Mark Bell's Power Project - MBPP EP. 696 - Blessing "The Boogyman" Awodibu: Brining Entertainment BACK Into Bodybuilding

Episode Date: March 21, 2022

Blessing "The Boogyman" Awodibu is an Irish professional bodybuilder that is known for his huge and aesthetic physique. ' Blessing is a successful bodybuilder that holds 2 Arnold Classic Titles, along with 4 IFBB Overall Champion Titles. Follow Blessing on IG: https://www.instagram.com/blessing_awodibu/ Special perks for our listeners below! ➢https://www.vivobarefoot.com/ Code POWERPROJET for 20% off Vivo Barefoot shoes! ➢https://markbellslingshot.com/ Code POWERPROJECT10 for 10% off site wide including Within You supplements! ➢https://eatlegendary.com Use Code POWERPROJECT for 20% off! ➢https://bubsnaturals.com Use code POWERPROJECT for 20% of your next order! ➢https://verticaldiet.com/ Use code POWERPROJECT for 20% off your first order! ➢https://vuoriclothing.com/powerproject to automatically save 20% off your first order at Vuori! ➢https://www.eightsleep.com/powerproject to automatically save $150 off the Pod Pro at 8 Sleep! ➢https://marekhealth.com Use code POWERPROJECT10 for 10% off ALL LABS at Marek Health! Also check out the Power Project Panel: https://marekhealth.com/powerproject Use code POWERPROJECT for $101 off! ➢Piedmontese Beef: https://www.piedmontese.com/ Use Code POWER at checkout for 25% off your order plus FREE 2-Day Shipping on orders of $150 Follow Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast ➢ https://lnk.to/PowerProjectPodcast ➢ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/markbellspowerproject ➢ https://www.facebook.com/markbellspowerproject ➢ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbpowerproject ➢ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/powerproject/ ➢ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/markbellspowerproject ➢TikTok: http://bit.ly/pptiktok FOLLOW Mark Bell ➢ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marksmellybell ➢https://www.tiktok.com/@marksmellybell ➢ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkBellSuperTraining ➢ Twitter: https://twitter.com/marksmellybell Follow Nsima Inyang ➢ https://www.breakthebar.com/learn-more ➢YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NsimaInyang ➢Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nsimainyang/?hl=en ➢TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nsimayinyang?lang=en Follow Andrew Zaragoza on all platforms ➢ https://direct.me/iamandrewz #PowerProject #Podcast #MarkBell

Power Project family, how's it going? And listen up. We talk about meat and nutrition all the time on this podcast from the carnivore diet, keto, low carb, IFYM. And the cool thing is that we've partnered with a great company, Piedmontese Beef. Yes, it's beef. And the great thing about Piedmontese Beef is this, no matter if you're someone who's dieting on low fats, high fats, carnivore, any diet, they have different types of cuts of steak that are going to fit your diet perfectly from the flat iron that has Andrew. What is the macros on that thing? So that one has 46 grams of protein and only four grams of fat for the entire steak. And if you want fattier cuts, they have ribeyes, center cuts. They have literally everything for no matter what diet you do. So you can't use the excuse of your diet and tell yourself that you

can't eat red meat. So Andrew, how can they get Piedmontese beef? Yes, man. So you can't use the excuse of your diet and tell yourself that you can't eat red meat. So, Andrew, how can they get Piedmontese beef? Yes, man. So that's at piedmontese.com. That's P-I-E-D-M-O-N-T-E-S-E.com. At checkout, enter promo code POWER for 25% off your entire order. And if your order is $150 or more, you get free two-day shipping. Again, piedmontese.com, promo code POWER.

All links down in the description as well as the-day shipping. Again, PeteMontes.com, promo code POWER. All links down in the description as well as the podcast show notes. Damn, sir. How'd you get yourself so big over here? What's going on? What's going on with this build? Creatine, bro. I saw the video. You kept adding creatine. It's all about the creatine. And then you add more creatine. Don't be afraid.

Add more creatine. Trying to get big. There was a lot of creatine in that shake. It's all about the creatine. Damn. Yeah. What's your athletic background? Add more creatine Trying to get big There was a lot of creatine In that shake It's all about the creatine Damn Yeah What's your athletic background? Well you know Growing up in Ireland You know We've got a lot of

Crazy sports in Ireland We've got rugby We've got Irish football Gaelic We've got Orlean What else we got there? Yeah Basketball

Yeah Basketball I did that too Soccer I did a lot of sports kickboxing and kickboxing was actually after my last sport before i moved on to bodybuilding and i did rugby for three years rugby's big in ireland you said you were skinny before you started bodybuilding when we say skinny how much did you weigh? When you like play rugby, how much were you weighing back then? Probably like, hold on, maybe 60 kilos. What's that in pounds?

Like 145? Oh, shit. Yeah, I was skinny. Bones everywhere, bro. But like I'm skinny. So were you skinny like you're skinny? Yeah, you were big for me back then. I'm going to put that on my Instagram and just replay it all day.

You were swole. You were swole for me back then like that. Thank you, sir. But that's incredible. I used to get bullied a lot in school. Athletic at all or no? Yeah. Yeah, I was pretty fit.

Yeah. Like I said, I did a lot of – I played a lot of, I played basketball. I did Gaelic Irish football. And then when I started to pick up the weight, when I started to train, I started working out at 14. When I started to get stronger, then I started doing rugby. Have you ever power lifted before? No, never.

Any idea where your strength is at? Or do you mainly just stick with the higher lifts? I mean, I'm pretty strong for a bodybuilder. I'm not like crazy strong, but I think I'm pretty strong. I'm imagining that you can squat really well and bench really well with those big-ass shoulders. I got bum-ass knees. Oh, okay. Yeah, my knees are nice.

What do you do for your legs, then? How do you train around that? I do a lot of leg press, a lot of X squats. Now I just started back to Smith machine squats. I hurt myself a lot when I – We need to get you a belt squat. Yeah, let's do it. Get me one.

Let's have one in rec. Come on. Yeah, I'll see if we can get one sent out to you. Belt squats are pretty good. Yeah. Less stress on your back. Belts go pretty good. Yeah. Less stress on your back. Let me ask you this. As far as your knees are concerned, what exactly happened?

Like, what do you feel in your knees? Because we had this guy, Knees Over Toes guy on, and my knees used to be kind of fucked up, too. Started doing his stuff. My knees feel, like, good. So what's wrong with your knees? I mean, I think mine's beyond repair. It's like, see my knee, right? I can't really show you right now

So the joint is like I mean you're just supposed to be like Straight on So my left knee This joint is like It's like this So I can actually I can extend my knee

It can go If I put my knee back It can press all the way back You know And So I have a little bit of imbalance in my legs So the right leg is normal Go straight on Where the The left have a little bit of imbalance in my legs. The right leg is normal. Go straight on.

The left is a little shorter because the joints are like this. So when I'm squatting or leg pressing, when the right leg is fully locked, when the left leg is fully locked, the right is still working because the left

is shorter. So that's been a problem for me. I should try to get one of them sole for your feet just to kind of like, you know, even out a little bit. But it didn't really work out. I just started training with no shoes on. Now I do a lot of Single legs

Single leg press Lunges A whole bunch of stuff A lot of people think That you have to do squats No To build your legs You don't necessarily have to

Yeah No You do I mean There's so many exercises You can do To build your legs There's a video of me there

Because I train with Nick Walker As well So one of the video He asked me He goes bro We're squatting today. I'm like, bro, I can't squat. I just can't. If you let your ego get in, then you're going to hurt yourself.

This is bodybuilding. Once the injury kicks in, you're out. So I was like, no, I can't squat. Then that video got picked up by someone, and they were talking shit about, you know, how you going to beat up your legs when you don't squat? You got to squat. You got to squat. And I remember reading all the comments, and they were actually lashing this guy like,

dude, there's so many exercises you can do. You don't have to squat. You know, there's a lot of great guys out there with great wills that never squatted. You know, so there's so many ways to, you know, to bring up the legs without squatting. Your social media is pretty big. It looks like you have a lot of fun on there. Come on, look at me, bro. Is it a good time?

