All language subtitles for Kai.2022.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

[tense music]

[crowd cheering]

[host]
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome[inaudible]

[crowd applauding]

[host speaks inaudibly]

[host]
Ladies and gentlemen,
Kai Greene!

[crowd cheering]

[crowd screaming inaudibly]

[Kai]
Sometimes it's hard to remember
everything about yourself

and put bits and pieces
together, you see glimpses.

Some you want to rewind.

Some fast forward.

And some, you want to forget.

[crowd cheering]

[Kai]
I was once a bodybuilder.

I competed at the highest level

on the top stages in the world.

Bodybuilding was
more than a profession.

It was my calling.

It was my life.

For years and decades,

I competed with the expectation
of being able to do very well.

However, there are things that
are outside of your control.

What's up,
bodybuilding sports fans?

It is 2015.

and I am of the realization
that I am...

...not going to be allowed
to compete.

You don't get to this point...

...and just stop.

[sobs]
It doesn't happen like that.

This is not a movie.

This is not a movie.

This is...[inhales]
this is my life.

[crowd cheering]

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
Bodybuilding helped me
recognize my power.

And recognizing it,
you create anything you wanted,

even the impossible

because as sure as I was able
to look in the mirror

and see myself at 297 pounds.

There was a time
that wasn't the reality.

In fact, what it would take
to go from where I started

and literally have to teach
yourself how to the impossible.

Because it's always impossible
until you do it.

[crowd cheers]
Kai! Kai! Kai!

[inspirational music]

[lively music]

[man]
Can everybody stay with me?

Camera rolling.

Kai Greene documentary.

Take one.

Marker.

[interviewer]
Who are you? I mean,
how would you describe yourself?

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
My name is Kai Greene.

I'm a professional athlete,

entrepreneur, painter,

influencer, aspiring actor

and now a comic book artist.

The Chronicles of King Kai
is a story

that I have been writing
in my head since I was a kid.

It's more than just a fantasy.

It represents
the story of my life.

And I'm finally ready
to share this with the world.

[interviewer]
But you're most known
as a bodybuilder, correct?

[Mike]
Kai is a huge name
in bodybuilding.

He's the people's champ.

People still talk about him,

you know, he still has
a big following.

[Mike]
When Kai burst onto the scene,

he was a different kind
of bodybuilder.

Most other bodybuilders
were showing off

fancy cars and fancy homes.
Kai had none of that.

When I saw Kai,
I did see a hunger

that he really wanted
to be something more
than where he was.

He was just total tunnel vision
of what he was set out to do.

And I think
he started to realize,

"I got what it takes
to really be

one of the best bodybuilders
in the world."

And he was determined
to be the best in the world.

[interviewer]
So, Kai, where were you born?

[Kai]
I was born Leslie Green
in Brooklyn, New York.

The city was
a different place back then.

Only the strong
were meant to survive.

I was raised
without a father and lived

the early years of my life

with my biological mother
and younger brother.

[interviewer]
What is your earliest memory
from your childhood?

[clicks tongue] Hmm.

[baby crying]

[sad music]

[Kai]
I remember being a little boy
standing there crying

and remember
my little brother's eyes

while I watched
my biological parent...

...fighting with a man

that was going to be escorted
out of the house in handcuffs.

That image is still very real

because there's other times
in my life,

when I can see the little boy

crying.

And then see myself escorted
out of the house...

...with my hands in handcuffs.

My biological parent
was very strong...

...very aggressive,
very aggressive.

And some people
would say violent.

Yes. She would hit.

And she didn't care.

[Kai's mother
speaking intelligibly]

You don't have any respect
for your mother.

[unintelligible]

[muted]

[indistinct chatter]

[papers shuffling]

[phone ringing]

I remember once being a little
boy in a police precinct,

and I remember seeing
a bunch of confusion.

I hear papers shuffling.

I don't know where to look.

Phones are ringing.

It's still raining.

So many voices.

I hear metal on metal,
his handcuffs tighten.

Someone's trying to talk to us.

I remember talking
to strange men.

Of course, now I know
these men were detectives.

They wanted to see it
for themselves.

They needed to see.

See what she'd done.

