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Will Terrence ‘Ruff Diesel’ Ruffin Rise to the Top at the Classic Physique Olympia?
Interview by Ron Harris
Terrence Ruffin has been a rising star in Classic Physique since the inception of the division in 2016. Now, he’s the only two-time Arnold Classic champion and has been knocking on the door of the Olympia title with second-place finishes to Chris Bumstead in both 2020 and 2021. At 12 weeks out from this year’s Olympia, he was forced to evacuate Tampa as deadly Hurricane Ian bore down on the region. Luckily it was just a bump in the road for Ruff Diesel. After rescheduling this interview in light of the natural disaster, we sat down to go over topics that ranged from his friendship with the late John Meadows, the height controversy in Classic Physique, and why posing matters.
I’ll start with relationship news. Now both of the two best Classic Physique pros in the world are engaged. Chris was more recent; when did you pop the question to your fiancée Teffany, and when is the wedding?
I proposed back in June or July, I can’t remember, but the wedding is going to be on New Year’s Eve.
How long have you been together?
Not too long, we started talking back in March. When you know, you know.
Switching gears here, it’s been over a year now since we lost the Mountain Dog, John Meadows, who was your coach and good friend. I’ve never asked you how you met John and started working with him.
The first time I ever saw John was when we were backstage at the 2014 NPC Nationals. I was still very new to the sport and didn’t know who he was, but I distinctly remember seeing a very large man with a lot of freckles. I first met him at a seminar at a gym in Florida called Fitness Junky. I was a broke 21-year-old, and he was nice enough to let me train with him for free as long as I helped him promote the event. He took me through an arm workout, and we got sushi after the event. We talked about comics the whole day. That was the first time I met John. From then on, any time he had a seminar or event and I was going to be in the same place, even if I was competing, I would always go and listen to what he had to say and always learned something new. I built a good rapport with him for years before he became my coach. After my coach Matt Porter passed away, I spent some time figuring things out and knew I had to get back on track. I reached out to John. I had recently got divorced and I was barely scraping by. I had just enough money to pay my rent when I moved out from the place my wife and I had. He was kind enough to offer to coach me for free. All he asked in return was that I make the trip up to Ohio to film some training content with him. I waited too long and booked the flight last-minute, and it wound up costing what three months’ worth of his coaching would have been!
How long were you able to work with John?
We did three shows together: the 2019 Niagara Falls, then the 2020 Arnold Classic and Olympia. We were in prep for the 2021 Arnold and Olympia shows when he passed. I got to know John very well. He let me into his home. I met his wife, his kids, and his friends. At that point I considered him to be like a father figure. If I had relationship issues, business questions, anything, I would just call him up. It was very difficult for me when he passed away. I think it’s great that I’m able to honor part of his legacy by being part of his company, Granite Supplements.
You weren’t with Granite when he was still alive, correct?
Unfortunately, no. My fiancée was signed with them, and my contract with another company was coming to an end. Teffany had an event for them, and she was very happy with how it was run and how Granite treated her. Suby, the athlete manager, reached out to me and we talked for a while. I also spoke with Mary, John’s wife, and she was happy to hear I would be joining the team.
I remember John was a real stickler for making sure his products had the exact ingredients he wanted in them, with the correct potency and quality. What attracted you to the Granite line, and what are your favorite products?
I love what John stood for. He was always about integrity and being upfront. I like the fact that everything on the ingredients label makes sense. When I look at a company and see a “proprietary blend” on the label, that’s an immediate no for me. Next, I look to see if the ingredients are dosed properly. With Granite, it’s all good. One of my favorite products is Neuro-Stim. I love having that extra element of focus when I hit the gym. I’ll pair that with the Vaso Blast for a great pump and mental clarity. I don’t need help with energy because I normally train in the mornings. I like their protein powder a lot too. It’s a blend, which is cool. Say you’re having an issue with whey or milk-type proteins. We have a couple of things in there so it won’t affect you as much. The proteins are absorbed at different rates, and it’s also a little thinner. I’m still eating a lot of food, so I don’t want a shake that’s super thick.
Any plans on a Ruff Diesel signature line?
Yeah, we’re actually working on that. I’m excited about it. That was one thing I was adamant about when I got with the company. I wanted something I could say was my own. It’s in the works.
You have mentioned an issue you had with your knee recently. What was going on?
I was just trying to enjoy life, and I guess I enjoyed it too much, because I hurt myself wakeboarding. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. The knee is finally back to normal, and my last three to four leg days have been really good. It was bad for a little while. The day after I hurt it I was concerned it might have been a serious injury. Luckily it wasn’t. I feel like I have bad luck. A dog bit my hand two days ago.
I see in your videos and posts that you’ve been training with Joe Bennett aka “The Hypertrophy Coach.” How did you start working with Joe?
He saw me back in 2016 at the Tampa Pro, my first pro win. He congratulated me and said he saw some things I could improve on. For the first year, I was making a seven-hour drive from where I was in Fort Walton Beach to come down to Tampa and train with him. I’d drive down Friday night, train Saturday morning and evening, again Sunday morning, and then go home. When I moved to Maryland, he finally wrote me a workout plan. Eventually I decided to move to Tampa to train with him. It still took another year for him to take me in and train me on a regular basis. The biggest critique I was getting in my first couple of years as a pro was my upper body, particularly my arms. They didn’t match my legs. A big part of solving that issue was changing my split, focusing more of my energy on what I needed to improve and not doing much for my quads. This year we’re doing a little bit more for them, but last year they were only getting two to three sets a week.
I remember your legs being more dominant, and I was going to ask you if you had ever backed off on training them to let your upper body catch up.
I remember Phil Heath and others with great arms talking about how they didn’t really train their arms much. You hear things like that, but then you don’t really apply it to yourself. But if you do have a real standout body part, you can get away with training it much less and it will still maintain its size. I remember Tom Platz got his best placing at the Mr. Olympia only after he stopped training his legs.
