Shawn Ray Says Bodybuilding is More ‘Beauty Pageant’ than Sport

In Episode 264 of The Menace Podcast, host Dennis James was joined by Milos Sarcev and Jose Raymond along with special guest Shawn Ray, who got into a heated debate with ‘The Mind’ about how many confirmation rounds, or even competitors there should be in an Olympia final. The icon even questioned whether bodybuilding was a sport, seriously stressing out Sarcev.

The clash occurred when Shawn Ray, who has competed in thirteen Olympia finals, reaching a peak position of second place,  disagreed with the former Mr Universe about how many confirmation judging rounds there should be when the winner is probably already decided on the day before the final. As a hardcore bodybuilding fan, Sarcev said that the number of confirmation rounds were not an issue, but the overall number of competitors was pushing the length of the show too far. This drew some agreement from Ray, who concurred that there were too many competitors in the Olympia final, but he didn’t see a reason to keep bringing the underdogs out for further judging rounds, since they are usually far removed from victory, and don’t sell the lion’s share of tickets anyway. It was here that ‘The Mind’ mentioned other sports like MMA, and how any chance to score a point is of paramount importance, but Ray, who promotes the IFBB New York Pro, was having none of it.

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Why Shawn Ray says Bodybuilding is More ‘Beauty Pageant’ than Sport

“What my experience has told me is to never compare bodybuilding with any other sport in the world,” said Ray on The Menace Podcast. “Because it’s not. It’s not comparable. I try to compare it to Miss Universe. When you get to the top ten of the Miss Universe, nobody else matters, Milos.”

Ray went on to explain that maintaining the quality of a show is about whittling the competition down to the best of the best, quickly, and not spending too much time giving “participation awards” to those on the sidelines. Sarcev became highly stressed at this comparison. “You don’t want to compare bodybuilding to the other sports, and then you bring a f***ng Miss Universe (comparison),” retorted the Serbian, now enraged. “It’s not a sport,” interrupted Ray.

Sarcev tried to explain to Ray that Miss Universe was a pageant and not a sport. “It’s a pageant,” said Ray of bodybuilding as well, putting it in the same category as a beauty contest. “It’s a pageant bro, it’s who looks the best. It’s based on looks. It is an art.”

Ray attempted to qualify his opinion by explaining that no one has ever asked him how much he can lift when he stood on the Olympia stage. “It doesn’t matter how much you lift,” responded Sarcev, noting that UFC fighters aren’t asked how much they can lift. “Ahhhh, get outta here,” dismissed Ray.

While both men continued to make their case, often talking on top of each other, the likelihood of these two passionate men reaching an agreement on this subject seems highly unlikely. To watch the complete debate and decide where you stand on this and other hot topics like the upcoming Arnold Classic, see below.