“Shaq Called Me, He Was There”: Phil Heath Opened About His Close-Knit Relationship With NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal

We have seen many athletes who share a great bond with other sporting legends. And, most of the time, the close-knit relationships between the athletes aren’t from the same sporting arena. Likewise, legendary bodybuilder, Phil Heath shares a great nexus with the NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal.

Phil Heath recently talked about his consecutive winning spree of the Mr. Olympia title from 2011 to 2017. Apart from his triumphs, he also mentioned his relationship with Shaq and how one time O’Neal consoled him over the phone.

Phil Heath got a consolation phone call from Shaquille O’Neal

A couple of days back, Phil appeared in the latest episode of Club Shay Shay, where he profoundly chatted with the host, Shannon Sharpe. The Gift retrospected his first crowning moment from the 2011 Mr. Olympia contest. Heath’s big triumph even made him compare himself to the greatest quarterback of all time. The 42-year-old said, “I was the Tom Brady of bodybuilding, they didn’t want me to win”.

Forthwith his glorious victory in 2011, Heath defended the reverent title of Mr. Olympia for six consecutive years since then. “I had won for seven consecutive years”, added Phil.

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The bodybuilder further reminisced about his eighth time taking part in Mr. Olympia, where he bagged the second position. He stated, “it did hurt”. As per Phil’s revelations, the NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal called Heath post-Mr. Olympia 2018 in order to give him a friendly consolation. “Shaq called, he was there, he called me, he was with the rock. He gave me a great amount of encouragement,” said Phil.

Phil Heath praised Shaq for his transformation

This was not the first time when Heath and Shaq expressed their kind gestures for each other. A couple of years back, Shaq was struggling with bad health and was religiously following several workouts and fitness prompts in order to stay robust. Shaq even shared his journey through his social media, and in return got praised by Phil. Heath even penned a comment stating, “I am actually proud of Shaq”.

Clearly, Phil and Shaq rather share great dynamics as friends. They grab every opportunity to express their support for each other.

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