Tag: All GI Exclusives
Samir Bannout Shares Old School Stories Of Gold’s Gym And Arnold Schwarzenegger
[embedded content]
Samir Bannout talks about first coming to America, Gold’s Gym, and some early stories he’s heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Samir Bannout is a bodybuilder who came into his prime during the tail end of the Golden Era of bodybuilding. He’s also a bodybuilder who lived the American dream similar to athletes like Franco Columbu and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He came to the US with a passion for bodybuilding and became a superstar and Olympia champion. So of course, he has some amazing first and second hand stories of the Golden Era of the sport. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Samir Bannout shares stories about coming to America, Gold’s Gym, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Bodybuilding is a very different sport today than it was in the Golden Era. The core elements of the sport remain of course but it is now an entire business model compared to the fledgling niche sport it was in the past. Many bodybuilding fans today romanticize the Golden Era. A time when Gold’s Gym was an iconic location and not a business chain. A time when Arnold Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilding champion and not a politician or action star. A time before social media and a time when Joe Weider was still alive.
That’s why we asked Samir Bannout to tell us some stories from his time as a bodybuilder coming to America and rising in the ranks. Samir Bannout was present for the tail end of the Golden Era. He saw Arnold Schwarzenegger and other greats. He trained at Gold’s Gym and personally knew Joe Gold. He also made connections with individuals who were there from the very beginning.
Bannout describes reading the famous bodybuilding magazines in Lebanon and dreaming of becoming a bodybuilder in America. He saw how Joe Weider inspired athletes like Arnold Schwarzenegger to the USA. So Samir Bannout headed out to the United States. He landed in Michigan originally but eventually had an opportunity to meet Joe Weider. That convinced him to move the California and enter the Mecca of bodybuilding.
Samir Bannout describes it as a dream. He made it out to California and Gold’s Gym in 1978. He describes it as coming there just in time. It was the tail end of the Golden Era and he was able to meet Joe Gold, get a lifetime free membership, and that changed everything. He describes himself as a kid in a candy store.
Samir Bannout also describes meeting a man named Art Seller. This was the man who first picked up Arnold Schwarzenegger from the airport when he arrived in Los Angeles. Bannout ended up becoming close friends with Seller and learned of wonderful early stories about Schwarzenegger. During our interview – he shares a short but funny story of Schwarzenegger when he first landed in America.
You can watch Samir Bannout talk about his journey to the US, his stories of Gold’s Gym and some funny short stories of Arnold Schwarzenegger in our latest GI Exclusive interview above. Bannout mentions that he wants to help continue spreading the passion and love and stories of bodybuilding’s past – especially as many of these greats start to recede into time. This video is a great little oral history keeping the past alive.
Guy Cisternino: “If You Don’t Have Thick Skin, You Shouldn’t Be On Social Media”
[embedded content]
Guy Cisternino discusses the difference between hardship and depression… and how social media has risen self-induced anxiety.
Guy Cisternino is a bodybuilder who exudes confidence. When he recently went viral for his argument in a gym – many online criticized him harshly. But Cisternino, though defending himself, didn’t seem bothered at all. This is rare in the internet age when many, but not all, can have their mood deeply affected by how well received they are on social media. That being said, Cisternino is not impenetrable. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Guy Cisternino opens up about dealing with anxiety, hardships, and discusses how social media has risen anxiety for nearly everyone in the world.
Though Guy Cisternino appears to have a “I don’t give a crap” attitude, he’s human. And while he overall projects confidence, he would be lying to say he didn’t suffer from anxiety. During our recent conversation, Cisternino opened up about how he’s had some truly dark times in his past. He’s overcome them and he doesn’t consider those bouts of time being real depression. But they were challenging.
In fact, Guy Cisternino uses this moment to discuss the difference between hardship and depression. He thinks that mental health is a very serious thing – but there’s a difference between real clinical depression vs just having hardships in your life. He worries that some people today confuse the two and use it as an excuse to not improve themselves.
Cisternino also discusses how he suffers from chronic anxiety himself. But this anxiety is different than what you might assume based off the standard definition of the word. Guy Cisternino explains how he has trouble sleeping nearly every single night. It’s not because he is kept up by anxious thoughts. Instead, his brain simply doesn’t turn off. He can be lying in bed, wide awake, thinking about nothing. He’s gone to doctors and sought help from psychiatrists. It’s a form of anxiety – but not the kind of social anxiety that brings bad thoughts into his brain.