A controversial topic in Classic Physique is height. We have guys getting taller, or trying to get taller, so they can compete at a heavier weight. They’re using inversion tables and going to chiropractors, obviously really making an effort to somehow grow taller. We even had the Brazilian pro Horse MD missing his weight cap at a show this past summer by 7 pounds because he thought he’d been able to get taller. Is this something you’re concerned with personally? You have a weight limit of 180 pounds but could be heavier if you were a bit taller.
I’ve been measured shorter before. At one point I was under my usual height and had to be no more than 175. I’m just happy when they measure me correctly and I can be 180. I’m not trying to be 3 inches taller. Maybe they should change the system so it’s a higher weight for every inch. For example, I’m 5-foot-5 and Breon Ansley is 5-foot-7, but his weight limit is also 180. That kind of sucks for him. Are there ways to temporarily gain extra height? The only thing I’ve seen that works is inversion tables.
How hard is it for you to add muscle and improve when you can’t be any heavier? Or are you just refining your physique now and not trying to grow? You do seem to have gotten bigger over the last few years.
I’ve definitely gotten bigger. There’s really one show I can recall where I was worried about making weight. The only way to get bigger and still make the weight is to come in leaner.
Right, but I can’t imagine you being much leaner than you already are on stage. You’re known for your dry, crisp condition.
That’s true!
A lot of fans seem to try and pressure the top Classic men like you and Bumstead to move up to 212 or Open. You’re one of the best Classic competitors of all time. Why would you want to leave that division?
I agree with you. I saw that a lot with the late George Peterson. And don’t get me wrong, George did do very well when he moved to 212, but people don’t see the same value in placings. Top three at the Classic Physique Olympia isn’t bad. People were telling him to switch because he got third place at the Olympia three years in a row. That means only two people in the whole world were able to beat him. That’s not bad! Now we see Breon about to switch. I get why he wants to go to 212 for personal reasons, but being top five in the world isn’t something to be sad about. Maybe it’s different for him because he was the Olympia champ twice already. I’m happy where I am. I’ve never been at the top of my weight limit anyway, so for me to gain the amount of size and weight to be a good 212 competitor wouldn’t be smart for either my health or my career.
I hate to say it because I’ve always loved the 212 division, but Classic is more popular now than 212 is. Look at the social media numbers on the top men for each division. Young guys message me and talk to me at the gym all the time, and they’re not talking about the 212 guys. It’s you, Chris, Urs and Ramon. Classic is the future. I don’t even know if the 212 division will be around in a few years.
You’re right, especially when you have guys like Shaun, Kamal, Derek, Hadi and Bonac all doing so well in the Open division or moving to it. A lot of people were complaining that Women’s Physique was cut from the Arnold, but no one even mentioned that the 212 was also dropped. The 212 guys are in a tough spot right now.
You’ve been runner-up at the Olympia two years in a row now. I’m not sure if you realize that Bumstead was also runner-up twice before he went on to win three times so far. My question is, how do you beat Chris? You’re so close.
I beat Chris at his first pro show, so I don’t think anything is impossible. I’ve just needed time to develop my physique. My strengths are my structure, how lean I’m able to get, and my posing. Compared to the rest of the top five at the Olympia, I’m probably the worst at putting on muscle. In 2019 I had to take a year off to get the size I needed to stay in the running, to build quality muscle and fill out my frame. Some people say I don’t have any weaknesses, but to my eyes there are still things I can bring up, like my hamstrings. Tyler Manion said I can bring up my back a bit more. These things might not seem like weaknesses if you look at me alone, but I’m not alone up onstage when I compete. All the other guys have a crazy body part.
The last thing I want to talk about is your posing. You’re known as one of the best posers of your generation. I go to shows and especially in the Open class, there are always guys where it’s obvious to me they’re winging it: pausing to think of what pose to do next and repeating poses. I know the posing round isn’t judged, but it still seems so lazy to me. As someone who puts so much time and effort into crafting extraordinary, memorable routines, what would you say to the guys who don’t even bother putting even a basic routine together?
I’ll just say that I appreciate when people put effort into things. As a professional, you should take each aspect of the sport seriously. Even if you’re not the best poser in the world, you can still put something respectable together. James Hollingshead hired a posing coach for a couple of his more recent shows, and he looked amazing because of it. I’ve worked with other pros to help them bring something nice to the stage. Andrew Jacked is going to be coming out to Tampa to work with me for the Olympia. Even if posing isn’t judged, being a good poser elevates you in a sense. In my first couple of years as a pro, even if I wasn’t in the top five the judges would compare me with them.
Were you a naturally great poser, or did you have to work hard at it to reach the level we see now?
It’s a bit of both. I was definitely talented at it, but it took time to refine. I was always a creative poser, but I go back and look back at some of my old routines and they look very sloppy to me now. Now they’re a lot more clean and polished. Even now when I watch a routine, I always see something I could have done better. But I don’t dwell on it. You learn and improve for the next time around.
I’m glad you made it through Hurricane Ian unscathed and that you’re on track for the Olympia, because I want to see an amazing battle between you and Chris. I love Chris, but I’d also love to see a shake-up in the title. I wish you the best of luck.
It will be fun. I’m excited!
Instagram @ruff_diesel
Contest History
2014 NPC Nationals Lightweight Winner
2016 Dayana Cadeau Pro Second Place
2016 Kentucky Pro Winner
2016 Tampa Pro Winner
2016 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2017 Classic Physique Olympia Sixth Place
2018 Toronto Pro Winner
2018 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2019 Niagara Falls Pro Winner
2020 Arnold Classic Second, Classic
2020 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2021 Arnold Classic Winner
2021 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2022 Arnold Classic Winner
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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Ruffin Is Ready to Rise!
