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[tense music]
[crowd cheering]
[host] Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome[inaudible]
[crowd applauding]
[host speaks inaudibly]
[host] Ladies and gentlemen, Kai Greene!
[crowd cheering]
[crowd screaming inaudibly]
[Kai] Sometimes it's hard to remember everything about yourself
and put bits and pieces together, you see glimpses.
Some you want to rewind.
Some fast forward.
And some, you want to forget.
[crowd cheering]
[Kai] I was once a bodybuilder.
I competed at the highest level
on the top stages in the world.
Bodybuilding was more than a profession.
It was my calling.
It was my life.
For years and decades,
I competed with the expectation of being able to do very well.
However, there are things that are outside of your control.
What's up, bodybuilding sports fans?
It is 2015.
and I am of the realization that I am...
...not going to be allowed to compete.
You don't get to this point...
...and just stop.
[sobs] It doesn't happen like that.
This is not a movie.
This is...[inhales] this is my life.
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music]
[Kai] Bodybuilding helped me recognize my power.
And recognizing it, you create anything you wanted,
even the impossible
because as sure as I was able to look in the mirror
and see myself at 297 pounds.
There was a time that wasn't the reality.
In fact, what it would take to go from where I started
and literally have to teach yourself how to the impossible.
Because it's always impossible until you do it.
[crowd cheers] Kai! Kai! Kai!
[inspirational music]
[lively music]
[man] Can everybody stay with me?
Camera rolling.
Kai Greene documentary.
Take one.
Marker.
[interviewer] Who are you? I mean, how would you describe yourself?
[dramatic music]
[Kai] My name is Kai Greene.
I'm a professional athlete,
entrepreneur, painter,
influencer, aspiring actor
and now a comic book artist.
The Chronicles of King Kai is a story
that I have been writing in my head since I was a kid.
It's more than just a fantasy.
It represents the story of my life.
And I'm finally ready to share this with the world.
[interviewer] But you're most known as a bodybuilder, correct?
[Mike] Kai is a huge name in bodybuilding.
He's the people's champ.
People still talk about him,
you know, he still has a big following.
[Mike] When Kai burst onto the scene,
he was a different kind of bodybuilder.
Most other bodybuilders were showing off
fancy cars and fancy homes. Kai had none of that.
When I saw Kai, I did see a hunger
that he really wanted to be something more than where he was.
He was just total tunnel vision of what he was set out to do.
And I think he started to realize,
"I got what it takes to really be
one of the best bodybuilders in the world."
And he was determined to be the best in the world.
[interviewer] So, Kai, where were you born?
[Kai] I was born Leslie Green in Brooklyn, New York.
The city was a different place back then.
Only the strong were meant to survive.
I was raised without a father and lived
the early years of my life
with my biological mother and younger brother.
[interviewer] What is your earliest memory from your childhood?
[clicks tongue] Hmm.
[baby crying]
[sad music]
[Kai] I remember being a little boy standing there crying
and remember my little brother's eyes
while I watched my biological parent...
...fighting with a man
that was going to be escorted out of the house in handcuffs.
That image is still very real
because there's other times in my life,
when I can see the little boy
crying.
And then see myself escorted out of the house...
...with my hands in handcuffs.
My biological parent was very strong...
...very aggressive, very aggressive.
And some people would say violent.
Yes. She would hit.
And she didn't care.
[Kai's mother speaking intelligibly]
You don't have any respect for your mother.
[unintelligible]
[muted]
[indistinct chatter]
[papers shuffling]
[phone ringing]
I remember once being a little boy in a police precinct,
and I remember seeing a bunch of confusion.
I hear papers shuffling.
I don't know where to look.
Phones are ringing.
It's still raining.
So many voices.
I hear metal on metal, his handcuffs tighten.
Someone's trying to talk to us.
I remember talking to strange men.
Of course, now I know these men were detectives.
They wanted to see it for themselves.
They needed to see.
See what she'd done.
Little boy in a police precinct does have to go to court
because biological parent was arrested,
I would eventually become the state's star witness
against my biological mother
in a child abuse and neglect case.
I wish I could look back on that little boy
and say he was up for the challenge.
Ready to become the master of his own destiny.
But he was a kid,
a kid whose world was crumbling around him.
He was scared.
[glass shattering]
"I didn't need sons.
I needed warriors."
That was the last thing my mother said to me.
[gentle sad music continues]
[Kai] My mother was very angry, very upset.
You wouldn't know at that age that things are gonna happen
and you're never gonna be able to go back.
And it's never gonna be right.
But, yeah,
my brother and I became a ward of the state.
Just like the boy and the police precinct,
everybody in life has to find their own direction.
At some point, you kind of just have to identify
for yourself, "What happens to me?"
The hero begins to make his way and save his world.
[rain pattering]
[interviewer] So how did you end up in the correctional facility?
[school bell ringing]
[Kai] I really didn't see myself as a tough guy.
I wasn't one of those kids that was carrying guns and stuff.
I was the kid that had roaches in my house,
and I was the kid that didn't want people
to know I had roaches in my house.
And you wish that your...
...vulnerability wasn't so clean and easy to see.
But you can't hide. You can't run.
And now, because it is what it is
you've got people standing there want to tease you.
You get into a lot of fights,
but you are labeled a behavior problem in class.
[tense music]
[Kai] There was a task force that was in the school
that was trying to do something about some of the gang activity.
I carried a knife with me.
I had gotten into an altercation
earlier that day with the teacher,
and I was accused of assault.
They asked me if I had a weapon.
I did hold the knife.
I was going to be charged with assault
and carrying a weapon.
I can remember that image of a man
being led out in handcuffs.
That image is so real, so real.
I've seen that in a few times, but in different ways.
And the image of a man being led out in handcuffs.
It was me.
I didn't face charges for that. I just did that going upstate.
That was my introduction into institutional facility living.
Yeah, I discovered that I was there
and definitely not, um, that wasn't the place for me.
[interviewer] Were you scared?
Yes. Which was revealing of the point
that I wasn't as tough as I thought I was. [laughs]
[suspenseful music]
[Kai] When getting into the institutional facility,
one thing you did was you learned
that you don't laugh in the beginning,
because sometimes that will present itself as weakness
and you can't expose any vulnerability at all.
You don't sing, you don't dance.
I remember walking through the gym.
There were a lot of people that were playing,
but then there were these other area where they weren't.
They were just six guys, one of them took off his shirt
and I noticed he had a mark on him,
it looked like a triangle with circles.
That's a hurt.
A hurt with somebody you did not want to be.
Somebody that was weak, somebody that could not fight
and somebody that would not fight.
That mark was a mark that was described as an iron.
[steam hissing]
[Kai] These guys were held down
and they dropped that hot iron... on them.
But if you ain't able to fight,
then that can happen to you. And no matter what happens,
I will not walk out of here with a brand.
Did they try you? Yeah!
Did you win every fight? No.
One thing you don't like to do
is to put yourself in a position where you are alone,
because they will try you.
One day you're doing a cleaning detail.
When I first got there, you didn't even go to the bathroom.
I once held my stool,
for two weeks for fear of being caught
in the bathroom alone.
The floors are painted green
and the walls are cold white tiles.
Then you put the cleaning agent on
and you start scrubbing and singing and...
...and then the scene just slowly changes.
Your singing has distracted you.
You didn't see it.
Everything that happens next will help you understand...
...how you learn the lessons, why you don't sing...
...and why you need to learn how to fight.
To do that would reveal weakness.
And if you appear weak, then they will try you
and though you are learning how to fight
and though you are becoming masterful at it,
there will be those fights that you don't...
...have really, really awesome way of reporting.
It'd be hard to you.
[instrumental sad music]
[sobbing]
I struggled to come to consciousness
and catch why I am where I am at.
Who are they laughing at?
[Mike] One of the very first things I noticed were the scars
on his face. I didn't know what it meant.
[Rodney] He got into a fight and they gave him a buck fifty.
A buck fifty is when they, you know, they, when they,
they take a razor blade and they go from,
you know, the front of your face to the back of your head.
So buck fifty is a hundred and fifty stitches.
[Kai] That's why you need to learn how to fight.
Because if you don't, this would happen more
as you walk around with a fucking sign on your back.
Like, yo, bring this shit my way.
And that is not gonna be tolerated.
So, yeah, I'mma learn how to fight, man. I'mma fight.
I'm gonna keep fighting and I'mma win.
[sighs] 'Cause I realize I'm fighting for a lot more than just...
[sniffles]
This is more than just bragging rights.
