Video summary
Chris Bumstead reflects on a pivotal moment in his bodybuilding career, specifically addressing whether he would have retired immediately after failing to win an Olympia title had that loss occurred. Although he initially entered each competition year with uncertainty about victory, by his final prep he reached a state of complete self-belief where winning felt inevitable if executed correctly. Despite this confidence, Bumstead asserts that retirement was not contingent on the outcome; rather, it was driven by a desire to protect his principles and avoid resentment toward the sport later in life. He emphasizes that stepping away while still loving bodybuilding ensures he can look back at his career with "rose-colored glasses," preserving its beauty without the taint of injury, loss, or regret. To illustrate the mindset surrounding final performances, Bumstead draws parallels to other high-profile athletes who prioritize legacy over victory in their last attempts. He cites Mark Cavendish, a British cyclist from Manchester competing in the Tour de France, whose documentary *Tour de France Unchained* depicts his struggle during what was meant to be his final year. Despite needing only one stage win to secure history's most wins and having family support, Cavendish suffered near misses and a devastating crash that broke his collarbone. Following this failure, he announced retirement but returned the next season under pressure from his wife, ultimately achieving victory before leaving on high terms. This contrasts sharply with Jon Jones, another Manchester native who chose to vacate his UFC title rather than face Tom Aspinall in what was perceived as a risky final fight that could mar his legacy against an aggressive opponent outside his prime. Bumstead uses these examples to highlight the "champion mentality" where one's defining moment cannot be a loss, leading athletes to either retry until success or exit on their own terms rather than being forced out by defeat. He notes that while he respects figures like Mark Cuban and Andrew Huberman (implied through Hormozi references), his approach differs in how he views failure as an opportunity for growth rather than a reason to quit immediately. When faced with the hypothetical scenario of losing, Bumstead argues that he would have utilized the loss to learn lessons within his control—specifically how to handle adversity and maintain integrity—even if it meant stepping away from competition sooner. The core of Bumstead's argument rests on the distinction between ego-driven desires for victory and values-driven decisions regarding life balance. He acknowledges that while his ego might enjoy a final win, he recognizes the luxury of having already achieved success allows him to speak freely about retirement without fear of failure defining his career. With a pregnant wife and a young daughter, Bumstead feels unable to lock in selfishly on bodybuilding anymore; the sport has enriched his life sufficiently for it to be time to move forward. He concludes that true champions are defined not just by their wins but by how they handle outcomes outside their control, ensuring that their final chapter remains consistent with their core values and love for the journey rather than a desperate need to prove themselves one last time.
Read the full video transcript
If you hadn't won,
crazy world I know,
if you hadn't won, would you have still
retired?
This year?
That's an incredible question. I
actually haven't even thought about
that.
It's so funny cuz I went into that year
with I would even
like
every year and my sister one year looked
at me in the Olympia and she's like,
"Are you ever going to believe you're
going to win?"
Cuz I was she's
Cuz it'd be the day before the Olympia.
>> or four or five? It was like in between
pre-judging and night show and I just
dominated the show. She's like, "So, you
feel good about it?" I was like, "I
don't know. Like maybe I'll win." She's
like, "Are you ever going to [ __ ]
believe that you're going to win?" Like
and I was and I didn't and then the last
year I went into that prep and I like I
didn't even like I had those moments of
do I love this, do I not and I worked my
way back to a point of like this is the
last time and I enjoyed it and I like
loved the experience but the whole time
it was just like am I going to do it, am
I going to am I going to win or am I
going to not compete? Mhm.
>> That was what was in my brain and I
didn't even think and it was finally
that point where I just believed in
myself where I knew like I know what to
do, I know my what I'm capable of and
like I'm going to come in and win if I
do it.
So, I never even thought about it but
That is a champion mentality, right?
Finally you reached it.
>> got it and then and then I leave. Yeah,
yeah.
>> Um but no, yeah, I like to believe
that I would have retired I would have
stuck to my principles.
>> regardless and looking back now I can't
I can't imagine
being in a prep right now, you know? And
it like I said it's very different
because my mind did just like release
all these
focuses where it opened up the ability
to realize all these things that I had
been holding that might have been
creating tension in my life. So, I'm in
a state right now where I can't imagine
trying to lock in and focus on being so
selfish at something with a pregnant
wife, 16-month-year-old daughter
life-changing like it is
but
my ego would love to tell you that hell
yeah, man, I would have retired
regardless. I wouldn't have even cared
if I lost.
>> a luxury belief because you won. You can
say whatever you want. You can't go back
and run the run the experiment again.
>> Very true. You know Mark Cavendish? He's
a cyclist in the Tour de France, British
British guy from Manchester, I think. Uh
37,
38 now so
older in the Tour and he's a sprinter as
well and um
the Tour de France Unchained, if people
need a good documentary, so it's Drive
to Survive Formula 1 but for the Tour de
France. They've done it for 3 years now
and in the second year he just needs one
stage win
to have the title of the most stage wins
in Tour de France history. So, it's I
guess it must be a particular hack that
the sprinters have got that because they
work for the finish, they actually end
up with more stage wins than the general
classification, the yellow jersey. And
he is going for it and he's saying this
is my final year, he just needs one
stage win and his wife's there and the
kids are there and he's sort of working
himself up to it and he has a couple of
near misses and then he has a big crash
at at the sprint finish and he's
devastated. Oh, no, he has it I think he
breaks his collarbone in maybe a pileup
partway through which is even less
glorious.