Will Terrence ‘Ruff Diesel’ Ruffin Rise to the Top at the Classic Physique Olympia?
Interview by Ron Harris
Terrence Ruffin has been a rising star in Classic Physique since the inception of the division in 2016. Now, he’s the only two-time Arnold Classic champion and has been knocking on the door of the Olympia title with second-place finishes to Chris Bumstead in both 2020 and 2021. At 12 weeks out from this year’s Olympia, he was forced to evacuate Tampa as deadly Hurricane Ian bore down on the region. Luckily it was just a bump in the road for Ruff Diesel. After rescheduling this interview in light of the natural disaster, we sat down to go over topics that ranged from his friendship with the late John Meadows, the height controversy in Classic Physique, and why posing matters.
I’ll start with relationship news. Now both of the two best Classic Physique pros in the world are engaged. Chris was more recent; when did you pop the question to your fiancée Teffany, and when is the wedding?
I proposed back in June or July, I can’t remember, but the wedding is going to be on New Year’s Eve.
How long have you been together?
Not too long, we started talking back in March. When you know, you know.
Switching gears here, it’s been over a year now since we lost the Mountain Dog, John Meadows, who was your coach and good friend. I’ve never asked you how you met John and started working with him.
The first time I ever saw John was when we were backstage at the 2014 NPC Nationals. I was still very new to the sport and didn’t know who he was, but I distinctly remember seeing a very large man with a lot of freckles. I first met him at a seminar at a gym in Florida called Fitness Junky. I was a broke 21-year-old, and he was nice enough to let me train with him for free as long as I helped him promote the event. He took me through an arm workout, and we got sushi after the event. We talked about comics the whole day. That was the first time I met John. From then on, any time he had a seminar or event and I was going to be in the same place, even if I was competing, I would always go and listen to what he had to say and always learned something new. I built a good rapport with him for years before he became my coach. After my coach Matt Porter passed away, I spent some time figuring things out and knew I had to get back on track. I reached out to John. I had recently got divorced and I was barely scraping by. I had just enough money to pay my rent when I moved out from the place my wife and I had. He was kind enough to offer to coach me for free. All he asked in return was that I make the trip up to Ohio to film some training content with him. I waited too long and booked the flight last-minute, and it wound up costing what three months’ worth of his coaching would have been!
How long were you able to work with John?
We did three shows together: the 2019 Niagara Falls, then the 2020 Arnold Classic and Olympia. We were in prep for the 2021 Arnold and Olympia shows when he passed. I got to know John very well. He let me into his home. I met his wife, his kids, and his friends. At that point I considered him to be like a father figure. If I had relationship issues, business questions, anything, I would just call him up. It was very difficult for me when he passed away. I think it’s great that I’m able to honor part of his legacy by being part of his company, Granite Supplements.
You weren’t with Granite when he was still alive, correct?
Unfortunately, no. My fiancée was signed with them, and my contract with another company was coming to an end. Teffany had an event for them, and she was very happy with how it was run and how Granite treated her. Suby, the athlete manager, reached out to me and we talked for a while. I also spoke with Mary, John’s wife, and she was happy to hear I would be joining the team.
I remember John was a real stickler for making sure his products had the exact ingredients he wanted in them, with the correct potency and quality. What attracted you to the Granite line, and what are your favorite products?
I love what John stood for. He was always about integrity and being upfront. I like the fact that everything on the ingredients label makes sense. When I look at a company and see a “proprietary blend” on the label, that’s an immediate no for me. Next, I look to see if the ingredients are dosed properly. With Granite, it’s all good. One of my favorite products is Neuro-Stim. I love having that extra element of focus when I hit the gym. I’ll pair that with the Vaso Blast for a great pump and mental clarity. I don’t need help with energy because I normally train in the mornings. I like their protein powder a lot too. It’s a blend, which is cool. Say you’re having an issue with whey or milk-type proteins. We have a couple of things in there so it won’t affect you as much. The proteins are absorbed at different rates, and it’s also a little thinner. I’m still eating a lot of food, so I don’t want a shake that’s super thick.
Any plans on a Ruff Diesel signature line?
Yeah, we’re actually working on that. I’m excited about it. That was one thing I was adamant about when I got with the company. I wanted something I could say was my own. It’s in the works.
You have mentioned an issue you had with your knee recently. What was going on?
I was just trying to enjoy life, and I guess I enjoyed it too much, because I hurt myself wakeboarding. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. The knee is finally back to normal, and my last three to four leg days have been really good. It was bad for a little while. The day after I hurt it I was concerned it might have been a serious injury. Luckily it wasn’t. I feel like I have bad luck. A dog bit my hand two days ago.
I see in your videos and posts that you’ve been training with Joe Bennett aka “The Hypertrophy Coach.” How did you start working with Joe?
He saw me back in 2016 at the Tampa Pro, my first pro win. He congratulated me and said he saw some things I could improve on. For the first year, I was making a seven-hour drive from where I was in Fort Walton Beach to come down to Tampa and train with him. I’d drive down Friday night, train Saturday morning and evening, again Sunday morning, and then go home. When I moved to Maryland, he finally wrote me a workout plan. Eventually I decided to move to Tampa to train with him. It still took another year for him to take me in and train me on a regular basis. The biggest critique I was getting in my first couple of years as a pro was my upper body, particularly my arms. They didn’t match my legs. A big part of solving that issue was changing my split, focusing more of my energy on what I needed to improve and not doing much for my quads. This year we’re doing a little bit more for them, but last year they were only getting two to three sets a week.
I remember your legs being more dominant, and I was going to ask you if you had ever backed off on training them to let your upper body catch up.
I remember Phil Heath and others with great arms talking about how they didn’t really train their arms much. You hear things like that, but then you don’t really apply it to yourself. But if you do have a real standout body part, you can get away with training it much less and it will still maintain its size. I remember Tom Platz got his best placing at the Mr. Olympia only after he stopped training his legs.