[suspenseful music]
I did push-ups any way that I could,
and I got to a place where I literally tried to do
1000 push-ups a night every day.
I would do push-ups until, like, I felt like I couldn't move.
And I didn't just do push-ups.
I did whatever I could do.
Whatever I thought.
I'd do push-ups upside down if I could,
I'd hang off the fucking ceiling if I could.
I felt like my anger would consume me,
like there wasn't a place big enough on this planet...
...to hold the rage that I had in my heart...
...and I wanted to kill everything and every living thing.
And I'll do these push-ups and I start to imagine that I can do better.
Sometimes I could just get down and just start doing push-ups.
[sniffles] I mean, it's these fucking push-up because that's all I can do.
That's all I can fucking do.
I had to grow up. and grow up fast.
I had to leave the boy behind if I wanted to survive.
That's when Leslie, the boy, was left behind.
My name is Kai.
I am, Kai.
[exhales]
[Kai] I was afraid I was weak.
And I needed to be a warrior. I needed to be stronger.
One of the ways you're able to fight
psychologically was to look imposing.
That's how bodybuilding helped.
It became the thing that revealed to me
something very important about myself.
[suspenseful music]
I remember a teacher.
He complimented the fact that he saw me as being very muscular.
He gave me a book. It almost was an encyclopedia of bodybuilding,
and at that time in my life, I could not read
and that book was a very intimidating book to be able to hold it.
It looked like embracing something
that was literally the epitome to me
of what was impossible.
It was more than a dream.
It was a real vision, a vision that I manifested.
My destiny was to become
the best bodybuilder the world had ever seen.
Still believing that I could compete one day,
I just started doing what I thought I needed to do
and that is anything.
So I knew I was going to need a diet
and the food that they gave you in the institutional facility
was always soaking in butter and oil.
It's grease. I just thought, "Okay, what is the way to diet?"
The bread and water.
I just feel like I still grew like that.
I eat bread and water.
I had started trying to learn how to read.
I kept working out.
The institution did not fight me.
They started to let up and allow me
the ability to have my bread, to have water.
I had recognized the opportunity that had available to me,
the work and effort that had to go
into the letter writing and the campaign
to get the right powers that be,
to allow me the privilege of leaving the facility.
[gentle piano music]
[Kai] I was actually allowed to go and compete.
I felt like the world had just opened up to me...
...and I stand there on stage with athletes,
teenagers that had people at home vested in seeing them succeed.
And then there was you.
When they announced your name,
people really didn't respond very much at all
because there was nobody assembled there to come in to see you.
There's gonna be no mom, no dad, there's nobody going to be
sitting in the audience, proud of you.
But you were proud.
I prepared, and I prepared, and I prepared, and I prepared it.
I saw it in my mind over and over and over again.
I had now become... [sniffles]
...those things that I dreamed about.
I wanted to be in a place where I could...
[sobs] focus and...
...really believe and commit to this idea
that I could create my own future and possibility...
...of becoming something more than just this negative statistic
or this person that could be locked away
and I could become... [sniffles] whatever I said I want,
even if that ability felt like it was impossible.
I can do that.
I was so excited I've won.
I've won. And this seemed like something
that I could do. I could do this. [sniffles]
[indistinct chatter]
[traffic humming]
[Kai] Being a bodybuilder, you are a performer.
Your job is to reveal your physique artistically
and leave people in awe.
To me, acting is a natural progression of that.
It's a craft I decided to take seriously.
[inaudible]
Your natural action might, might be
[unintelligible] or fear, or different emotions.
so it just lets you immediately start make choices...
[Kai] But breaking in and actually getting roles
is a whole new challenge.
[upbeat music]
It's got to be that way.
-[director] Yeah. -[man] Yeah.
[people clapping]
[Kai] The casting agent might only see me
as a muscle man who is trying to act.
Being successful in bodybuilding and social media
allowed me to open up a few doors in Hollywood.
One, two, fight!
[grunting]
[Kai] I was able to land a few roles so far.
Stranger things was my introduction to this industry.
Nice to meet you, Ms. Jane.
That led to getting an agent.
[agent over phone] Kai, they are basically guest starring roles.
So you would be appearing in it, I don't know how many times.
-What are we looking at doing today? -[agent] Regarding the press,
we have Huffington Post,
according to Annie, and also, ABC News
that is interested in doing a feature of Kai.
[Kai] And sure, I got a few people on my side.
My manager and my business partners.
But things are not always what they seem.
[manager] Like, who would go on IMDB to find Kai?
[agent] Mostly producers and directors.
[Kai] What is Rihanna's star meter?
[manager] Rihanna star meter is 1449.
-Oh. -[manager] And, and Kai's at 61.
-[laughter] -[agent] Google like, let's say [inaudible] Selena Gomez...
[manager] No, the lower it is, the better.
-What? -[manager] The lower the better.
[manager] So your score is better than Rihanna's right now.
[agent on phone] Yeah, yeah, hundred percent.
-[manager] Yeah. -[laughs]
-Okay. -[agent on phone laughs]
-All right. -[manager laughs]
[Kai] I know that if I want to make
acting into a career,
I still have to break down some of those doors
-and find my place. -[manager] Like, who would go on--
[tape rewinding]
[Kai] After spending six years upstate,
I was finally released in the big city.
And just like that, I was all alone again.
Leaving institutional facility and finding a way to make do,
I just ended up in some interesting places.
He had tough circumstances.
I mean, you know, there are stories
where he was basically living in a gym,
eating just cans of tuna to live on for many years.
He was homeless, man.
[Kai] Moving around the state with people,
having lived in a building that was condemned.
We didn't have electricity.
I lived somewhere between the runaway... [chuckles] shelter,
getting a meal in the cafeteria,
sleeping on the train and riding everywhere in New York.
[rails clinking]
[Kai] The most frightening time in my experience
is riding the train.
[man over radio] We're gonna twenty eight. Come on, try it when you're right.
[Kai] I'd heard in the news about people
that were setting people on fire on the train,
the idea of being unconscious
and waking up to look and see a match
seconds before you go up in flames,
it really became a nightmare.
I started to understand that I am not safe here.
I ended up trying to answer the question of where to go.
What do I do for a living? And how do I support myself?
At sixteen, I was over two hundred pounds.
People would mistake me for being an adult.
And it made it easier to kind of walk into, like,
situations that you wouldn't expect for a sixteen year old.
On St Mark's in Astor Place. There was a runaway shelter.
As a teenager, I remember being very frustrated and confused.
I think I know everything, but I really don't.
It turns out the counselor there introduces you to another guy.
Technically, these people work as scouts.
These guys are parasites.
They're gonna show you, like, somethings
on the fringes of society.
That became the introduction into like a lot of things.
But technically, the dancing.
-[electronic music] -[people cheering]
[Kai] We walked in what looked like a peep show
and it was like, "Hey, you know, we got this guy,
you know, he just, he just, he can dance. He's good."
And it's like, "Oh, he's good. He's with us."
He said, "Can he move?"
He said, "Yeah, he can move.
[stutters] Well, he will,
he'll make a lot of money here." That's what he said.
He asked me did I have a big cock.
I wasn't prepared for that.
I was going to go on that night.
[suspenseful music]
[Kai] The lights are low and in front of me.
There's a red exit door.
And I remember standing on that stage,
and it's now... my turn.
The reality here is that there's,
there's not a lot of women.
These are men.
You are now the performer in this show,
but you don't know what to do.
[Rodney] I started stripping at 21,
for the same reason he started stripping, money.
But you know the consequences.
So when a man decides he wants to strip,
that is a calculated choice.
Most of the guys that were in shape in the gyms did it.
It wasn't frowned upon.
But they do it because they have to make ends meet, to compete.
[George] Listen, it's tough, man. Our sports not cheap.
I remember seeing myself evolve into,
you know, headline dancer.
That's me.
Wet, seduction, the slayer.
That's my name.
And male exotic entertainment...
...well, that's my game.
They love me.
The shame...
...the pain.
...I let them go a long time ago.
I don't need
to make anyone proud of me.
I discovered that I was very easily seduced
by the applause from the audience,
and the approval of the audience.
I could thrive on it.
And you work and you do that while you still
continue to develop yourself as an athlete.
You have to get the experience to learn how to compete successfully.
You can only do that by just doing it.
it's not uncommon to find that you can,
you know, compete in the hundreds of shows
in ten years, you know,
in an effort to still figure things out.
So I got a chance to start competing.
I competed in a lot of different organizations.
The harder I work, the more development I saw.
But still, I had a long way to go.
[host] Pink is Rick McMillan.