Little boy in a police precinct
does have to go to court

because biological parent
was arrested,

I would eventually become
the state's star witness

against my biological mother

in a child abuse
and neglect case.

I wish I could look back
on that little boy

and say he was up
for the challenge.

Ready to become the master
of his own destiny.

But he was a kid,

a kid whose world
was crumbling around him.

He was scared.

[glass shattering]

"I didn't need sons.

I needed warriors."

That was the last thing
my mother said to me.

[gentle sad music continues]

[Kai]
My mother was very angry,
very upset.

You wouldn't know at that age
that things are gonna happen

and you're never gonna
be able to go back.

And it's never gonna be right.

But, yeah,

my brother and I became
a ward of the state.

Just like the boy
and the police precinct,

everybody in life has
to find their own direction.

At some point, you kind
of just have to identify

for yourself,
"What happens to me?"

The hero begins to make his way
and save his world.

[rain pattering]

[interviewer]
So how did you end up
in the correctional facility?

[school bell ringing]

[Kai]
I really didn't see myself
as a tough guy.

I wasn't one of those kids that
was carrying guns and stuff.

I was the kid
that had roaches in my house,

and I was the kid
that didn't want people

to know I had roaches
in my house.

And you wish that your...

...vulnerability wasn't
so clean and easy to see.

But you can't hide.
You can't run.

And now,
because it is what it is

you've got people standing there
want to tease you.

You get into a lot of fights,

but you are labeled
a behavior problem in class.

[tense music]

[Kai]
There was a task force
that was in the school

that was trying to do something
about some of the gang activity.

I carried a knife with me.

I had gotten into an altercation

earlier that day
with the teacher,

and I was accused of assault.

They asked me if I had a weapon.

I did hold the knife.

I was going to be charged
with assault

and carrying a weapon.

I can remember
that image of a man

being led out in handcuffs.

That image is so real, so real.

I've seen that in a few times,
but in different ways.

And the image of a man being
led out in handcuffs.

It was me.

I didn't face charges for that.
I just did that going upstate.

That was my introduction into
institutional facility living.

Yeah, I discovered
that I was there

and definitely not, um,
that wasn't the place for me.

[interviewer]
Were you scared?

Yes. Which was revealing
of the point

that I wasn't as tough
as I thought I was. [laughs]

[suspenseful music]

[Kai]
When getting into
the institutional facility,

one thing you did
was you learned

that you don't laugh
in the beginning,

because sometimes that will
present itself as weakness

and you can't expose
any vulnerability at all.

You don't sing, you don't dance.

I remember walking
through the gym.

There were a lot of people
that were playing,

but then there were these
other area where they weren't.

They were just six guys,
one of them took off his shirt

and I noticed
he had a mark on him,

it looked like a triangle
with circles.

That's a hurt.

A hurt with somebody
you did not want to be.

Somebody that was weak,
somebody that could not fight

and somebody
that would not fight.

That mark was a mark
that was described as an iron.

[steam hissing]

[Kai]
These guys were held down

and they dropped
that hot iron... on them.

But if you ain't able to fight,

then that can happen to you.
And no matter what happens,

I will not walk out
of here with a brand.

Did they try you? Yeah!

Did you win every fight? No.

One thing you don't like to do

is to put yourself in a position
where you are alone,

because they will try you.

One day you're doing
a cleaning detail.

When I first got there,
you didn't even
go to the bathroom.

I once held my stool,

for two weeks for fear
of being caught

in the bathroom alone.

The floors are painted green

and the walls
are cold white tiles.

Then you put
the cleaning agent on

and you start scrubbing
and singing and...

...and then the scene
just slowly changes.

Your singing has distracted you.

You didn't see it.

Everything that happens next
will help you understand...

...how you learn the lessons,
why you don't sing...

...and why you need
to learn how to fight.

To do that would
reveal weakness.

And if you appear weak,
then they will try you

and though you are
learning how to fight

and though you are
becoming masterful at it,

there will be those fights
that you don't...

...have really, really
awesome way of reporting.

It'd be hard to you.

[instrumental sad music]

[sobbing]

I struggled to come
to consciousness

and catch why I am
where I am at.

