After Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bold promise to supersede the Mr. Olympia prize money next year, the buzz refuses to die down. Now, the 2024 Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jay Cutler has shown what he won as a three-time Arnold Classic champion. This is the first time the champion has done it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer feels obliged to follow the rule of offering less prize money than the Mr. Olympia. However, Jay Cutler showed how the bodybuilding legend has ingeniously offered more than the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding for decades. While receiving less money than the Olympia, Arnold Classic winners got watches and cars.

Jay Cutler shows off his priceless prize

Cutler’s ‘Guide for Massive Thighs’ didn’t start in the gym. Instead, the four-time Mr. Olympia started it by giving his fans a rare glimpse of his Arnold Classic winnings. The bodybuilder admitted to not fully appreciating what he had won back in the day, but with time, he has come to treasure his Arnold Classic victories.

The 50-year-old former Mr. Olympia opened a hefty metal box with ‘T3’ engraved on it. “So this is a T3 piece, okay. Audemars… This is one of 799,” said Jay Cutler. Since Arnold Schwarzenegger loves Audemars Piguet, he gave one to every Arnold Classic winner as a prize. Cutler’s T3 was a limited edition Royal Oak Offshore that celebrated Arnie’s appearance as The Terminator in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).

He then showed a 1:1 scale model of a yellow Hummer H2. The Hummer was the result of Arnold’s efforts to make the Military Humvee available for civilians. As a three-time Arnold Classic champion, Jay Cutler won three H2s. Finally, the bodybuilding icon showed a letter by the late Jim Lorimer.

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Dated March 10, 2003, Lorimer congratulated Jay Cutler for winning the prestigious show. Along with the letter, the former Mr. Olympia also showed his 100,00 grand check from March 15, 2004. Cutler won a total of $300,000 as a three-time champion. While that’s equal to what Hadi Choopan won as the 2024 champion, Lorimer’s letters and limited edition watches are priceless. In fact, Cutler’s greatest rival, Ronnie Coleman, competed in the Arnold Classic for one such prize.

Ronnie Coleman didn’t just do it for the money

In 2001, Ronnie Coleman became the first bodybuilder to win the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia in the same calendar year. While Coleman made history, one of his biggest motivations for participating in the Arnold Classic was the Hummer. Decades later, in 2023, Coleman confessed that he wanted to win a yellow Hummer.

While Coleman capitalized on the opportunity to make history, he also wanted to own the iconic SUV Arnold Schwarzenegger manifested. Hence, it’s no surprise that despite the Arnold Classic now challenging Olympia’s dominance as the premier bodybuilding competition, even past champions like Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman treasure their experience.

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