[Kai] I began competing with the NPC,
the National Physique Committee,
the most prestigious amateur organization,
because it allowed a path to advance to the pro level
and join the elite group of bodybuilders.
[Rich] Kai made that transition knowing that the only path of success
in bodybuilding was to get to the IFBB to eventually get to the Olympia.
He made that move from going from a smaller organization to a bigger organization.
And that was the biggest organization in the world.
It was the IFBB, but you had to earn your right to compete
and give you Pro Card back, but then you had to get one.
Getting a pro card from the International Federation of Bodybuilding,
aka the IFBB was a top honor.
This meant that you are now a professional athlete.
[gentle music]
[Rich] Many bodybuilders, they do chase their Pro Card,
and some bodybuilders either give up.
Into the '90s and into 2000, it became a lot more difficult
'cause the competition was just much more intense.
To learn about Kai having difficulties
in getting his Pro Card,
taking many years to get the Pro Card,
showed he had that champion mentality
and wasn't going to give up.
[sad music]
[Kai] When I finally got my Pro Card,
it felt euphoric.
I felt like I had accomplished something that I have manifested.
But in reality, my journey was just beginning.
I wanted to compete and I wanted to win.
I remember being willing to do more work
than anybody else would be willing to do.
Nothing was going to stop me from trying to get this.
I'd do whatever it was that I thought I needed to do
in order to win.
Before I could even think of winning the top title,
I had to face some of the best pro bodybuilders
that were also coming up at that time.
All were hungry, all had great genetics
and all worked hard.
But there was one guy.
He got his Pro Card a year after me.
Instantly, people took notice.
The whole industry saw he was truly gifted...
...and was destined to move up the ranks.
[drums beating]
[dial tone]
[agent over phone] How you doing?
[Kai] I'm good, man. How are you?
[agent on phone] I'm good. I'm good. I hear, uh,
you've been getting some interesting offers
[Kai] Remember, I've mentioned that I have a Hollywood agent now.
I've been pushing him to lock in film and TV roles
in the US, but it's been slow.
I'm, however, getting offers overseas.
[agent on phone] You know, I don't know if you should be taking
these roles overseas to be honest.
I don't know if that's the right choice for you right now.
[Kai] Okay. All right. I, I, I... Okay.
-[agent] Just mull it over, think about it and... -Yeah.
...and, um, you know, we'll circle back to it,
and, and, uh, I think...
[Kai] I have a decision to make.
Do I stay and keep waiting for offers...
...or go where people want to see me
and give me more opportunities?
-[agent] ...as always. -Hey, likewise. Thanks again.
-All right. -Let's just keep it working. All right.
[funky music]
[people speaking inaudibly]
[Kai] Despite my agents wishes, I went to India
to shoot the movie calledPogaru.
It was a much needed experience
to further my acting and to work with a crew.
No grab. no grab...
Acting is about finding your strength.
like bodybuilding, sculpting a character.
[man speaking unintelligibly]
Hello.
[Kai] The following year, Pogaru would open in theaters
in the number one spot all over India.
[director] Action! [unintelligible]
[Kai] I've been playing and creating roles my entire life.
Even the persona of Kai Greene,
was built on the necessity of survival.
It was the role of a warrior who continued to fight.
[grunting]
[men speaking unintelligibly over TV]
[tape rewinding]
[rails clinking]
[electronic music]
[Kai] I was still dancing. It didn't always go so well.
I had just had a not so extraordinary performance,
but I did make a whole lot of tips that night.
So at the end of the day,
you came in a fifty dollar deficit.
Translation. I made no money that night.
This was serious. If we didn't dance, we don't eat.
The gentleman comes up to me and he gives me a business card.
He says, um, "I'd like to book you to perform,
Do your same show. But I just want to film it."
And he said what he'd paid, and I'm thinking... [gasps]
Meanwhile, inside I'm already doing a happy dancing, praising God.
I'm thinking, this is, this is, this is great.
I performed the act and then I finish,
and, yeah, I bring her out.
You know who she is. She's,
well, the whole world got a chance to meet her.
Um, it was a grapefruit.
I performed, I got paid and that was like the beginning
of doing a couple of videos.
There was some controversy there, all about,
uh, you know, some of that porn.
[Rodney] Listen, you saw him do something funny.
simulated, like a magician does something you thought you saw,
but he never did anything triple X.
I would define them as almost like Playboy rated,
one X, he needed money.
[interviewer] Did you think that these recordings
would come back to hurt Kai later?
I didn't want to see it bother him,
but I told him that was going to happen.
It didn't take much to understand
that they're gonna mess with you.
[gentle music]
[Kai] You're really still like crawling through the weeds,
trying to get yourself on the radar.
I continued to work. I still danced.
I trained, like, six hours a day.
You really were just starting from scratch all over again.
A small fish in a huge ocean.
My pro career hadn't exactly gotten off to a great start.
I did a few competitions and placed dead last.
Those were real learning experiences.
I think my breakout show was the Colorado Pro 2006.
Rodney St. Cloud had approached me
about doing a posing routine together on stage.
There was a ten thousand dollar prize
up for the best posing routine
because Rodney and I had been crossing paths in the dance game.
He had said to me, we should definitely do a set.
[Rich] Posing is critical.
It is one of the most grueling things.
When you present yourself on stage,
you have to be able to show that you are having fun.
And if you don't practice that,
you look like you're straining the whole time.
And looking at the way Kai would pose,
you would know that he did hours and hours
of practicing the posing routine.
Rodney had made the top six in that show.
So after the prejudging, he was told
to leave that monkey shit to Kai to do.
That broke his heart.
Pissed me f-- off, man.
So I told Kai, "Listen, you do the routine.
You're better than me.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[lively music]
[Jerry] So if you watch Kai's posing routine,
to say it's artistic would be putting it mildly.
It's almost like he's dancing on stage,
and I've seen him come out with masks on and stuff like that.
He's out to not only display his muscles,
but he's trying to entertain the audience.
What is bodybuilding if it's not presentation and entertainment.
Kai entertains, Kai performed.
It was just so different
than mostly other routines you had seen.
I mean, he just, you know, he utilizes the whole floor.
He's very theatrical.
Kai sit down, actually, before the show,
and he'd draw every move he's gonna do and stuff.
[Rich] He would wow the audience
doing stuff that you've never seen.
and actually, he used poses that he did in stripping
and used it in bodybuilding.
[Kai] Long story short, I did my routine,
Roddy did his routine, and Kai Greene got a check for 10000 dollars
and we won the best poser award.
And that best posing routine was the beginning of,
"You'll see a lot of other things happen."
[man] He took that ten grand. Then he bought the food
and he did what he had to do.
He won the money and he still shared
the prize money with me, and I will never forget that.
[Kai] It would just so happened that my path
would cross with this guy's path
with the bald head and the round muscles.
And even then, I didn't understand
just how significant a personality
and character he was going to become in my life
and in my career.
Phil was already claiming off.
Phil already had the contracts
that people wait five, ten years for.
Phil had it off the bat.
[Gerard] At the time, nobody was even
really thinking about Phil Heath.
Then all of a sudden, this guy comes to the scene
and he's mixing things up pretty fast and pretty quick.
So it's almost like maybe somebody's pros were like, "Hey, wait a minute.
This kid doesn't belong here yet."
But in fact he did
because his body was, you know, he was that good
Phil's phenomenal. I mean, he's called The Gift for a reason.
[George] You know why he's The Gift? Because the guy's just
so pretty to look at. He got everything.
[Rich] When you look at Phil, he's genetically gifted
as he had that small waist and wide shoulders.
He was totally balanced, you know,
between his upper body, his lower body,
he had the muscles that were like
almost bulbous, you know, they popped, so on stage,
he was very impressive.
When I saw Phil Heath win that show,
I said, here's the next Mr. Olympia.
Phil Heath, the guy with the bald head and the round muscles.
He actually placed first at that show.
And Kai Greene, the guy doing the monkey shit
Kai Greene placed fourteen.
[interviewer] Phil Heath interview. Take one.
You know what, if he was sitting right here,
which, he ain't coming, right? No. [laughs]
That show in particular, I think there's a lot of guys
that, in my opinion, were like the same.
So I don't feel like he was lacking that much.
I actually feel like he just was lacking
maybe some harder muscles.
Um, and that could have been just a prep thing.
I do feel that it was more about his size.
Kai was natural at the 2006 Colorado.
So strategically, have you got a guy
that's natural looking like this?
And this guy is pushing his... [chuckles]
...pushing his regimen beyond belief.
If he gets what you got, he's going to beat you.
