Flex Wheeler considers himself a martial artist primarily. Although he is renowned as a bodybuilder, he first learned martial arts before finding an interest in weight training. Martial Arts itself is very different from bodybuilding. But Flex was able to swiftly transit. However, he always believed that he had a deep-rooted connection with the art form, which he discussed in a recent interview with Jay Cutler.
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The retired bodybuilder has been a four-time Arnold Classic winner and was considered one of the best to ever exist by the OG Arnold Schwarzenegger. Flex Wheeler is also famous for being very close to defeating the legend Ronnie Coleman in 1998’s Mr. Olympia. But Flex did not regret it as he knew he had not given his everything into the competition.
Bodybuilder Flex Wheeler shared his thoughts on martial art
In the recent video, Wheeler expressed that behind every bodybuilder’s oozing confidence lies a sexually abused or beaten up child. Before entering his teenage years, Flex learned martial arts. He was supposed to hit people during practice; he did not.
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He expressed his fear by saying;
“I fought in martial arts but I couldn’t bring myself to hit someone because I was afraid I would break their nose or ribs. So I would just take the a** whooping because it didn’t hurt.”
Flex was so scared that he thought hitting people in the back would hurt less. Looking at his struggles to become a fighter, he developed a self-created character, Flex Wheeler, who was not afraid to fight. Gradually, he prioritized the character so much that he became famous by that name.
Wheeler’s mental health issues forced him to change.
The bodybuilder legend also opened up about his mental health issues in the video. Wheeler had dark thoughts that made him attempt suicide as well. His thoughts did not let him sleep at night. In the video, he shared his thoughts;
“I couldn’t go to sleep because I had dark thoughts about dying. I wondered when people who passed away realized they were not here anymore”
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Wheeler realized that he did not love himself enough to come out of his struggling mental health. Soon he decided not to bear the fear in his mind anymore. He made his fear his biggest and promised to live wholeheartedly.