Guy Cisternino then pivots in the interview to talk about anxiety as a whole in our culture. He believes that social media has made anxiety worse for most people. He considers it self induced though – as most people don’t need to use social media – despite nearly everyone succumbing to it. He believes that individuals who suffer serious anxiety caused by social media – should just log off permanently. It’s only making things harder despite the addictive rush of likes and positive comments.
“I think some people shouldn’t be on social media,” Guy Cisternino states in our interview. He continues:
“Some people I think it effects them in a real negative way. If you don’t have thick skin, you shouldn’t be on social media. Because you’re putting yourself at risk at the opinion of others. And you’re never going to get the majority of people – there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like you just because.”
The term “everyone’s a critic” comes to mind with his statement. Social media has allowed us all to be put out into the mass public – and we will be judged. It’s in our nature to judge what we see. Social media makes that more constant and easier to disassociate our words from how it affects the person on the other side. Guy Cisternino doesn’t lose sleep over negative comments – but for those who do – he thinks the best course of action is to leave social media behind completely.
You can watch Guy Cisternino’s full comments on anxiety in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
Talking Huge With Craig Golias | EP 7: Bodybuilding Heroes & Villains, Eating & Genetics, + More!
[embedded content]
Craig Golias talks about bodybuilding rivalries – do we need heroes and villains in the sport?
Welcome to another episode of Talking Huge – a weekly digital series in which Craig Golias talks in-depth with Vlad Yudin on the latest trending topics in bodybuilding. Raw, honest, and uncut – Craig Golias shares his opinions on all things bodybuilding. In this episode, Craig Golias talks about rivalries, trash talk and drama in bodybuilding. He also discusses eating and genetics, the problem with bodybuilding sponsorships, and more.
Craig Golias brings an interesting perspective to professional bodybuilding. Having abandoned the competitive side of the sport, he is simply a man passionate about the lifestyle while keeping tabs on pro bodybuilding. He’s not even 100% a die hard fan of the sport. This allows him to be a bit more honest and less subjective about the current trends in pro bodybuilding.
That’s why a significant chunk of today’s episode revolves around how to make pro bodybuilding entertaining. Should it go down a more wrestling route with drama, heroes, and villains? Or does that cheapen the very real integrity behind competing in pro bodybuilding? We dive in with our latest episode of Talking Huge. Read on for a full recap and watch above!
Heroes and Villains in Bodybuilding
Craig Golias and Vlad Yudin start today’s conversation reflecting on the past weekend’s Conor McGregor fight. He ultimately lost and broke his ankle. This is one of a string of setbacks for McGregor. Yet, both Craig and Vlad are certain that McGregor will continue to be a major figure in MMA for the foreseeable future. It has less to do with his record and more to do with his personality. He can sell the hell out of an upcoming MMA fight.
This begs the question – does bodybuilding need more drama and characters like Conor McGregor? Blessing Awodibu recently tried this tactic leading up to the New York Pro against Nick Walker. Ultimately, Walker came out victorious with Blessing falling quite behind. Does his lower placing deter destroy his ability to build hype before a show? Or will his personality always prevail?
Craig Golias thinks that characters like Blessing Awodibu are important for the sport. He thinks that the past decade of bodybuilding has been missing that kind of exciting hype leading up to events. While Kai Greene and Phil Heath are famous rivals – Craig doesn’t find their clash all that exciting. Instead, he turns towards the early 2000s when Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman faced off year after year. To Craig, that was the shining example of what rivalries should be with significant hype leading up to the big shows.
Beyond rivalries, Craig Golias also thinks it’s good to have true characters – heroes and villains – in pro bodybuilding. Similar to wrestling, this kind of dynamic creates fan drama and connections. In some sense, Phil Heath accepted his role as villain in the sport. But didn’t have anyone, other than Kai for a short time, to match against his personality.