And uh the whole thing was this was
going to be the final year he was going
to win and then season 3 comes along and
he's made this big song and dance. He
has this sort of tearful announcement
about how he's going to leave the sport
behind and he I've given my given my
life to the sport and he raced for
England, for Great Britain, all this
stuff and then it comes back and it's
him and his wife and his wife basically
says, "I know that you're not going to
rest. I know that you're not going to be
satisfied." She's like, "What does it
matter? You said that you were going to
leave.
You're not satisfied. So, run it back.
Do it again." And he does and he gets
his victory and he he sort of goes out
on his shield but the opposite of that
is Jon Jones.
Jon Jones
uh it seems wanted to vacate the title
rather than lose it to Tom Aspinall who
is real aggressive fighter, also from
Manchester. Everyone's from Manchester.
And um
it it just seems like he was so
concerned about his legacy being marred
with the final fight up against this
young, very heavy, very talented,
natural heavyweight uh as opposed to Jon
who's
maybe not quite so in his prime.
>> Mhm.
And you have someone who in both cases
have got the same mentality which is my
final performance cannot be a loss. I
either need to go back and do it again
in order to be able to achieve victory
or I need to bow out on my own terms as
opposed to stop and
people remember the way that you left
the party so to speak in that way. Like
the the footnote or the the the final
song, the encore of your entire career
is so amazing. Shame about how his final
competition went, you know? Like when he
got beaten by whatever, whatever. Yeah.
So, I it doesn't surprise me that that
would be a difficult question to answer.
Yeah. No, it's funny too.
Hormozi sent me a text going in the last
prep he had he had like suspicions that
I was going to retire that year and he
said something. I can't even remember
exactly what he said about me going and
winning or something. And I threw like a
little flick back at him because we
think very differently and I like
respect how like what he does is
incredible. This is like the beautiful
champion mentality like you can think
however you want, you just have to win.
And I was like, "Well, what if I lost?
What about the lesson that I could learn
in the loss?" And he was he posted on
Instagram the next day being like, "I
got a text from someone last night and
it made me mad."
He went off and I commented on it being
like, "Love me."
But no, like genuinely like when I like
I was talking about my most important
values right now, if I trust and believe
in myself to live up to those values
what I would have been able to do was to
use that loss, something out of my
control, to take what is in my control,
how I handle it, to learn something and
try to apply it to be the best version
of myself and
to stick to my values and in trusting
myself I would have still made the
decision that I know I need to step away
cuz before I won, before I had the
chance of losing, I had made the
decision
why I was walking away. What was most
important to
>> with
>> And it wasn't about if I win or I lose
or if I lose I it was unrelated to all
that stuff. It was or what's best for me
and my life and my family is to step
away right now and it's
for the love because I love the sport
I'm walking away so I don't put myself
in a position where I'll resent it. Mhm.
Cuz people who go too long and then
they'll step away and they'll look back
at their whole career with resentment.
Either if they at least have health
issues or injuries or on a loss or
something, it taints it in your own mind
and it loses that like
kind of
beautiful like lies that you have on it.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah, you're able to
>> You can look back with yourself into
the rose-colored glasses. You can look
back and be like it was perfect, you
know? And I have the privilege now to be
like my career was perfect which it was
far from Yeah. But
>> if it'd been the other way and your only
second place victory had been the final
one. Yeah.
Why I was second before but yes, it'd be
my third second.
This episode is brought to you by
Momentous. Trust really is everything
when it comes to supplements. A lot of
brands may say that they're top quality
but very few can actually prove it which
is why I partnered with Momentous. They
make the highest quality supplements on
the planet and I've fallen in love with
their whey isolate protein powder. It's
grass-fed. It is a super convenient way
to get more protein into your diet, lean
muscle mass, muscle growth, recovery,
all that stuff but most of all it just
tastes phenomenal. Most clean proteins
do not taste good and this is better
than anything else. It's also NSF and
Informed Sport certified meaning that
even Olympic athletes can use it and it
is guaranteed to be free of banned
substances. Best of all, there's a
30-day money-back guarantee so you can
buy it completely risk-free, use it
every single day. How many servings is
in this?
25 servings in this. Use it every single
day for a month. If you don't like it,
they'll just give you your money back.
That's how confident they are that
you'll love it. Plus, they ship
internationally and right now you can
get 35% off your first subscription and
that 30-day money-back guarantee by
going to the link in the description
below or heading to
livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
using code modernwisdom at checkout.
That's 35% off
livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
and modernwisdom at checkout.
Thank you very much for tuning in. Ooh,
a tasty morsel of a conversation for you
there. Well, full meal available
right here.
Go on.
Press it.