A controversial topic in Classic Physique is height. We have guys getting taller, or trying to get taller, so they can compete at a heavier weight. They’re using inversion tables and going to chiropractors, obviously really making an effort to somehow grow taller. We even had the Brazilian pro Horse MD missing his weight cap at a show this past summer by 7 pounds because he thought he’d been able to get taller. Is this something you’re concerned with personally? You have a weight limit of 180 pounds but could be heavier if you were a bit taller.
I’ve been measured shorter before. At one point I was under my usual height and had to be no more than 175. I’m just happy when they measure me correctly and I can be 180. I’m not trying to be 3 inches taller. Maybe they should change the system so it’s a higher weight for every inch. For example, I’m 5-foot-5 and Breon Ansley is 5-foot-7, but his weight limit is also 180. That kind of sucks for him. Are there ways to temporarily gain extra height? The only thing I’ve seen that works is inversion tables.
How hard is it for you to add muscle and improve when you can’t be any heavier? Or are you just refining your physique now and not trying to grow? You do seem to have gotten bigger over the last few years.
I’ve definitely gotten bigger. There’s really one show I can recall where I was worried about making weight. The only way to get bigger and still make the weight is to come in leaner.
Right, but I can’t imagine you being much leaner than you already are on stage. You’re known for your dry, crisp condition.
That’s true!
A lot of fans seem to try and pressure the top Classic men like you and Bumstead to move up to 212 or Open. You’re one of the best Classic competitors of all time. Why would you want to leave that division?
I agree with you. I saw that a lot with the late George Peterson. And don’t get me wrong, George did do very well when he moved to 212, but people don’t see the same value in placings. Top three at the Classic Physique Olympia isn’t bad. People were telling him to switch because he got third place at the Olympia three years in a row. That means only two people in the whole world were able to beat him. That’s not bad! Now we see Breon about to switch. I get why he wants to go to 212 for personal reasons, but being top five in the world isn’t something to be sad about. Maybe it’s different for him because he was the Olympia champ twice already. I’m happy where I am. I’ve never been at the top of my weight limit anyway, so for me to gain the amount of size and weight to be a good 212 competitor wouldn’t be smart for either my health or my career.
I hate to say it because I’ve always loved the 212 division, but Classic is more popular now than 212 is. Look at the social media numbers on the top men for each division. Young guys message me and talk to me at the gym all the time, and they’re not talking about the 212 guys. It’s you, Chris, Urs and Ramon. Classic is the future. I don’t even know if the 212 division will be around in a few years.
You’re right, especially when you have guys like Shaun, Kamal, Derek, Hadi and Bonac all doing so well in the Open division or moving to it. A lot of people were complaining that Women’s Physique was cut from the Arnold, but no one even mentioned that the 212 was also dropped. The 212 guys are in a tough spot right now.
You’ve been runner-up at the Olympia two years in a row now. I’m not sure if you realize that Bumstead was also runner-up twice before he went on to win three times so far. My question is, how do you beat Chris? You’re so close.
I beat Chris at his first pro show, so I don’t think anything is impossible. I’ve just needed time to develop my physique. My strengths are my structure, how lean I’m able to get, and my posing. Compared to the rest of the top five at the Olympia, I’m probably the worst at putting on muscle. In 2019 I had to take a year off to get the size I needed to stay in the running, to build quality muscle and fill out my frame. Some people say I don’t have any weaknesses, but to my eyes there are still things I can bring up, like my hamstrings. Tyler Manion said I can bring up my back a bit more. These things might not seem like weaknesses if you look at me alone, but I’m not alone up onstage when I compete. All the other guys have a crazy body part.
The last thing I want to talk about is your posing. You’re known as one of the best posers of your generation. I go to shows and especially in the Open class, there are always guys where it’s obvious to me they’re winging it: pausing to think of what pose to do next and repeating poses. I know the posing round isn’t judged, but it still seems so lazy to me. As someone who puts so much time and effort into crafting extraordinary, memorable routines, what would you say to the guys who don’t even bother putting even a basic routine together?
I’ll just say that I appreciate when people put effort into things. As a professional, you should take each aspect of the sport seriously. Even if you’re not the best poser in the world, you can still put something respectable together. James Hollingshead hired a posing coach for a couple of his more recent shows, and he looked amazing because of it. I’ve worked with other pros to help them bring something nice to the stage. Andrew Jacked is going to be coming out to Tampa to work with me for the Olympia. Even if posing isn’t judged, being a good poser elevates you in a sense. In my first couple of years as a pro, even if I wasn’t in the top five the judges would compare me with them.
Were you a naturally great poser, or did you have to work hard at it to reach the level we see now?
It’s a bit of both. I was definitely talented at it, but it took time to refine. I was always a creative poser, but I go back and look back at some of my old routines and they look very sloppy to me now. Now they’re a lot more clean and polished. Even now when I watch a routine, I always see something I could have done better. But I don’t dwell on it. You learn and improve for the next time around.
I’m glad you made it through Hurricane Ian unscathed and that you’re on track for the Olympia, because I want to see an amazing battle between you and Chris. I love Chris, but I’d also love to see a shake-up in the title. I wish you the best of luck.
It will be fun. I’m excited!
Instagram @ruff_diesel
Contest History
2014 NPC Nationals Lightweight Winner
2016 Dayana Cadeau Pro Second Place
2016 Kentucky Pro Winner
2016 Tampa Pro Winner
2016 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2017 Classic Physique Olympia Sixth Place
2018 Toronto Pro Winner
2018 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2019 Niagara Falls Pro Winner
2020 Arnold Classic Second, Classic
2020 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2021 Arnold Classic Winner
2021 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2022 Arnold Classic Winner
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
DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS
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VISIT OUR STORE
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Will Terrence ‘Ruff Diesel’ Ruffin Rise to the Top at the Classic Physique Olympia?