Who are they laughing at?

[Mike]
One of the very first things
I noticed were the scars

on his face.
I didn't know what it meant.

[Rodney]
He got into a fight
and they gave him a buck fifty.

A buck fifty is when they,
you know, they, when they,

they take a razor blade
and they go from,

you know, the front of your face
to the back of your head.

So buck fifty is a hundred
and fifty stitches.

[Kai]
That's why you need
to learn how to fight.

Because if you don't,
this would happen more

as you walk around with
a fucking sign on your back.

Like, yo, bring
this shit my way.

And that is not
gonna be tolerated.

So, yeah, I'mma learn
how to fight, man. I'mma fight.

I'm gonna keep fighting
and I'mma win.

[sighs]
'Cause I realize I'm fighting
for a lot more than just...

[sniffles]

This is more
than just bragging rights.

[suspenseful music]

I did push-ups
any way that I could,

and I got to a place
where I literally tried to do

1000 push-ups a night every day.

I would do push-ups until, like,
I felt like I couldn't move.

And I didn't just do push-ups.

I did whatever I could do.

Whatever I thought.

I'd do push-ups upside down
if I could,

I'd hang off the fucking
ceiling if I could.

I felt like my anger
would consume me,

like there wasn't a place big
enough on this planet...

...to hold the rage
that I had in my heart...

...and I wanted
to kill everything
and every living thing.

And I'll do these push-ups
and I start to imagine
that I can do better.

Sometimes I could just get down
and just start doing push-ups.

[sniffles] I mean,
it's these fucking push-up
because that's all I can do.

That's all I can fucking do.

I had to grow up.
and grow up fast.

I had to leave the boy behind
if I wanted to survive.

That's when Leslie,
the boy, was left behind.

My name is Kai.

I am, Kai.

[exhales]

[Kai]
I was afraid I was weak.

And I needed to be a warrior.
I needed to be stronger.

One of the ways
you're able to fight

psychologically was
to look imposing.

That's how bodybuilding helped.

It became the thing
that revealed to me

something very important
about myself.

[suspenseful music]

I remember a teacher.

He complimented
the fact that he saw me
as being very muscular.

He gave me a book.
It almost was an encyclopedia
of bodybuilding,

and at that time in my life,
I could not read

and that book was
a very intimidating book
to be able to hold it.

It looked like
embracing something

that was literally
the epitome to me

of what was impossible.

It was more than a dream.

It was a real vision,
a vision that I manifested.

My destiny was to become

the best bodybuilder
the world had ever seen.

Still believing that I could
compete one day,

I just started doing
what I thought I needed to do

and that is anything.

So I knew I was going
to need a diet

and the food that they gave you
in the institutional facility

was always soaking
in butter and oil.

It's grease.
I just thought, "Okay,
what is the way to diet?"

The bread and water.

I just feel like
I still grew like that.

I eat bread and water.

I had started trying
to learn how to read.

I kept working out.

The institution
did not fight me.

They started to let up
and allow me

the ability to have my bread,
to have water.

I had recognized the opportunity
that had available to me,

the work and effort
that had to go

into the letter writing
and the campaign

to get the right powers that be,

to allow me the privilege
of leaving the facility.

[gentle piano music]

[Kai]
I was actually allowed
to go and compete.

I felt like the world had just
opened up to me...

...and I stand there
on stage with athletes,

teenagers that had people
at home vested in
seeing them succeed.

And then there was you.

When they announced your name,

people really didn't
respond very much at all

because there was nobody
assembled there to come in
to see you.

There's gonna be no mom, no dad,
there's nobody going to be

sitting in the audience,
proud of you.

But you were proud.

I prepared,
and I prepared, and I prepared,
and I prepared it.

I saw it in my mind over
and over and over again.

I had now become... [sniffles]

...those things
that I dreamed about.

I wanted to be in a place
where I could...

[sobs] focus and...

...really believe
and commit to this idea

that I could create
my own future and possibility...

...of becoming something
more than just
this negative statistic

or this person
that could be locked away

and I could become... [sniffles]
whatever I said I want,

even if that ability felt
like it was impossible.

I can do that.

I was so excited I've won.