It's all about fun with me, bro. It's all about good time. You got to keep it lighthearted, right? Hell yeah. Balance. You can't be so serious all the time. That's a really cool thing because when it comes to your personality shines through everything that you know like that's a really cool thing because like you when it comes to your personality shines through everything that you do and a lot of bodybuilders don't have like like like when you

put them behind a camera it's just you know they're all about training and although that's cool i mean i guess the other bodybuilder that i think of and you mentioned him that that i guess you kind of remind me of is kaiene Because Kai Greene Like when he speaks Yeah Like you see the stuff that he does He has a fucking personality That people are Like just magnetic to

So where Like why'd you start doing all that stuff? I mean if you look at bodybuilding man You know it's like It's very hard to relate to And that's why bodybuilding community is so small That's why the sport is so small That's why we're not getting

You know The first year on the Main On the media that's why bodybuilding community is so small. That's why the sport is so small. That's why we're not getting, you know, the fresh air on the main, on the media. Because, like, it's, the look at us is just meatheads. Yeah, and that's right. 99% of bodybuilders are meatheads. You can't relate to them. All they talk about is their food,

what they squat all day, how much they eat. It's all about eating, eating. That's all boring shit. You know, when you look at Kai Green, you see so much personality. That's why this guy is so famous. You know? And as well, for me, you know, coming into the sport and growing up in Ireland. You know what I mean?

It's like you've never heard of a great bodybuilder from Ireland. And a Nigerian from Ireland. And a Nigerian as well. We'll get to that. As I told you guys earlier You guys don't believe me I was smuggled to Ireland Out of HG9

No English We'll push that to the side from now But yeah Growing up in Ireland And being a bodybuilder And trying to make it to the top It's very hard to be seen Just being a bodybuilder alone

And as well Ireland We're like in a box you know and um so me trying to get out you know just trying to you know I'm trying to find a way to to be seen to be heard you know and I just got this personality I'm always a happy guy I love making jokes I love I love going crazy in the gym while still working hard you know so I discovered That people actually Kind of attracted To this type of energy In social media In 2017

So I decided to quit my job And just focus on bodybuilding You know And social media Skits So I started making skits Within a month or two

Everything just blew up Haven't I seen you With King Bach Didn't you do some stuff With him King Bach King Bach No

But I've done a lot of stuff With all his friends Okay You know Out in LA Haven't I seen you with King Bach? Didn't you do some stuff with him? King Bach, King Bach. Have I? No, but I've done a lot of stuff with all his friends. Okay. You know, out in LA. And, yeah, so I started linking with all these guys. They're not in fitness or bodybuilding because they like the energy. They love the skits, you know. So that's how my social media sort of blew up in 2017.

And when people look at me, they're like, they don't think I take bodybuilding serious because of all the other stuff that I do. But they don't realize for me to get to where I'm at right now, it's not about being a perfect, great bodybuilder. Because still, I haven't really won anything yet as a pro bodybuilder. You know? And I'm out here, bro. Like, I'm out here with you legends. You know? Mac Bear right here.

You know what I mean? So it's not about being a great bodybuilder. Personality carries you so far. You know, if I just focus on bodybuilding, I'll still be back in Ireland, you know, because nobody will know my name because bodybuilding is very hard to relate to. You feel me? Yeah. When we seen you at the Piedmontese booth, it seemed like, I mean,

you're just a big ball of energy, which is amazing to see. And it's very, it's just great to see. But it seemed like you were more excited to see the people than when they were coming up to you, which was, again, just amazing to see. But with Piedmontese, what are you doing with them? And can you tell us about the benefits of eating red meat when traditional bodybuilders technically wouldn't, they wouldn't even consider that a possibility during prep and stuff i mean so how did that so i found somebody told me about humans actually i'm sure you know he told me about this he gets all this tomahawk and amazing meat you know grass fed grass finished lean beef and i think i thought i think he promised me to set me some all right so he never did i'm like you know what i'm a check out pigman cheese myself so i got my i got my my wife to you know sent the email out to them that i love their product and i would love to try and i never

thought they would reply back to me and funny enough joe got back to me It was like, wow bro We've been looking for someone like yourself I'm like, holy shit So like a week later They sent me out a box of meat Oh my god, like one of the best meat I've ever tasted in my life And clean, lean I mean as a bodybuilder, you know, it's all about

It's not even Being in the gym, you know, working Or whatever, but if you don't put The right stuff in you You never see the progress That you deserve You know When you work hard in the gym

So it's all about Putting the best of you The cleanest You know And one of the things That I struggle with When I first moved From Ireland to the US

I'm sorry guys Because I know You guys are American But the food area is garbage We know We know Even the meat the organic stuff i am so offended the organic stuff you get a whole food and that shit is so

goddamn expensive so i don't eat that yeah so honestly like i struggle with bloating and digestion problems when i first move because trust me man the food we have in Ireland I'm not even bro it's like all fresh like the best you know when you're talking about meat and super cheap you know so that's one of the reasons why you know when I found Pee Manse I'm like yo I gotta

reach out to these guys and I reach out to Mark to send me out a box I'm like yo I'm hooked and then from there we've just been you know it's been good you know so and I always wanted to Mark to send me out a box. I'm like, yo, I'm hooked. And then from there, we've just been, you know, it's been good. You know, so I did that. And I always wanted to meet the guys. You know, I even, one of them, I told Joe, can you fly me out? I want to meet you.

I want to meet the team. I want to, like, you know, do more for you guys. You know, maybe the same thing you guys want me to do on social media. We can always talk about content and create some, and shoot some stuff in Nebraska. And then Joe told me that they're going to be at the Arnold. And I'm like, you know what? I didn't actually plan to come to the Arnold because Redcon, when I'm not here, they're my main sponsor.

So I normally come here for Redcon because this year they have no boots. And I didn't think I was going to be here. So when Joe told me that people were going to be here, I'm like, yo, I'm going to be there. So that's why I'm out here and just met Joe met joe and the rest of the guys awesome people man you know yeah and we should try to do is we should all try to meet up in nebraska because that is yo we should go on bro it is fucking amazing elk i am so down for that you know it is really cool that you're you're using p montes because like there are certain cuts they have and you know this that really cool that you're you're using piedmontese because like there are certain cuts they have and you know this that are super low fat high protein and lean and it's always

made me after we found out about piedmontese a few years ago i was just like yo if bodybuilders started getting this because most when when guys go into prep and they start dieting a lot of them are low fat yes a lot of them have to stick to fucking chicken yeah and i mean as much as people say yeah i eat my chicken No one likes chicken But if you can have steak hit your macros Extremely lean steak It's like it would probably make that process So much easier

And as well you'd be able to hold on to more size You know you keep it a little bit fuller And that's why we're doing this prep Like I told you guys in our prep last year My problem was I lost too much muscle I over diet Did too much muscle. I over-diet, did too much cardio. But now, you know, we have different type of approach and, you know, getting the right meat, you know, the right nutrient into me.

That's making the process a lot easier, you know. Did you gain a lot of weight fast when you first started training? Oh, Jesus, no. I do not gain weight. If I can eat all day long, I will not gain weight. I do not get in the way of rocking me all day long. I will not get in the way. The only way for me to get in the way is through proper training and dieting.

It comes extremely slow. When I started working, I started working out when I was like 14. And what drove me to working out was I was really skinny. And I was extremely cautious about my body. 14 years old, 12 years old. You're going to the beach, you don't want to take your top off because you're too skinny. You got bones everywhere. And as well, coming from Africa, now I'm in English, and people will say all kinds of racist shit to you.