[Kai] I think that was the last time I was going to be placed at that low at a show.
I was very, very, very clear about knowing that you can work very hard
and you don't want to work to be the last guy on the stage.
[gentle piano music]
[Kai] After placing last over and over again,
I had to make some tough decisions.
I had to do what I had to do.
I had to improve.
I had to chase that wind
whatever it took to get the qualification
for the Olympia.
Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler were ruling the Olympia stage.
In order for me to stand close to them,
I had to get bigger and more defined.
Part of the improvement that was required
in order to move up in the ranks would be to put on more size.
If you were not a certain size,
you weren't identified as being pro-caliber yet.
I didn't drink. I didn't smoke.
I maintained a drug-free lifestyle.
I never wanted to take steroids.
Being unenhanced was important to me,
at least at that point in my life.
But I wanted to become a really good athlete.
I would spend a lot of time
in doing whatever I could do
to discover more information about that.
And, uh, I began to seek out the support
and wisdom from an old friend.
that from what I understood
had a much clearer and diversified understanding
of the dark arts.
I had to do what I had to do.
[Mike] I think he tried to take natural as far as he could, but there comes a point
where, when to be the greatest of all time,
you've got to take some risks and he began to take his risks
and like everyone does.
There shouldn't be a stigma attached to it,
but because there is many bodybuilders hold that
close to the vest and they won't talk about it,
even though we understand that's a necessary part
of taking your body beyond its natural limits.
It's what bodybuilding is.
You need to have the regimen on deck.
And again, I'm sorry to crush your dreams or whatever.
Your regiment is so extreme
that 99% of the people watching this have no clue.
To be straight up, his career shifted like everyone knew
when he started taking something.
[laughs] It was just a matter of time.
[dramatic music]
[Kai] I needed to do more work if I wanted to win
in and out of the gym.
I was willing to train until my muscles burst.
The Olympia was my dream...
...and I was chasing it.
[dramatic music]
[Kai] I spent a lot of years training
and eventually I became more successful
and capable of climbing to the next rung.
That was on Arnold Classic.
[gentle piano music]
[Kai] In 2009, I was invited to compete at the Arnold Classic.
Appearing on this stage is an honor.
But I didn't come here to make an appearance.
I came to fight.
The Olympia was like the Super Bowl,
and there was nothing higher than that.
The Arnold Classic was the necessary step
towards winning the Olympia.
That was the beginning of being Mr. Olympia.
Once you won the Arnold, you are pretty much open for the Olympia.
The Arnold Classic was the premiere show opportunity
that represented and carried the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
To compete at the Arnold Classic...
...it was by invitation only.
[dramatic music]
[crowd cheering]
[Kai] I worked hard, but there was always a sheer of doubt,
And that was because Victor Martinez, the Dominican Dominator,
said that he was coming into that show.
[Gerard] People had really predicted that Victor was going to be the next Olympia.
So Victor was on that trajectory.
So then here comes Kai.
[Victor] Showtime comes. I'm looking at a branch, you know?
And then there's Kai. My man looked cut off for me.
Kai is Kai, man. Kai has always been a threat.
I never looked that Kai lightly. I knew Kai was great.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Victor] I was the favorite, but the thing is
he did everything so precise
he steps out, and there was just what bodybuilding
should be and it was always different.
[Rich] If you look at Kai's conditioning for that 2009,
it was pretty impressive.
I mean, he was pretty peeled.
He was just in phenomenal shape, he wowed the audience.
He did everything that was needed to win that show,
and then his presentation was so spectacular.
It was icing on the cake, and that's where you noticed. "Who is this guy?"
[host] Let's bring out our top six.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[Kai] As the judges announce the places,
you want to be the last man standing.
But it's nerve racking, and it feels like time stops
as they call the names, one by one.
They get to fifth place...
...fourth place and it's not you.
[host speaking inaudibly]
[Kai] You're still standing.
And then... there are two left.
[Victor] I think it was just the pain that that he just went through.
I think he put his guts on this one, man.
When Kai came out, I'm like, "Psst, Oh, no, Kai got it."
[laughs]
[Kai] When they announced my name in the first place,
it took a minute to say again.
[host] The 2009, Arnold classic champion,
-Kai Greene. -[crowd cheers]
[Kai] I was now the Arnold classic champion.
I did this.
[gentle piano music]
[Kai] I worked my ass off...
...and I got the win.
I got my prize money and I got my respect.
I was a pro
with a major win and...
...and Olympia qualification.
[Rich] I definitely think that the Arnold Classic win
for Kai was a pivotal moment in his career
and winning the Arnold Classic,
you're normally destined to be able to be the top three
or winner of the Mr. Olympia.
[crowd cheering]
[background chatter]
Good morning,
What's up? What's up?
What's up, big man? How's everything?
The Arnold Classic Sports festival.
I used to compete here.
[man] We're getting photos here.
[Kai] Now I return here as an influencer.
Even though I don't compete,
people seem happy to see me.
It feels surreal to see that they recognize me.
-Thank you so much. -Great talk.
-God bless you, brother. [grunts] - Thank you. God bless you.
[Kai] They want a handshake. some an autograph.
Maybe a selfie.
They respect my career in bodybuilding.
Some know me from social media.
We're keeping our fingers crossed.
[inaudible]
[Kai] Avid bodybuilding fans
always ask when do I plan
to make a comeback to the stage?
[man] We'll talk. You, you'll respond.
[Kai] I usually smile
[chuckling] and change the subject.
[indistinct chatter]
[Kai] Being here this time feels different.
I'm presenting, The Chronicles of King Kai.
As I mentioned, I have worked
on this graphic novel my whole life.
I feel the pressure.
but I stay confident. I smile.
This is a new beginning.
[host speaks inaudible]
[man] Oh, hey!
Hey, look who's back. Thank you, everybody.
-All right, all right. -[host] And...
[crowd cheers]
[man] Whoa!
Oh, boy!
[host] You actually got a camera, a really hi-tech camera,
overhead that is going to watch what you draw.
No intimidation at all.
-[Kai] No pressure. -[host] So, uh...
[Kai] I do feel passionate about succeeding.
What I identify with being successful has changed a lot.
There was a time when going to a bodybuilding stage anywhere,
it would have been something that I would have
worked tirelessly and passionately for.
But right now we're in another place.
There are other challenges. There are other things to do.
If you want to be successful then you have still a lot of work to do.
[crowd cheering]
[inaudible]
[tense music]
[Kai] After the Arnold Classic, I expected to have
at least two contracts, one with the supplement company.
[Gerard] When I saw Kai, I was like,
"Yeah, this guy has got what it takes."
It was nice to give him a little bit more financial support.
[Kai] I also landed an endorsement with Weider publications.
The most prestigious fitness media conglomerate founded by Joe Weider.
[Mike] Joe Weider made IFBB. He made bodybuilding.
And you would always want to be under contract with Joe
because that's the cover the magazines, that's the stories.
You're getting verified on "You're one of the greatest."
[Kai] Later that year, I gave up dancing once and for all
and settled in a small apartment in the projects.
Here, I was able to focus on the next step.
My life's goal to hold the title of Mr. Olympia.
The biggest show in the IFBB is the Mr. Olympia.
That was usually the end game.
It's hard enough to become a bodybuilder,
But then to win the pinnacle of all the contests
and be thenumber one bodybuilder in the world.
What percentage of the population
can even aspire to do that, let alone achieve that?
[Kai] First time on the Olympia stage,
it was a stack show, and he was there also.
You know, the man with the round muscles,
Jay got the Sandow trophy that year.
I got four.
[Mike] He was disappointed with that.
That was a better first placing
than many other champions had done in the past
and yet that still wasn't enough for him.
He truly expected to win.
[Jerry] If you're entering the Olympia the first time
and you make the top six,
that means you are already qualified for the next year.
You've met one hurdle. Plus, you've beaten
some of the best bodybuilders in the world
because everybody in the Mr. Olympia is good.
[Phil] I'm like, "Man, I was a point away from beating this dude."
We're going to be seeing each other again.
And, of course, my whole mentality,
after my first Olympia being third place to getting fifth
and then having him ahead of me pissed me off.
So I was like, "I'm coming back. I'm kicking everybody's ass."
[Kai] 2010 Olympia turned out to be something else.
That show ended up being a breakout moment for The Gift.
Jay reclaimed the title,
but Phil... went up to second place.
At that moment, we all knew
that there was a new force in bodybuilding.
A new era was about to begin.
I got seventh place.
I was no longer in the spotlight.
