Four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler will be making his first venture to the Island with stops in Nanaimo today and Victoria on Sunday, speaking to fans at Popeye's Supplements.
In fact, some lucky fans will win an opportunity to work out with the Sterling, Massachusetts, native, who now lives in Las Vegas.
"This is what I love to do," said the 39-year-old who won Mr. Olympia bodybuilding titles in 2006-07 and 2009-10, wrestling it back from 2008 victor Dexter Jackson. "Promoting the BPI brands of supplements, actually travelling through the U.S. on a tour bus weekly ... I obviously meet some great fans, greeting them and talking to them about doing what I did.
"Anyone is capable. I came from a small town in Massachusetts with 6,000 people. I came from nothing and became something really, really great. If you put your mind to it, a lot of people can achieve things they never thought possible."
Cutler, who did not compete last season due to a torn bicep, started bodybuiliding in his college days, and it escalated into competition.
"The next thing you know, I was winning everything and achieved professional status on my first attempt, and it snowballed from there," said Cutler, who didn't win his first Mr. Olympia until he was 31.
A featured bodybuilder on numerous fitness magazines such as Muscle Fitness and Muscular Development, Cutler's arms measure an amazing 22 inches, larger than most people's thighs. He stands five-foot-10 and weighs 290 pounds in the off-season and 260 during competition. His chest is a massive 58 inches.
Cutler is the man known for finally dethroning 1998-2005 Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. After earning his title back in 2009, he lost it in 2011 to current two-time holder, friend and training partner Phil Heath.
Winning in 2006 was a highlight for Cutler.
"I lost the title in 2008, came back in 2009 and won it and was the first one to do that in history," Cutler said. "I'm sure 2013 will be one of my greatest achievements, when I come back and win it again.
"You want it back more than ever - regroup and make another run at it," he said, referring to 2008. "I proved to a lot of people who said I couldn't do it. It was very rewarding."
Cutler has became one of the most famous and popular Mr. Olympias, right up there with Franco Columbu, Frank Zane and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ran off successive titles from 1970 to '75 and won again in 1980 before moving on to motion pictures.
Cutler's popularity as a four-time winner and six-time runnerup, some say, rivals that of Schwarzenegger, who went on to become the governor of California.
"He is the most famous bodybuilder of the 2000s, basically Arnold of the new generation," said Popeye's owner Chris Kinnear.
Cutler will be at the Nanaimo store today from 1 to 4 p.m. and Sunday in Victoria from 1 to 4 p.m.