And being skinny as well is like a lot of crazy stuff. So all that is what kind of drove me to working out. Just want to be better, want to be stronger. And when I started within, like, six months, I was able to put on extremely lean muscle tissue. You know? So that, and my strength went up as well. So everything started to change for me, you know? And I started to love it more.

So, like, five, six years later, that's when I decided to do my first show. How old are you now? I'm 30. You're 30, so your first show was what, 24? I was, my first show, I think I was 20. 20? Yeah.

I was going to say, people in Ireland, are they more openly racist? Like, is there less? Like, in America, I mean, I realize there's tons of racism that still exists, but at least there's some shaming that would go on if someone was making racist comments like the way that you grew up. I mean, I imagine there's not as many black kids in the community, right? I mean, Irish people are like one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

They're just down for fun and look if you ever go to ireland bro you go out they will they will they will buy you drink they will make sure you you have a good time you know but the area that i grew up at you know i grew up in the west it was like i don't know maybe 60 000 people or even less everybody knows everybody they're a group of people we call traveler back at home. They're trouble. You know, so they don't care. And in terms of being open racist, no, it's not like that over there. People are very,

they won't say to you. They might sit behind your back. But like, you go to school, you know, you're just a certain type of guys out there, you know, like I said, travelers, they will say that shit in your face. And you just have to, you know you're just a certain type of guys out there you know like i said travelers they will say that shit in your face and you just have to you know have to defend yourself you know that's part of again what drove me to the weight room you know so when i started to get stronger and bigger no one would say that stuff of course you know it makes me curious i don't know

um obviously i don't think there are many black people or African people in Ireland, but growing up, going to school, were you, the people around you, all your friends, were they all Irish? Were there other African Irish people around you, or is that really, really rare? Yeah, like the time we grew up, we were the fourth black people in that time that I grew up with, so all my friends are all Irish. Wow. Yeah, you know, and, you know, it wasn't, I wouldn't say it was easy, you know,

but like, you know, maybe it was because of my background, coming from Africa, coming from having nothing, you know, no shoes, living on a farm, walking from a farm with a carrying bucket of water on your head for miles and miles, and going through all that.

You know what I mean? So you're used to the hard life. You're used to tough shit. So none really could really penetrate your skin. stretch your skin you know so growing up growing up and although we face a lot of you know stuff but we never that that never really got to us like you know because we were like just to be in Ireland alone and just to see another different way of life like you gotta see like electricity you know you gotta go to school you have shoes on your feet you you go nice clothes to wear now you got a phone so all that is like you will endure anything.

And your mom and dad were there with you too? No. No? Like I said, I was smuggled. Can we just – let's get into that right now. I want to know. Oh, shit. Yeah, go for it.

So when we were younger, I came from a very poor family. And I got five brothers and one sister. And the oldest brother was He made it out to He made it into Europe Somehow Maybe he probably walked over I don't know how he did it

But he did it You know and We lost contact We never heard from him You know so when I was about I was When I was nine So my mother

My mother and my dad, they decided to send myself and another brother of mine. He's like two years older than me to Europe for better education, better life. You know, of course, so we can go out there, you know, maybe get a good job. And we can come back home and, you know, change their lives someday. You know, so, and there's And there's no document or nothing. This is Africa. This is a home where you have nothing. So my mother was able to find this stranger,

and we were profiled with fake names. Now, I can't get in trouble because I'm Irish citizen now, so it's all good. So we were profiled with fake name, fake passport. And this stranger, he brought myself and my brother to Ireland and just dropped us off at an immigration door. It's just a good luck. How old? No English, no nothing.

I was nine years old. So good luck. So when the immigration took us in, they were trying to ask us questions, but we had no English. We didn't understand what the heck they were talking about. We just told them that we have a brother here, find him. So somehow

they were able to locate our brother that was in Ireland back then. It was like, what the heck? So he was able to locate us, he found us, and he took us in and he became our guardian. It was crazy, man. Because I have a lot of family in Nigeria So he was able to locate us, he found us, and he took us in and he became our guardian. Wow. Yeah. It was crazy, man.

Because I have a lot of family in Nigeria on both my mom and my dad's side. Do you still keep in contact with a lot of family over there? Are they trying to get, because we still have some family that's trying to get over here. It's a process. So do you still keep in contact with a lot of family? Oh, yeah, yeah. I talk to my parents every day. I'm all the brothers, you know. How do they feel about what you're doing now being such like a, honestly, like you're, you're, you have millions of followers.

Yeah, you're a celebrity. I mean, I mean, at the start, you know, when, when my, because the goal was, you know, she sent us over to go to college to get a good job and become a doctor. You know how it is. Yeah. African home. You either become a doctor or you're a failure. Yes. If you miss out on being a, become a doctor or you're a failure. If you miss out on becoming a doctor,

you're done. You're a bad kid. They disown you. So what actually stopped me from going to college, I was actually pretty good in school, because I studied hard, because I knew what my mission was. My mission was to become great and so I can go home and help my family out. I studied hard.

I got the course that I wanted to do in college. I was accepted, but I couldn't go because back then I didn't have my Irish citizenship. With Irish citizenship, you get some sort of government support, so you can go to college for free. But because I didn't have the Irish citizenship and I wasn't legible for it, that sort of grant, so there was nothing else to do. So I started to focus on personal training, working out. And then a year or two later, my friend forced me to compete.

That's when I did my first show. So when my parents heard what I'm doing, they went crazy. They're like, what are you doing? You're wasting your time and this and that. And after my first show, I got a great feedback. I was like, what are you doing? You're wasting your time and this and that. And after my fourth show, you know, I got a great feedback. I was like, yo, do this again. You got a great, you know, you got a great future ahead of you. So I did it.

After that, and I started representing Ireland all over Europe, then I knew what I wanted to do for a living. I'm like, yo, I think this is my calling. Even though my parents did not agree with it, they didn't talk to me for like Two or three years But that didn't stop me from working Because I believe in my power I know exactly where I'm going with this So yeah But now they watch all my videos

And they see me everywhere So they're happy now Because I take care of them That's amazing And how did you make your way to America? So in 20 So Was it 2018? I had a, there was a company I was working with, you know, throughout my amateur year.

I was with them for five years, the Polish brand, you know. So I came out with a, 2017, I started the old social media. I started marketing the boogeyman. And boogeyman became very popular in Europe. Everybody was calling me Boogie, Boogie, Boogie everywhere. So we just had to launch a pre-workout called the Boogeyman with my face on it. And I was with this company for five years, you know, and everything looks good at the start. You know, there was nothing signed, but everything looks good on the paper.

You know, like these are people you've been with for five years. You think y'all are family and this and that. And somehow we launched a product without signing any, no paperwork. And I was promised a lot of things. Everything looks great. Even I picked out a car that I was going to pick up when that first check comes in. So after we launched the product, I did a tour of Europe, all over Europe. Every single country in Europe,

I was there promoting Boogeyman. It was going crazy. So when they finally sent me the final contract and I noticed that they have the Boogeyman, because I was young. You make mistakes when you're young.

I didn't know too much about business, so I never trademarked the boogeyman. So what I did was I trademarked the boogeyman to the company. And then when my lawyer discovered that the contractor actually gave me zero right to the product, and then my lawyer did a quick research and she discovered that I have the trademark. I was like, yo, y'all got to give me back my trademark before I can sign any product. Now, we are selling all

over Europe. Product looks great. And so they were like, nah, we're not going to give you the trademark. We came up with the name. Why? Y'all came up with the name. I'm the boogeyman. And they didn't expect me to work because they're my main income. So they're just trying to bully me to sign a contract. So I'm like, you know what?