I've won.
And this seemed like something

that I could do.
I could do this. [sniffles]

[indistinct chatter]

[traffic humming]

[Kai]
Being a bodybuilder,
you are a performer.

Your job is to reveal
your physique artistically

and leave people in awe.

To me, acting is
a natural progression of that.

It's a craft
I decided to take seriously.

[inaudible]

Your natural action might,
might be

[unintelligible] or fear,
or different emotions.

so it just lets you immediately
start make choices...

[Kai]
But breaking in
and actually getting roles

is a whole new challenge.

[upbeat music]

It's got to be that way.

-[director] Yeah.
-[man] Yeah.

[people clapping]

[Kai]
The casting agent
might only see me

as a muscle man
who is trying to act.

Being successful
in bodybuilding and social media

allowed me to open up
a few doors in Hollywood.

One, two, fight!

[grunting]

[Kai]
I was able to land
a few roles so far.

Stranger things was my
introduction to this industry.

Nice to meet you, Ms. Jane.

That led to getting an agent.

[agent over phone]
Kai, they are basically
guest starring roles.

So you would be appearing in it,
I don't know how many times.

-What are we looking
at doing today?
-[agent] Regarding the press,

we have Huffington Post,

according to Annie,
and also, ABC News

that is interested
in doing a feature of Kai.

[Kai]
And sure, I got
a few people on my side.

My manager
and my business partners.

But things are not always
what they seem.

[manager]
Like, who would go on IMDB
to find Kai?

[agent]
Mostly producers and directors.

[Kai]
What is Rihanna's star meter?

[manager]
Rihanna star meter is 1449.

-Oh.
-[manager] And, and Kai's at 61.

-[laughter]
-[agent] Google like, let's say
[inaudible] Selena Gomez...

[manager]
No, the lower it is, the better.

-What?
-[manager] The lower the better.

[manager]
So your score is better
than Rihanna's right now.

[agent on phone]
Yeah, yeah, hundred percent.

-[manager] Yeah.
-[laughs]

-Okay.
-[agent on phone laughs]

-All right.
-[manager laughs]

[Kai]
I know that if I want to make

acting into a career,

I still have to break down
some of those doors

-and find my place.
-[manager] Like,
who would go on--

[tape rewinding]

[Kai]
After spending
six years upstate,

I was finally released
in the big city.

And just like that,
I was all alone again.

Leaving institutional facility
and finding a way to make do,

I just ended up in some
interesting places.

He had tough circumstances.

I mean, you know,
there are stories

where he was basically
living in a gym,

eating just cans of tuna
to live on for many years.

He was homeless, man.

[Kai]
Moving around
the state with people,

having lived in a building
that was condemned.

We didn't have electricity.

I lived somewhere between the
runaway... [chuckles] shelter,

getting a meal in the cafeteria,

sleeping on the train and riding
everywhere in New York.

[rails clinking]

[Kai]
The most frightening time
in my experience

is riding the train.

[man over radio] We're gonna
twenty eight. Come on,
try it when you're right.

[Kai]
I'd heard in the news
about people

that were setting people
on fire on the train,

the idea of being unconscious

and waking up to look
and see a match

seconds before you go up
in flames,

it really became a nightmare.

I started to understand
that I am not safe here.

I ended up trying to answer
the question of where to go.

What do I do for a living?
And how do I support myself?

At sixteen,
I was over two hundred pounds.

People would mistake me
for being an adult.

And it made it easier
to kind of walk into, like,

situations that you wouldn't
expect for a sixteen year old.

On St Mark's in Astor Place.
There was a runaway shelter.

As a teenager,
I remember being very
frustrated and confused.

I think I know everything,
but I really don't.

It turns out the counselor there
introduces you to another guy.

Technically, these people
work as scouts.

These guys are parasites.

They're gonna show you,
like, somethings

on the fringes of society.

That became the introduction
into like a lot of things.

But technically, the dancing.

-[electronic music]
-[people cheering]

[Kai]
We walked in what looked
like a peep show

and it was like, "Hey,
you know, we got this guy,

you know, he just, he just,
he can dance. He's good."

And it's like,
"Oh, he's good. He's with us."

