by Christian Duque

Okay so for argument’s sake let’s talk about what ifs. People always love to talk about what ifs because it’s kind of like a fantasy, right? People like to compare bodybuilders from different eras using the power of the various different photo art applications and they love to talk about what if Dorian at his best had been able to go up against Jay at his best or what if Victor at his best went up against Derek at his best and so on and so forth.

This is one of the things that keeps bodybuilding fans entertained all throughout the year. It’s part of the interactive nature of the sport. And it’s something that you see oftentimes in the lull between the Olympia and the Arnold Classic. It’s a time when there aren’t a lot of shows going on and fans just want to be able to talk about muscle and all things related therein. But at the end of the day this sort of speculative type of conversation stops being speculation once the rubber meets the road. And that is why I want to talk about the idea of Krizo winning the Pittsburgh Pro.

While it isn’t a very likely outcome and it’s certainly not one that I think a lot of serious handicappers are considering, it’s one that I think has kept the fans on the edge of their seats. I would make this argument or at least this observation for a few different reasons. For starters, Krizo has been extremely active on social media, and that in and of itself makes him relevant and makes this point quite appropriate. Second of all, I would point to the fact of vascularity. People love to see veins and they love to see the freak factor. But also I would attribute the interest in that he is an international competitor and that also holds its own allure in muscle game. So let’s dive right into it and let’s talk about it.

I have to say that being active on social media is extremely important. I have often criticized past champions that have seriously missed this point. Right now if you were to poll most bodybuilding fans as to how they access bodybuilding media, I would venture to say that most people would say they do so with their cell phones. Desktop computers are basically a relic. Unless you work in an office job where your internet usage is not monitored, then you’re probably not going to be accessing bodybuilding websites, podcasts, or other social media type platforms from a desktop computer. Also even if your job doesn’t monitor your internet usage, chances are you’re still not going to use a desktop computer to access any of these platforms. Laptops are also becoming somewhat dated. Unless you use your laptop for work, then I don’t really think you’re going to carry it around, open it, find a Wi-Fi connection and log on to bodybuilding media.

I would say that the vast majority of bodybuilding fans who look up bodybuilding news are looking it up with their cell phones. And if that’s the question, then cell phones are in every single person’s pocket. They are accessed various times – and not even various times a day or various times during a part of the day – but they are accessed various times during every single hour that a person is awake and cognizant. Social media is very important.

Why is it so important? It’s important because people want instantaneous news. With the advent of cell phones and the advent of social media platforms on those cell phones, that was the death of print media. That was it! There was no coming back from that. It wasn’t the internet because the internet was around for a good 20 years before the magazines started dying off. The internet didn’t kill magazines. Social media killed magazines. Cell phones killed magazines, not the internet.

The internet alone only represented a slice of the bodybuilding fanbase. Many fans were totally fine being glued to the message boards, probably from their desktop computers or their laptops, and still bought their magazines. Not only did they still buy magazines, but they also subscribed to them. Again, cell phones and social media kiledl the magazines. Cell phones and the internet are what bodybuilding fans are glued to today. So it stands to reason that a guy like Krizo, who has been posting non-stop on his Road to Pittsburgh, is going to generate considerable buzz. That considerable buzz has now translated into a considerable fanbase. Whereas he was always considered a top guy in the fans’ eyes, he is now starting to look like a top guy in the promoters’ eyes. As soon as bodybuilding fans start buying tickets and start buying supplements because they support one particular athlete over the others, that particular athlete now has a much higher stock. Don’t believe me? Well look at who is making a guest appearance at the Pittsburgh! None other than Sam Sulek. Who is this guy? What major titles has he won? That’s not the point. He has become a social media superstar and now the president’s show must have him there. Money talks and bullshit walks.

So too will Krizo also be able to develop a tremendous amount of recognition from the promoters, and from the federation. The fans have already said their peace. And this is because he has been able to capture their interest and keep it. There is a lot of truth in that last statement. He has been able to capture their interest and he has been able to keep it. This is very important especially because of the fact that not only do bodybuilding fans want instantaneous news but they also want it non-stop. Once they’re glued they can’t unglue themselves. And Krizo has been able to tap into this very important social media phenomenon. Now, he is being talked about just as much as Derek, just as much as Nick or Martin, yet he has not won any major titles in his bodybuilding career. That is the power of social media. And he is going to be the reason why there are plenty more asses in seats. As a result of that, the judges will be torn as to whether or not they want to exclude Krizo from the first call out. Even if he doesn’t deserve to be in the first call out, they want to put him in the first call out because of the buzz he has created for his appearance at the show. That is my opinion. I have not spoken to a single judge, but I would bet my bottom dollar that this is going to be a major concern come the call-outs.

But more than that, more than the social media buzz, Krizo has showcased a tremendous amount of size and symmetry that will catapult him into everyone’s first call out. He has a ridiculous amount of vascularity that is his calling card with many bodybuilding-freak fans. They want to see veins everywhere. They want something similar to Paul Dillett. They want to see something that is going to totally gross out the mainstream public. Again, call it the freak factor or simply just call it a love for vascularity. Whatever you call it, Krizo delivers to a level that no other competitor has and maybe will in the future. I’m not saying that the other competitors will not be veiny as hell on stage, but veiny as hell onstage is one thing and veiny as hell – day after day on social media – is quite another. Krizo tapped into the ability to feed the content-starved bodybuilding audience by giving them a hit every single day. And that is something that other bodybuilding competitors going into the president’s show have failed to do. Nick, to his credit, has been posting quite a bit. Derek Lunsford and Martin Fitzwater as well. But after that, I haven’t really seen anywhere near as much content coming out from the other guys.

The bottom line is that social media is king. It isn’t just about putting out old pictures or pictures of food or pictures of gym equipment. You have to be a freak. You have to prepare yourself for social media, much along the same lines as you would prepare yourself for the stage. And that is something Krizo is doing. He is not merely releasing content all covered up in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, but he is showing the bodybuilding fans what a real freak is all about. And he’s not waiting until contest day to do it. Every day that he posts on social media is another opportunity for him to shock the living hell out of bodybuilding fans and that is exactly what he’s doing. And that is exactly why just a few days away from the president’s show you are not sitting here reading an article about Nick or Derek or Martin. You are sitting here reading an article about Krizo.

And along with the whole mystique of his constant social media postings and his seemingly better and better condition, improved size, and increased chances of winning, Krizo is also very much alluring to bodybuilding fans because of the fact that he is an international athlete. I don’t know what it is, but something about being from another country or maybe speaking a different language, creates a real underdog angle. Bodybuilding fans want to see a guy from abroad win. He may be from a distant land, but when he hits the stage in Pittsburgh, many fans are going to be rooting for him. Bodybuilding fans have always loved a longshot, an underdog, a blue collar bodybuilder. Who cares if the guy doesn’t speak English as well as the American athletes? Fans respect competitors that face some adversity and go to work!

So there you go, you’ve got a guy who has been posting religiously on social media, who makes himself look like an absolute freak for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and then you have this international factor that is just undeniable. Can Krizo win in Pittsburgh? I would say no. But what do most fans believe, What do most fans want to believe? Well, you know the answer to that. If Krizo actually did win, that would be a game-changer for his career and would give him the kind of buzz that you just can’t get anywhere else. If Krizo won Pittsburgh, everybody and their mother would be looking to him to be your 2025 Mr. Olympia. Where do you think Krizo will place? And as always, thank you for reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments.