Present Day Levrone and Shawn Ray

Kevin Levrone’s latest posing routine (about mid-way through the video. Yeah. It’s really him).

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?qid=75710&tid=

Shawn Ray’s New DVD about getting fat and then getting jacked again. Well, Fat for Shawn Ray. I didn’t think he really looked that different than he does in the off season at the beginning of ‘The Final Countdown.’

I think they’re marketing this video all wrong. Will Shawn Ray be able to get in shape again? Of course. Yeah, most people can’t get in shape at 40. Most people can’t finish in the top 5 at the Mr. Olympia for a Decade either. No suspense.

that levrone vid is funny. I saw him in person last summer at a show and was surprised at how much he had slimmed down. Guess he’s got different priorities now.

i wouldnt say shawn ray is obese, if he’s obese, i probably should call the fire fighters to knock a wall down and help get me into an ambulance

[quote]robo1 wrote:
that levrone vid is funny. I saw him in person last summer at a show and was surprised at how much he had slimmed down. Guess he’s got different priorities now.[/quote]

I can’t understand why or how he’d lose over 100 pounds of lean mass. I wounder if he still works out at all. I know in his training videos he said that he’d either train all the time and focus only on preparing for the Olympia or he wouldn’t set foot in the gym at all: if he was gonna do something he’d do it 100%.

stop working out. stop taking steroids. Stop eating protein. He hasn’t competed in about 5 years now

[quote]jtg987 wrote:
i wouldnt say shawn ray is obese, if he’s obese, i probably should call the fire fighters to knock a wall down and help get me into an ambulance[/quote]

That was one weak useage of BMI. There is no way he was much over 15%-20% in that video of 2006…and he was probably less than that. It sounds good and will make his “transformation” (which, for him is cake) look better, but that damn sure wasn’t the truth.

[quote]robo1 wrote:
that levrone vid is funny. I saw him in person last summer at a show and was surprised at how much he had slimmed down. Guess he’s got different priorities now.[/quote]

It is amazing the human body can even do that. Even weirder is that it would take him less than 4-6 months to get back to where he was.

[quote]robo1 wrote:
stop working out. stop taking steroids. Stop eating protein. He hasn’t competed in about 5 years now[/quote]

But why would you stop lifting if it’s been such a huge part of your life? I don’t think any other retired pro has dropped off like that. I know it sounds like I’m just some internet forum guy busting his balls from the safety of my desk. I’m not. I understand the argument of ‘all or nothing’ in regards to what he does or doesn’t do in the gym, but I can’t empathize.

I would have thought that Levrone would have ended up like Dorian Yates: still in sick shape. But if Levrone feels like he needs to be putting his energy elsewhere to get what he wants out of life, then I’m sure he’ll succeed if he puts in the same drive he had when he was competing in shows.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
robo1 wrote:
stop working out. stop taking steroids. Stop eating protein. He hasn’t competed in about 5 years now

But why would you stop lifting if it’s been such a huge part of your life? I don’t think any other retired pro has dropped off like that. I know it sounds like I’m just some internet forum guy busting his balls from the safety of my desk. I’m not. I understand the argument of ‘all or nothing’ in regards to what he does or doesn’t do in the gym, but I can’t empathize.

I would have thought that Levrone would have ended up like Dorian Yates: still in sick shape. But if Levrone feels like he needs to be putting his energy elsewhere to get what he wants out of life, then I’m sure he’ll succeed if he puts in the same drive he had when he was competing in shows. [/quote]

The dude wants to be an actor. Let him be one if he can. If you stay big and ripped, you get typecast as a bouncer, bodyguard or a random dumbass jock, especially in this day and age where Toby McGwire can get chosen to play a super strong super hero.

Michael Clarke Duncan is the first big actor I’ve seen make that work for him recently since the 80’s…and according to press, he is now down to about 260lbs now…after weighing as much as 320-340lbs for Daredevil.

Agreed. A pro bodybuilding physique is probably more of a liability in Hollywood these day than it used to be. He�??s likely getting more work with an average build than he would as some muscular novelty

Without the pro-bber build, whats his selling point though? He’s no steve reeves (who himself did not have much success beyond the sword and sandals movs) or Dave draper. He also doesn;t have the hard-boiled appeal of Arnold, AND the guy is on the short side (5’9"). So if he gets down to 5’9" 210 - he’s just looking at second string negative roles anyway.

You have to have something that works for you and be proud of what youve got.
IIRC Mike Matarazzo tried his hand at acting (auditoned for some roles) and the dude had a very handsome face, but decided not to drop the mass to appeal to a wider audience.

