Bodybuilding is a tough profession. Intense physical training is required to be a bodybuilder. You have to challenge your body’s strength with an extreme diet and exercise. Bodybuilding was never a colour-dominating profession. Bodybuilders from diverse countries have always been part of this profession. Black Bodybuilders have created a mark in this profession and dominated this sport for a long time. Bodybuilding is a bit more challenging than other sports. Much patience is required to build your body muscles to look like a bodybuilder. Out of all the incredible bodybuilders, we have shortlisted the top 10 black bodybuilders to appreciate their hard work and accomplishments.
Famous African-American bodybuilders
1. Lee Haney
Powerful bodybuilder, who holds many titles under his name. He has a record of winning the most number of times the Mr. Olympia titles. Haney consecutively won the Sandow trophy for 8 years (1984-1991). During his career, he was the strongest bodybuilder challenging all bodybuilders of his time. He had been the longest title holder of Mr. Olympia Champs. He is regarded as one of the best bodybuilders of all time. He also initiated the mass monster era in IFBB.
Haney administered as a chairman of the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and supported during Bill Clinton’s term. In 2014, he was also part of the International Sports Hall of Fame.
2. Ronnie Coleman
This professional bodybuilder is known as The King. Coleman was born on May 16, 1964, in Louisiana, USA. He is known for his workouts and having a powerful physique. He shares the title of Mr. Olympia consecutively 8 times with Lee Haney. He is one of the greatest bodybuilders in the world. Coleman is the first bodybuilder to win the titles of Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia in the same year. His weightlifting and harsh training have taken a toll on his health. He had undergone several surgeries in his career. A biopic of Coleman was released on NetFlix in 2018 by the name Ronnie Coleman: The King.
3. Albert Beckles
Albert Beckles is Mr. Universe born on July 14, 1930. He is an American professional bodybuilder. At the age of 60, he is the oldest professional bodybuilder to win the title of IFBB pro league contest. He has the longest bodybuilding career, he has the part of 100 contests. At the age of 52, he won the competition Night of Champions in New York. He was very competitive even in his later years of life. Beckles was the top-notch bodybuilder in his whole career.
4. Sergio Oliva
The Legend of Bodybuilding is known by the name The Myth. He had unbelievable body proportions his thighs were bigger than his waist. He was the winner of 20 bodybuilding titles. He won the of Mr. Wold in 1966 and the title of Mr. Olympia for three consecutive years 1967, 1968 and 1969. His death was a big loss for the bodybuilding franchise. He died due to Kidney Failure in 2012 at the age of 71.
5. Phil Health
A professional American Bodybuilder born on December 18, 1979. He is famous by the name, The Gift. He is popular for his perfect body symmetry. His dedication to making his perfect proportionate body is responsible for the expansion of bodybuilding to a much bigger audience. His bodybuilding career started in 2002. He won the overall title at the National Physique Committee USA championships in 2005. Health has won the Title of Mr. Olympia for seven consecutive years from 2011 to 2017.
6. Dexter Jackson
The most conditioned bodybuilder was born on December 18, 1979, in the USA. He is known as the Blade for his body’s fine lines. Jackson has several records to his name which are unbeatable. He is the only male bodybuilder who appeared 20 times in the Mr. Olympia Competition. He holds 29 pro show wins, the most for a bodybuilder. Along with the title of Mr Olympia and Master Olympia Titles, he also won the title of Arnold Classic Champion five times. Jackson had defeated Jay Cutler in 2008, winning an Olympia gold medal.
7. Chris Dickerson
A controversial professional bodybuilder was born on August 25, 1939. He is the only African American to win the title of Mr. America and IFFB Mr. Olympia. Dickerson had faced some controversies as he was gay. Dickerson admitted that his sexual orientation and his skin colour have been a roadblock in his career. Still with these roadblocks, he had many titles to his name. He is one of the two bodybuilders to win the Mr. Olympia and Master Olympia Titles. He died at the age of 82 due to heart failure.
8. Shawn Ray
A most conditioned bodybuilder was born on September 9, 1965, and is known by the name Sugar. He was famous for winning bodybuilding competitions with much bigger bodybuilders than him. For this reason, he was known by the name The Giant Killer. Ray won the Arnold Classic in 1990 but couldn’t take the title as he was unable to clear the dope test. He was part of various bodybuilding magazines worldwide. Along with bodybuilding, he was a commentator on ESPN for bodybuilding competitions for eight years.
9. Kenneth ‘Flex’ Wheeler
A great bodybuilder was born on August 23, 1965. He is known by the name Flex. He was one of the most aesthetically appealing bodybuilders. He had won the Arnold Classic title four times. But he could not win Mr. Olympia’s title, though he was an incredible bodybuilder. Flex was famous for his symmetrical body, which made him get the title of The Sultan of Symmetry. He had some health issues that made her career suffer. By birth, he had a rare kidney condition glomerulosclerosis, and due to this, he had to leave his bodybuilding career in 2003. In 2017, he rejoined bodybuilding at Classic Physique Division. In 2019 he underwent a leg amputation surgery due to vascular system problems.
10. Kai Greene
An inspiring bodybuilder was born on July 12, 1975. He is known for his best poses and is known as Mr. Getting It Done. He had various titles to his name. Greene was thrice a runner-up in the Mr. Olympia title and won the Arnold Classic competition thrice. He had a great rivalry with the bodybuilder Health, which is one of the biggest rivalries in bodybuilding history. He is one of the best bodybuilders who has not won Mr. Olympia even once.
