Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler was a key figure in the Men’s Open division during the 2000s. In his latest interview, Cutler discussed the stigma of steroid use in film, Dwayne ‘The Rock Johnson, and his rivalry with eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman.
In 2006, Cutler finally dethroned Coleman at Mr. Olympia after multiple second-place finishes. Competing actively, Cutler separated himself from the rest of the Open class with exceptional size and conditioning. He’s known for the iconic quad stomp pose and is regarded for having some of the most detailed quads in the history of the sport.
Cutler retired from bodybuilding in 2013. Even though he’s not seen a competition stage in years, Cutler takes his health, fitness, and longevity seriously. He routinely shares motivating workout sessions with fitness influencers. In a collaboration with Lexx Little, Cutler’s physique went viral. Fans immediately questioned if a return was possible for the 2023 Masters Olympia in August.
Unfortunately, Cutler quickly shot down any chance of a comeback days after his progress photo circulated online. Instead, the four-time Mr. Olympia shared that he was transforming his physique as part of a ‘Fit for 50’ challenge. In his most recent undertaking, he joined the Factz Podcast to shed light on his career, Dwayne Johnson, and his experiences with TRT/performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
Jay Cutler Talks The Rock, Popularity of TRT & Steroid Misconceptions in Film : ‘Everyone’s Protocols Are Different’
Cutler said he was able to offset his wide waist by building his legs and shoulders, which helped his x-frame.
“It’s just really hard to compare the physiques, the structure is usually different. The smaller waist, I wasn’t blessed with a super small waist so I had to really offset by building my legs outwards and my shoulders outwards to make that x-frame.”
Given the availability of equipment, food, and PEDs, Cutler believes bodybuilders today carry more size than in Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s era.
“As you know, the guys got a lot bigger than in Arnold’s day. Food, you know, equipment, drugs, everything. The science has become a lot deeper but at the same time, guys have paid great money to do this for a living, sponsors, the supplement game is huge, it’s a big support of sports and nutrition for the industry. So guys can get paid to literally eat sleep and train. That’s their job,” Cutler said.
“Oh, I can look at someone [and tell right away] yes. I can tell,” said Cutler. “The truth is I feel like diets and everything else, many guys can really dominate without having to struggle as hard if that makes sense.”
Cutler stressed that there are misconceptions about TRT/steroid use and said the compounds ‘never made him crazy.’
“No. It [steroids] wasn’t like that. Usually, the build up, that’s the thing with the films and everything, they portray like a guy takes a shot of testosterone and he gets aggressive; that’s a misconception. I can tell you that. It never made me crazy. And listen, we talk about TRT which is popular now and I know there’s a lot of accusations of who or who isn’t on TRT. Obviously, Dwayne’s name comes up a lot and whatever else.”
“Like I said, all my blood tests and I was very monitored. I had – my ex-wife was a nurse practitioner, so she was very up to speed on like what the protocols were and what we needed to test. Blood work can only show so much.”
When asked about Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s alleged use of PEDs, Cutler had the following to say:
“He doesn’t ever go out there and to give him some sort of respect factor, like he doesn’t go out there and say I’m natural. He just doesn’t talk about it. You know, I know his work ethic, I would figure that at his age, I mean it’s so common, that a lot of people are on TRT. What he does is number one his business. I come out and say, ‘Hey I’m on TRT.’ Because let’s be real: looking at my physique at the wildly muscled look of 300 pounds and I was winning Olympias at 270, if I claimed I was natural, you would have killed me.”
“Everyone’s protocols are different. So guys genetically don’t have to use what other guys may have to use.”
“You had different compounds that kind of would be thrown into a protocol and not everyone would use the same thing but your base would basically be testosterone and then you just, nutrition would have to be on point, and you give yourself four months to get in the best shape possible.”
Cutler Touches on Ronnie Coleman Rivalry & Chasing Size During Career
Before praising Ronnie Coleman as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, Cutler named Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stallone as early inspirations.
“I was overly big, I wouldn’t have been attracted to it, remember, I was married for most of my career. And my whole goal was to be the best bodybuilder,” Cutler said. “In the beginning, Arnold was. Honestly, Van Damme and Stallone were my first heroes. I just thought their physiques were unbelievable at the time.”
“He [Ronnie Coleman] arguably, people question but probably the greatest ever. Arnold obviously, he’s huge. But Coleman had a crazy physique but for me, the first couple were like wow I’m actually second-best. I hate the term you’re the first loser because you’re still right there, right. You’re kind of in line, the problem is there was a curse in bodybuilding where a guy that places second — he usually doesn’t win. So, that was a curse and I actually broke that curse.”
As of late, Jay Cutler discussed which former Mr. Olympias would have held their own against today’s lineup of Open talent. Cutler and Milos Sarcev agreed that six-time winner Dorian Yates and Coleman would contend for gold even today.
The last time the 49-year-old looked at The Rock’s alleged use of steroids, Cutler said he respected the superstar for choosing not to talk about the subject publicly. Meanwhile, podcast giant Joe Rogan recently called on The Rock to come clean about his use after Brian Johnson’s (Liver King) steroid cycle was leaked online.