I'm not going to sign it. I'm going to walk it you know so I left and then a couple of months later I went to my fourth ever Olympia that's when I met uh Aaron Singerman Red King One and I told him I'm a big fan of the brand I didn't even it's not like I want to work or whatever and then two weeks later back in Ireland he hit me up he goes what do you think about collabing with us I was like what does that look like I got said, so the contract looks great, and they had me, they flew me over to Florida, second time in USA, first time in Florida, I was like, yo, this place is paradise, and they asked me, would you want to move? I'm like, hell yeah, so I went home, and that was it. Been over here since, you know. Wow.

So it's been, yeah, it's been a drip, man. Like I said, everything happened for a reason, you know. How were you able to get yourself big? Because you said you were a hard gainer, and you said the food is really important. But what about the training? What do you do in your training? Yeah, I'm a big volume guy, you know. I like to, I like heavy training and a lot of volume.

And that's, it's been that way since I started, you know, and I'm still doing the same program to today. Of course, you know, you change exercises and stuff, but the principle sort of stays the same, you know. So it's just consistency, you know. It didn't happen overnight for me. It was just a lot of years and a lot of work and being patient being patient you know a step at a time like other than creatine uh like how much were you eating because you know like somebody like me like i said you know i said

all skinny but i'm trying to stop saying that but like um was it more in the gym or was it more in the the nutrition because every time you hear somebody say that like they want to get big everyone tells them well if you want to get big you everyone tells them, well, if you want to get big, you got to eat big. And then when you think you're full, you got to eat more if you want to get big. But, like, I also don't want to get fat. Yeah, true. You are definitely not fat. And you said you got up to 300 pounds and, you know, it was hard for you to breathe and stuff.

But, like, what was it? Like, is it just a combination of both? Like, what happened there? Because I just want to get more details on how you, like, exploded. Yeah. I mean, in life and anything, it's 50-50. Balance is everything. Both Like what happened there Because I just want to get More details on How you like exploded Yeah I mean in life In anything It's 50-50

Balance is everything You know You can work whole hard In the gym And then Off ass In the kitchen Or you can

Do like Off ass In the gym And then go No hard eating You get that You know So

Balance is everything So I make sure You know I'm working my ass off In the gym And Not ever skipping a meal You know, so balance is everything. So I make sure, you know, I'm working my ass off in the gym and not ever skipping a meal. You know, so doing that over the years and, you know, I started off coaching myself. You know, I was able to get my pro card, coaching myself. And then I made my pro debut last year, and it was a lot of hype, you know,

and I have to say, it was the first time I ever experienced a mental health issue, you know, because, you know, coming from Nigeria, you know,

as a kid, you on the farm, you know, picking crops, and, you know, firing cheater, or tiger for a leftover meat,

on the fucking, in the jungle, to heat, so that shit tough you up, you know, so I never thought, you know, firing cheater or tiger for a leftover meat on the fucking, in the jungle to heat. So that shit tough you up, you know. So I never thought, you know, I'll be the type of guy that will ever suffer with mental health issues. So making my pro debut last year, it was a lot of hype, you know, because, again, I love entertainment, you know. I always try to find a way, you know, To present bodybuilding To my audience in an entertaining way Because Most of my followers, they follow me for the funny stuff

The skits, all that And they want to see me My posts don't get Crazy engagement unless it's Some crazy shit They don't want to see all the bodybuilding stuff It has to be fun, it has to be exciting. It has to be crazy. So I thought to myself, how can I present my pro debut to my audience and still have that entertainment aspect of it? Because that's what we don't

see in bodybuilding. So being who I am and I thought, if the UFC guys are able to do it, we can do it too. You know? So, of course, being a boogeyman, I have to call out The Mutant. The Mutant is a guy called Nick Walker. You know, he was a rookie last year, great bodybuilder, you know, and awesome personality as well. So going into my pro debut, and I thought, you know, let me call this guy a bitch. Let me see what he's going to say back. So I did call him a bitch.

And I said, I'm going to whoop his ass in seven weeks. And that shit blew up everywhere. Oh, it's the meeting for the boogie man. And I got people calling me up, yo, what's going on here? Are you guys about to fight? Because, like, you never seen it before in bodybuilding where two guys going head to head, like, every day on social media, these fans come at me, and my fans are going at him, and it was just bad shit, so people thought it was a fight, and people, I don't understand nothing about bodybuilding, because again, my followers, they're all entertainment,

they just want to see, like, yo, what's going on here, we got here. I got people pulling money on the boogeyman. People pulling money on that. So it was crazy. It was quite entertaining. And so for 10 weeks straight, we did that. We blew up New York Pro. New York Pro was where we were supposed to meet. But my pro debut was a week before Indie Pro.

So people were following that. And it was a lot of hype. And I totally thought I would destroy that show, because I believed myself, and I got what it takes, you know, but when you don't, when you don't meet the hype on social media, it's a big, it's a, it's a big downfall, you know, it's like, so this year made me realize, like realize like shit Somebody like McGregor You know it takes a lot of balls To create that much hype Generate that much energy

Going into a fight and then get knocked The fuck out How are you going to come back from that It takes a lot of courage and strength You know so I had to witness that This year because it was my first time I never failed in the That way before in the eyes of everybody. Everyone's watching.

Everyone wants to see the millionth of the boogeyman. But then I came up short. I didn't look good. I messed up, you know. It was bad. The whole social media came at me. What messed up the prep? Like what happened?

Like I said, you know, it was my first time prepping in, like, three years. Because after turning pro in 2017, I gave all that time off to gain more size. Like I said, it takes me a lot of time, a lot of years to put on that much size when you compete in open bodybuilding. You know, so that's why I took that much time off. And then when you, and after three years, and I've gained all this mass, I went from maybe 270 to 300 pounds.

So you're dealing with a whole new body. So there's a lot of science that goes into that. And you need to be working with the right people. You got to have the right coach. Someone that knows what they're doing. Someone that understandsing nutrition and understand the human body you know so we messed up we didn't you know there's a lot it was i'm so happy that we did because now i've learned so much you know about my body and how to bring my body you know to that level of pick you know so we felt like felt like that, and it was tough to come back, you know. So I experienced some really down time after the show because I felt like, you know,

no one cares about me anymore. I was getting a lot of hate, you know. I hated social media. I just wanted to disappear. But I didn't, you know. I faced it, you know. I let people know I'm still here, you know. I'm not going to stop. But I didn't. I faced it. I let people know I'm still here. I'm not going to stop. I'm going to be back next year.

When you're by yourself, you think about these things. You feel like you're a failure. It was a tough time for me. I went through depression to the point where it was the first time that I had problems sleeping. I did not sleep

for four months. I'm talking about not sleeping. It was awkward. I didn't know what the heck it was. I did all the tests. I was panicking. I didn't know what I thought was my

heart problem. I did the ECG test. And then I did another test where they put all the stuff, the wire on my body where you're on the treadmill. They checked everything. Everything was perfect. Did a lot of blood work. Everything came back perfect. So I didn't know what it was.

And it was due to stress. Mental health and all their social media stuff. And I didn't know how to cope with it because it was my first time, you know, so it was a tough three months. I didn't know. Some night I'd just be looking at my watch and I'd be praying that the time goes faster so I can get out of bed. The only time I feel like myself is when I'm in the gym You know

I remember I was talking to my 20 partners here And they be like I'm not sleeping But when I'm in the gym I feel good, I feel energized Because that's cause Your adrenaline When pump kicks in

And adrenaline kicks in And you're like Even though you're a zombie You're still able to get a good workout in Because in, you know, adrenaline kicks in, and you're like, even though you're a zombie, you know, you're still able to get a good workout in, because, you know, so, yeah, man, that's the first time I realized that mental health is serious, and a lot of people are suffering out there, but, you know, just whoever's out there suffering with mental health, make sure you are not, just let you know that you are not alone, you know, because we are all here,

and we're with you, and just keep fighting, and try your best to just, you know that you are not alone you know because we're all here and we're with you and uh just keep fighting and try your best to just you know stay positive and trust me you get through it yeah did you watch like me uh like how connor got through some of his because he does talk shit yeah and then he has lost but then afterwards he still somehow carries himself to where you're like i'm still gonna root for him. Did you watch any of his footage or anything like that? I should never watch any footage of film, you know, talking about,

does he ever talk about, you know, him getting to, I was just saying like in general, like watching how he carries himself after, you know, he'll still show up to all the press conferences and all that stuff. Yes.

