Gustavo Badell – Bodybuilder Profile

The Freakin’ Rican!

By Ron Harris
Copyright © 2007 FlexFlix.com. All Rights Reserved.

We all love underdogs, the ones with the cards stacked against them who struggle against all odds and prevail through hard work, dogged persistence, and belief in themselves even when no one else does. It’s the basic premise behind so many feel-good movies like Rocky, The Karate Kid, and Rudy. The sport of bodybuilding has its own tale of an underdog who came out of nowhere and made his dreams come true in the form of Gustavo Badell. Toiling in the shadows of obscurity and facing defeat again and again, he shocked the bodybuilding world by suddenly emerging as one of the best pro’s in the game. With nearly 250 pounds of dense, powerful muscle mass at 5-8, his is one of the most massive physiques in recent years, thick and striated from every angle. Today, Gustavo’s rise to the top continues, as he is one of the front-runners chasing down Ronnie Coleman for the Mr. Olympia title.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Gustavo Badell back in the fall of 1992, because it was also the first and only time I have visited the beautiful island of Jamaica. I was there to cover the IFBB Caribbean and Central American Championships (known as the CAC for short – the most notable pro it has produced thus far is Darrem Charles of Trinidad) for the ESPN American Muscle show. The 19-year-old originally from Caracas, Venezuela was 5-8 and 170 pounds. Young Badell was certainly not a mass monster (that would come later), but his lines, shape, and advanced look of ‘muscle maturity’ put him in an entirely different league than the other Juniors, aged 21 and under. And though teens are often lacking in condition, this kid was sliced to ribbons. He won the middleweights and Overall Junior title with ease. Little did I know I had just seen a bodybuilder that would one day be in the top three at the Mr. Olympia contest two years in a row, perhaps even a future Mr. Olympia.

As a teenager living in Puerto Rico, Gustavo was an amateur boxer hoping to turn professional like his idols Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. His coach still believed in the old myth that weights would ruin his speed and flexibility, so the only strength training Badell did was push-ups, dips, and chin-ups. By age eighteen he was a wiry but muscular 5-7, 140, with 16-inch arms. After a few amateur matches, his coach decided he would be better off moving up a weight class, and at last gave the green light to some weight training. Two months later, he had indeed gained ten pounds of muscle, and over an inch on his arms. The Arnold-like biceps peaks he has today began to emerge, and friends and strangers alike began to comment on them. Gustavo was at a crossroads as to whether or not he wanted to continue boxing, and soon threw his gloves away forever. "I had to be honest with myself. I was good, but I was not great. I knew I wasn’t good enough to go to the Olympics or to fight internationally, so there would never be any money in fighting for me. And plus, I saw all these guys who had been boxing for years. Their faces were all deformed and scarred, and they had these cauliflower ears. Some of them, the ones who had been fighting a long time, seemed a little slow from being punched in the head a million times. I decided I wanted to become a champion bodybuilder. It seemed as if that was my true destiny."

Gustavo began training in earnest at a bare bones training den called Iron Gym, his training partner another young guy also named Gustavo. The basics were all he had access to, and they were exactly what his growing body thrived on. Squats, bench presses, rows, deadlifts, chin-ups, dips, and military presses helped him pack on muscle fast, and they continue to form the core of his workouts to this day. He began competing, at first representing his homeland of Venezuela that he had left behind as a child. Winning various titles as a Junior, young Badell knew it was time to head stateside. "I knew that in America there were better gyms, better supplements, everything that would help me do what I wanted to do. Bodybuilding in Puerto Rico was about ten or twelve years behind the USA in most ways." For two years he lived in Dover, New Jersey, learning as much as he could about training and nutrition and competing in a couple regional NPC shows. Then a two-month stay in Orlando changed everything. He met a gorgeous young lady named Jessica Rodriguez who was there on vacation, and struck up a romance before she returned to her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Since he had family in San Juan himself, it was an easy decision to follow her. Representing his new home, Gustavo won the Heavyweights and Overall at the 1997 Caribbean and Central American Championships at a ripped 225 pounds, earning his pro card.

After a little runaround in which the IFBB tried to get him to compete in the CAC and win again before they would grant him professional status, Gustavo joined the ranks of those who flex for pay. Over the next few years, he would flounder in his placings as a newcomer, sometimes never getting a single callout. "It was a tough time," he recalls. "I would train and diet so hard, do all my cardio and get in shape, then I would barely get a look from the judges. I felt invisible, insignificant. It was depressing. People would come up after the show and tell me I looked great, that the judges just didn’t know who I was because I wasn’t from America and wasn’t in the magazines. US National champions always get more attention, whereas foreign bodybuilders need a contract and extensive exposure. But it was frustrating because I didn’t know what to do, and nobody would tell me."

