I’m simply saying, however I didn’t have Phil Clahar beginning a GoFundMe web page to pay for his passion on my bingo card this 12 months. However… HERE WE ARE.
There are specific issues in bodybuilding that make you scratch your head. Then there are issues that make you say, “It’s important to be kidding me.”
Phil Clahar beginning a GoFundMe to assist pay for his bodybuilding profession falls into the second class.
Look, bodybuilding is pricey. I get it.
I’ve been round this trade for a very long time. Contest prep prices cash. Meals prices cash. Teaching prices cash. Dietary supplements value cash. Gear prices cash. Journey prices cash. Resorts value cash.
No person mentioned competing was low-cost.
However in some unspecified time in the future, you must ask your self a quite simple query. Should you can’t afford to compete, why are you anticipating everybody else to pay for it?
Phil Clahar Desires Followers to Fund His Bodybuilding Profession?
That is the place I’ve an issue. Phil Clahar is an IFBB Professional. He has been competing professionally for years. He has additionally had some legit accomplishments.
However truthfully, who the hell even cares to see him compete anymore?
Clahar gained the 2023 Orlando Professional. That victory earned him a qualification for the 2023 Mr. Olympia, the place he finally completed sixteenth. Not precisely a top-tier exhibiting, proper?
He additionally competed on the Masters Olympia. In 2023, Clahar completed third within the Males’s Open division. Then, in 2025, he completed second behind Dorian Haywood on the Masters Olympia in Tokyo.
So, this isn’t some man who has by no means stepped on an expert stage. However that’s additionally precisely why the GoFundMe bothers me.
You’re an expert bodybuilder. Sooner or later, isn’t it your accountability to determine the way to fund your personal profession?
Get sponsors. Get shoppers. Get a job. Create content material. Promote one thing. Do no matter it’s worthwhile to do. However asking the general public to financially assist your bodybuilding prep? GTFO.
Phil Clahar Isn’t Competing at THE Mr. Olympia
Let’s additionally put this into perspective…
We’re not speaking about Phil Clahar making an attempt to qualify for the Mr. Olympia and asking followers to assist him chase the largest title in bodybuilding. We’re speaking concerning the Masters Olympia.
And earlier than somebody will get offended at me, let me make clear one thing. The Masters Olympia is a legit bodybuilding contest. There are some unbelievable athletes who compete there.
However let’s not fake it carries the identical stage of mainstream curiosity because the precise Mr. Olympia. It doesn’t.
Clahar has already competed on the precise Mr. Olympia. He completed sixteenth in 2023. The Masters Olympia is totally completely different.
In 2025, Clahar completed second to Dorian Haywood. The ultimate rating was 19 factors for Haywood and 20 for Clahar after Clahar had led following prejudging.
That was actually a controversial outcome. However right here’s the factor… Dropping a bodybuilding contest doesn’t imply the bodybuilding world owes you one other alternative.
Does Anybody Actually Wish to See Phil Clahar Compete Once more?
That is one other a part of the dialog that I feel must be addressed.
The place are all these individuals demanding that Phil Clahar return to the stage? The place are the followers flattening his door asking when he’s going to compete once more?
I’m not seeing it. Possibly they’re on the market?
However I actually don’t see the overwhelming demand that might make me suppose the bodybuilding group desperately wants one other Phil Clahar look.
And that’s essential. As a result of should you’re going to ask strangers to offer you cash to perform one thing, there ought to most likely be some demand for what you’re providing.
If followers had been screaming from the rooftops that they wanted to see Phil Clahar again onstage, maybe the dialog could be completely different.
As an alternative, we’re speaking a couple of skilled bodybuilder asking individuals to bankroll his contest prep. That’s a troublesome promote.
Even when guys like Phil Heath, Kai Greene, or Jay Cutler determined to compete once more, you possibly can guess your home that they aren’t going to start out a GoFundMe. What a joke.
I’d be utterly embarrassed if I needed to beg individuals for cash simply to get on a bodybuilding stage to take house subsequent to no cash (even should you win).
