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A Blessing for 2021
Blessing ‘The Boogieman’ Awodibu Is Finally Making His Pro Debut
Interview by Ron Harris
Redcon1 athlete Blessing Awodibu has never competed in a pro show and hasn’t competed at all since 2017. Yet he is far more popular than most of the top men at the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia, especially in mainstream social media. He has 1.6 million Instagram followers, and his YouTube channel has nearly 100 million views, thanks to his unique combination of huge muscles and an outrageous personality. Who else makes a video where he heads to his buddy’s house to smash his PS5 and TV for skipping leg day, jumps over a speeding Lamborghini, or plays tug-of-war with an 800-pound liger? His sense of humor is as outsized as his 300-pound physique. Now, it’s finally time for him to get serious. Blessing has been working with none other than Chad Nicholls, the man who took Ronnie Coleman to eight Mr. Olympia wins and most recently catapulted Big Ramy to that most prestigious of titles. He had a rough 2020 like many of us, but 2021 is shaping up to be a real – blessing!
This is a random way to start, but your last name isn’t easy to pronounce for those of us not from Nigeria. I assume people screw it up all the time?
Oh, they murder it. I remember being a young kid in Ireland, 16 or 17, and I met a pro bodybuilder from the USA who was there for an appearance. I told him I wanted to be a pro and I thought I had what it takes even though I was still small. He said, first of all, you need to change that last name.
That’s what they told Arnold when he wanted to be an actor!
I didn’t even respond to that. What kind of bullshit is that? Why would I change my last name? My father gave that to me!
Everyone who traveled in 2020 seems to have a good COVID story. I heard you were stuck in Dubai for a while.
Yeah. For the first few months, the quarantine didn’t affect me at all. Redcon1 has its own gym, so I was always able to train. But then my visa ran out and I had to leave the country and get that sorted. It was cool, because I hadn’t been back to Ireland to see my family or my girlfriend in quite a while. The plan was to go there for a month, then travel to Dubai for two weeks to quarantine before coming back to the USA, because Ireland and all of Europe was on the list of banned countries for U.S. travel. I had just started working with Chad Nicholls, so I was eager to get back to Florida and start my off-season program.
So I went to Ireland, then went to Dubai for two weeks. I got to the airport for my flight back to the USA, and after checking my passport, the guy took it over to another guy and they started talking. That’s when I started to worry. What’s going on here? I had been traveling with my training partner, who has a Green Card, and he got through with no problem. He was on the other side of security like, are you coming or what? I was told they couldn’t let me on the flight, but they wouldn’t tell me why. I missed the flight and waited in that spot for four hours hoping for some explanation so I knew what to do. I was so angry because I had followed all the proper rules.
Eventually they told me to please go home. Dubai is all about who you know. If you know the right people, you can do anything you want. I had met an immigration officer on my visit, so I hit him up and asked him to come with me to the airport very early the next morning. He said don’t worry bro, I will get you on that flight, no problem. I promise! We went there at 4:00 a.m. and I was feeling really good about things since I had this guy on my side now. This time there were five security officials. My friend went and talked to them for 20 minutes and then came back to me to tell me they wouldn’t let me through, something about the travel ban and my Irish passport. He suggested I contact the Irish embassy for help. Long story short, I was stuck in Dubai for four months. At first I was depressed about it because I had been so excited to get back home and start on my new off-season plan from Chad.
So what did you do for four months?
I got huge, bro! I rented an apartment, and I called Chad to let him know what was going on. We started my program there. I trained at the best gym in Dubai, Binous Gym, where Ramy trained and all the pros who visit Dubai train. I also used the time to create plenty of cool content for my Instagram and YouTube. Though I did have friends there, I kept to myself most of the time because I was there to make improvements, not hang out and party.
I saw one of your YouTube videos from your time in Dubai where you jumped over a speeding Lamborghini. Did you really do that, or was that special effects and editing?
Of course it was real! I’m the Boogieman! I do shit like that all the time.
The last time we talked was a few weeks after what would have been your pro debut at the Arnold Classic Australia that was canceled. You treated that week like a peak week anyway, and even did a photo shoot at the end instead of competing. But there were shows later on in 2020. At any point did you consider jumping into one and getting an Olympia qualification?
No. I always try to be as real as possible with myself. Aaron Singerman was urging me to compete even before he signed me as an athlete. But if I don’t feel like I’m ready, it’s not gonna happen. Looking back, I consider the whole virus and canceled shows thing to be a blessing in disguise. I was working with another coach then and it just wasn’t a good fit. Had I competed last year, I don’t think it would have gone well for me. The universe meant for me to meet the right people, like Aaron and Chad, and the lockdown gave me time to get better. I don’t want to just jump into shows. I wanted Chad to have time to understand my body before we did a prep together. Then we could take my physique to a whole new level, which is exactly what happened.
You haven’t competed since 2017, so I guess what’s another few months?
When I hit that stage, I want to shock the world. That’s why it’s taking so long. Bodybuilding truly is an art. You can’t rush it. Look what happens to the guys who do try to rush it. It usually doesn’t end well for them.
What did you weigh when you turned pro, and what did you weigh at the end of your practice peak week last March?
I was about 235-240 when I turned pro. When I did that photo shoot, I was a super flat 255-260. With Chad, we got me up to 300, and I’m 280 now at six weeks into my diet.