He said, "Can he move?"

He said, "Yeah, he can move.

[stutters] Well, he will,

he'll make a lot of money here."
That's what he said.

He asked me
did I have a big cock.

I wasn't prepared for that.

I was going to go on that night.

[suspenseful music]

[Kai]
The lights are low
and in front of me.

There's a red exit door.

And I remember
standing on that stage,

and it's now... my turn.

The reality here
is that there's,

there's not a lot of women.

These are men.

You are now the performer
in this show,

but you don't know what to do.

[Rodney]
I started stripping at 21,

for the same reason
he started stripping, money.

But you know the consequences.

So when a man decides
he wants to strip,

that is a calculated choice.

Most of the guys that were
in shape in the gyms did it.

It wasn't frowned upon.

But they do it because they have
to make ends meet, to compete.

[George]
Listen, it's tough, man.
Our sports not cheap.

I remember seeing myself
evolve into,

you know, headline dancer.

That's me.

Wet, seduction, the slayer.

That's my name.

And male exotic entertainment...

...well, that's my game.

They love me.

The shame...

...the pain.

...I let them go
a long time ago.

I don't need

to make anyone proud of me.

I discovered
that I was very easily seduced

by the applause
from the audience,

and the approval
of the audience.

I could thrive on it.

And you work and you do that
while you still

continue to develop yourself
as an athlete.

You have to get
the experience to learn
how to compete successfully.

You can only do that
by just doing it.

it's not uncommon
to find that you can,

you know,
compete in the hundreds of shows

in ten years, you know,

in an effort
to still figure things out.

So I got a chance
to start competing.

I competed in a lot
of different organizations.

The harder I work,
the more development I saw.

But still,
I had a long way to go.

[host]
Pink is Rick McMillan.

[Kai]
I began competing with the NPC,

the National Physique Committee,

the most prestigious
amateur organization,

because it allowed a path
to advance to the pro level

and join the elite group
of bodybuilders.

[Rich]
Kai made that transition knowing
that the only path of success

in bodybuilding was to get
to the IFBB to eventually
get to the Olympia.

He made that move from going
from a smaller organization
to a bigger organization.

And that was the biggest
organization in the world.

It was the IFBB, but you had
to earn your right to compete

and give you Pro Card back,
but then you had to get one.

Getting a pro card
from the International
Federation of Bodybuilding,

aka the IFBB was a top honor.

This meant that you are now
a professional athlete.

[gentle music]

[Rich]
Many bodybuilders,
they do chase their Pro Card,

and some bodybuilders
either give up.

Into the '90s and into 2000,
it became a lot more difficult

'cause the competition
was just much more intense.

To learn about Kai
having difficulties

in getting his Pro Card,

taking many years
to get the Pro Card,

showed he had
that champion mentality

and wasn't going to give up.

[sad music]

[Kai]
When I finally got
my Pro Card,

it felt euphoric.

I felt like
I had accomplished something
that I have manifested.

But in reality,
my journey was just beginning.

I wanted to compete
and I wanted to win.

I remember being willing
to do more work

than anybody else would
be willing to do.

Nothing was going to stop me
from trying to get this.

I'd do whatever it was
that I thought I needed to do

in order to win.

Before I could even think
of winning the top title,

I had to face some
of the best pro bodybuilders

that were also coming up
at that time.

All were hungry,
all had great genetics

and all worked hard.

But there was one guy.

He got his Pro Card
a year after me.

Instantly, people took notice.

The whole industry saw
he was truly gifted...

...and was destined
to move up the ranks.

[drums beating]

[dial tone]

[agent over phone]
How you doing?

[Kai]
I'm good, man. How are you?

[agent on phone]
I'm good. I'm good. I hear, uh,

you've been getting
some interesting offers

[Kai]
Remember, I've mentioned that
I have a Hollywood agent now.

I've been pushing him
to lock in film and TV roles

in the US, but it's been slow.

I'm, however,
getting offers overseas.

[agent on phone]
You know, I don't know
if you should be taking

these roles overseas
to be honest.

I don't know if that's the right
choice for you right now.

[Kai]
Okay. All right.
I, I, I... Okay.