Craig Golias On How Genetics Skew Perceptions Of Bodybuilding Diets
Craig and Vlad also discuss the truth behind bulking and cutting in bodybuilding. Many fans believe that during the bulking phase, that pro bodybuilders can eat as much junk food as they want. They believe that due to drugs like insulin or steroids that athletes have more leeway in what they can eat during the offseason.
Craig Golias wants to debunk this myth. If anything, certain athletes simply have the genetics that allow them to eat what they want and still come to stage shredded later. This is simply a general thing. We all know the kid growing up who could eat junk food all day and never gain a pound. Genetics can be a powerful thing that separates how each of us react to our diets. Unfortunately, in a sport so focused on size, physique, and diet – bodybuilders with phenomenal genetics skew the perception of how to really train and eat as a bodybuilder.
Wrap Up
There are far more topics discussed in this episode than we can cover in this article. You can watch Craig Golias and Vlad Yudin discuss other topics such as how the internet destroyed bodybuilding sponsorships and also why bodybuilding mass monster physiques will never be mainstream. You can check it all out in the latest episode of Talking Huge above! Make sure to check out Talking Huge every week on Friday – only on the Generation Iron Fitness Network!
Jerry Brainum Full Interview | The Truth Behind Body Fat, Biggest Physique Mistakes, & More
Jerry Brainum has been a science writer, researcher and lecturer for more than 30 years in the bodybuilding industry. Throughout those 30 years he’s amassed a superset of knowledge. He’s shared that knowledge in our original series Straight Facts in the past and continues to do so with his Applied Metabolics newsletter.
That’s why we reconnected with Jerry Brainum this past year for a new video interview to discuss the science behind bodybuilding. Jerry Brainum helps shed some light and debunk some myths on bodybuilding training, diets, and trends in the sport.
Over the past few months we’ve released multiple GI Exclusive segments from our interview with Jerry Brainum. Now we’re releasing the full length interview including topics such as the reality behind body fat percentages, the biggest mistake that makes bodybuilders look flat, and the best physiques of all time.
Listen To Our Jerry Brainum Interview On The Generation Iron Podcast
Our full length interviews are now also in podcast form! Subscribe to the Generation Iron Podcast for candid, full length interviews with the biggest names in bodybuilding, fitness, combat, and strength sports.
Listen to the full Jerry Brainum interview here:
The Realities Behind Bodybuilder Body Fat Percentage & Cutting Weight
Brainum claims that the usual body fat percentage of a pro bodybuilder falls around 5%-7%. In some extreme cases, a bodybuilder might be able to go down to 3% overall body fat percentage. He stresses that this is extremely rare. He also stresses that any bodybuilder that claims to have less than 3% is lying. Brainum states that it’s humanly impossible to achieve that low of number.
Jerry Brainum also discusses just how vital genetics plays a roll in how a person can gain or lose weight. The unfortunate truth is – some bodybuilders will have to struggle a lot more to bring their body fat percentage low enough to compete successfully. Every body is genetically different. But in a world of bodybuilding where physiques need to all match the same standard, some competitors will struggle much more than others.
Jerry Brainum details the specific genes that determine such fate for bodybuilders (and any person really). He also spends some time debunking popular weight loss tactics such as fat freezing and liposuction. The overall truth is one many probably don’t want to hear. These medical procedures don’t always work. They can also damage your cells permanently. Ultimately, there is no easy way to lose weight. If you are someone who struggles to lose weight – you just have to work harder on good nutrition and exercise.
The Biggest Mistake That Makes Bodybuilder Muscle Look Flat
Jerry Brainum points out that muscle tissue is made of 72% water. So when bodybuilders deplete themselves in the final “hell week” before a show, if they go too far they actually lose the fullness of their muscle. Even furthermore, some competitive bodybuilders don’t even realize that drinking water is in itself a diuretic. Water flushes out a lot of extra minerals in your body the more you drink it. Thinks like sodium. Too much sodium can make you retain more water – which is a big problem for bodybuilders.
So the biggest mistake that bodybuilders make is by often drinking too much water, not drinking any at all, or taking too many diuretics in the final week before the show. With one fell swoop, it can destroy a year’s worth of work. The hard part of course, is to know how much is too much. Each body is different – but the key is for athletes to recognize this is part of the problem first. Then they can start learning their body and how to fix it.
