The 2023 bodybuilding season is underway, prompting Terrick El Guindy and Chris Cormier to discuss the potential Mr. Olympia lineup. In a recent episode of Prime Time Muscle, Cormier and El Guindy assessed the Olympia-winning potential of Iain Valliere, Michal Krizo Križánek, and Good Vito (Vitaliy Ugolnikov).
As a consistent top-seven finisher at Olympia, Iain Valliere came up short at the event last December. He earned 11th place though pushed through adversity during prejudging and finals. Reflecting on his last show, Valliere admits some mistakes were made regarding his nutrition, posing, and training. When the dust settled, Hadi Choopan claimed gold, and Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay was knocked down to fifth.
Fellow mass monster Krizo made his way to the Mr. Olympia stage following a historic bodybuilding season. He switched to the NPC, won a pro show, and earned his Olympia invite in the span of a few months. He proved himself in his Olympia debut with a 12th-place finish, just one spot behind Valliere.
Vitaliy Ugolnikov, well known as ‘Good Vito,’ continues to grow in popularity among the bodybuilding community. He boasts an impressive level of size and conditioning. Fans have also praised his biceps and flaring quads. Last November, Good Vito earned his IFBB Pro card after winning the Musclecontest International Brazil Nationals.
Chris Cormier and Olympia Judge on Iain Valliere: ‘He Needs to Bring Up His Calves & Back’
When all is said and done, El Guindy is convinced Valliere will be considered an all-time great Canadian bodybuilder.
“He’s a great bodybuilder. Iain is a great bodybuilder. He’s won plenty of pro shows. He’s going to go down in history as one of the best Canadian bodybuilders of all time; I got to give him credit for that. Was this performance his best performance? No. It wasn’t a good performance, he’ll be the first one to tell you, ‘I missed my peak, I’m going to be better next time.’”
El Guindy advised Valliere to improve his back and calves.
“The biggest issue here is his back. His back double biceps, his back lat spread, because look at this: this is one of his best poses [side triceps] this is how he won in Texas; this is how he won a lot of shows. Look at the hamstrings, the legs, he’s massive on top, he’s a mass monster. From the back here, this is not a good back double biceps,” said Terrick El Guindy.
“Let me tell you then: he needs to bring up his calves, his back, here’s the thing, I had a chance to talk to Iain Valliere. Sometimes, we look at the posing and maybe he needs to practice his back posing. I’m not saying he’s pinching his back on the back double biceps but on the back lat spread, I just don’t like it. He needs to fix that. If he fixes that and he becomes as good as that side chest, this guy is formidable.”.
Cormier on Michal Krizo: ‘Everything About Him is Raw, But He Has So Much Upside’
Chris Cormier believes Michal Krizo is still ‘raw’ or inexperienced in many aspects of bodybuilding such as posing. Given his mass and conditioning, Cormier predicted that the Slovakian native will give competitors problems on the horizon.
“He wanted to go up against the big boys, he wanted to be considered the best or one of the best in the world and I mean… he could have placed better but I was really impressed when he took that shirt off and hit that crab [during the presser]. The big old arms, he’s very raw as I noticed, very raw. Everything he does, from the posing, the training, everything is raw with him but he has so much upside. I think he’s going to give some people some real headaches pretty soon. I’m really impressed with what he can bring in the future. Those arms — they are gigantic,” said Chris Cormier.
“He might have some of the biggest arms in the history [of the sport]. To make it more disproportionate, he doesn’t have a big head. His head is kind of small so his arms look even bigger,” said El Guindy. “He’s just so impressive.”
‘He’s Another One That Will Shock A Lot of People’: Cormier Talks Good Vito’s Potential
According to ‘The Real Deal,’ Good Vito also has the capabilities to make major waves in the Men’s Open this year.
“Good Vito, he’s very young, big flaring quads. The back is not too bad for his age. I mean, at that age, you don’t expect someone to have that type of back development. I had a tough time building it for a long time. Just his depth to his body is pretty good,” said Chris Cormier.
“When that comes, you got to get around someone that’s actually done that shit [bodybuilding]. But he has so much upside, I was looking forward to trying to see if he was going to be able to get into a pro show and try to get to the Olympia but you know, there’s always time for that. He’s a young guy. He has a lot of road ahead of him. As long as he stays doing everything smart — I think he’s another one that can shock a lot of people pretty soon.”
El Guindy said he heard a rumor that Good Vito plans to compete at the 2024 Arnold Classic South America contest.
“I think he is in his late 20s. So, he’s a guy that was with the other federation,” El Guindy said. “I was able to connect him with some guys in Brazil who were looking for a bodybuilder [to sponsor]. He’s been training in Brazil. He’s massive. Now, the thing about [him], we have not seen him compete in the IFBB Pro League. Rumor has it he’s going to make his pro debut at the Arnold Classic in Brazil.”
In addition to those mentioned above, Andrew Jacked is another new contender who recently emerged as a Men’s Open threat. He recorded a spectacular season last year, where he claimed victories at the 2022 Texas Pro and Arnold Classic UK shows. He finished eighth in his debut at Mr. Olympia and earned third place in a close affair at the 2023 Arnold Classic.
It should be noted that this video and an Instagram post promoting this episode were initially deleted after offending fans online. They used words like ‘failure’ and bust’ to describe a few of the Men’s Open competitors that were unable to find success on the Olympia stage. In response to the backlash, El Guindy issued an apology and stressed he’d be more careful with his word choice in the future.
With such a talent-rich division, fans are excited to see which athletes earn invites to compete later this year. El Guindy and Cormier are confident Valliere, Good Vito, and Krizo have the potential to shake up the 2023 Mr. Olympia assuming they earn qualifications.