World Fitness Celebrity Series #4 "Yebati" - Ronnie Kuhlman
Yerbati! Levi bebe! That's him, the legendary bodybuilding champion!
Ronnie dean kuhlman (born 13 may 1964) is a retired american professional bodybuilder. He won the title of mr. Olympia for eight consecutive years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. In addition to the eight competitions won at the olympia, he holds the record for the most competitions won by an ifbb pro, with 26 titles (since dexter jackson broke the record).
Ronnie dean kuhlman was born in monroe, louisiana. He graduated with honours from grambling state university in 1984 with a bachelor of science in accounting. While in college, he played as a middle linebacker for the georgia state university tigers under coach eddie robinson. After graduating, he wasn't able to find a job as an accountant and instead went to work at damerel's pizzeria. There, he got free pizza every day because he was so poor he could barely eat outside of work.
He then became a police officer in arlington, texas, where he served as a police officer from 1989 to 2000, and as a reserve officer until 2003
Bodybuilding career
A colleague of cullman's suggested that cullman go to metroflex gym, a gym owned by amateur bodybuilder bryan dobson. Dobson offered cullman a free lifetime membership on the condition that cullman would allow dobson to train him for the upcoming mr. Texas bodybuilding competition that year. After training for the texas-based cullman, cullman took first place in both the weight class and overall. He also defeated dobson himself. Cullman won the first fight of his career, the canadian pro cup, in 1995. He won again the following year and then won the 1997 russian grand prix.
His rise in the bodybuilding professional circuit was relatively slow: In 1992 he competed for the first time in the mr. Olympia competition (the most prestigious competition in the world) but was not ranked; in 1994 he was ranked 15th, in 1995 10th, in 1996 6th and in 1997 9th. At the 1998 mr olympia, the favourite was kenneth wheeler, with nasser el sambati, kevin levine and sean ray considered the strongest contenders; but kuhlman greatly improved, winning his first title, beating the likes of wheeler and starting the longest winning streak in the history of the competition, which ran from 1998 to 2005.
In 2001, he became the first man to win both the arnold classic and the olympia (only dexter jackson repeated the feat in 2008.) he finally lost the mr olympia title in 2006, when jay carter, who had finished second for three consecutive years, finally beat him; it was the first time since sergio oliva lost to arnold schwarzenegger in 1970 that the the defending champion lost his title for the second time in the competition. Cullman was ranked fourth in 2007 and this was his last appearance.
Kuhlmann's success as a professional bodybuilder has led to many product endorsements and other opportunities in his career. He has visited brazil, austria, china and australia. He has also made several appearances as a guest at gym openings across the united states. When training, kuhlman prefers to use free weights rather than machines in order to maximise his flexibility and range of motion. He has produced three training videos:Unbelievable, the price of redemption and on the road. In these videos he gives advice to more experienced athletes while warning against overexertion and incorrect posture.
Kuhlman supported the inner city games, co-founded by arnold schwarzenegger in 1991. He was awarded the texas state admiral's certificate by texas governor rick perry in 2001 for his outstanding achievements in fitness and health promotion. In 2011, he founded ronnie coleman signature series, a company that provides sports nutrition and wellness products to bodybuilders and other athletes.
He was once a very heavy weight training athlete (such as squatting and hard lifting up to 800 pounds) which affected his body and since 2007 he has had to undergo a series of surgeries: Two hip replacements and treatment to alleviate disc damage. Cullman later revealed that he had been training, despite his deteriorating condition, but was now restricted to light weights to prevent muscle loss, and that some of these operations (costing between $300,000 and $500,000 each) had such bad results that he might never be able to walk independently. However, given his determination to reach the top at any cost, he has no regrets about it.
In 2018, vlad yudin documented cullman's life and career in the documentary ronnie cullman:The king, released on netflix. For the film, the rapper created a song called "Flexin on them (ronnie kuhlman)", inspired by ronnie kuhlman's fitness career.
Some of cullman's workout mantras, such as "Yay buddy! Levi bebe! Light weight baby!" Have become popular in fitness circles around the world.
Cullman is a devout christian.
Cullman met french-lebanese personal trainer ruaida christine achar on 22 march 1998 at a sports fair in paris and married in beirut on 28 december 2007. They soon divorced.
On 11 april 2016, coulman married susan williamson, a personal trainer. They have four children.
Cullman's season stats
Height:5ft 11in (180cm)
Competition weight:287-300lbs (130-136kg)
Off-season weight:315-320lbs (143-145kg)
Chest: 60 inches (150cm)
Arms:24 inches (61cm)