It appears Calum Von Moger has closed the door on a possible bodybuilding comeback. In a recent video on the Bucked Up YouTube channel, Von Moger discussed his legal troubles, injuries, and retirement from bodybuilding.
“I’ve gone down this path that I think probably other people could see me going down it, but I couldn’t see myself going down that path and it’s scary… I feel like each setback was an increasingly harder test for me, my mentality, and my person,” Calum Von Moger said.
Calum Von Moger enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame after he assumed the role of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the docudrama Bigger. Given his aesthetic features and comparisons to an all-time great, many fans thought it was a foregone conclusion that Von Moger would ascend to the top of the sport.
Injuries and legal troubles would prove to be the 32-year-old’s downfall. He stabbed the tires of a man’s vehicle during a road rage incident. The situation escalated after authorities discovered a handful of weapons in Calum’s car, such as brass knuckles, a tomahawk, and a haunting knife. Despite pleading guilty to the crime, Von Moger’s hardships were about to multiply.
Von Moger survived a near-death experience after jumping out of a two-story window. He made a full recovery after waking up from a six-day coma. He’s also taken to a rehabilitation center for drug use.
Aiming to turn his life around, Von Moger appeared on his YouTube channel and began sharing training sessions. Tragedy struck the Von Moger family last month, however, when Calum’s brother, Edward, was declared missing in Australia. His body was later discovered off a beach coast, prompting Calum to issue a heartfelt dedication video in his sibling’s honor.
Calum Von Moger Talks Legal Troubles, Injuries, Shuts Down Bodybuilding Future
Von Moger shared that many of his struggles stemmed from isolation and loneliness.
“One of the hardest parts of all was trying to navigate through all these different life experiences but I was doing it on my own out here. I didn’t have a lot of people or friends or anyone to really fall back on for a long time, so it was difficult. Sometimes I could have used some good advice and good mentors and stuff.”
While there were lows, Von Moger said winning bodybuilding shows in different countries was the pinnacle of his career. Eventually, he lost interest in bodybuilding and said the lifestyle was ‘too much, too fast.’
“One of the most pinnacle moments of my career was definitely when I was at the very top and I was winning competitions all around the world, South Korea, France, Australia, America, I was traveling month-to-month going to expos, I think there was one year every single month I was in a different country.”
“I got to this stage out here, where I just wasn’t happy. I lived this lifestyle where I was just handed a lot, almost too fast, too much, too soon. Everything was just thrown in my lane and I was in this fast lane for so long and I kind of just lost interest.”
“As I sat, misfortune and fortune intertwined together. I had these years of great fortune and happiness and the times were good and then… I ended up having a few downfalls. It started off with injuries. The cliff injury was – I snapped my quadriceps tendon off the bone and tore my bicep again. That was a challenge. I couldn’t train for several months.”
According to Von Moger, his life started to unravel following the Covid-19 pandemic. He said he was shocked after waking up from the coma last year.
“After the pandemic hit, that’s when things kind of got a little bit hairy for me. There was a road rage incident where I was arrested and locked up. It was in those moments I was really looking at myself thinking, ‘What are you doing to yourself, what are you doing to your life?’ That was the realization I lost my way.”
“I’ll tell you, going from where you know, I’m just getting pulled aside and all sorts of different public scenarios and places and then, waking up last year in a hospital; I came out of a coma. I think I was in it for five or six days. I was shocked. I didn’t know what the heck was going on. I woke up in the hospital and I couldn’t remember hardly how, what I was doing there.”
Von Moger explained that he’s no longer pursuing a bodybuilding career but remains optimistic about his future.
“I got to show everyone I can do this and that it’s not too much for me. I really thought I had a grip on everything; I thought I could handle it, I really did. I thought I was strong enough and I had enough willpower to be the master of my own ship and take control. But I needed help. I really needed it.”
“I have accepted where I am with my physicality, I know that I’m not going to be or looking to be a champion bodybuilder anymore, I’m happy to tie up those boots and retire from competitive bodybuilding. Now, it’s a different path for me. There’s forks in the road and I’m still trying to work out and navigate which direction to go down,” said Von Moger.
While he’s shut the door on a bodybuilding return, Von Moger has been pushing his limits in the gym. He explained that his current goal is to downsize his physique and recently showed off a high-volume leg day training session.
RELATED: Calum von Moger Issues Statement Regarding Recent Troubles: “I’m Sick of Fake People. Period.”
Having accepted the state of his life, Von Moger hopes to move forward with help from others. There won’t be a return to a bodybuilding stage but at least Von Moger will continue to showcase his fitness journey with fans in 2023.