“What Do You Mean?”: 212 Mr. Olympia Shaun Clarida Was Left Baffled When Someone Told Him His Career Was Over 11 Years Ago

The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness is the body that governs and organizes the biggest bodybuilding and fitness events across the world. Getting recognized by IFBB is what turns a rookie bodybuilder into a pro. Only when a bodybuilder receives their IFBB pro card do they actually enter the big league and their career sets off. However, there was one bodybuilder who was told his career is over soon after he received his pro card.

In his recent interview, Shaun Clarida recalled the time someone tried to discourage him when he received his pro card.

Shaun Clarida recalls a shocking statement

On January 11, 2023, Muscular Development released the 14th episode of the 5th season of their podcast MD Global Muscle. The two guest stars of this episode were Shaun Clarida and Kamal El-Gargni. Both bodybuilders have been the 212 Olympia Champions in the past. Additionally, they are now gearing up for the 2023 Arnold Classic. During the podcast, Giles Thomas, the host, asked Clarida if there has ever been a time that he has shut someone down with his performance.

On this, Clarida recalled an incident from over a decade ago when he won his IFBB Pro card. Recalling the ordeal, Clarida narrated, “In 2012 when I won the Nationals with the ban away and I won my pro card, someone came up to me and told me ‘Congratulations! Your career is over.’” Hearing the comment, a shocked Clarida asked, “What do you mean?” To this, the unknown man replied, “Well there’s never been a ban away who’s ever gone on and done anything in IFBB.”

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Furthermore, Clarida opened up that instead of being discouraged by the statement, he set it as his goal to prove the person wrong. “Obviously I could have easily said okay he’s right and quit but I didn’t. I knew again what I was capable of I knew what the goal was,” he said. Keeping that as his motivation, Clarida eventually succeeded in winning a division of one biggest bodybuilding competitions, twice. Furthermore, he seems positive about his preparations for the upcoming tournament.

The Giant Killer flexes his shredded physique

On the last Saturday of January 2023, Shaun Clarida posted a photo of himself on his Instagram account. In the said photo, Clarida flaunted his muscular physique. In the caption, he wrote, “Time will tell. Till then, keep working!” The photo was proof enough to know that the American bodybuilder has left no stone unturned while preparing for the upcoming contest.

It didn’t take long for his fans and followers to come to the same conclusion. Soon after the photo was uploaded, fans hyped the bodybuilder in the comments section. They went as far as declaring him the winner of the upcoming competition.

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Just like Clarida wrote, only time will tell who much fruitful his efforts were. But one thing is for sure, if he manages to win the upcoming pro tournament, he’ll once again prove that “someone” wrong.