Phillip Jerrod Heath (born December 18, 1979) is an American IFBB Pro League professional

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic ...

. Known as 'the Gift', he is a seven-time

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...

winner, having won the competition every year from 2011 to 2017. Heath is tied with

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

for the joint-second number of all-time Mr. Olympia wins, behind

Ronnie Coleman Ronald Dean Coleman (born May 13, 1964) is an American former professional bodybuilder who is widely regarded as the greatest Bodybuilding, bodybuilder of all time. Known as "The King", Coleman shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia ...

and

Lee Haney Lee Haney (born November 11, 1959) is an American former professional bodybuilder. Haney shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight with Ronnie Coleman. The winner of the Mr. Olympia title for eight consecutive years, he is ...

, who are joint-first with eight wins each. He was known for his rivalry with Kai Greene. In October 2024, Heath was inducted into the

International Sports Hall of Fame The International Sports Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2012 by Dr. Robert M. Goldman to honor exceptional athletes and sporting figures for their accomplishments and dedication to furthering ...

Early life

Phillip Jerrod Heath was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, on December 18, 1979. He attended Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, where he was the shooting guard on the varsity basketball team, which won the state title in 1998. He attended the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

on an athletic scholarship, majoring in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

while playing shooting guard for the university's Division I basketball team.

Bodybuilding career

Heath entered bodybuilding in 2002. In 2005, he won the overall title at the NPC ( National Physique Committee) USA Championships, earning the right to compete as an IFBB Pro. He won his first two IFBB professional events the following year: The Colorado Pro Championships and The New York Pro Championship. In 2007, Heath placed fifth at the

Arnold Classic The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League, IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arn ...

. Although he still qualified to compete in the 2007 Mr. Olympia contest, Heath, nevertheless, decided not to enter the contest, stating that he needed additional time to improve his form. Heath won the 2008 Iron Man show and placed second to Dexter Jackson at the 2008 Arnold Classic. In his 2008 Mr. Olympia debut, Heath finished third to become the first novice to place in the top three since Flex Wheeler in 1993. He claimed the fifth position at the 2009 Mr. Olympia title and second place at the 2010 event. He gained the crown in 2011. Heath defended the title of ''Mr Olympia'' consecutively six times since then until 2018 when he placed second to Shawn Rhoden.

Professional wrestling

During the countdown to TNA's Bound for Glory pre-show on October 20, 2013, Heath accompanied The BroMans ( Jessie Godderz and

Robbie E Robert Strauss (born October 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), manager. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (wrestling), producer, the on-screen assistant to the NXT general manager Ava (w ...

) to the ring for their tag team gauntlet match, which they won; later in the night, he accompanied them to their

TNA World Tag Team Championship The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling #World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship which is owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) professional wrestlin ...

match against Gunner and

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...

. After the match, he celebrated their title victory with them in the ring and backstage during an interview.

Competitive history

*2003 Northern Colorado State, Novice, Light-Heavyweight 1st and overall *2003 NPC Colorado State, Light-Heavyweight, 1st *2004 NPC Colorado State, Heavyweight, 1st and Overall *2005 NPC Junior Nationals, HeavyWeight, 1st and Overall *2005 NPC USA Championships, HeavyWeight, 1st and Overall *2006 Colorado Pro Championships, 1st *2006 New York Pro Championship, 1st *2007 Arnold Classic, 5th *2008 IFBB Iron Man, 1st *2008 Arnold Classic, 2nd * 2008 Mr. Olympia, 3rd * 2009 Mr. Olympia, 5th *2010 Arnold Classic, 2nd * 2010 Mr. Olympia, 2nd * 2011 Mr. Olympia, 1st *2011 Sheru Classic, 1st * 2012 Mr. Olympia, 1st * 2012 Sheru Classic, 1st * 2013 Mr. Olympia, 1st * 2013 Arnold Classic Europe, 1st * 2014 Mr. Olympia, 1st * 2015 Mr. Olympia, 1st * 2016 Mr. Olympia, 1st * 2017 Mr. Olympia, 1st * 2018 Mr. Olympia, 2nd * 2020 Mr. Olympia, 3rd

References

External links

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Evolution of BodybuildingPhil Heath Workout
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Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...