Lee Haney

[jda104]

as someone who has only followed bodybuilding for about a year now, can anyone explain to me how a guy manages to win 8 Olympia's in a row and barely gets mentioned on this forum (from what I can see)

I see a lot of people reference past champs from before and after his reign, you rarely see pics of him posted or people mention him when it comes to someone having a tremendous body part or pose.

How did this guy manage to win 8 in a row if he is so unremarkable?

[RoroCwalker]

He is underrated indeed.

[Land_Down_Under]

He doesn't act.

[wala]

Cool pictures man!

[mikieson]

he is talked about quite often. Because every other week a thread like this pops up...

[rodneyrob]

he is talked about quite often. Because every other week a thread like this pops up...

This^^^^^. also he came just before the mass monster era. I agree he does not get enough credit from the noobs but the true fans who have followed the sport for years recognize Lee Haney and his great accomplishments.

[satoups]

I mentioned this before some time back that Lee never bought into the Weiders game. Also if you noticed he wasn't on as many magazine covers as others Mr O's. Back in 84 I had the opportunity to train and have dinner with Lee and had this exact conversation. I guy is straight forward and a straight up guy. No BS about him!! He truly won't promote a product simply for $$. It is about principle and if he truly feels it works or not before he attached his name to it.

[littlemike23]

Greatest bodybuilder ever imo

[Fairjudge]

A fantastic bodybuilder and according to Coleman : the greatest.

[stealth_swimmer]

he is talked about quite often. Because every other week a thread like this pops up...

Yes, but not as much as Jay, Ronnie (for obvious reasons), and others. I remember back when I was lurking there were more Chris Cormier threads than Lee Haney, and Chris is another underrated guy(or at least someone fans tend to forget about), and that's cus Chris never won an Olympia, let alone 8 times.

Within recent years, more Haney discussion has popped up, but before it was like pulling teeth to try to find threads on him. imo. I think Lee Haney was the greatest bodybuilder ever.


Reminds me of a Sandlot quote (will modify it for bodybuilding, lol), "Lee Haney is the greatest bodybuilder who ever lived. Some say he was less than a god, but more than a man...like Hercules or something"

[Unbiasedfan]

With ronnie we can discuss some O's that were close, the fact that he at one time had the best physique to ever step on stage (which often originates comparisons), his strength and famous lifts, etc

Lee haney on the other hand doesn't have close call winnings too my knowledge and he was extremely dominant (we also don't have many pics or vids compared to more recent years). He had an amazing physique and retire very young. He probably didn't thought his record would be matched so soon when he stopped competing. The 90's would have been much greater with lee haney competing.

[Larfleeze]

He dominated during a rather boring era in which he had very little competition. There isn't much to discuss.

[Patrick-DK]

I mentioned this before some time back that Lee never bought into the Weiders game. Also if you noticed he wasn't on as many magazine covers as others Mr O's. Back in 84 I had the opportunity to train and have dinner with Lee and had this exact conversation. I guy is straight forward and a straight up guy. No BS about him!! He truly won't promote a product simply for $$. It is about principle and if he truly feels it works or not before he attached his name to it.

Very appreciative, but truth is he probably couldn't even get a decent contract with a supplement company. He looked good from the pics I've seen, but he probably wasn't promoted enough to be stuck in peoples minds. I've seriously never seen a video or an article about him, guess he went under the radar

[mrsnruB1111]

He's like a missing link (no racist) between the golden age and the mass era

Usually BBing enthusiasts are divided into two teams....those who love the golden age and those who love the freaks. Lee Haney is in between, so naturally he will get mentioned less often. It's like if there was a peanut butter thread....whipped/smooth on one side...crunchy on the other. Naturally the original wouldn't be mentioned

[Unbiasedfan]

No BS about him!! He truly won't promote a product simply for $$. It is about principle and if he truly feels it works or not before he attached his name to it.

To be fair, how many times have we heard this? that must be like marketing 101 with bodybuilders and supps.

[realistromeo]

It's a matter of timing, anyone 37 or younger wasn't really around for the Lee Haney era I only started follolowed BBing around 91' when dorian first popped up on the scene, by that time Haney had retired. Haney NEVER made it big on film, and media was not like it is now where you can reach a lot of people quickly. My era was early 90's till present, before internet it was hard to get pics or vids of past competitions either a $7.00 magazine or pay $45+ dollars for Olympia tapes.

Haney was as dominant as Coleman was with his competition, it's not that the competition was weak it was that they were so much better.
Haney sounds like a real good guy too.

[BlackNumero]

I mentioned this before some time back that Lee never bought into the Weiders game. Also if you noticed he wasn't on as many magazine covers as others Mr O's. Back in 84 I had the opportunity to train and have dinner with Lee and had this exact conversation. I guy is straight forward and a straight up guy. No BS about him!! He truly won't promote a product simply for $$. It is about principle and if he truly feels it works or not before he attached his name to it.

care to talk about this more?

[kilsong]

who?

[sexnews]

Could it also be that after Haney's reign the internet really took off? More exposure than just through the magazines?

Just look at how Cutler is using the net!

[fishnbrah]

thread sucks with out pics. back was crazy wide, v-taper for days.

[icetrauma]

As previously stated, most people started into bbing with Yates, Ray, Wheeler etc. or, they look back at Arnold, Samir, Lou era. Lee was a great bodybuildier for his time and deserved every Olympia he won. Especially, if he didn't play the Weider games as previously posted. As far as products, he did endorse Twin Labs for a while IIRC. Dat original Ripped Fuel was awesome!

[detrimental]

Honestly, I think it's because the 80's was a bridging, so to speak, for bodybuilding. It was probably the least interesting era of bodybuilding.

[Deano87]

He dominated during a rather boring era in which he had very little competition. There isn't much to discuss.

This.
Haney wasnt really a game changer.
He was the best of his era, and a great bodybuilder.

[BartPimpson]

A less competitive era.

We'd probably be talking about the 70s in the exact same way if Arnold hadn't gone on to become a famous movie star.