“Thought It Was an Insult”: Flex Wheeler Was Once Enraged Due to Misunderstanding a Compliment

Flex Wheeler has fought many battles in his life, from getting into bodybuilding to overcoming a major kidney disease to winning the Arnold Classic four times. However, some of his earliest battles were against institutional racism in the country. On one occasion, he almost picked a fight against someone for saying something, which he thought was derogatory. He later understood that it was a compliment to his physique.

During an interview with Arnolds Sports UK Festival last year, Flex Wheeler talked about his life, his bodybuilding journey, losing his leg to the disease, and inspiring amputees. In that, he mentioned when someone complimented him for his physique. But Wheeler, who did know about it, took that to be a derogatory remark about his race.

When Flex Wheeler misunderstood the positive implication of ‘Genetics’

Wheeler had heard the term for the first time, and here’s how he responded. He said, “I met a couple of guys who were kind of big names in bodybuilding who said, “Oh man! you should compete, you have great genetics”.. and I didn’t know what ‘Genetics’ meant. I thought they were calling me a derogatory name, I thought it was an insult like a racial name”.

People used various offensive terms to discriminate against different races back then. So it was hardly surprising for Wheeler, a black man, to immediately take a negative stance on a term he had never heard before. However, it was positive discrimination and a compliment that he took very seriously since.

READ MORE – Bodybuilding Beast Flex Wheeler Calls “BS” on a Karate Fighter Being Denied Olympic Gold for a Ridiculously Bizarre Reason 

He recalled saying, “I’m ready to fight”, to which the person had replied, “No son. You look great”. Wheeler realized his mistake then and there.

His struggle against poverty and avoiding violence led Wheeler to bodybuilding

Wheeler was narrating the incident to refer to his poverty, lack of knowledge, and overall struggle while growing up. He didn’t have any gym equipment to work out, and neither was he aware of a good physique, let alone ‘genetics’.

He wanted to stay away from all the violence he saw while growing up. This resulted in Wheeler picking up various odd jobs starting from working at a gas station to distributing newspapers. Eventually, he picked up bodybuilding, since working out indoors was a way for him to avoid being on the streets and being part of that violence.

WATCH THIS STORY – Bodybuilding Beast Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Top Six-Pack Workouts

He said, “All my buddies were gang-related. At that time the Cripps and Bloods had just started so…” For the uninitiated, Cripps and Bloods was an umbrella name for LA African-American street gangs who dealt in cocaine and gain power and influence. Wheeler’s desperate attempt to avoid them led him to discover his love for bodybuilding. But Wheeler kept fighting his inner mental battles with himself and with society, to prove himself time and again.