Interview by Ron Harris
Terrence Ruffin has been a rising star in Classic Physique since the inception of the division in 2016. Now, he’s the only two-time Arnold Classic champion and has been knocking on the door of the Olympia title with second-place finishes to Chris Bumstead in both 2020 and 2021. At 12 weeks out from this year’s Olympia, he was forced to evacuate Tampa as deadly Hurricane Ian bore down on the region. Luckily it was just a bump in the road for Ruff Diesel. After rescheduling this interview in light of the natural disaster, we sat down to go over topics that ranged from his friendship with the late John Meadows, the height controversy in Classic Physique, and why posing matters.
I’ll start with relationship news. Now both of the two best Classic Physique pros in the world are engaged. Chris was more recent; when did you pop the question to your fiancée Teffany, and when is the wedding?
I proposed back in June or July, I can’t remember, but the wedding is going to be on New Year’s Eve.
How long have you been together?
Not too long, we started talking back in March. When you know, you know.
Switching gears here, it’s been over a year now since we lost the Mountain Dog, John Meadows, who was your coach and good friend. I’ve never asked you how you met John and started working with him.
The first time I ever saw John was when we were backstage at the 2014 NPC Nationals. I was still very new to the sport and didn’t know who he was, but I distinctly remember seeing a very large man with a lot of freckles. I first met him at a seminar at a gym in Florida called Fitness Junky. I was a broke 21-year-old, and he was nice enough to let me train with him for free as long as I helped him promote the event. He took me through an arm workout, and we got sushi after the event. We talked about comics the whole day. That was the first time I met John. From then on, any time he had a seminar or event and I was going to be in the same place, even if I was competing, I would always go and listen to what he had to say and always learned something new. I built a good rapport with him for years before he became my coach. After my coach Matt Porter passed away, I spent some time figuring things out and knew I had to get back on track. I reached out to John. I had recently got divorced and I was barely scraping by. I had just enough money to pay my rent when I moved out from the place my wife and I had. He was kind enough to offer to coach me for free. All he asked in return was that I make the trip up to Ohio to film some training content with him. I waited too long and booked the flight last-minute, and it wound up costing what three months’ worth of his coaching would have been!
How long were you able to work with John?
We did three shows together: the 2019 Niagara Falls, then the 2020 Arnold Classic and Olympia. We were in prep for the 2021 Arnold and Olympia shows when he passed. I got to know John very well. He let me into his home. I met his wife, his kids, and his friends. At that point I considered him to be like a father figure. If I had relationship issues, business questions, anything, I would just call him up. It was very difficult for me when he passed away. I think it’s great that I’m able to honor part of his legacy by being part of his company, Granite Supplements.
You weren’t with Granite when he was still alive, correct?
Unfortunately, no. My fiancée was signed with them, and my contract with another company was coming to an end. Teffany had an event for them, and she was very happy with how it was run and how Granite treated her. Suby, the athlete manager, reached out to me and we talked for a while. I also spoke with Mary, John’s wife, and she was happy to hear I would be joining the team.
I remember John was a real stickler for making sure his products had the exact ingredients he wanted in them, with the correct potency and quality. What attracted you to the Granite line, and what are your favorite products?
I love what John stood for. He was always about integrity and being upfront. I like the fact that everything on the ingredients label makes sense. When I look at a company and see a “proprietary blend” on the label, that’s an immediate no for me. Next, I look to see if the ingredients are dosed properly. With Granite, it’s all good. One of my favorite products is Neuro-Stim. I love having that extra element of focus when I hit the gym. I’ll pair that with the Vaso Blast for a great pump and mental clarity. I don’t need help with energy because I normally train in the mornings. I like their protein powder a lot too. It’s a blend, which is cool. Say you’re having an issue with whey or milk-type proteins. We have a couple of things in there so it won’t affect you as much. The proteins are absorbed at different rates, and it’s also a little thinner. I’m still eating a lot of food, so I don’t want a shake that’s super thick.
Any plans on a Ruff Diesel signature line?
Yeah, we’re actually working on that. I’m excited about it. That was one thing I was adamant about when I got with the company. I wanted something I could say was my own. It’s in the works.
You have mentioned an issue you had with your knee recently. What was going on?
I was just trying to enjoy life, and I guess I enjoyed it too much, because I hurt myself wakeboarding. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. The knee is finally back to normal, and my last three to four leg days have been really good. It was bad for a little while. The day after I hurt it I was concerned it might have been a serious injury. Luckily it wasn’t. I feel like I have bad luck. A dog bit my hand two days ago.
I see in your videos and posts that you’ve been training with Joe Bennett aka “The Hypertrophy Coach.” How did you start working with Joe?
He saw me back in 2016 at the Tampa Pro, my first pro win. He congratulated me and said he saw some things I could improve on. For the first year, I was making a seven-hour drive from where I was in Fort Walton Beach to come down to Tampa and train with him. I’d drive down Friday night, train Saturday morning and evening, again Sunday morning, and then go home. When I moved to Maryland, he finally wrote me a workout plan. Eventually I decided to move to Tampa to train with him. It still took another year for him to take me in and train me on a regular basis. The biggest critique I was getting in my first couple of years as a pro was my upper body, particularly my arms. They didn’t match my legs. A big part of solving that issue was changing my split, focusing more of my energy on what I needed to improve and not doing much for my quads. This year we’re doing a little bit more for them, but last year they were only getting two to three sets a week.
I remember your legs being more dominant, and I was going to ask you if you had ever backed off on training them to let your upper body catch up.
I remember Phil Heath and others with great arms talking about how they didn’t really train their arms much. You hear things like that, but then you don’t really apply it to yourself. But if you do have a real standout body part, you can get away with training it much less and it will still maintain its size. I remember Tom Platz got his best placing at the Mr. Olympia only after he stopped training his legs.