I do watch all that. And I feel like, you know, cause I mean, I think a lot of that is like a pour-on, you know. It's like, but when you back at home by yourself. Yeah, I see what you mean. You have to deal with it.

Because I'm still showing up on social media. Because I still got to, because I got all the sponsors. Even though I hate social media, I just want to disappear. I just want to quit. I want to stop everything. Right? You still got to post because you have sponsors. You got a job to do. You know? So I'm still stop everything. Right? You still got to post because you have sponsors. You got to jump to them.

You know? So I'm still showing out. But, like, people don't really know what you're going through, you know, mentally and when no one's watching. You know? But, like, you just got to face it head on and stay positive. Is that what you did? Like, to kind of get through that thing is just kind of face it head on?

Yeah, I face it head on. And, of course course i didn't know what it was you know then i start to because i'm not a i don't really i don't really share a problem with nobody i never talk about because i don't know i feel like i don't not to never really face me so when i was going through that you know and then i realized by talking to my friend, it actually makes me feel better. So I start to open up more and talking about it and, you know, letting me know that, dude, you're actually dealing with depression, you know. And, yeah, man, so talking to people and, you know, talking to my girl, you know, because I don't live with my girl, you know, and that's one of the problems as well.

I live alone, you know. My training partner, he comes and goes, and I was lucky that I had him over here for some time. So when he went, my girl went as well. So I was by myself. It was rough. And so when she came back, everything started to get better. Because having the loved ones around you helps a lot, man. Because it's all about energy.

If you have the right energy around you, it can carry you a long way. You said you wanted time to speed up. That's very common because when people are stressed, you lose track of kind of where you are. You don't have anything else to compare it to. And so the amount of time that it takes when you're really stressed feels like it takes an eternity. If you have like heat with somebody you have a dispute with somebody and then you know you're going to see him the next day and you know that you want to uh resolve it

those i mean it's only like eight hours or ten hours you know until you see the person but it seems like it's forever you know and it seems like it's three days gone by by the time you got an opportunity to communicate with that person. Yeah, for real. I can definitely relate to that, you know. And that's why, you know, I try to, you know, maintain positive energy, you know what I mean? And if I ever have a problem with somebody, it's like, if I ever have a problem with somebody,

I just love to approach them and talk about it, and that's it. You know, because if you have a problem with somebody and you're holding grudges and you're not afraid to, and you're afraid to, like, speak to that person, every time you see that person, you know, this type of energy, it creates some negative energy in you. You know, you can't focus. Because if you're in a gym and you're having some sort of a problem with another person across the gym, you know,

when you see them, it's like you don't feel right. You know, you can't focus. You can't even, you can't think right. So the best way to deal with it is like, you know, approaching them and let them know that they messed up. And then either you apologize or they apologize. And that's it. You know, it makes everything, you know, a lot better. You know, after the show, because you mentioned that you were going through a lot of mental health problems.

But what, I mean, what was being said? Was it people like just people just swarming you with DMs and just messed up comments? Because I think a lot of times, I don't know if it was that, but a lot of times people don't think that the person that they're saying shit to reads the comments. Because you're following so big, people don't necessarily look at you like a guy that's just normal and sitting next to them. They don't think that you see shit and that you feel shit. But was it that or was it just the aspect that you didn't come in the way you wanted to? A lot of it was the aspect that I let the people that belittle me down. Oh.

And that I let myself down. And also reading some of the comments. Because, like, we all do it. We read comments. People don't realize that. McGregor read comments. You know, all these things. But you got to be so, that's why it's like, you know, and it's normal.

You know, people have to, if you put yourself out there, have a million followers, whatever, it's balance, you know. You can't have the good without the bad. That's what makes life so great. You know, that's what makes us human. That's what makes us tough. That's what makes us strong. So if you're able to what makes us human. That's what makes us tough. That's what makes us strong. So if you're able to face that, you have to respect it. I did respect it.

Actually, in a lot of the videos, I made fun of myself. You know, I talk about it with my training partner. What's going to happen when I don't show up? You know, I was ready. I was ready for all the hey. I was ready for all the comments. Because you have to be ready for it, you know. Even when you're doing things in life and you're winning, you're winning, you're winning, you're winning.

It's not really good. And when you're doing that, you've got to respect that one smack to the face. Because you're going to get it. It's going to happen. That's what's going to advance you to the next level. So I was ready for all the hate. But it doesn't matter how much well-prepared you are, this thing still gets you. And it's all part of learning. It's all part of being a human.

It's all part of growing. You have to go through that. Now I understand what mental health is. Because before, when some people were discussing mental health, I'm like, dude, it's your choice. It's you. You just get out of it. Especially with where you come from. Especially because I've been through some shit.

I've seen people sitting on the floor with no food for days. They can't move. I was that kid, you know, like walking miles with firewood on my head, bucket of water on my head, six, seven years old on the farm, trying to pick some food, trying to find something to eat. So you become so tough. So I couldn't really relate to any men. I was like, dude, don't even talk to me about men. But now I understand.

Mental health issues is real. You think a lot of it had to do with maybe expectations? Because somebody making a bad comment certainly doesn't mean that you're doing a bad job. But something inside of you felt like you did a bad job. You felt like maybe you didn't prepare for it. And so maybe next time, next competition you go into, maybe you'll set different expectations and maybe you'll be that much more hungry to follow through on the small things that will get you the results

that you're looking for. And of course, when you want to be great, my goal in life is to be the best at what I do. I'm chasing greatness. And my goals are so high. When people look at me like, they do. I'm chasing greatness. My goals are so high. When people look at me, they're like, that guy is

normally say I'm a clown. I make all these funny videos. No, we don't take bodybuilding serious. People don't really realize where I came from and how far I've come. When people truly do like, yo, this guy. That's jealousy from people though.

I truly put in that work. So my expectation is pretty high, you know, and I work hard. You know, so when you don't meet, actually, sometimes, you know, it kind of sucks, you know. But, like, once you understand that it's part of growing, it's part of making progress and, you know, getting better, you know, you get through it. And it's going to make you better. And I feel this year, you know, I feel like I'm going to present something that they've never seen before. And, you know, my goal is to become one of the best bodybuilders to ever do it. And I will do it. I think the path that you're making is unconventional.

And I think maybe that is a little bit maybe part of the issue that you're going through. Because as I'm sitting here thinking of, like, ronnie coleman and arnold and uh lee haney and i'm trying to think i'm like you know michael hearn has a lot of fun on camera and he's bodybuilder you know i'm trying to like kai green you know there are there are some cali muscle has a lot of fun with it and stuff um but it seems like at the at the level that you're're at And with the way You're doing it right now Is just a little unconventional And Kai Greene's Probably a good example of that

Yes I feel that And cause like Most people believe Like in order to be The best bodybuilder In the world You have to

Eat, sleep And do nothing else Don't make no videos Don't make no content That's what you gotta do But they don't understand It don't work like that I don't know

Was Kai Greene like Messing around though On his way up Like on his come up? You're messing around on your way up. If Kai Greene messes around later on after he's already been Kai Greene, it's a little different than if you're the guy fucking around on the way up. I think you're just going to get a lot of jealousy. You're going to get a lot of people being like, you can't do it that way.