Gustavo did formulate somewhat of a plan. Though he didn’t often place well, he used each contest as a learning experience, closely studying the top four or five men to see exactly that they did and how they carried themselves. He also signed a modest contract with MuscleTech in 2000 that put him in all the major magazines each month in their ads. Things were starting to look up, but a major piece of the puzzle was still missing – the extra level of conditioning that today’s pro’s absolutely must have or else be doomed to the lower tier of the scoresheets.

Veteran pro Milos Sarcev recognized the dormant potential in this young man from Puerto Rico and offered to help him with his nutritional knowledge and the experience he had gained competing in over 70 IFBB events. But because Milos was competing against him, Gustavo was wary. "I don’t trust anyone so easily, especially when they are essentially a rival. But we kept talking at the shows, and I eventually saw he was a nice, sincere guy with good intentions. Finally at the 2003 Olympia, I asked for his help." It turned out to be one of the best decisions of his career, since Sarcev has helped others such as Kris Dim, Mustafa Mohammed, and Dennis James take their conditioning to the next level.

Shortly after the weekend in Las Vegas, Badell and Sarcev began working on his preparation for the 2004 Pro Ironman. "Milos shared with me his wealth of knowledge about nutrition, supplementation, training, and cardio. I knew a lot about these things already, but there is always more to know, and Milos is one of the most intelligent men in the sport by far." Gustavo’s diet was revamped, with more protein and less carbs, and a new strategy for carbing up in the final week. They kept in touch via telephone and e-mail, with Gustavo sending photos every week to gauge his progress. The result? When the lineup stalked onstage at the Pro Ironman, it was no longer a case of "who’s that guy, is he new or something?" It was more like, "holy crap, check out that freaking huge, ripped dude, he looks awesome!" At 5-7 and a contest weight of 234, Badell had always carried plenty of thick muscle, with his arms and hamstrings being especially good. The missing ingredient had simply been conditioning, and now it was spot-on. Gustavo went beyond normal separations and striations and into that grainy, dry look that Dorian Yates made famous and that only a few men ever seem to achieve. With that, he thundered into third place behind Dexter Jackson and Lee Priest. All of a sudden, Badell was a bona fide player in this game. Though he had competed in sixteen pro shows up to that point, this was the one where we all sat up and took notice of Gustavo Badell.

Gustavo had been competing as a pro for five years, but it was in 2004 that he vaulted into stardom at last. The condition he showed at the Pro Ironman could have been a fluke, a one-time flash of luck that was never repeated. It’s happened in our sport more times than I can remember, especially among guys that win the USA or Nationals and never quite look that good ever again. But at the 2004 Mr. Olympia, Badell served notice that he was a serious contender. He showed up shredded and dry at 245 pounds, and was pushing Dexter Jackson hard for the third place spot behind Ronnie and Jay all through the prejudging. Then, at the evening finals, things took a turn to his advantage in the newly created Challenge Round, where competitors had the opportunity to put their best poses up against those of their rivals in the top six. Gustavo managed to leapfrog past The Blade and earned the bronze behind reigning Mr. O Ronnie Coleman and his perennial challenger, Jay Cutler. This was quite an improvement over where he had placed two years prior in his only other Mr. Olympia appearance – a dismal 24^th! This began the controversy over the Challenge Round that caused it to be a separate contest-within-a-contest that had no impact on the final outcome, and to be eliminated entirely after its second iteration in 2005, when Gustavo managed to actually beat both Ronnie and Jay for first place en route to taking third again in the Mr. Olympia for the second consecutive year. The judges that chose Gustavo as the champion in the 2005 Challenge Round were all former Mr. Olympia winners.

2005 was another pivotal year also because he won his first pro show at last, and it happened to be the season-opener of our sport, the Pro Ironman. A week later, he took third at the prestigious Arnold Classic behind Dexter Jackson and Chris Cormier. It was also the year he signed a publishing contract with Muscular Development magazine and began his column, "The Freakin’ Rican," which gave him a monthly outlet to voice his comments and views on the sport and his fellow pro’s. In 2006, Gustavo had a last-minute illness that caused him to flatten and smooth out for the Arnold Classic, but managed to rally in time to narrowly edge out Branch Warren the following weekend and score his second pro victory in San Francisco.