A controversial topic in Classic Physique is height. We have guys getting taller, or trying to get taller, so they can compete at a heavier weight. They’re using inversion tables and going to chiropractors, obviously really making an effort to somehow grow taller. We even had the Brazilian pro Horse MD missing his weight cap at a show this past summer by 7 pounds because he thought he’d been able to get taller. Is this something you’re concerned with personally? You have a weight limit of 180 pounds but could be heavier if you were a bit taller.
I’ve been measured shorter before. At one point I was under my usual height and had to be no more than 175. I’m just happy when they measure me correctly and I can be 180. I’m not trying to be 3 inches taller. Maybe they should change the system so it’s a higher weight for every inch. For example, I’m 5-foot-5 and Breon Ansley is 5-foot-7, but his weight limit is also 180. That kind of sucks for him. Are there ways to temporarily gain extra height? The only thing I’ve seen that works is inversion tables.
How hard is it for you to add muscle and improve when you can’t be any heavier? Or are you just refining your physique now and not trying to grow? You do seem to have gotten bigger over the last few years.
I’ve definitely gotten bigger. There’s really one show I can recall where I was worried about making weight. The only way to get bigger and still make the weight is to come in leaner.
Right, but I can’t imagine you being much leaner than you already are on stage. You’re known for your dry, crisp condition.
That’s true!
A lot of fans seem to try and pressure the top Classic men like you and Bumstead to move up to 212 or Open. You’re one of the best Classic competitors of all time. Why would you want to leave that division?
I agree with you. I saw that a lot with the late George Peterson. And don’t get me wrong, George did do very well when he moved to 212, but people don’t see the same value in placings. Top three at the Classic Physique Olympia isn’t bad. People were telling him to switch because he got third place at the Olympia three years in a row. That means only two people in the whole world were able to beat him. That’s not bad! Now we see Breon about to switch. I get why he wants to go to 212 for personal reasons, but being top five in the world isn’t something to be sad about. Maybe it’s different for him because he was the Olympia champ twice already. I’m happy where I am. I’ve never been at the top of my weight limit anyway, so for me to gain the amount of size and weight to be a good 212 competitor wouldn’t be smart for either my health or my career.
I hate to say it because I’ve always loved the 212 division, but Classic is more popular now than 212 is. Look at the social media numbers on the top men for each division. Young guys message me and talk to me at the gym all the time, and they’re not talking about the 212 guys. It’s you, Chris, Urs and Ramon. Classic is the future. I don’t even know if the 212 division will be around in a few years.
You’re right, especially when you have guys like Shaun, Kamal, Derek, Hadi and Bonac all doing so well in the Open division or moving to it. A lot of people were complaining that Women’s Physique was cut from the Arnold, but no one even mentioned that the 212 was also dropped. The 212 guys are in a tough spot right now.
You’ve been runner-up at the Olympia two years in a row now. I’m not sure if you realize that Bumstead was also runner-up twice before he went on to win three times so far. My question is, how do you beat Chris? You’re so close.
I beat Chris at his first pro show, so I don’t think anything is impossible. I’ve just needed time to develop my physique. My strengths are my structure, how lean I’m able to get, and my posing. Compared to the rest of the top five at the Olympia, I’m probably the worst at putting on muscle. In 2019 I had to take a year off to get the size I needed to stay in the running, to build quality muscle and fill out my frame. Some people say I don’t have any weaknesses, but to my eyes there are still things I can bring up, like my hamstrings. Tyler Manion said I can bring up my back a bit more. These things might not seem like weaknesses if you look at me alone, but I’m not alone up onstage when I compete. All the other guys have a crazy body part.
The last thing I want to talk about is your posing. You’re known as one of the best posers of your generation. I go to shows and especially in the Open class, there are always guys where it’s obvious to me they’re winging it: pausing to think of what pose to do next and repeating poses. I know the posing round isn’t judged, but it still seems so lazy to me. As someone who puts so much time and effort into crafting extraordinary, memorable routines, what would you say to the guys who don’t even bother putting even a basic routine together?
I’ll just say that I appreciate when people put effort into things. As a professional, you should take each aspect of the sport seriously. Even if you’re not the best poser in the world, you can still put something respectable together. James Hollingshead hired a posing coach for a couple of his more recent shows, and he looked amazing because of it. I’ve worked with other pros to help them bring something nice to the stage. Andrew Jacked is going to be coming out to Tampa to work with me for the Olympia. Even if posing isn’t judged, being a good poser elevates you in a sense. In my first couple of years as a pro, even if I wasn’t in the top five the judges would compare me with them.
Were you a naturally great poser, or did you have to work hard at it to reach the level we see now?
It’s a bit of both. I was definitely talented at it, but it took time to refine. I was always a creative poser, but I go back and look back at some of my old routines and they look very sloppy to me now. Now they’re a lot more clean and polished. Even now when I watch a routine, I always see something I could have done better. But I don’t dwell on it. You learn and improve for the next time around.
I’m glad you made it through Hurricane Ian unscathed and that you’re on track for the Olympia, because I want to see an amazing battle between you and Chris. I love Chris, but I’d also love to see a shake-up in the title. I wish you the best of luck.
It will be fun. I’m excited!
Instagram @ruff_diesel
Contest History
2014 NPC Nationals Lightweight Winner
2016 Dayana Cadeau Pro Second Place
2016 Kentucky Pro Winner
2016 Tampa Pro Winner
2016 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2017 Classic Physique Olympia Sixth Place
2018 Toronto Pro Winner
2018 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2019 Niagara Falls Pro Winner
2020 Arnold Classic Second, Classic
2020 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2021 Arnold Classic Winner
2021 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2022 Arnold Classic Winner
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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Ruffin Is Ready to Rise!
Will Terrence ‘Ruff Diesel’ Ruffin Rise to the Top at the Classic Physique Olympia?