[quote]robo1 wrote:
Agreed. A pro bodybuilding physique is probably more of a liability in Hollywood these day than it used to be. He�??s likely getting more work with an average build than he would as some muscular novelty[/quote]

[quote]robo1 wrote:
Agreed. A pro bodybuilding physique is probably more of a liability in Hollywood these day than it used to be. He�??s likely getting more work with an average build than he would as some muscular novelty[/quote]

True. But it’s really trippy thinking back to when he was near 300lbs working out with Shawn Ray on that Flex Show they had in the 90s. Both of them were wearing the striped singlets and workboots.

Now Kevin, arguably the best Bodybuilder of all Time at his peak, is 90 pounds lighter and is poking fun at himself. It’s just weird. It definatly makes more sense for Kevin Levrone to look the way he does as an actor, but you gotta admit that the transformation unheard of.

[quote]tribunaldude wrote:
Without the pro-bber build, whats his selling point though? He’s no steve reeves (who himself did not have much success beyond the sword and sandals movs) or Dave draper. He also doesn;t have the hard-boiled appeal of Arnold, AND the guy is on the short side (5’9"). So if he gets down to 5’9" 210 - he’s just looking at second string negative roles anyway.

[/quote]

maybe he focusing on developing and highlighting his acting abilities and wants to do something other than action hero or tough guy roles. who knows. he seems like a pretty smart guy, and from what i’ve read he takes his pursuit of acting very seriously. im sure he knows what he’s doing.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
True. But it’s really trippy thinking back to when he was near 300lbs working out with Shawn Ray on that Flex Show they had in the 90s. Both of them were wearing the striped singlets and workboots.

Now Kevin, arguably the best Bodybuilder of all Time at his peak, is 90 pounds lighter and is poking fun at himself. It’s just weird. It definatly makes more sense for Kevin Levrone to look the way he does as an actor, but you gotta admit that the transformation unheard of. [/quote]

I know where you’re coming from. Its definitely wierd to see him look like a normal human being when we are so used to seeing him as superhuman on stage. And I guess if you exclude guys who had health problems like francois, wheeler, and guys who fell out of shape when they became elderly, levrone’s transformation it is a bit unusual

[quote]Professor X wrote:

Michael Clarke Duncan is the first big actor I’ve seen make that work for him recently since the 80’s…and according to press, he is now down to about 260lbs now…after weighing as much as 320-340lbs for Daredevil.
[/quote]

I was gonna say Terry Crews as well, but I guess he’s not really a ‘big’ actor in terms of popularity, but he has shitloads of secondary roles in a lot of big movies.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Now Kevin, arguably the best Bodybuilder of all Time at his peak, is 90 pounds lighter and is poking fun at himself. It’s just weird. It definatly makes more sense for Kevin Levrone to look the way he does as an actor, but you gotta admit that the transformation unheard of. [/quote]

I did think it was weird to see how different he looked, but you have to appreciate that he has a good sense of humor about himself.

On the other hand, I didn’t even think Shawn Ray looked bad. I agree that was a terrible use of BMI.

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
Now Kevin, arguably the best Bodybuilder of all Time at his peak, is 90 pounds lighter and is poking fun at himself. It’s just weird. It definatly makes more sense for Kevin Levrone to look the way he does as an actor, but you gotta admit that the transformation unheard of.

I did think it was weird to see how different he looked, but you have to appreciate that he has a good sense of humor about himself.

On the other hand, I didn’t even think Shawn Ray looked bad. I agree that was a terrible use of BMI.
[/quote]

Yeah. Levrone’s sense of humor about it is pretty awesome.

Look at Shawn at the beginning of this video coming out of his yearly bulk. At the start of his “Back in Shape” video you can almost make out the faint outline of some abs. I’m sure he was “obese” when he was ripped as all hell.

Levrone’s legs looked out of place in that (funny) video. He may still be hitting the gym but he sure ain’t doing his legs anymore. I doubt he’ll get many movie roles where he has to wear shorts or briefs so why bother, right?

Wow… Wasnt expecting to see Levrone sooo small. Talk about different priorities. I get that he is pursuing different things now, but I cant imagine being that hardcore about BBing, and then seemingly stopping all together, he doesnt even look like he works out at all. I get antsy after taking a week off every 3 or 4 months. Who knows how I’ll feel after 15 - 20 years of it though.

As for Shawn Ray, while he definitely wasnt in contest shape, he looked damn good for 40, and a few short months of doing what he used to do should have him looking great again. Definitely not obese, and probably not even out of shape.

[quote]BF Bullpup wrote:
Levrone’s legs looked out of place in that (funny) video. He may still be hitting the gym but he sure ain’t doing his legs anymore. I doubt he’ll get many movie roles where he has to wear shorts or briefs so why bother, right?[/quote]

I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t been in the gym since the last Olympia. Even though he’s lost 100 pounds of muscle, you can tell from his back that he’s got a shape to him he’ll never lose no matter what his bodyweight is.