Flex Wheeler

For the Canadian musician, see Kenny Wheeler.
Kenneth Wheeler
— Bodybuilder —
Personal info
Nickname Flex
The Sultan of Symmetry
Born August 23, 1965
Fresno, California, U.S.
Height 5'9"[1]
Weight (On-season) 210-225 lbs.(106 kg)
(Off-season) 265-275 lbs. (122 kg)
Professional career
Pro-debut IFBB World Amateur Championships, 1990
Best win IFBB Arnold Classic Champion, 1993, 1997, 1998, and 2000
Predecessor Vince Taylor
Successor Kevin Levrone (1994)
Ronnie Coleman (2001)
Active Retired 2001

Kenneth "Flex" Wheeler (born August 23, 1965) is a retired American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He won the Arnold Classic a then-record four times and was once described by Arnold Schwarzenegger as one of the greatest bodybuilders he had ever seen.[2] Ronnie Coleman said that Flex Wheeler was the best bodybuilder he competed against.

Biography

Early life

Wheeler grew up in poverty in Fresno, California.[3] As a child, Wheeler experienced child abuse and suicidal tendencies. He struggled in school due to dyslexia, but excelled in sports. Wheeler began training in martial arts, and started bodybuilding as a teenager after discovering weight training. He is on record as regarding himself as a "martial artist first, a bodybuilder second".[4] Wheeler has remarkable flexibility, including being able to do a complete split, which led to his nickname.

Bodybuilding career

After a short career as a police officer, Wheeler focused full-time on becoming a professional bodybuilder. He competed for the first time in 1983, but it was not until 1989 that he secured a first-place trophy at the NPC Mr. California Championships. He placed second at the 1993 Mr. Olympia, narrowly missing a win (something he was to repeat in 1998 and 1999). He is a 5-time Ironman Pro winner, 4-time Arnold Classic winner, and has won the France Grand Prix, South Beach Pro Invitational, Night of Champions, and Hungarian Grand Prix.

While Wheeler had the reputation of being arrogant and overconfident, he attributed this to a need to compensate for his introversion and insecurity as a child and young man.[5] In 1994, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident that could have left him with lifelong paralysis. Falling back into depression again, he started training from scratch, returning with remarkable speed to bodybuilding's top tier. In 1999, Wheeler discovered that he had focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a form of kidney disease. Despite press speculation as to the cause of the failure, Wheeler pointed out that the condition is hereditary, not a result of drug use. Wheeler announced his retirement from competitive bodybuilding in 2000, but continued to compete until 2002.

Post-retirement

After retirement, Wheeler focused again on martial arts, his favorite being Kemp-Kwon-Do, a variant of Kempo, Tae Kwon Do, and Aikido. In 2003, he received a kidney transplant; he then went on to participate in a demonstration fight at the 2005 Arnold Classic. In 2007, Flex was interviewed by freelance journalist Rod Labbe for Ironman Magazine's Legends of Bodybuilding series. Entitled "Yesterday and Today", it covers his extensive career and reveals how people can conquer adversity and triumph against incredible odds. Wheeler served in an executive position as the Director of Media and Public Relations for the sports nutrition company All American EFX, based out of Bakersfield, California. He also managed their sponsored athletes and can be seen in advertisements for the company.

Stats

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.criticalbench.com/Flex-Wheeler.htm retrieved December 3, 2008
  2. ↑ http://www.hayhouse.com/authorbio.php?id=95
  3. ↑ Flex, Wheeler; Cindy Pearlman (May 2003) [2003]. Flex Ability: A Story of Strength and Survival. Hay House. ISBN 978-1-4019-0173-8.
  4. ↑ http://martialarts.about.com/od/famousmartialartists/a/kflexw.htm
  5. ↑ Bodybuilding.com - Pro Bodybuilding Worldwide Radio

External links