And you're like, I am doing it this way. For sure. And I think the people that are leaving these negative comments, you're following so big, they're not really actually thinking you're going to read it. They're more saying it to gain attention from your fans. You know what's funny? Because I don't know if that's ever happened to you, right? Most of the time, actually 99% of the time, when somebody,

because I like to fit into it. Oh, yeah. You can never, bro. He's like, I like to fit into it Oh yeah You can You can never Bro he's like Bro I'm African bro You can never get to me It doesn't matter what you say

You can never get to me bro Growing up in Ireland I've heard all kinds of shit I've heard the worst You know what I mean So I'm like I'm pretty tough So when people comment

On myself like Like Okay Yeah Comment something like Bad whatever And I reply I'm like yo bro Comment on myself like, okay, yeah. Comment something like bad whatever. And I reply to them like, yo, bro, thanks for that, man. I like it. Yo, bro, you replied back.

Thank you so much. Bro, I'm a big fan. I'm like, bro, you just. All they want is attention. They don't really. A lot of it, they don't mean it. They just want a little bit of attention. And once you give it to them, it changes their i'm like dude you just insulted

me bro like yeah what's up with that uh we had uh chris beast mode jones on the podcast and he had mentioned something about um regret and he's like it's okay to regret some shit that you shouldn't have been doing and that got me thinking um so i used regret kind of in a future-like aspect. So I played this scenario in my head that I forgot something for the podcast and that feeling of regret of doing that. So that fueled me to make sure I had everything I needed because that would have been my ass, right? So do you think you can use that moving forward from everything that happened

when you called out Walker. I was trying to remember his first name. It didn't hit me. But do you think you can maybe imagine a scenario where you call someone out again and then you didn't win? Can you use that right now as fuel to make sure you don't ever feel that again? I mean, you know, it's all about experience, you know, and with every experience, you become wiser. It's all about experience. With every experience, you become wiser.

You find a better way to deal with things. Next time, I think I will deal with it better. It's part of growing. It's part of growth. That's part of the game for me, you know. It will always can happen, you know. And I'll try not to let it happen. But like when it happens, you know how to deal with it, you know.

Power Project family, how's it going? Now I want to talk to you guys about Within You Supplements. This is Mark's supplement line. And the amazing thing is Mark used to be 330 pounds. He was a fat guy. So obviously this stuff tastes really damn good. But the another cool thing about Within You Supplements is that none of these products are white labeled. Now, what a lot of people do when they come out with their own supplement lines is they do something called white labeling. And white labeling, all that means is there's a supplement that's already out there. They take off the tag of that supplement, they put their name on it, and now it's their supplement line. Quite literally, there's nothing else like Within You supplements out there because Mark formulated these supplements with other individuals that he

knows within the industry, like Joel Green, who we had on this podcast. So you guys should check out Within You. We have amazing protein, electrolyte supplements, we have fasting gum, and many other things on the website. Andrew, how can they check it out? Yes, that's over at markbellslingshot.com. And at checkout, enter promo code POWERPROJECT10 to save 10% off your entire order. Links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes. About like when you said you called him a bitch or whatever. And when I was thinking those, like you guys are friends though, right?

So I don't see much showmanship in bodybuilding. Was that your intention, to try to start building some showmanship, to actually try to start building hype and interest in that level of sport? I mean, my thing is like, you know, I have this goal. I always say, I'm going to change bodybuilding. I want to change bodybuilding. I just want to make bodybuilding a lot more fun and entertainment. Trash-talking is in every sport. bodybuilding, you know, I just want to make bodybuilding a lot more fun and entertainment, you know.

Trash talking is in every sport. Even, I just have to watch the slap challenge. You see how those guys was trash talking? This is where you put your face out and then you got a free slap, you know. So, I feel like we can do that in bodybuilding as well because, you know, it's all entertainment. And if we can find a way

to entertain people with what we do We're going to gain more eyes Of course the price money is going to go up We're going to learn how to sell A show New York Pro was a show that Even though I didn't Show up at my best

That show was still the most viewed show Ever Online, it was crazy. And with that, we actually broke the Indie Pro broadcast actually broke because of so much traffic because people wanted to see me, what I looked like before New York Pro. So what we did worked, and all the promoters, they love it. So my goal is, look, listen, if we're able to do this, and more athletes start to put in a little bit more effort, and we're all able to do something like that, sell our shows,

because, I mean, there's no money in bodybuilding, bro, the price of money is trash, you know what I mean, I believe we work so hard, and we do stuff a lot more, but, like, nothing is free, you got to work, you got to, if you've just been a bum-ass bodybuilder, it's like, you ain't doing shit. All you're doing is eating your meals, and you're not willing to market nothing, sell nothing. You ain't getting nothing. So my goal is to be able to do these and sell shows and show the rest of the guys that, look, this is possible.

We can do this. We can entertain the people. We can turn bodybuilding into pure entertainment. And I'm like, that will sell my shows. Like that, we're going to ask for my money. You know, if you ain't paying me, I ain't doing your show. You know, stop paying us before we even step on stage. What do you tell some of the young fans that come to you and ask you questions about performance-enhancing drugs?

Like, what, because we see so many young people kind of turning to that at such an early age. What's some of your advice, or do you just kind of stay away from that topic? I get that question a lot, everywhere, especially in Ireland, ireland you know because you know they look at me like yo it's like damn i want to beat that big and you see this kid like you know 16 17 years old and you know a lot of them don't really know what they want to do and then you see some kid like 18 years old 21 years old they're taking all these enhancement drugs they They're full of acne. You look at their face, you can't even. They take off their top. They're bleeding from acne. Dude, it's horrible, you know.

So when someone approached me, there's actually one of my guys back home, you know, he started using this stuff, and his body started to react real bad for me. You know, I asked him, listen, what you want to be in life? Do you want to be Mr. Olympia?

And his girl said, no. So you better stop. You know, so when people come to me, they ask me, like, okay, what's your be in life? Do you want to be Mr. Olympia? And his girl said no. So you better stop. So when people come to me and they ask me, okay what's your goal in life? Do you want to be Mr. Olympia? Do you want to be like Ronnie Coleman? I bet. Do your research. Make sure you have an intelligent

coach and they will guide you and help you to the top. But if your goal is not to be Mr. Olympia to step on that Olympia stage, you've got no business talking steroids. You know what I mean? You just want to look good?

Listen, I was not sure until 21, 22. And even when I started, very little, and people don't believe me. Even before I started going into doing my research and started going in looking up all this stuff, people accused me of steroids because of the way

I looked. So every time I was like, are you on steroids? Like 19 years old, 18 years? I'm like, well, thank you. And then I discovered my purpose. I'm like, yo, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to be the best at this. So I started doing my research. Find the right coach,

the people who understand this stuff, and making sure I'm doing it the right way. And one of my goals is to show the kids that you can do this the right way. Take your time with it. Because all these guys right now want to be Mr. Olympian now. So they're taking all this bombardment, all this stuff, all that stuff no it's not gonna happen over here you know gotta take your time that's why i took all this time off a time for i didn't step on say i didn't compete for like three four years you know just because i can slowly gain that mass without having

to you know put my body in too much pressure you know know? So if your goal ain't to be Mr. Olympia, you got nothing talking about steroids. You know, a really cool thing though, too, with what you're doing right now, like you have a big following because of your personality, but also I think people feel like they know you, right? I don't see many other bodybuilders other than like maybe Chris Bumstead. I'm trying to think of other current bodybuilders, like the top, like the top guys, you only see

like them go training. They're taking a plane trip to Dubai. You don't hear them talk about anything. You don't know who they are. You don't know their personality. I think one of the reasons why this is so cool, what you're doing is because people can get an understanding of who you are. this is so cool what you're doing is because people can get an understanding of who you are like i can't say i've heard full sentences about somebody's life that's a high level bodybuilder um and when they say i'm trying to be serious or they're serious about bodybuilding that's also like they're not letting people know who they are you know and it's really cool that you're doing that and you're being vocal about it and that you're you're unique in that respect yeah man because i mean you know all these kids you know they they uh you know they want to follow someone that they they can relate

to you know and after the story to tell you know coming from absolutely nothing to now having you know something and being able to travel the world you just show them that look listen it doesn't matter your background it doesn't matter where you're from. You can come from nothing and have a lot. You know what I mean? Because a lot of these guys, you can't relate to them, you know. And I feel like, you know, if you put yourself out there, you tell your story, not shine away from your background or where you're from, you know,

people are going to be able to relate to you a lot more. So when they see you, there's a lot to talk from, you know, you'll be able, people are going to, all these kids will be able to relate to you a lot more. So when they see you, there's a lot to talk about, you know, and what helps me as well is like, you know, with all these funny videos, all these skits, you know, so when all these guys, when they see me, there's a lot to talk about, you know, you heard them shouting, creating,

you know, it's like, yo, that creating video, it's not just about, oh, the mule prep, you know, the, the, the, you squatting that You know That's You know People want to have something To relate to

You know A story That's why That's all part of You know Right now You know It's like

You know I'm writing a book bro It's like I'm writing a book You know I want to have a I want to have a documentary On Netflix

And I think It will happen You know Last year we shot a lot of A lot of cool content You know We had Kai Green on there. And we had a couple of guys from a couple of producers.

