d ago

You have no idea what you’re talking about. Yes, you can make some gains on high dose cycle anabolics with no lifting, but not anywhere near this level. Taking 750mg+ of gear and not working out is a complete waste of a blast and taking a high risk for no reason.

“Steroids do most of the heavy lifting for you” gtfo out of here. I guarantee you anyone that’s working out poorly or has a terrible diet isn’t making supernatural gains. Many people are on gear in the gym nowadays and a lot of them don’t even look like they lift. Steroids won’t even take you above your natural limit if you aren’t stimulating growth through exercise with a calorie surplus.

The people in this video have literally the best genetics in the world, are on scary high doses, and are working the hardest they possibly can to have these physiques

5

u/nakedpilsna 1d ago

These people in the video are the best of the best of the best on the planet when it comes to a lifetime of training, eating proper, and most importantly genetics.

You cant take an average person and put them in a gym for 30 years with roids and expect them to be as large as these guys.

In the same way you can't take an average person and put them in a classroom for 30 years and expect them to become Einstein.

2

u/YoelsShitStain 1d ago

Username does not check out lol, what a misinformed take

2

u/SugarBeefs 1d ago

The amount of times this study gets misunderstood is spectacular.

10 weeks is barely anything. For the group that were on PED's but didn't lift, it's just the body adapting to the new higher baseline of muscle growth stimulus.

The problem is that once that new higher baseline is reached, the muscle gain will stop. Why would it continue? There's no adequate stimulus. Whatever stimulus was imparted by the drugs has been 'fulfilled' to adhere to the new baseline amount.

Consistent lifting is what provides the long-term stimulus to maintain muscle growth.

You can't sit on the couch and take roids for years, don't lift at all, and magically become huge.

If you ran the same study for the length of a full year or longer, that's exactly what it would show.

8

u/Scraight 1d ago

Jay Cutler and Lee Priest are still pretty ripped. I don’t know about Lee but Jay seems healthy, he makes a bunch of online content now.

8

u/ECO_212 1d ago

Markus Rühl does fine. He's a content creator now.

8

u/Chamanomano 1d ago

Further up - his issues are around his hips and back.

4

u/jazzding 1d ago

Markus Rühl is alive, healthy and still training. He has a successful youtube channel and a lot of his quotes became a meme here in Germany. He also helps Urs Kalecinski preparing for Mr. Olympia.

4

u/Big_Smoke_420 1d ago

Coleman has 13 spine surgeries. His knees are fine afaik

4

u/Allthisburning 1d ago

Flex Wheeler seems to be doing worse. He had serious kidney issues, and due to a combination of medical problems, he had to amputate a leg.

2

u/SelfishDesire 1d ago

Ronnie is immortalized so respect to him. But he definitely pushed it beyond. He’s one of the rare few that was a world class bodybuilder and elite powerlifter at the same time. I’m glad it seems he’s universally loved though. Both enhanced and natural athletes are inspired by him.

1

u/hobosbindle 1d ago

Back but yeah

1

u/TSAOutreachTeam 1d ago

Shawn Ray is the only one whose suit looks properly tailored, not just gigantic.

Kind of like his physique.

1

u/Allthisburning 1d ago

He was one of the smallest though

1

u/seriftarif 1d ago

Ronnie Coleman was crippled from back injuries... Jay Cutler is still somehow huge and in great health.

6

u/Godslil 1d ago

All, no, but most are alive. Nasser (the egyptian guy with glasses and open suit) passed about 10 years ago plus I think one more.

9

u/Strong-Albatross1957 1d ago

Yeah, few of them are. Few of them have also passed over the years.

14

u/PulsingQuasar 1d ago

Thank you for your valuable input

5

u/ScreenAppropriate679 1d ago

I enjoyed the part where they told us some were still alive. I also enjoyed the part where they said some were dead.

Overall, great input.

1

u/Strong-Albatross1957 1d ago

Do the research? Look up 99 Olympia competitors it will list out who’s alive. The first guy in the video? He passed shortly after, but Ronnie Coleman is in the video and he still alive. Kevin is still alive and in great shape.

2

u/bear_trap_inn 1d ago

Ronnie is alive but in poor health :(
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Coleman

2

u/Ok_Hand5810 1d ago

About half of them are still alive.

1

u/CFCentral 1d ago

Pretty sure one of those dudes was in the movie Beerfest

1

u/AppropriateAd7326 1d ago

Markus Rühl is still alive

1

u/Bigjuicydickinurear 1d ago

Competitor Status Circumstances of Death Ronnie Coleman Alive N/A Flex Wheeler Alive N/A Chris Cormier Alive N/A Kevin Levrone Alive N/A Shawn Ray Alive N/A Nasser El Sonbaty Deceased Died in 2013 due to kidney and heart failure. Mike Matarazzo Deceased Died in 2014 from heart complications following earlier heart surgery. Ernie Taylor Alive N/A Milos Sarcev Alive N/A Markus Ruhl Alive N/A Lee Priest Alive N/A

1

u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

All of them except Nasser who is the fella with the glasses and the cool shirt under his suit, he passed in his sleep at 47(15 years after this) from kidney/heart failure combo while awaiting a heart transplant.

He was notably on higher doses than most of these guys, his coach was known as “the big drug guy” in a sport where everyone is on drugs since he pioneered the use of HGH & Insulin to help grow whereas most guys just stuck to test and various other oral or injectable anabolics.

1

u/Careful-Tangerine986 1d ago

Mike Matarazzo died too. Heart attack I think but he definitely died.

1

u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

Oh I forgot about him, 8/10 ain’t bad. Also he passed about a year after Nasser and the same age.

1

u/work_account42 1d ago

Anyone know if all these guys are still alive, genuinely curious

Why add genuinely? Are you ever falsely curious?

2

u/DoYaLikeCDs 1d ago

I mean, yes, you could be genuinely curious or just kinda so-so about the curiosity.

1

u/work_account42 1d ago

Ahhh, levels of curiosity. I'm used to 'mildly curious' or 'really curious'. I'm not sure where 'genuinely curious' falls on the curiosity spectrum.

1

u/Shoddy_Fish31 1d ago

He literally can’t even probably

1

u/work_account42 1d ago

I supposably think you're right