Gustavo Badell may be the most misunderstood of all modern pro’s. Comments he has made in his MD column as well as personal challenges thrown out to Ronnie Coleman at the 2005 Mr. Olympia press conference have earned him a reputation as a cocky loudmouth, but this is not an accurate assessment of Badell at all. "This is not a team sport," he explains. "Only one man can be the winner in a bodybuilding contest. I train hard, do all my cardio, and diet hard to win. You have to believe you can win to do those things to the best of your ability. If you don’t think you can win, why are you competing?" The most hostility and mocking have resulted from Gustavo’s assertions that he can take out the big man, eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. But Gustavo sincerely insists that he is not the arrogant and disrespectful upstart some want to portray him as. "I am confident, not cocky, and there is a difference," he says. "Ronnie Coleman is a man, just like I am. He is a great champion, but he can be beaten. Ronnie’s flaws were exposed in the Challenge Round when I beat him in 2005. His abs and calves have never been very good, his triceps are starting to shrink, and he can have a problem with his belly protruding if he comes in too heavy. I know in my heart that if I continue to improve and come in at my best, I can become Mr. Olympia."

Once you really get to know Gustavo Badell as I have been fortunate enough to over the years, you realize that his motivations are far more noble than those of most bodybuilders, who compete for fame, glory, riches, and ego. Gustavo wants to win not for himself, but for his family: wife Jessica, and children Gustavo Jr, 16, and Barbie Ann, 6. "Everything I do, I do for them," he tells us. "I want to provide for them and make sure my children have a secure future. I don’t buy fancy cars or jewelry, because I think that’s selfish. If anything, I spoil my wife and kids, because they deserve it. I love them to death, and they are the most important things in my life. I would give up bodybuilding in a heartbeat if I had to choose that or my family." He also has a beloved nephew in Puerto Rico named Charlie, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. For years, Gustavo took him along to the gym and personally supervised his workouts. "People told me not to waste my time because he would never learn, but he surprised them all. Charlie’s form is excellent, and he’s also my biggest fan." In the interest of improving the quality of life for his family, Gustavo packed up and left Puerto Rico in 2005 for Las Vegas. "I love Puerto Rico," he states. "It’s a beautiful place and it’s full of the Latin culture that defines who I am. My heart will always be there. But it was also getting to be a dangerous place, and the schools are better in America." The Badell family settled into a lovely home in Las Vegas. For the first time in his over twelve years as a bodybuilder, Gustavo no longer had to work as a personal trainer and could focus entirely on being a professional athlete. "It’s a wonderful thing and I feel truly blessed," he says. "I have my beautiful home, the gym is just ten minutes away, and I have more time now to spend with my family. That is the best part."

Gustavo Badell is carrying on the tradition of Latin bodybuilding stars of the past such as Sergio Oliva, Lee Labrada, Freddie Ortiz, and Danny Padilla. As you might imagine, his fan base in Spanish-speaking nations is substantial. But the Freakin’ Rican inspires bodybuilders everywhere, regardless of the language they speak, the nation they call home, or the color of their skin. He is a throwback to old-school values: hard and heavy training with free weights, and making your family your top priority. Most importantly, his success in professional bodybuilding is a testimony that by believing in yourself and refusing to give up, you can make your dreams come true and go from a ‘nobody’ to a star. He’s a lot more than huge muscles, he’s a man with a lot of heart and passion for his sport, and the best of Gustavo Badell is still to come.

1990 Junior Caribbean Winner

1992 IFBB Central American

and Caribbean Championships Junior Champion, Middleweight winner

1994 NPC Powerhouse Classic (MA) Heavyweight winner

1997 World Amateur Championships 10^th, Heavyweights

1997 IFBB Central American

and Caribbean Championships Heavyweight and Overall (earned pro status)

1998 Grand Prix Germany 9^th place

1999 Night of Champions Did not place

1999 Grand Prix England 17^th place

1999 World Pro 14^th place

2000 Ironman Pro 18^th place

2000 Night of Champions Did not place

2000 Toronto Pro Did not place

2000 World Pro 11^th place

2001 Ironman Pro 16^th place

2001 San Francisco Pro 11^th place

2001 Grand Prix England Did not place

2002 Ironman Pro 13^th place

2002 Night of Champions 10^th place

2002 Toronto Pro 3^rd place

2002 Southwest Pro Cup 6^th place

2002 Mr. Olympia 24^th place

2004 Arnold Classic 7^th place

2004 San Francisco Pro 4^th place

2004 GNC Show of Strength 3^rd place

2004 Mr. Olympia 3^rd place

2005 Ironman Pro Winner

2005 Arnold Classic 3^rd place

2005 Mr. Olympia 3^rd place

2005 Challenge Round Winner

2006 Arnold Classic 4^th place

2006 San Francisco Pro Winner

Day one: Biceps and triceps

Day two: Quads and calves

Day three: Chest

Day four: Back

Day five: Hamstrings and calves

Day six: Shoulders

Monday: Shoulders and biceps

Tuesday: Chest, calves, abs

Wednesday: Quads (A.M.)

Hams (P.M.)

Thursday: OFF

Friday: Back, calves

Saturday: Triceps and traps

Sunday: OFF