They actually met up with a Netflix producer. They love my story. They heard my story. Been smuggled from Nigeria. They struggled in Nigeria. And then from Ireland, getting out of Ireland to USA. They love that story. And they want to go dive

deep into it. So we're filming my series because we thought I was going to kill it. You know, Indy and then New York Pro. So all that kind of like, you see where all the mental health comes in. You know, it's like for me every time I think about it, it's like, you know when you throw a grenade, right? And it's supposed to explode

and you're supposed to get all these things. And then it just goes and the light goes out. It's like a big disappointment. You know, it hits you in the face. You're like, God damn. Why?

You know, it's a big smack in the face and you have to face it and you have to face it and you deal with it, you know? What's up with Mrs. Boogeyman? Mrs. Boogeyman.

You're married, right? Yeah, I'm married. When he said Mrs. Boogeyman, when he with mrs boogeyman mrs boogeyman you're married right yeah i'm married when you say mrs boogeyman i'm like okay where you go with this that's new yeah yeah man i'm married i got married last year november um to a beautiful irish, you know. Yeah, we've been together for like eight years. Wow. And we spent the last three, four years, we've been, you know, distance away, you know, distant relationship. And that was really tough, you know, especially when the COVID kick in. You know, like I was stuck in the U.S. for like a year. I couldn't go nowhere.

I couldn't see her. And she didn't come over here. And there was another point where I was stuck in Dubai for like four months. I couldn't go nowhere. I couldn't see her, and she didn't come over here. And there was another point where I was stuck in Dubai for, like, four months. I couldn't go anywhere. So, like, the last two years was really, really rough. And, you know, it was just time for us, like, like I said, you know, when you're going through a tough time, and especially mental health, you need your loved ones around you, you know.

So, and coming here on Pfizer, it's not that easy, you know. Like, if you're traveling on an holiday Pfizer, you can get in trouble after a few trips, you know. So, you know, after seven years, eight years, you know, we decided to like, you know what, let's do this damn thing, you know. You know, so we got married here in Florida last November. So, man, yeah, and she's going to, she's actually moving over now in two weeks. So, I'm excited. So, the boogey and she's actually moving over now in two weeks. So I'm excited. So the boogeyman's a married man. Yeah, he's off the books.

Off the market. Yeah, there you go. But what I think you're doing is amazing because I'm thinking, again, like Conor McGregor, he's not the richest fighter ever because he's the – I mean, well, he is one of the best, right? Yes. But there's other guys that you don't really ever hear anybody talking about that are champions, right? Because that's all they do. They don't do any content.

They don't talk any shit. They just go in and fight. And that's a great way to handle it. But what you're doing is you're setting the rest of your life up because you can't bodybuild forever, right? No. But by the end of all this this you're going to have an entire empire because of what you're doing right now i think that's incredible and i think that's

going to pave the way for future bodybuilders yes because they're going to see what you do and they're like that's what i'm going to do next yeah yeah man conor mcgregor and i love that guy man he's so inspiring bro and you know i've been watching him since he started because i mean this guy is another guy you know a story i can relate to because he started from absolutely nothing you know again the government welfare money and all that shit and this is a guy who believed himself you know and uh he's not afraid to show himself it's not afraid to talk shit because he believed himself it's not afraid to fail you know so all that like you said it's not just because he's a great fighter because the guy's an entertainer you know he so all that, like you said, it's not just because he's a great fighter,

because the guy's an entertainer, you know, he knows how to get himself out there, he knows how to sell himself, the guy's a huge brand, you know, he knows how to promote that shit, you know, the guy is, Conor McGregor is absolutely everything, and I'm sure Conor been watching Floyd Mayweather, from Floyd Mayweather to Muhammad Ali, you know, he learned from all those guys, you know, so you cannot see a guy like that and not take inspiration from. So I look up to a guy like that and I'm like, yo, if this guy can do it, I can do it too. Even though bodybuilding is like a foreign sport, some people don't even think it's a sport. But trust me, anything is possible, you know. So I really believe, you know, I'm on to something great.

Absolutely. What do you think you, I mean, You said you got a little bit too small. Something happened. You did a little bit too much cardio. What happened? Why do you think you didn't come in with a great package? Yeah. Like I said, I started off extremely skinny.

So I'm like... What do you call that? Ectomorph. Ectomorph. You can't hold on to size. Your body does not want to hold on to size. So when I got to like 290 300 pounds my body was like dude get skinny diet you know so uh we won uh we didn't pay too much attention you know to my body when i was dieting so i was just i was

doing all the cardio i was dieting you know and um some days We go like zero carbs Which is You know My body don't need that Because naturally My body just want to calm down So my weight Was just calming down So fast Because that's what

My body wanted to do So we got to a point Where my metabolism Was just so fired up Like around 250 Bro It's like I depleted down to 242

You know And we was Two weeks out We were supposed to be Cabbing up But this point My metabolism is like It's on the go I depleted down to 242. And two weeks I was supposed to be calving up. But at this point, my metabolism is like, it's on the go. It doesn't matter what you pull me, I'm going to just burn it all out. So as I was pulling all these carbs in me, I was just burning it all out.

It was hard to hold on to anything. So my body was using it as fuel. So it was hard for me to come back from it. It was a lot of muscle loss. So by the time I step on stage, I got to use dirty food that my body even, I wasn't used to. Like cake. I never eat cake. I don't really do cheat meals.

And I don't eat much. I don't snack. I never eat snack. I hate chocolate. I hate cake. All that shit. I don't do it. Because they don't benefit me. My they don't benefit me, you know.

My body doesn't know how to process them. So we have to resort into eating all this junk food. That should make me look worse, you know. My mid-session started to, you know, it wasn't looking good. And I started to spill. There was a lot of, yeah, it was bad, you know. So this time, that's why, you know, everything we're doing, you know, we're taking our time with it, you know, very minimum cardio,

and, you know, I'm still eating carbs right now, I'm still maybe 300 grams of carbs, and this time last year, I was like, maybe 100 grams, you know, extreme cardio, state master, so this year, we stayed away from state master Stairmaster Cause like My legs are forced to go You know So we Stairmaster You know All that My leg just

Flattened out You know Which was a bad look Do you think Bodybuilders Bodybuild too much And what I mean is Like should they

Try doing other things Like whether it be Powerlifting And trying to gain You know cause Like in SEMA here You know he was doing Bodybuilding But then when he switched to powerlifting he just got so much

bigger and then now he can just he can this guy can walk on any stage and compete with a lot of people um do you think bodybuilders bodybuild too much i mean you know people are different for me i will not do powerlifting because i'm just gonna handle hurting myself you know and i feel like bodybuilding training and powerlifting is a total different as i said people are different like you see some powerlifters this they're they're skinny but it's strong as hell you know what i mean and then you see some powerlifters big as fuck and strong as hell but don't have that much muscle mass it's all fat you know what i mean so that training doesn't, like you would respect, you know, powerlifters, the people who squat. It's a lot of weight. You would expect them to have like the biggest legs in the world.