It’s a delicate balance. It’s what makes this sport so challenging. It’s what makes the legends that much more impressive. Never underestimate “hell week” and start taking depletion seriously in order to present the best bodybuilding physique on stage.
Wrap Up
Jerry Brainum is a man who can provide rare in-depth knowledge on all things bodybuilding from a scientific perspective. He has always ensured that his statements are backed by rigorous research and not “broscience” or anecdotal experiences. That’s why our latest uncut interview is essential viewing for anyone looking to take their physique to the next level.
You can watch our full uncut GI Exclusive interview with Jerry Brainum above.
Gunter Schlierkamp: Women’s Bodybuilding Is Impressive But Not Enjoyable To Look At
[embedded content]
Gunter Schlierkamp shares his personal feelings on Women’s Bodybuilding.
For a short while, Women’s Bodybuilding looked to be dead. It was no longer included in the Olympia weekend and only appeared in a very small handful of shows. All of that changed in 2020, with the Ms. Olympia returning and seemingly on track to stay in the future. Compared to other female divisions, Women’s Bodybuilding has often been controversial due to the massive size of the competitors. The battle for “femininity” in the sport has plagued the division since its inception. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Gunter Schlierkamp tries to find balance between the impressive accomplishments of Women’s Bodybuilding vs his personal taste in women physiques.
Gunter Schlierkamp has made his opinions on Women’s Bodybuilding clear in the past. He’s admitted that he doesn’t find the mass monster physiques on Women’s Bodybuilders attractive. That’s why during our recent interview, we wanted to follow up with Schlierkamp about those comments. Does he still feel that way since the division’s comeback? And could he go into more detail about what exactly he meant?
Gunter Schlierkamp doubles down on his original statement. For him, the Women’s Bodybuilding division is just too big and doesn’t have enough femininity. In fact, he believes the division has the same problem that Men’s Open currently has. Namely, that the athletes are putting on too much size and muscle for their frame.
For Women’s Bodybuilding, this increase in mass monster culture combines with Gunter Schlierkamp’s personal taste on women’s physiques. He simply believes they should not be as muscular as men. It’s not something he’s attracted to.
It’s at this point that Vlad Yudin chimes in to point out that an athletic sport is about achievement and not personal taste. A women’s division in a sport should aim to accomplish the same athletic feats as the men’s division counterpart. Gunter Schlierkamp agrees and reframes his initial comments.
Shclierkamp admits that he finds Women’s Bodybuilding extremely impressive. He believes that what the female athletes accomplish in terms of muscle and conditioning is awe-inspiring as the male athletes. He doesn’t want to take away from what they accomplish. That being said, as a fan of the sport and from the perspective of a spectator – he simply doesn’t find Women’s Bodybuilding enjoyable to watch. He doesn’t find it appealing to his personal taste.
“If a woman does it for competing and just placing and winning shows. Is that impressive the work she puts in there? Hell yeah,” Gunter Schlierkamp states in our interview. He continues:
“I mean, it’s ridiculous, it’s insane, it’s dedication, it’s awesome for that. But do I like it for me personally to loo at? I have to say no. That’s not what I like. So how about I say it like that.”
Do you agree or disagree with Gunter Schlierkamp’s separation of personal taste vs achievement in athletic sport? Check out his full comments in our GI Exclusive interview segment above and decide for yourself!
Melvin Anthony: The Ultimate List Of The Best Bodybuilding Posers Of All Time
[embedded content]
Melvin Anthony was one of the greatest posers in bodybuilding history. Here’s his picks for the top 5 best posers of all time.
Melvin Anthony is a bodybuilder who was active during the 90s and 2000s and best known for his incredible posing routines. In the prime of his career, he often placed in the top six at Mr. Olympia. A lot has changed over the past few decades in bodybuilding – that’s why we connected with Anthony to discuss his revolutionary posing routines and his thoughts on posing in the modern era of bodybuilding. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Melvin Anthony breaks down the top five best bodybuilding posers of all time.
It’s often been said that posing has fallen to the wayside in bodybuilding. What was once an art form in and of itself – has now been a simple set of mandatory moves for the judges. While there are some who still value creativity in posing, it’s almost become secondary in today’s era of bodybuilding.