Interview by Ron Harris
Terrence Ruffin has been a rising star in Classic Physique since the inception of the division in 2016. Now, he’s the only two-time Arnold Classic champion and has been knocking on the door of the Olympia title with second-place finishes to Chris Bumstead in both 2020 and 2021. At 12 weeks out from this year’s Olympia, he was forced to evacuate Tampa as deadly Hurricane Ian bore down on the region. Luckily it was just a bump in the road for Ruff Diesel. After rescheduling this interview in light of the natural disaster, we sat down to go over topics that ranged from his friendship with the late John Meadows, the height controversy in Classic Physique, and why posing matters.
I’ll start with relationship news. Now both of the two best Classic Physique pros in the world are engaged. Chris was more recent; when did you pop the question to your fiancée Teffany, and when is the wedding?
I proposed back in June or July, I can’t remember, but the wedding is going to be on New Year’s Eve.
How long have you been together?
Not too long, we started talking back in March. When you know, you know.
Switching gears here, it’s been over a year now since we lost the Mountain Dog, John Meadows, who was your coach and good friend. I’ve never asked you how you met John and started working with him.
The first time I ever saw John was when we were backstage at the 2014 NPC Nationals. I was still very new to the sport and didn’t know who he was, but I distinctly remember seeing a very large man with a lot of freckles. I first met him at a seminar at a gym in Florida called Fitness Junky. I was a broke 21-year-old, and he was nice enough to let me train with him for free as long as I helped him promote the event. He took me through an arm workout, and we got sushi after the event. We talked about comics the whole day. That was the first time I met John. From then on, any time he had a seminar or event and I was going to be in the same place, even if I was competing, I would always go and listen to what he had to say and always learned something new. I built a good rapport with him for years before he became my coach. After my coach Matt Porter passed away, I spent some time figuring things out and knew I had to get back on track. I reached out to John. I had recently got divorced and I was barely scraping by. I had just enough money to pay my rent when I moved out from the place my wife and I had. He was kind enough to offer to coach me for free. All he asked in return was that I make the trip up to Ohio to film some training content with him. I waited too long and booked the flight last-minute, and it wound up costing what three months’ worth of his coaching would have been!
How long were you able to work with John?
We did three shows together: the 2019 Niagara Falls, then the 2020 Arnold Classic and Olympia. We were in prep for the 2021 Arnold and Olympia shows when he passed. I got to know John very well. He let me into his home. I met his wife, his kids, and his friends. At that point I considered him to be like a father figure. If I had relationship issues, business questions, anything, I would just call him up. It was very difficult for me when he passed away. I think it’s great that I’m able to honor part of his legacy by being part of his company, Granite Supplements.
You weren’t with Granite when he was still alive, correct?
Unfortunately, no. My fiancée was signed with them, and my contract with another company was coming to an end. Teffany had an event for them, and she was very happy with how it was run and how Granite treated her. Suby, the athlete manager, reached out to me and we talked for a while. I also spoke with Mary, John’s wife, and she was happy to hear I would be joining the team.
I remember John was a real stickler for making sure his products had the exact ingredients he wanted in them, with the correct potency and quality. What attracted you to the Granite line, and what are your favorite products?
I love what John stood for. He was always about integrity and being upfront. I like the fact that everything on the ingredients label makes sense. When I look at a company and see a “proprietary blend” on the label, that’s an immediate no for me. Next, I look to see if the ingredients are dosed properly. With Granite, it’s all good. One of my favorite products is Neuro-Stim. I love having that extra element of focus when I hit the gym. I’ll pair that with the Vaso Blast for a great pump and mental clarity. I don’t need help with energy because I normally train in the mornings. I like their protein powder a lot too. It’s a blend, which is cool. Say you’re having an issue with whey or milk-type proteins. We have a couple of things in there so it won’t affect you as much. The proteins are absorbed at different rates, and it’s also a little thinner. I’m still eating a lot of food, so I don’t want a shake that’s super thick.
Any plans on a Ruff Diesel signature line?
Yeah, we’re actually working on that. I’m excited about it. That was one thing I was adamant about when I got with the company. I wanted something I could say was my own. It’s in the works.
You have mentioned an issue you had with your knee recently. What was going on?
I was just trying to enjoy life, and I guess I enjoyed it too much, because I hurt myself wakeboarding. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. The knee is finally back to normal, and my last three to four leg days have been really good. It was bad for a little while. The day after I hurt it I was concerned it might have been a serious injury. Luckily it wasn’t. I feel like I have bad luck. A dog bit my hand two days ago.
I see in your videos and posts that you’ve been training with Joe Bennett aka “The Hypertrophy Coach.” How did you start working with Joe?
He saw me back in 2016 at the Tampa Pro, my first pro win. He congratulated me and said he saw some things I could improve on. For the first year, I was making a seven-hour drive from where I was in Fort Walton Beach to come down to Tampa and train with him. I’d drive down Friday night, train Saturday morning and evening, again Sunday morning, and then go home. When I moved to Maryland, he finally wrote me a workout plan. Eventually I decided to move to Tampa to train with him. It still took another year for him to take me in and train me on a regular basis. The biggest critique I was getting in my first couple of years as a pro was my upper body, particularly my arms. They didn’t match my legs. A big part of solving that issue was changing my split, focusing more of my energy on what I needed to improve and not doing much for my quads. This year we’re doing a little bit more for them, but last year they were only getting two to three sets a week.
I remember your legs being more dominant, and I was going to ask you if you had ever backed off on training them to let your upper body catch up.
I remember Phil Heath and others with great arms talking about how they didn’t really train their arms much. You hear things like that, but then you don’t really apply it to yourself. But if you do have a real standout body part, you can get away with training it much less and it will still maintain its size. I remember Tom Platz got his best placing at the Mr. Olympia only after he stopped training his legs.