Phil Clahar Has Been Extremely Vital of the IFBB
Then we get to the half that makes this whole state of affairs much more weird.
Clahar has spent years publicly criticizing the IFBB and folks related to the group.
He has been extremely vital of Jim Manion, Tyler Manion, Dan Solomon, and others. He has additionally publicly criticized Steve Weinberger.
There was no scarcity of criticism aimed on the group and the individuals working it. And that’s high-quality. Should you consider one thing is flawed, say it. I’m all for athletes talking their minds.
However right here’s the place I wrestle.
Should you genuinely consider the group is fraudulent, corrupt, or stuffed with scammers, why are you so determined to proceed collaborating in it?
You may’t spend years telling everybody how horrible the group and its management are after which flip round and ask individuals to assist finance your return to that very same group.
That doesn’t make a lot sense to me.
You Don’t Must Compete
Right here’s the truth…
No person is forcing Phil Clahar to compete. No person is placing a gun to his head and telling him he must step onstage.
If competing is one thing you’re keen on, nice. Pay for it. Discover sponsors. Construct your online business. Work. Get monetary savings. Make it occur.
That’s what adults do.
And sure, I perceive that bodybuilding isn’t just like the NFL or NBA. {Most professional} bodybuilders aren’t getting wealthy from competing.
In actual fact, bodybuilding has traditionally been infamous for athletes spending monumental quantities of cash to compete whereas receiving comparatively little monetary return.
The 2023 Masters Olympia Males’s Open winner obtained $20,000, whereas second place obtained $10,000 and third place obtained $5,000. Clahar completed third that 12 months and earned $5,000.
Phil’s GoFundMe is for $20,000. That’s all he’d get again if he gained the present. Once more, what he’s doing makes me suppose somebody ought to verify his psychological well being. Ask followers for $20,000 so you possibly can doubtlessly win $20,000? WTF?
That’s not precisely life-changing cash when you think about the prices related to competing. However once more, that’s a part of the sport.
Phil Clahar Must Determine It Out
I’m not saying Phil Clahar can’t compete. I’m not even saying he isn’t a superb bodybuilder. And I’m actually not saying he didn’t need to be upset about ending second on the 2025 Masters Olympia.
He led after prejudging earlier than Dorian Haywood got here again within the finals and finally gained the competition by one level. However being upset isn’t a marketing strategy.
If Phil Clahar needs to compete once more, then go determine the way to pay for it.
Get a job. Get sponsors. Construct a following. Promote one thing. Do no matter it’s worthwhile to do. However don’t count on the bodybuilding group to open its wallets since you need to stand beneath the lights once more.
And particularly don’t count on individuals to really feel sorry for you once you’ve spent years attacking the very group you’re making an attempt to compete beneath. You’re delusional.
Sooner or later, you must personal your choices. You needed to be an expert bodybuilder. You needed to compete. You needed to proceed pursuing the game.
High quality.
Then pay your personal approach. That’s maturity. That’s enterprise. And that’s bodybuilding.
Should you can’t afford it, perhaps it’s time to seek out one other passion. As a result of asking individuals to fund your bodybuilding profession isn’t precisely the flex you suppose it’s.
Writer Bio:
Matt Weik, BS, CSCS, CPT, CSN, is a globally acknowledged well being, health, and complement trade skilled with over 25 years of hands-on expertise. He’s the founding father of Weik Fitness and one of the vital prolific writers within the area, recognized for translating complicated science into clear, actionable content material. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Penn State College and a number of trade certifications, giving his work each tutorial credibility and real-world authority. His writing has been featured on 1000’s of internet sites and in 100+ magazines worldwide, together with FLEX, Muscular Improvement, Iron Man, and Muscle & Health UK, and he has authored 30+ revealed books. Trusted by main complement manufacturers and media retailers alike, Matt is broadly thought to be one of the vital educated and dependable voices in well being, health, and sports activities diet.