Arnold Schwarzenegger himself warned of this change and urged the Arnold Classic to instate a score for posing as part of the overall results. The change was made and is still active in the Arnold Classic competitions to this day. It has yet to expand to other major competitions such as the Mr. Olympia.
We connected with Melvin Anthony via video chat to reflect on his career and the inspiration behind his posing routines. There really aren’t many bodybuilding posers out there like Anthony. Melvin was meticulous with his prep and practiced each and every move. His goal was for each posing routine to be flawless.
While the focus on posing has dwindled over the years – there is still hope in the form of select bodybuilders with incredible posing routines. That’s why we asked Melvin Anthony to list his picks for the best bodybuilding posers of all time. He mentions younger bodybuilders like Terrence Ruffin – but the biggest standout to him is Kai Greene.
Fans of bodybuilding are no stranger to Kai Greene’s sometimes bizarre but often beautiful posing routines. He would wear costumes and masks (for guest posing) and incorporate interpretive dance into his routine alongside mandatory poses. His entire persona was based in this art. His interviews are often poetic, just like his posing. He has always seen bodybuilding as pure art. This explains his skill and passion behind painting and his recent line of comic books.
[embedded content]
Watch Kai Greene’s posing routine in Brooklyn in this clip from Generation Iron above!
So was Kai Greene the second coming of Melvin Anthony? Was he influenced by Anthony’s career? Anthony will be the first to admit that Kai Greene is one of the greatest, if not the number one greatest, poser of all time. But their styles are very different. Anthony details how his posing came from his street background. He would incorporate hip hop and breakdance style into his routines. Kai Greene feels more like abstract poetry. Two very different forms – but both dedicating to evolving the routine into something more.
Ultimately, Melvin Anthony struggles to come up with even five names for the best posers of all time (he eventually locks a solid five names). This is an example of just how few and far between true elevated posing is in the sport.
You can watch Melvin Anthony go into detail about his posing routines and the best bodybuilding posers of all time in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
George Farah Warns Bodybuilders: Stop Old School Bulking And Cutting
[embedded content]
George Farah favors building muscle slowly rather than old school bulking and cutting and warns of dire consequences.
George Farah is a legendary bodybuilding coach. He has also been much more vocal in the past decade about how his perception is changing as to what a pro bodybuilder needs to succeed. In fact, Farah believes that as bodybuilding culture changes – the training and dieting has not caught up and it’s endangering athlete health. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, George Farah warns against old school bulking and cutting in bodybuilding. He fears it will raise high blood pressure and lead to damage to kidneys and the liver.
Heart health and high blood pressure has been a topic we’ve discussed previously during our GI Exclusive interviews. That’s why we decided to turn to the bodybuilding guru himself – George Farah – for his take on how to avoid high blood pressure as a mass monster bodybuilder. His answer expands past blood pressure and also into liver and kidney health as well.
George Farah worries that the current culture of bodybuilding is leading to more health risks than necessary for athletes. Much like other individuals we have interviewed recently, Farah believes mass monster culture is leading to younger bodybuilder getting too big, too fast. More specifically, be believes that the old school method of bulking and cutting is no longer the best way to prep as a pro bodybuilder.
Bulking and cutting has been a very common way for pro bodybuilders to train and diet for decades. In short, in involves eating more to bulk up muscle in the off season and then cutting down during competition prep. This allows for a shredded and conditioned look after adding some significant size.
This is of course not the only way to prepare. Bodybuilders like Dexter Jackson have long since focused on staying lean all year and building muscle slowly rather than going through bulking cycles. While bulking itself can be done clean – there are many who will dirty bulk to put on as much weight as possible. Not all of it is muscle and the cutting phase becomes more challenging.
George Farah believes that with the changes in bodybuilding today – bulking has become more dangerous. Especially dirty bulking. There are more powerful supplements and drugs being taken by bodybuilders. Not only that – but the overall size of bodybuilders has increased since the golden age of the sport. This makes the bulking and cutting phase much more dangerous.
The mass amounts of food needed to eat during bulking will inevitably lead to health problems. High blood pressure and possible future heart issues is just one of them. All of the food and ingredients a person eats needs to be processed through the liver and kidneys. During consistent bulking every year – this can over time do some serious damage to both organs.