A controversial topic in Classic Physique is height. We have guys getting taller, or trying to get taller, so they can compete at a heavier weight. They’re using inversion tables and going to chiropractors, obviously really making an effort to somehow grow taller. We even had the Brazilian pro Horse MD missing his weight cap at a show this past summer by 7 pounds because he thought he’d been able to get taller. Is this something you’re concerned with personally? You have a weight limit of 180 pounds but could be heavier if you were a bit taller.
I’ve been measured shorter before. At one point I was under my usual height and had to be no more than 175. I’m just happy when they measure me correctly and I can be 180. I’m not trying to be 3 inches taller. Maybe they should change the system so it’s a higher weight for every inch. For example, I’m 5-foot-5 and Breon Ansley is 5-foot-7, but his weight limit is also 180. That kind of sucks for him. Are there ways to temporarily gain extra height? The only thing I’ve seen that works is inversion tables.
How hard is it for you to add muscle and improve when you can’t be any heavier? Or are you just refining your physique now and not trying to grow? You do seem to have gotten bigger over the last few years.
I’ve definitely gotten bigger. There’s really one show I can recall where I was worried about making weight. The only way to get bigger and still make the weight is to come in leaner.
Right, but I can’t imagine you being much leaner than you already are on stage. You’re known for your dry, crisp condition.
That’s true!
A lot of fans seem to try and pressure the top Classic men like you and Bumstead to move up to 212 or Open. You’re one of the best Classic competitors of all time. Why would you want to leave that division?
I agree with you. I saw that a lot with the late George Peterson. And don’t get me wrong, George did do very well when he moved to 212, but people don’t see the same value in placings. Top three at the Classic Physique Olympia isn’t bad. People were telling him to switch because he got third place at the Olympia three years in a row. That means only two people in the whole world were able to beat him. That’s not bad! Now we see Breon about to switch. I get why he wants to go to 212 for personal reasons, but being top five in the world isn’t something to be sad about. Maybe it’s different for him because he was the Olympia champ twice already. I’m happy where I am. I’ve never been at the top of my weight limit anyway, so for me to gain the amount of size and weight to be a good 212 competitor wouldn’t be smart for either my health or my career.
I hate to say it because I’ve always loved the 212 division, but Classic is more popular now than 212 is. Look at the social media numbers on the top men for each division. Young guys message me and talk to me at the gym all the time, and they’re not talking about the 212 guys. It’s you, Chris, Urs and Ramon. Classic is the future. I don’t even know if the 212 division will be around in a few years.
You’re right, especially when you have guys like Shaun, Kamal, Derek, Hadi and Bonac all doing so well in the Open division or moving to it. A lot of people were complaining that Women’s Physique was cut from the Arnold, but no one even mentioned that the 212 was also dropped. The 212 guys are in a tough spot right now.
You’ve been runner-up at the Olympia two years in a row now. I’m not sure if you realize that Bumstead was also runner-up twice before he went on to win three times so far. My question is, how do you beat Chris? You’re so close.
I beat Chris at his first pro show, so I don’t think anything is impossible. I’ve just needed time to develop my physique. My strengths are my structure, how lean I’m able to get, and my posing. Compared to the rest of the top five at the Olympia, I’m probably the worst at putting on muscle. In 2019 I had to take a year off to get the size I needed to stay in the running, to build quality muscle and fill out my frame. Some people say I don’t have any weaknesses, but to my eyes there are still things I can bring up, like my hamstrings. Tyler Manion said I can bring up my back a bit more. These things might not seem like weaknesses if you look at me alone, but I’m not alone up onstage when I compete. All the other guys have a crazy body part.
The last thing I want to talk about is your posing. You’re known as one of the best posers of your generation. I go to shows and especially in the Open class, there are always guys where it’s obvious to me they’re winging it: pausing to think of what pose to do next and repeating poses. I know the posing round isn’t judged, but it still seems so lazy to me. As someone who puts so much time and effort into crafting extraordinary, memorable routines, what would you say to the guys who don’t even bother putting even a basic routine together?
I’ll just say that I appreciate when people put effort into things. As a professional, you should take each aspect of the sport seriously. Even if you’re not the best poser in the world, you can still put something respectable together. James Hollingshead hired a posing coach for a couple of his more recent shows, and he looked amazing because of it. I’ve worked with other pros to help them bring something nice to the stage. Andrew Jacked is going to be coming out to Tampa to work with me for the Olympia. Even if posing isn’t judged, being a good poser elevates you in a sense. In my first couple of years as a pro, even if I wasn’t in the top five the judges would compare me with them.
Were you a naturally great poser, or did you have to work hard at it to reach the level we see now?
It’s a bit of both. I was definitely talented at it, but it took time to refine. I was always a creative poser, but I go back and look back at some of my old routines and they look very sloppy to me now. Now they’re a lot more clean and polished. Even now when I watch a routine, I always see something I could have done better. But I don’t dwell on it. You learn and improve for the next time around.
I’m glad you made it through Hurricane Ian unscathed and that you’re on track for the Olympia, because I want to see an amazing battle between you and Chris. I love Chris, but I’d also love to see a shake-up in the title. I wish you the best of luck.
It will be fun. I’m excited!
Instagram @ruff_diesel
Contest History
2014 NPC Nationals Lightweight Winner
2016 Dayana Cadeau Pro Second Place
2016 Kentucky Pro Winner
2016 Tampa Pro Winner
2016 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2017 Classic Physique Olympia Sixth Place
2018 Toronto Pro Winner
2018 Classic Physique Olympia Ninth Place
2019 Niagara Falls Pro Winner
2020 Arnold Classic Second, Classic
2020 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2021 Arnold Classic Winner
2021 Classic Physique Olympia Second Place
2022 Arnold Classic Winner
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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SUBSCRIBE TO MD TODAY
GET OFFICIAL MD STUFF
VISIT OUR STORE
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