The thinking is that to win the Olympia
you got to be big, big, big, the biggest guy,
the thickest guy wins. He overwhelms everybody.
So I think what happened was Kai made a mistake
and he tried to enter a little bit too big.
[Gerard] The criticism of that show, I believe,
was that he came in too big.
Unfortunately, a lot of times,
bodybuilders aren't judged by who they're standing against.
They are sometimes judged by how they've looked in the past.
So in their mind, Kai is not at his best.
I've got to mark him down for this.
Now, sometimes that happens.
When you're looking at bodybuilders, that elite,
they're very, very close. So Kai was off.
Whatever happened that caused him to go down to three places.
[Kai] Some fans thought I was a fluke.
Someone who came up on the scene and burnt out too fast.
[George] You can see in his eyes.
He was so disappointed. They're so hurt.
And that's when everybody, like, that's it, they thought Kai is done.
[suspenseful music]
[Mike] He wouldn't let any of us around him for a while.
We all waited outside of the venue
for about an hour, and even then,
when he came out, he collapsed on the sidewalk.
And he started a monologue of disappointment and sadness.
That was really very touching.
-This was, this was it. -[woman] Yeah.
Yeah.
This was it.
And...
That used to be like...
...[inaudible] mother or grandmother.
I feel like something dying.
[Mike] I know that he was questioning his future.
If he wanted to continue, I know that he was questioning
everything he had done up until that point
if it was worth it, he was questioning everything.
Some of us thought he, he might even quit at that point.
[tape rewinding]
[pencil scratching]
[Kai] Luckily for me, things are finally paying off.
The novel has been generating interest
and we have structured a deal with the studio
to produce it into an animated series.
[phone ringing]
Hey! Oh, yeah.
You here? All right.
Hey. [laughs]
Right, Alan. I got to get off the phone.
-[laughter] -[Alan speaks inaudibly]
-So... -I'm really excited to hear what the next step is.
To tell you the truth, everyone is hyped for this project.
But, you know, the, the team just didn't feel
that the prologue showcasing you throughout your childhood
wasn't really going to resonate well with the audience.
But how does that mean? You don't lose the prologue.
Prologue, it is the story. It's the story.
Listen, I'm just telling you the feedback that I got from the producers.
These are the guys putting the money into this.
But we still need to do a story that is true to my own.
And if we don't tell the story the way it is,
it just becomes something for a cash grab.
People appreciate your dedication,
your passion, your creativity.
We've got to stick more mainstream, though,
so hoping that we can come to common grounds here because...
[Kai] Meetings like this, they're part of the process.
I feel like it's just one of those things that have to happen.
It's like going to your earlier bodybuilding competitions
and your head and your heart set on a certain outcome.
This didn't happen exactly the way that I expected it to.
As far asThe Chronicles of King Kai's concerned,
those are my names, those are my ideas.
These are things that aren't negotiable.
There's too much value there to compromise on that.
So... I need to have as much of what we're doing work.
So that we can get this story, my story, in the spotlight
-and where it needs to be. -Listen, I hear you, uh, believe me,
and I'm just telling you what their feedback is.
Some of what you've done is a little too abstract
and I think that if we stick between these lines
um, that it will be more fruitful,
and it will then allow you to unlock
uh, much more down the road.
Is that the only bone of contention
that they shared with you or is this something else?
You know, they, they like the whole idea
of even the magical individuals
to have um, two arms.
They just think that four arms is very expensive,
so not only for budgets but just because
people associate having four arms,
they could be evil, and dark, and very negative.
Um, I don't think that that's a major change,
but wanted your feedback on that one.
Draconian's have four arms.
[sighs]
I know that there are some
compromises that have to be made
if you consider yourself
a creative writer.
It doesn't sound like that's something
that's too hard to do.
But I'm still developing my skill sets.
[Alan] Thank you.
[Kai] Whatever you write, you still have to be,
you know, true to the story at his mind.
This is not, this is not my story.
This is not my story.
[sad piano music]
[funky music]
[Kai] I had to figure out what went wrong
and most importantly, how to fix it.
[George] This coach tried to blame it on him,
and he said, "You know, you couldn't hold your belly.
You should have ate less and this..."
And Kai told me, he said, "I looked at him.
I was, 'Okay'." He said, "That's it." And then he left.
He said, "That was the last time I talked to him."
So Kai started working with George Farah in 2010.
He is an ex-pro bodybuilder,
very knowledgeable with nutrition and training.
I think Kai hired him on his reputation.
He had already worked with several
successful professional bodybuilders.
I think it was a great call.
George is a great guy. He's an experienced guy.
He's been around the industry forever.
They have a great connection.
I know he made a lot of changes in how Kai ate.
So he was able to help him hone in on his genetic potential
to get to that top spot.
-I told you last time. -How to do these?
[George unintelligible]
Out this way and box in like that.
We started the, we did the New York Pro.
[tense music]
[Kai] Since I failed to place in the top five the year before
I needed to get an Olympia qualification again.
So we made a decision. And I entered the New York Pro
right here in my hometown.
I was focused.
I followed the plan.
I came in to dominate.
[crowd cheers]
[Kai] Hungry to win.
That night,
I reminded people
I was not a fluke.
He goes, "Man, do you think I'm going to be okay?"
Now I was just looking at the freaking freak,
I looked at him and he will tell you this.
I said, "Kai, listen to me.
If anybody beat you at that show...
...I'm going to quit.
There's nobody beating you, bro.
I swear, I still remember
I got goose bumps when he walked out.
He won the show.
[Kai] With my number one placing,
I was headed to the Olympia again.
[gentle music]
[host] Folks, I know a few of you have got to be here
for the Mr. Olympia prejudging.
You know, Jay Cutler has returned the strive for five.
However, The gift informs me
that he is in his all-time best shape.
Will the student beat the teacher...
...or will a predator emerge?
[Kai] I arrived to Las Vegas later that year to seek redemption.
He worked hard. He really worked hard, man.
He busted his ass. He did whatever he had to do.
[Kai] The Gift made history that night by becoming
the thirteenth man to hold the title Mr. Olympia.
[Rich] 2011 was a pivotal moment in bodybuilding
because you saw Phil move up to first place.
But then you saw Kai Greene move to the third place.
So although Kai didn't get second, he was right there
because you had Jay as Mr. Olympia dropped out of place.
[Kai] But it wasn't good enough for me.
I knew that I could be number one.
That haunted me.
After winning the Olympia
the eyeballs are now on me.
The writing was on the wall that Jay was on his way down.
It was going to be a war against Phil and Kai.
That's what started th-- that big rivalry.
[gentle piano music]
[Phil] I'm more than best at what I do.
There's no way I'm gonna lose.
[suspenseful music]
[indistinct chatter]
[Kai] 2012 was an interesting year.
The documentary was being made about the upcoming Olympia,
and some of the top guys were taking part in it.
We all wanted to win.
And once the cameras were on,
we expressed it in different ways.
[Phil] Guess what Kai, you've been bodybuilding
for twenty years, I've been bodybuilding for,
it will be ten in October. I'm already better than you.
You know it. But now you're making an excuse, saying
"Oh, he got this, he got that." No, dude. I earned it.
For him to make it seem like, um,
I've been privileged and this and that.
He's just trying to play on the fact that he had a rough upbringing
quit thinking about thirty years ago,
but obviously his mind doesn't think like that.
He thinks that everything was handed.
It's because I'm better, man.
There's so many things that can influence
what a person says with their mouth that...
...we can't really go by.
Words, lips, tongues can betray you
but there's something to be said for hard work.
We can say, keep your gifts.
I work hard.
I know how to work real hard.
[man] The subculture in the sport was a buzz
with the talk about the film. This was a really big deal.
There was a lot of people that were paying attention to it.
[Kai] Being in the spotlight, we felt even more pressure
going into this Olympia.
Phil had a lot to prove as the current champion.
[Phil] I better kick the shit out of this dude,
because the last thing I want to do
is be a one hit wonder man, because if I lose this,
I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get it back.
I didn't believe that it was going to be
one of those situations where he would win one year,
I would win the next.
Whoever wins this particular year
is just going to go, because that in my opinion
becomes more of a standard for the judges.
[crowd cheering]
[suspenseful music]
[Kai] Bodybuilding is a subjective sport,
But there is criteria.
Muscularity, definition and, of course, posing.
Size does matter
but it's way more than just size.
You have to know how to present
the package that you've built
on the stage in its peak condition.
You have to show muscularity with the lowest of body fat percentage possible.
The mandatory poses need to be executed flawlessly.
You have to hold those poses,
front double bicep, side chest,
back double bicep, front lat spread,
each quarter turn you have to make sure
every part of your body is in sync.