But when you compare them to a bodybuilder who only squatted not even half of the weight, you know, it's a different type of training. Like I train with Larry Wills. You know, Larry Wills, like, that's a guy you don't mess with. If you're a bodybuilder, you stay in your lane. You know, first time training with Larry, Larry was like, okay, blast, boogeyman. We're going to do my training. I was like, Larry, no, we're not doing your training.

I'm not trying to get hurt. I'm a bodybuilder. We do my training. Hold on, Larry, if you're watching this, remember, you didn't last. You last like 20 minutes, you know. The volume was too much for him. And if I try to do his workout, I'm going to end up hurting myself. There was a guy who hurt Terry's dude.

So respect. Well, he got famous, though, afterwards. He got a lot of sponsors. You cannot try to impress Larry, bro. That guy is a machine. Working off of what Andrew said, we've been seeing a lot of bodybuilders recently passing because of different things happening, right?

So what would be your advice to individuals in terms of taking care of their health? What should they be trying to do? Because when you get to a certain, like, number one, a lot of guys are trying to get to a level really fast, like you mentioned, trying to do things too fast. But what are the errors they're making that's causing them to just take the bucket? You know what I feel in bodybuilding?

It's like I talk about it with my training partner a lot. We've been talking about this for years. There is no rules, bro. There is no line. It's like UFC, they have doctors. You have to be healthy to fight. And I feel in bodybuilding, in order to do any show,

you should show your blood work. You have to, everything has to be in line before you can compete. And I feel like there should be certain drugs that's not allowed that should be taken off and one of them is diuretics you know that shit is it's number one killing body they've got rid of some

diuretics right uh i think years ago but not maybe not yeah people don't give a shit because nobody checking people takes the strongest whatever works the best. And I feel like definitely there should be some sort of a rule, especially going into Mr. Olympia. That's like the biggest show. They need to have some sort of a paperwork that shows your blood work a couple of weeks before the show or something. Because what's happening is it's, it's pretty crazy, and people will do whatever it takes to achieve that look, you know, and, um, and that's

when I, when it's coming into the sports, you know, bro, my, my health is, bro, my health is everything, bro, and I always tell my, wherever's coaching, if I, when I, when I get a new coach, I tell them, look, I'm extremely cautious about my body and my health is everything. And I hate picking that shit. I, oh, my God, I fucking hate it. You know, it's like the worst part of bodybuilding for me. You know, I let them understand that and they know where I'm at, you know. And I just got a new coach, George Farrer.

Oh. You know, and this guy's probably the best in the game, you know. Did he just work with Andrew Jack? Somebody told me that But I'm not sure Could I see He posted a picture With Andrew Jack

So I'm not really know And Flex Yeah so I don't really know Whether it's coaching him or not Because no one really I don't know Yeah maybe he did I don't know

But I started working with him So we started working together Like Just to start him a prep Maybe six weeks ago, you know. And my goal is to find somebody who cared about, you know, my health, you know, longevity for me. Longevity is everything, you know. So when you look at George Files, you know, he had Ky Green. Ky Green is like, well, almost 50 now.

And the guy is still looking great, still jacked as fucking healthy, you know, he had Dexter Jackson, Dexter Jackson retired, looking amazing, you know, Branch Warren, you know, Branch Warren as well, retired, looking amazing, those guys still look great, you know, and this is a guy that beat cancer, you know, and he's a doctor as well, so when I reach out to him, man, he was so happy, because like, yo, I've been expecting this, I said, what, for real, yeah, so I am so happy and blessed to be working with that man, because he knows his stuff, and he's always on the healthier side of things, you know, he's like, dude, like, I for the self that I've taken before, like, you know, when he sent my first protocol, I'm like, just that, that's all I needed, before I was doing, like, you know, when he sent my first protocol, I'm like, just that? That's all I needed?

Before I was doing, like, 20 things. Now I'm only doing three things and I'm looking better than ever. You know? So it's kind of, yeah, it's extremely important to have somebody in your current that understand what they're doing and care about your health. Because a lot of coaches out

there, dude, all they want, they want money, bro. And they just want to win shows. As long as the client wins shows, because it brings down more clients. So a lot of them don't really care. And that's why you see all these guys dying and all kinds of crazy things happening. Yeah, bro, bodybuilding is pretty crazy. I mean, we all understand that there are no rules but i've never heard anybody say it the way you did you know like there's literally no regulation on any of it whatsoever so you can take whatever you want and i also think

it's very important that you said from what you were taking to now working with a good coach you're taking significantly less, looking better. I think that's very important. How often are you getting, like, blood work done? Every three months. You know, when I started working with this coach, the first thing he asked me was, your blood work. You know, I was like, wow.

I was so up and excited that he actually cared and asked for that. So that's a big thing for him as well. You know, so every three months I make sure I get my blood work And make sure everything Is in check And everything is good So yeah man You have to take it serious

Where can people find you Boogeyman You can find me On Instagram Blessing The Boogeyman Tick tock I do my little dance

On there too YouTube I'm on there too What YouTube, I'm on there too. What else? And I'm on this Chinese TikTok called WeChat. Really? Bro, I've been to Shanghai three times. I'm pretty famous out there, bro.

There's a guy today I met today. He goes, bro, you're so famous in China. I said, yeah, I know. Ni hao. Holy shit. Ni hao. Holy shit. Yeah, man. It's truly amazing and a blessing

to be able to do this and be able to meet all this amazing guys. Yo, like, I'm a big fan, you know, what you guys have done

in the sport of bodybuilding. How did I find about Mark? Your heart's always coming up everywhere. Facebook, Instagram. Mark Bell, Slingshot, this and that.

I'm like, who this guy? Then I started to look you up and I started to read about you. I'm like, yo, whoa, this is crazy. Then I started following you and your work and stuff. So you guys have done an amazing job. And you guys have brought the sport of bodybuilding to a whole other level. And it's pretty inspirational to see that, you know, somebody from poly thinking actually go out and create something as big as what you guys have done. You know, looking at that, that's inspiring me that, look, listen, I can do big things in this sport. You know, and that's how I always say to the young guys, like, look, listen, there's a lot of opportunity in fitness.

You know, if you do it the right way. If you understand social media, you can really do amazing things. You don't even need to take nothing. Stay natural. Once you understand marketing, if you can market yourself well, you understand social media, you can do amazing things. And I always try to tell the young guys that. Yeah, man, I'm trying, man. I'm climbing up, and'm trying to be like you guys you know thank you so much for your time

today amazing story that you shared with us really appreciate it thank you take us on out of here but absolutely thank you everybody for checking out today's episode the boogeyman gave you guys plenty of things to talk about so i want to hear what you guys think down in the comments below and if you guys are on itunes or spotify uh don't be shy come over to youtube and leave comments in the comment section and subscribe if you guys are on iTunes or Spotify, don't be shy. Come over to YouTube and leave comments in the comment section and subscribe. If you guys are not subscribed and turn on all those damn bell notifications

and follow the podcast at Mark Bell's Power Project on Instagram at MB Power Project on TikTok and Twitter. My Instagram and Twitter is at IamAndrewZ and Seema, where can people find you? I'm going to say now we're probably going to have a clips channel, so check that out pretty soon.

But I don't see me ending on Instagram. I'm going to say it. I haven't seen the yin yang on TikTok and Twitter. You aren't supposed to say it. I'm going to say now we're probably going to have a clips channel. So check that out pretty soon. But I don't see me ending on Instagram. I didn't see me yin yang on TikTok and Twitter. You aren't supposed to say it. I'm at Mark's Millie Bell.

Strength is never weakness. Weakness never strength. Catch you guys later.