“Sick of All the People Dying”: Bodybuilding Icon Who Once Beat Cancer Makes a Bold Statement on Falling Out of Love With the Sport

Right as the 80s were about to end, Dennis Newman started his meteoric rise in the sport of bodybuilding. Dennis ‘Inhuman’ Newman was into sports since he was a teen and simultaneously developed his skill as a surfer and weightlifter. However as his physique developed, Newman chose to pursue bodybuilding. While he seemed destined for greatness in the early 90s, however, leukemia landed a massive blow to his bodybuilding career.

On July 17, the cancer survivor appeared on Dennis James’s The Menace podcast. During the podcast, the 1994 Mr. USA talked about his short-lived, tumultuous bodybuilding career. Newman also spoke about defeating cancer, making a comeback, his passion for surfing, and the reason he quit bodybuilding. 

When bodybuilding was no longer Dennis Newman’s cup of tea

After retiring, most pro bodybuilders remain attached to the sport they loved in some capacity. However, the former Mr. USA is among the few exceptions who do not follow the sport anymore. When Dennis James told co-host Milos Sarcev about Newman’s lack of interest in the sport today, the former Mr. Universe was “shocked.”

Milos Sarcev said he was surprised because bodybuilding had been Newman’s passion since he discovered his talent through weight training. So the bodybuilding coach asked why the former bodybuilding star lost interest in the sport. While many think Newman had lost the edge after leukemia and stopped competing because he suffered a career-ending pec tear in 1996 during his comeback, that might not be the case.

The bodybuilding icon had a different explanation. “You know what I got sick of all the people dying,” Newman told Milos Sarcev and the other hosts. The former NPC champion also cited the advent of the mass monster era as another reason for falling out of love with bodybuilding. Just like surfing made him feel at one with nature, Newman appreciated the “artistic” side of bodybuilding. Yet the times were changing.

Dorian Yates and the mass monster era

“Once it got into the Dorian scene and stuff, it got like just got out of my cup of tea,” said the former bodybuilder. The man who now travels the world to pursue the best surfing waves said the mass monster era was not for him. While he rose to fame in the early 90s, Newman fell in love with bodybuilding during the golden era. In the mid-90s Dorian Yates had firmly established himself as the original mass monster.

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While Newman was making waves in the local scene, 8x Mr. Olympia Lee Haney dominated the Olympia stage. However, after Haney, Dorian Yates wore the Mr. Olympia crown for six years in a row. During that period, Yates brought unmatched muscularity to the stage. While bodybuilders like Haney walked around weighing 260 lbs during the off-season, Yates competed at that weight. Hence to challenge the English champion, everyone also followed suit. Thus began the mass monster era that permanently changed the sport.

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