In our previous segment with George Farah, he claimed that if a bodybuilder can’t see his or her abs during the off season – then they are doing something wrong. This same mentality goes into his view on bodybuilder health. In the chase for building as much muscle as fast as possible – unnecessary risks are being taken. These risks won’t show the true significance of the damage until many years down the road. It’s easy for young people to avoid thinking about it. Life seems long and possible danger is so far away.
It’s just like cigarettes – consistent use in the long term can lead to serious health issues. But millions of people smoke every year. It’s short sighted. It’s focusing on the short term benefits over the long term losses. George Farah has had enough of it. Much like our past few videos – he desperately warns the new generation to actually think ahead. “There is life after bodybuilding,” Farah says multiple times in this video. He can’t stop repeating it. He hopes it eventually starts changing the culture.
You can watch George Farah go into detail about blood pressure in bodybuilding, bulking, and cutting in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
Samir Bannout: “Why Can’t A Guy Who Is 200lbs Beat Someone Who Is 250lbs?”
Samir Bannout believes there are “a lot of things that need to be adjusted” in pro bodybuilding moving forward. Samir Bannout is a pro bodybuilder and a Mr. Olympia champion from a far different era. A perfect example of this is the fact that Banout won the Olympia weight in at only 196 pounds. In…
Zane Watson: “2020 Was The Best Judged Olympia I’ve Ever Watched”
Zane Watson talks about the results of the Mr. Olympia 2020 compared to previous years. When it comes to bodybuilding, especially the Mr. Olympia, everyone has their own opinion of who should have won. When enough people agree and speak up about it – that can create genuine controversy. Victor Martinez vs Jay Cutler at…
Mike O’Hearn Answers: Does Having A Child Change Your Bodybuilding Lifestyle?
[embedded content]
Mike O’Hearn talks about having a child and how that affected his rigorous bodybuilding lifestyle and schedule.
In 2019, Mike O’Hearn became a father and introduced the world to his son Titan. O’Hearn is a bodybuilder known for his insanely rigorous schedule. He would wake up to train at 4am every single day and has stayed committed to that schedule for the past few decades. A child is a big commitment – and one that changes a person’s life forever. So how does that affect the demands of bodybuilding? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Mike O’Hearn details his personal experience on how having a child changed his bodybuilding lifestyle.
There’s no doubt that having a child is a massive commitment. It changes the parents’ lives forever. Especially in the early years, a child is in constant need of supervision, it adds a lot to financial demands, and starts forcing you to think beyond yourself. A bodybuilder lifestyle, on the other hand, is one that requires a certain level of selfish focus. It also requires a great deal of commitment.
Mike O’Hearn is a bodybuilder who exemplifies the ultimate bodybuilding dedication. He has stuck to an extremely rigorous schedule for training and dieting for nearly four decades. Those who know him well claim that he has never stumbled and always stayed on point. So did having a child throw a wrench into his four decade long dedication?
Mike O’Hearn admits that he needed to start changing up his schedule in order to meet the needs of raising a son. But he’s also lucky in that he owns his own gym and has built a successful life that allows for him to be more flexible. Despite now having to dedicate time to loving and raising a child – he still makes sure to stick to his bodybuilding plans. In fact, he claims to have put on even more muscle over the past year.
This is in large part due to the pandemic as well. Just a year after Mike O’Hearn’s son was born, COVID-19 shut down the United States and most of the world. This meant that one aspect of O’Hearn’s life was put on pause. There were no more public speaking arrangements or guest posings. This allowed him to have his first ever “off season” in a very long time.
Mike O’Hearn is always dedicated to staying in lean shape for guest posings throughout the year. Between the pandemic and having a son – he’s had more time to focus on recovering and bulking up a bit more. He’s now preparing for his first string of guest posing events in over a year. He’s excited because he in fact thinks his physique has improved.
It’s often a common held believe that having a child means putting your other passions on hold. But Mike O’Hearn seems to buck this trend and prove that notion wrong. It of course requires incredible will power – but since bodybuilding is a passion for him – that dedication is fun. In the same way others might want to play video games or go out for drinks – Mike O’Hearn looks forward to training and focusing on his health.
You can watch Mike O’Hearn go into more detail about having a son and his new bodybuilding lifestyle in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!