The leg muscles have to flex along with the upper body.
In the comparison round, you have to out-pose your opponent.
[Rich] They'll call out a pose to compare,
say, a front double bicep of two competitors that are very close.
So abdominals and thighs or back pose.
And what the judges are doing, they are assessing,
you know, which person or individual is better than the other individuals.
And a lot of times it could be very close.
So you have to really go over and over with the call outs.
Judges will then try to pick apart the physiques
by looking at what's the weak points on certain physiques.
But when you're at an elite level,
like the Mr. Olympia, there's very few weaknesses.
[crowd cheering]
[host] Judges wait to see...
...Phil Heath...
[crowd cheers]
...Kai Greene, please.
[Kai] The first day during prejudging rounds.
It was intense.
The energy in the arena was high.
Everyone felt the tension.
[host speaking inaudibly]
[Phil] So Kai had always outweighed me,
and I'm sure he did that night,
but I looked more dense,
than he did in some poses,
like in the back and stuff like that.
I trained for more on the eccentric side of things
and developing with different fibers.
So I looked more dense because I knew that
that was his strength.
Him on the other hand from what I saw
was probably like, "Well, Phil's more conditioned.
So I got to bring that same type of conditioning.
So if I have to lose a little bit more body weight
or like a fullness I can compare better
'cause Phil is the standard."
And I believe that's what we saw.
He was ripped.
[inaudible chatter]
[Kai] After the prejudging round, George told me...
...it was close.
[George] They always say in order for you to win,
you've got to knock the champion out
and we had enough
but it wasn't a knockout, knockout per se.
So that's why I told Kai is very close.
I'm not going to lie to him. I told him it's very close.
[Kai] Phil looked upset.
It seemed that he was also told
that it was close.
[inaudible]
What else can I do? [laughs]
You know, I mean, you tell me
where I can be tighter, you know?
I think I was tighter than last year, easily.
[Kai] The word is around that it's close.
[Phil] Well, maybe it's close because it is close.
Maybe it's close because they don't want to come back to me
and have my head get big and me not perform well.
Maybe it's close because they want people to buy
the next day ticket. I don't know.
But I knew that I had a fight on my hands.
[gentle piano music]
[tense music]
[gentle music]
[muted]
[inspirational music]
[crowd cheering]
[Rich] Kai Greene and Phil Heath both have great genetics.
Phil has like a smaller waist.
He has more rounder muscles.
But then you compare Kai,
maybe Kai has a slightly wider waist.
The way his back goes into his waist
is different than the way Phil's back goes into it.
I see Phil has more of a prettier physique
where Kai Greene has this freaky physique.
So you're looking at two different types of physiques.
You have apples to oranges. So, which body is better
depends on the judges.
They're both very impressive.
Kai's got things about his physique that you're just like, "Wow!"
The thickness of his thighs, you know, are incredible.
But then when you look at Phil and you look at the thickness of his arms,
shoulders, and he gets into the most muscular.
His traps. It's just, everything is round, full and he's conditioned.
On the proportions, it's a little bit of a problem with Phil, he,
his arms and shoulders completely overpowers his torso.
He looks like he has underdeveloped pecs.
Kai doesn't have that problem.
Second of all, Kai has all the body parts just like Phil.
I think he has a little bit better proportions,
a little bit more symmetrical.
But I think Kai, when he's in top shape,
has a little bit more muscle definition
at the back and a slightly wider back.
[female judge] Okay, we got one more call.
I need Phil and Kai back.
Okay, now.
[crowd cheers]
Quarter-turn to-- no, wait, hold on, stop it.
No, wait, stay back on the line both of you.
And do me a favor, take two steps to your,
two steps to your right.
[crowd cheers]
[gentle piano music]
Okay, do me a favor, take a step apart from each other.
there's plenty of room.
Got to stay on the same side.
Come on, a little bit of room between you.
Come on, Phil, take one more, yep.
Thank you. Okay, now. Front.
Front double bicep.
[crowd cheering]
[Kai] The space is telling me that it's responding to me.
[crowd cheers]
[Kai] They see my effort. I've worked for this.
I know what I'm doing here.
I'm not in the wrong place.
Everything we've done, cutting the water when you did it,
how we did it, when we pull this, when we pull that,
pushing the carb, pulling the carb back,
[unintelligible] how we did it, whatever we did,
it's all worked because right now...
...I don't need a mirror in front of me.
I can just watch how they respond.
Yes, it's happening. I'm ready.
[indistinct chatter]
[judge] Ladies and gentleman, we have a one-point decision.
[crowd cheers]
[host] Gentlemen, please take...
...the first-place award...
...The Olympia Gold Medal...
...the Sandow Trophy,
the check for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars...
...and the title of 2012 Mr. Olympia...
[crowd cheers]
...Phil Heath!
[crowd applauding and cheering]
[sad music]
[Kai] I was unable to knock him out.
I tried.
But...
...the champ stood on his feet.
[Phil] I definitely believe that the rivalry
wasn't at his peak yet.
But it was just the beginning.
And I didn't walk out of that fight
without a nick or bruise either.
I still knew that it's the Phil and Kai show.
Yeah. The show goes on.
[dramatic music]
[Kai] A lot started happening before 2013 Olympia,
the documentary that we had been a part of
was being released and we were eager to support it.
[Interviewer] Kai Greene, welcome to New York. How you doing?
I am great. Thank you for having me.
[TV host] The two time Mr. Olympia. Phil, The Gift, Heath.
His new bodybuilding docudrama titled Generation Iron
is a remake of the 1977--
I believe that fan bases collide trash talk
and social media started getting into it.
He's being vocal in some ways. I'm doing it.
I don-- I don't know if I said anything. I'm, I'm,
I'm sure, knowing my ass, I probably did.
We do know that it was very fierce
and not always so friendly between the two...
[laughs] between the two of them.
[dramatic music]
[Rich] The rivalry years of 2012, 2013, 2014
was great for bodybuilding because you had two great physiques,
going head to head against each other.
[George] You're talking about the best in the world
when you are talking about Kai and Phil
I don't think we never have a rivalry like this.
[Phil] We weren't friends.
We were not friends.
There was respect, but that was it. Red Sox and Yankees.
[George] They are totally different individual.
Phil, he came out as a cocky person,
like, "I don't care. I'm winning."
[Rich] Phil Heath, as great as he was,
he wasn't favored or liked
because he had so much arrogance in who he was.
[Phil] This is my town. This is my show.
This is my title. This is my throne.
And I refused to give it to anybody.
[Rich] Where you saw, this guy, Kai,
he was this hard working guy. He didn't talk a lot.
But he was there doing the work,
and he was there proving it on stage.
And I think people relate to him
because not too many people have the gift.
[gentle music]
[Kai] So as my name started to rise in the industry,
I started seeing some hate as well.
Mostly, there were people in bodybuilding blogs
talking shit about my appearance,
my hair, some caught wind
of the fact that I used to dance.
I ignored all of it.
Then one day,
I heard that some of the tapes
that I had recorded earlier in my career
started leaking out online.
This is about surviving, man. I know guys who did much worse.
[Gerard] He didn't do anything to hurt anybody else.
These were all decisions that he made
only at the consequence of himself.
[Victor] It's nothing. What Kai did was basically
feed the pigeons when they said don't feed them
and you guys are making a big deal about it.
[laughs] I mean, guy's, the guy's got to eat.
And to be quite honest, I looked at it as massive trash talking
to try to pull him down
but then be like, "Oh, yeah, you know, but he's great."
It's like, "But then what was the point of saying that stuff?"
[crowd cheering]
[Kai] Arriving to Vegas felt a little different this time around.
I felt support from the people
that saw the film, and gravitated towards my story.
I knew going in 2013 that he's going all out.
He's trying to wreck my party.
[George] Phil was disappointed because he heard
some boos during the prejudging.
[Phil] 2013, he looked incredible.
I'm standing right next to him backstage, and I'm like,
"Whoa! He's sick."
I go up on stage. I do my thing.
I get one call out. It's a wrap.
When they said Phil back in line, I was like,
"I did my job. I beat that ass.
It's a wrap. I killed this dude."
And I know I probably killed his confidence a little bit too.
I was just that good that night
that time the judges gave me the nod.
[host] Three times, Mr. Olympia, Phil Heath!
[crowd cheering]
[Kai] When they announced his name again,
everything[inaudible]
[host] Congratulations to Phil Heath.
[Kai] But mentally, I was gone.
[host] Once again, Kai Greene...