I’m starting to think that bigger guys do need to be prepped differently than smaller bodybuilders, and not many coaches can do it. Obviously Chad would be a perfect choice as he’s worked with freaks like Ronnie, Dallas, and Ramy.
I don’t think the previous person I was working with understood that. The progress I’ve made with Chad has been incredible. He told me when we started, Blessing, I’m going to get you to 300 pounds. I said that’s impossible. I started out as a skinny kid. 300 pounds just sounded insane.
What did he change most? Was it your training, your diet, or both?
Interestingly, he didn’t change a thing about my training. He watched some of my workout videos and liked the way I train. Some people assume I must not train that hard because they see my videos where I’m being crazy and goofy, but not many pros can survive my workouts. They think what I do is ridiculous, overtraining. Me and my training partner have broken a lot of people. It’s heavy weight, high-volume, nonstop pace, and every set is balls to the wall. Chad did change up my diet. I’ve never put down so much food in my life. I could see myself growing every week, and I was still staying lean with minimal cardio. I was shocked.
Do you have any idea what your calories in the off-season were before Chad, and what they were with his plan?
This is a rough estimate, but before I was eating about 4,500 calories and I was fat. Chad bumped that up to almost 7,000 calories and I was much harder and drier.
Where do you feel you made the most improvement?
Overall size, and we focused a lot on my back and legs. I wasn’t genetically gifted with huge legs, so they need extra work to see progress. When I was in Dubai, I split my leg workouts up into quads and hams, and did both twice a week.
Chad is tight with Ramy. Why didn’t you ask if Ramy could spare a couple of inches off his legs for you?
You know what? I’d fucking pay 50 or 60,000 dollars for two inches on my thighs!
I didn’t realize your back had been a lagging area.
I thought I had a good back too, until I started talking to honest people who knew what they were looking at. They told me my back was shallow. I was like, for real? That’s what I like. My circle is small, and I only surround myself with people who are real. I hardly talk to anyone in Florida. I have one good friend. The few people I do know are all no bullshit, no drama.
The bodybuilders I have known who never made the improvements they needed just surrounded themselves with ass-kissers who told them how perfect they were and how they should have 20 Mr. Olympia titles. They can’t take any criticism at all, even when it’s constructive.
To be honest, the IG comments I like the most are the negative ones. They will say shit like you have no legs, your hams are weak, etc. I reply back and say thanks, I am working on it! It makes me better to hear stuff like that. Positive feedback doesn’t make you a better bodybuilder. Negative comments are key, because they force you to recognize what you still need to improve. 99 percent of pros can’t handle negative comments. They get so angry and block people. I’ve never blocked anyone.
Let’s talk contests. Your pro debut is set to be the Indy Pro on May 8.
I’m doing every show in May: the Indy, the New York Pro, and the California Pro. Chad was like, maybe we should just focus on the New York Pro, win that, and call it a day until the Olympia. I said no way. I haven’t competed in almost four years, so I want to do multiple shows; especially since they are all just a week apart. It’s perfect. And you know what’s crazy? I plan on winning all three of them.
It’s not crazy at all. If you don’t think you can win, why would you be competing? On that note, are you friends with any of your fellow pro competitors?
Not many. It’s weird how they treat me and act around me. The only guy I get along really well with is Kai Greene. He was down here for two weeks not long ago and we got to train together a few times and hang out. He’s cool, down to have fun, tell jokes, and talk trash. Just good energy all around.
That’s strange how pros would be standoffish to you since you’ve never even competed against them.
I think it’s because they see me as a threat. They know what’s coming. All of them are going to hate The Boogieman. That’s my goal. I want to have as many haters as possible. If you ain’t got any haters, you ain’t doing shit.
You’re 29 years old now, and you haven’t competed since you were 25, right?
Correct. I did six shows back-to-back, and I won all of them. Three of those were pro qualifiers.
You must be excited to get on stage again after so long.
I am, and I’m especially excited to be competing for the first time. I don’t look anything like I did in 2017. I won’t even post throwback pictures because I feel like I looked skinny then compared to now. I really want to present something new, something unique and different that no one has ever seen before in the sport. That’s what I’ve been working on all this time, and I can’t wait to show everyone soon.
Instagram @blessing_awodibu
YouTube: Blessing Awodibu
Also featured on Redcon1 YouTube channel
Blessing’s Redcon1 Stack
Isotope
GI Juice®
Grunt®
Total War®
Big Noise®
Cluster Bomb®
MRE®
Fade Out®
For more information, visit redcon1.com
Contest History
2013 IFBB Arnold Amateur Europe
Junior, did not place
2013 IFBB European Amateur Championships
Seventh, Junior Heavyweight
2014 IFBB Arnold Amateur Europe
Junior Champion
2015 IFBB European Amateur Championships
14th, Light Superweight
2017 IFBB Arnold Amateur Europe
Super Heavyweight and Overall
2017 IFBB World Amateur Championships
Second, Super Heavyweight
2017 IFBB Diamond Cup Portugal
Super Heavyweight and Overall
2017 IFBB Diamond Cup Czech Republic
Super Heavyweight and Overall
Training split
Day 1
(a.m.) Shoulders and traps
(p.m.) Legs
Day 2
(a.m.) Back
(p.m.) Chest
Day 3
(a.m.) Arms
(p.m.) Lower back, glutes, hams
Repeat sequence, day 7 OFF
Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram
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