Wheeler is the recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Arnold Sports Festival. As 2023 began, Wheeler shared with his fans the sentiments he has been feeling upon receiving the honor.

In September 2022, Arnold Sports took to its official Twitter handle to announce the recipient of the award. They dubbed Wheeler’s physique from the 1993 Arnold Classic as “one of the greatest physiques to ever grace the bodybuilding stage.” Resharing the post from September on his account now, Flex wrote about his incredible journey so far.

Flex Wheeler gets emotional about receiving one of the greatest honors

On 1st January 2023, Kenneth “Flex” Wheeler took to his Instagram to get candid with his fans about his struggles. He started by talking about the award he’ll be receiving. “THIS IS GOING TO BE SO EPIC. Water 💧 works will be on FULL display 🥹 Tears of joy for sure😭”, he wrote. He then spoke about how tough his life has been. “My life has not been easy as most of you know. Over a 100 surgeries, and still have more set for 2023,” said the 4x Arnold Classic Champion.

Wheeler has FSGS, one of the deadliest kidney diseases. The disease has no cure, so the way the bodybuilder is handling it is commendable. He also recalled the time he lost his right leg. He shared that years after his right leg got amputated, doctors still haven’t been able to figure out the cause.

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However, the fighter in him learned to live with it. He then wrote, “But that’s ok ✅ I’m willing to live with everything life throws at me.” Quoting a verse from the Bible, Wheeler further implied that with God by his side he will get through it all. He also added the caption that was originally written on the announcement post in September.

Friends and fans react to the post

It didn’t take long for his followers to flood the comments section with positive comments. Fellow bodybuilder Milos Sarcev wrote, “Most definitely – favourite bodybuilder to many of us and one of the most influential and inspiring – on and off the stage. Congratulations to well deserved lifetime achievement award 🙌❤️”

Actor Michael Beach also made his way to Wheeler’s comments section. He commented, “This is a great honor that is clearly long overdue! But it’s here now and EVERYONE knows it’s absolutely deserved! Congrats my brother💪🏿👍🏿👏🏿”

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His fans also congratulated the bodybuilder upon receiving the honor. All in all, everyone shared the same opinion that Flex Wheeler, the uncrowned Mr. Olympia, deserves the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the sport.