[Kai] I failed to deliver the care.
To deliver the knockout next time.
[host] Tonight here, Mr. Olympia, 2013
[Kai] We had to wow the judges.
[commentator] I think they are well deserved.
[dramatic music]
[Kai] I had to get bigger.
But maintain superior conditioning.
As I mentioned before, muscle and size matters in bodybuilding.
But without definition, it's impossible to be Mr. Olympia.
[Victor] A lot of us were strong, but the way he executed
the movements and the way he moved the weights,
at ease, it was just unfathomable.
[man] And I take it, he's extremely focused.
You could have a bomb go off in the next room.
He's just focused on the muscle he's working.
That's probably one of the keys to his success.
[Gerard] He was eating an enormous amount of food.
I mean, he was eating incredible amounts of food.
I think here for 2014, I think his mindset was,
this is the year, he's got to do it.
[dramatic music continues]
[muted]
[host] Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
fans from around the world,
welcome to Joe Wieters
50th Olympia.
[crowd cheers and applauds]
[Phil] I'm dedicating this Olympia win to my late father,
Don Heath, who passed away in March.
-[crowd cheers] -You know, I, I made sure that, uh.
throughout his struggle with amyloidosis
that I was able to, you know, see him in the city,
Seattle, Washington, where I grew up...
You know, obviously, at that time,
I had just recently lost my father,
and my focus was honoring him,
taking it up another notch, using that energy.
But I told my father before he passed that, you know,
I'm gonna bring one home for him and that's what I intend to do.
I'd be foolish to come up here. Like I said before--
[Kai] That's what the first three should have been.
-[lady screams] -[Kai] That's what the first three should have been.
I respect your father. I respect anyone that has had a father.
-I didn't have one. -[Phil] You know what?
Enough is enough. Enough is enough.
-[Kai] 2014 is 2014. -[Phil] This whole-- enough is enough. Enoug--
-[Phil] Enough is enough. -[Kai] 2013 is the past.
-[lady screams] -You know what, you talked about the past
your whole entire career, making excuses...
[Phil] I specifically told my ex-wife, "He's going to start a fight."
She said, "How do you know this?" I said, "'Cause that's what I would do."
[laughs]
If you want something greater
than air itself, you'll be insane.
-I'm here to beat you. -[Phil] The other side we have of Kai Greene, people.
-I'm here to beat you. -Here I am trying to talk about my late father.
-This is not about, not about not respecting your father. -[Phil inaudible]
It's not about not respecting the champion.
Listen, man, 2013 was 2013.
2014, every man came here to do their best to win.
Now, if that's if you want to, if you want to rest to...
[Gerard] I knew going into it that there's been this thing
that's been festering out between the two of them.
and I knew that there was this thing that the industry seemed to be going along with.
I'm not saying that this is what the organizers did want...
...but it seemed to be that's where this was going.
And, you know, you have a press conference and,
and questions already asked that are kind of a little bit
antagonizing questions and it escalated.
Kai, I'm looking for some facts here.
He wants to talk facts. Trash is done.
We're not going to talk trash. We're gonna talk facts.
-Give me three facts as to why you will beat Phil... -He can't do it.
-...Heath on Saturday night. -He can't do it.
You just gave him a chance and he starts rambling on.
-He can't. -[as a child] Don't you interrupting again.
-[laughter] -[Kai] Oh.
[Jerry] When they hold those press conferences
and the current Mr. Olympia always beats his chest,
they sit there like with a smug look on their face.
Kai Greene was saying, you know, "It's going to be a different story."
I think he was trying to put on a little show of aggression there.
To, to show that he wasn't afraid of, of Phil Heath.
[host] Come on, Kai. Give me three
Here we go. Fact one, we'll outweigh him by forty pounds.
Fact two, we'll be wider.
Fact three, it's all over from the rear.
And that's just it. That's how it's going to be.
I was like, "Okay." And then he asked me
the same question, and I let him know.
Phil, give me three facts as to why Kai can't beat you on stage?
-2011, 2012 and 2013. -[crowd cheers]
[Phil] Everybody's hyped up. I've got to calm this down
'cause I got to save this for tomorrow.
I'm explaining this to my family and friends
and I said, "Just understand, come tomorrow, it's going to get ugly."
[suspenseful music]
[indistinct chatter]
[host] The final group on stage, competitors thirteen
through seventeen, please.
[dramatic music]
[Kai] I knew I was going to win.
Before the prejudging, George told me so.
For me to look at Kai and I'm like,
"Kai, nobody is big in this, nobody."
He was huge, he was the biggest Kai has ever been on the stage.
When he walked out, I said, "It's all over."
I knew he won. I'm like, "That's it."
[Phil] This is definitely make or break for him
because to lose to someone multiple years,
I mean, then it just becomes, like, you ain't never going to do it.
I knew what he said was after...
So I had to make sure that I could give him some energy on stage.
So what I did was we're doing the quarter turns,
as we're doing them...
...I'm making sure he could feel my breath
through my nose on his back. [exhales]
[Rodney] It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see
that all the antagonism was coming from Phil.
I was doing whatever I could to present
my aura in his space.
[Kai] I came out to take what was mine.
I was not going to let him or anyone push me and shove me.
I think one of the funny things that happened
is he took his hair and he flipped it
and hit Phil Heath in the eye, I think.
[Phil] And I'm like...
..."Motherf#*#*#*#*#*, you just hit me, did you?"
And I'm thinking, it's kind of funny
because I'm like...
[laughs] "Did I just get hit with a braid?"
[Kai] It was not close this time.
You did it.
You were about to knock him the fuck out.
[Phil] Getting closer...
...getting closer...
...and uh, yeah...
...um...
...he gets in my face.
[background screams]
[Rodney] So when I saw Kai about to punch Phil on stage.
I was like,"Yo, hold on, man. You got to call us for that. You can't do that."
Kai was just saying, "Hey, buddy, I don't care who you are,
you're not going to nudge me off the stage."
And everybody acted like Kai started it
but if you look at the video,
Heath is the one that initiated it.
It was epic, man.
It was epic seriously.
[crowd cheering]
[Phil] I think you'd have to interview the other athletes,
but I think they all knew that they were just on this
Kai Greene, Phil Heath train.
And they're just along for the ride.
[George] I'm sure some of the judges, they get mad
because he was aggressive.
But wait a minute. You guys wanted him to be aggressive
and because he's aggressive, you're going to take
some points at him and jab at him?
[crowd cheering]
[host] All right, folks, we've reached that point in the night.
It is time for awards.
If I could have Kai Greene and Phil Heath in the center, please.
[Kai] That night. I didn't know that this was my last time,
stepping onto the Olympia stage.
All I kept thinking was...
..."This is it.
I got this." Everything was where it was supposed to be.
All the work had been rightly placed up into that point.
My intentions at the time,
were based on the thought that I am ready
I've left no stolen turns. It's already done,
and I'm just waiting for the judges
to announce their findings.
[host] Presenting...
...the first-place award...
[crowd cheering]
...a check for 275,000 dollars...
[crowd screaming]
...they will take all that and the title of 2014 Mr. Olympia.
It's fourth time Mr. Olympia, Phil Heath.
[sad music]
[Kai] At that point, there's nothing you can say.
When they called his name again...
[chuckles] I smiled.
I shook his hand.[sighs]
The golden Sandow was raised in the air.
Did I accept this decision?
Uh...
...I respect the judge's call.
[Gerard] I think at that point, Kai had lost...
...a little bit of his belief...
...that he would ever win this title.
Having worked so hard, having come so close,
I think I was kind of like,
"I don't know if I'm ever going to get this."
I think there's a lot of frustration, and I think
there was a lot of the letdown inside.
Here's this dream of yours that you've had.
You've worked so hard for and you've come so close,
and you feel like. "You know what?
No matter what I do, I'm not going to get this thing."
I think of anything, I think I had it that year.
Phil is pretty phenomenal.
I can see why the judges went with Phil.
I can see why they did.
I said Kai, "Psst,
I would hate to be Phil."
That's like marrying the homecoming queen,
but she wants to fuck you. That's a horrible feeling.
You got her, but she wants him.
You've got the title, but everybody's rooting for Kai.
That's a horrible feeling. I mean, "You know
you're not supposed to have this title."
And here I am, I'm looking at Kai's 100%
and Phil is off with this belly and I'm like,
"How the hell you give it to Phil?"
I, and honestly, I still don't know, I don't understand it.
It was really hard on both of us
because that was the first time
I really promised Kai that he's going to win.
2014...
...I don't care who gets mad at me, Kai should have won it.
I could see how George could say that.
When you work with somebody or you're friends with somebody,
for whatever reason,
I think there's something in your subconscious,
there's something that makes you feel
that this person that you have this connection with,
this relationship with is better.
I think there was something going on with Kai
where he wasn't really liked.
It wasn't that they thought he was a bad person,
but there's, there's some, let's say, qualities about him.
that kept him from winning.
There's some sort of thing against Kai
I couldn't tell you exactly. Maybe it's the hair.
Maybe they don't like his posing.
I don't know what it is, but I don't think
they would ever have given him the title, honestly.
And Kai didn't directly say this, but he hinted
that he'd spoken to a top official bodybuilder
who basically told him that.
So I think that somehow he got word that,
"Hey, buddy, there's no way we're going to let you win."
So why would he knock himself out
trying to compete here when he has no chance?
Those films, in that time of his life as a,
as a dancer and, and making erotic films.
It definitely came back to haunt him.
There's no doubt that, that people are judging him because of that.
And that may or may not have affected his placements. We'll never know.
So, yeah, that was, that was tough. It was tough loss man.
It was tough loss and that's why people ask me,
"Is he going to do the Olympias?" I'm like, "Dude, I don't know."
I don't think he can ever recover from something like this.
[interviewer] Why didn't you try to come back again and compete next year?
[dramatic music]
[Kai] The truth is, I was ready to compete.
Well, circumstances surrounding the 2015 Olympia
prevented me from returning to that stage.
I didn't complain. I didn't respond to anyone
on the blogs or social media.
I didn't want to do anything to tarnish bodybuilding,
the sport that I love,
I didn't want to disappoint the enthusiasts
or the community that I became part of.
I explained myself the best way that I could.
And wished good luck to all the competitors.
Most notably, what happened in 2015
was my Wieder contract was withheld
because of a dispute,
with my, uh, supplement company at the time.
There was really no animosity. I mean, we would have,
we would have loved to have him stay.
We had a lot invested with him over the years,
but you know, he thought that
that was the better path for him to take at the time.
[Kai] I understood that my value was more
than what I was being paid.
I had to address that, and the only time to address it
was at the time the contract would be negotiated.
First, I started with the supplement company.
Everybody has to have a contract,
and ultimately, the fact that I didn't have a contract
with the same said company
affected my ability to have a Wieder contract.
My Wieder contract was withheld,
and as a result of that being withheld,
it became impossible to sign the Olympia contract.
[sad piano music]
It shouldn't have been withheld.
So imagine losing the contract. A six figure contract.
Imagine that money being taken away from you...
...and then that same company that took the money
away from you runs the biggest show in the world
that is gonna use your image and likeness
to generate money with.
They get you images from the show the previous year.
They can write about you because they can go
on your social media and write about you.
So therefore, they can go up to vendors,
get money, Kai's coming back,
Phil, you guys know, even if you don't sponsor him,
he's bringing people.
Phil and Kai are bringing people.
If I'm a businessman, if I'm Kai, I'm thinking
"You just took the money away from me, you want me to compete at your show?
No, I'm not I'm not going to do that."
Because I'm sure if he would have been resigned,
he would've probably competed.
I told people, I was like,
"Hey, man, you guys need to pay him."
Hand on God, I said, "Pay that, man."
I didn't even talk to Kai, but I'm thinking,
"If I could petition to get him paid,
he's gonna come back."
Because at least he has guaranteed money to do the craft.
You can't just do the craft and not get paid. We're professional athletes,
like we're professionals. We're not getting paid millions of dollars.
So this money is special.
That would, in a sense, would be enough for him
to sit out and hold out like any other running back
for a sports team and say, "You know what?
You're not going to pay me, you're gonna franchise tag me.
I'm going to sit out and you're gonna pay me what I feel I'm worth."
I have invested more than 20 years of my life
in the idea... of being able to come to the Olympia
and to do an absolute best.
My resolve has been to respond as a champion and just aim to...
...represent the better thought of what that means to me.
You don't get to this point...
...and just stop.
[sniffs] It doesn't happen like that.
I am...
I'm not a victim. I'm not a...
They ain't gonna break me.
[George] Kai wasn't going to compete at all.
He said, "I'm done, George, I'm done."
And he's like "George, man, I'm just so tired,
why I'm doing all this, you know, for what?
Even when I win, they give me second?
Why? Why should I bother?"
[Phil] I was more upset because he wasn't competing.
Where is my inspiration?
Where is my "why"?
My "why" was like, "Well, I want to beat his ass.
I want to still win. I like this feeling."
I enjoy competing against him.
If I got to pick who I want to really
go toe to toe with. I want go with Kai.
With Kai, I think it probably was a factor of emotional, physical, mental,
that he just said, "I just, I'm not going to do this
and I can do other things."
[people chattering]
[Kai] I really do believe you can write
and control your own narrative.
I think every person has to do that.
This was an opportunity,
an opportunity to grow
to better myself and advance
to other areas of my life and career.
I finally focused on my self-development,
my business, my art.
I was able to focus on The Chronicles of King Kai
and finally put it down on paper
and make it into a reality.
I started to attend arenas outside of bodybuilding,
I have invested in myself
and focused on building my own destiny.
I believe now more than ever, it's worth it to be clear
about determining a worthy goal
and working towards its realization.
Even if it will take you 20, 30 years.
My ability to be successful,
depended on my ability to be willing to work.
There's still work that can be done,
but all the work that needs to be done isn't just done in the gym.
[seagulls cawing]
I think Kai Greene will be remembered, as you know,
a bodybuilder that brought back the art of bodybuilding.
[inspirational music]
[Rich] He was a phenomenal bodybuilder.
He was a freaky bodybuilder
to put that much mass on his frame.
You saw him as this natural bodybuilder
that got his Pro Card and then from there,
he evolved into this freak.
But still, although he was a freak, he was graceful.
I think he'll go down as one of the guys that should have won the Olympia
but wasn't given the opportunity that he was a top pro.
He had everything. But I think that
because of an unjust attitude on the part of, let's say,
the organizations, that whole bodybuilding,
they didn't want to give him a chance to win, even though he deserved to win.
[Mike] I think the way people will remember Kai
in bodybuilding has yet to be created.
Not as someone who almost became Mr. Olympia, but as something else.
I feel like he's moving toward something else
that's going to encompass positive thinking,
the building of a great physique, and the artistry and,
and the presentation of all of that. I think that's coming.
How he will be remembered is yet to come.
I really do. I think he's still creating himself.
And will continue to create himself.
And that's the Kai we're going to remember, eventually.
Oh, Kai is always going to be remembered, man.
He's going to be the predator for life.
He's the Predator, man.
He's the Predator.
[Kai] At the end of the day, I wasn't given
the title Mr. Olympia,
but my journey continues.
I look back on my life and where I've come from,
I have learned a lot
about my abilities, my strengths,
my ambitions, I have traveled the world.
Everywhere I go, I see opportunity.
I meet like-minded people.
[inspirational music continues]
[Mike] I think people root for him.
And that's the biggest thing
[Jerry] I think everybody looks at him and wants him to win,
and that's why I think he should get back out there and go again
and make it happen.
[Victor] It's not about how many titles you have,
it is how you make people feel.
I he's made people feel very good about themselves,
and he gave a piece
a large piece of who he is to the world.
[Phil] You know, he's done movies. He's done other things.
He's carried, that entrepreneur spirit.
His story isn't finished.
And I'm truly honored to have shared the stage with him.
I'm actually really thankful...
...that he gave it such a good run
because I don't think there was anyone
that could have done the same.
Actually, I know it.
[Kai] Things that I thought were unachievable...
...I accomplished them.
And yet there is a lot more work to be done...
...a lot more goals to accomplish.
And one thing I truly believe,
thoughts become things.
[crowd cheers]
[crowd screams] Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai!
Kai, Kai, Kai!
Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai!
Kai, Kai, Kai!
[gentle music]
[muted]
[reflexive music]
He's a lovable guy. Can't bite that, yeah, can't beat that.
Well, we'll cut the last part.
[laughter]
Ow!
[Rich] I'm not telling you that.
[background chatter]
Someone's hurt. Somebody's fighting. [laughs]
Yup. [groans]
Can you cock it? Oh, yeah, I wasn't gonna try do that.
[laughter]
[Kai] Thinking, you know, so candid that you're irresponsible,
um, with how you handle, you know...
[laughs]
[Kai] I do want to encourage those people
though they'd to turn around, I can see that,
I see the opportunity.
Damn I forgot what the fuck I was answering right now.
[laughs]