-[agent] Just mull it over,
think about it and...
-Yeah.

...and, um, you know,
we'll circle back to it,

and, and, uh, I think...

[Kai]
I have a decision to make.

Do I stay
and keep waiting for offers...

...or go where people
want to see me

and give me more opportunities?

-[agent] ...as always.
-Hey, likewise. Thanks again.

-All right.
-Let's just keep it working.
All right.

[funky music]

[people speaking inaudibly]

[Kai]
Despite my agents wishes,
I went to India

to shoot the movie
calledPogaru.

It was a much needed experience

to further my acting
and to work with a crew.

No grab. no grab...

Acting is about
finding your strength.

like bodybuilding,
sculpting a character.

[man speaking unintelligibly]

Hello.

[Kai]
The following year,
Pogaru would open in theaters

in the number one spot
all over India.

[director]
Action! [unintelligible]

[Kai]
I've been playing and creating
roles my entire life.

Even the persona of Kai Greene,

was built
on the necessity of survival.

It was the role of a warrior
who continued to fight.

[grunting]

[men speaking
unintelligibly over TV]

[tape rewinding]

[rails clinking]

[electronic music]

[Kai]
I was still dancing.
It didn't always go so well.

I had just had a not
so extraordinary performance,

but I did make a whole lot
of tips that night.

So at the end of the day,

you came
in a fifty dollar deficit.

Translation.
I made no money that night.

This was serious.
If we didn't dance,
we don't eat.

The gentleman comes up to me
and he gives me a business card.

He says, um, "I'd like
to book you to perform,

Do your same show.
But I just want to film it."

And he said what he'd paid,
and I'm thinking... [gasps]

Meanwhile, inside I'm already
doing a happy dancing,
praising God.

I'm thinking, this is,
this is, this is great.

I performed the act
and then I finish,

and, yeah, I bring her out.

You know who she is. She's,

well, the whole world got
a chance to meet her.

Um, it was a grapefruit.

I performed, I got paid
and that was like the beginning

of doing a couple of videos.

There was some controversy
there, all about,

uh, you know, some of that porn.

[Rodney]
Listen, you saw him
do something funny.

simulated, like a magician does
something you thought you saw,

but he never did
anything triple X.

I would define them
as almost like Playboy rated,

one X, he needed money.

[interviewer]
Did you think
that these recordings

would come back
to hurt Kai later?

I didn't want to see
it bother him,

but I told him
that was going to happen.

It didn't take much
to understand

that they're
gonna mess with you.

[gentle music]

[Kai]
You're really still like
crawling through the weeds,

trying to get yourself
on the radar.

I continued to work.
I still danced.

I trained, like,
six hours a day.

You really were just starting
from scratch all over again.

A small fish in a huge ocean.

My pro career hadn't exactly
gotten off to a great start.

I did a few competitions
and placed dead last.

Those were real
learning experiences.

I think my breakout show
was the Colorado Pro 2006.

Rodney St. Cloud
had approached me

about doing a posing routine
together on stage.

There was
a ten thousand dollar prize

up for the best posing routine

because Rodney and I
had been crossing paths
in the dance game.

He had said to me, we
should definitely do a set.

[Rich]
Posing is critical.

It is one
of the most grueling things.

When you present yourself
on stage,

you have to be able to show
that you are having fun.

And if you don't practice that,

you look like
you're straining the whole time.

And looking at the way
Kai would pose,

you would know
that he did hours and hours

of practicing
the posing routine.

Rodney had made the top six
in that show.

So after the prejudging,
he was told

to leave
that monkey shit to Kai to do.

That broke his heart.

Pissed me f-- off, man.

So I told Kai,
"Listen, you do the routine.

You're better than me.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[lively music]

[Jerry]
So if you watch Kai's
posing routine,

to say it's artistic would be
putting it mildly.

It's almost like
he's dancing on stage,

and I've seen him come out
with masks on
and stuff like that.

He's out to not only
display his muscles,

but he's trying
to entertain the audience.

What is bodybuilding
if it's not presentation
and entertainment.

Kai entertains, Kai performed.

It was just so different

than mostly other routines
you had seen.

I mean, he just, you know,
he utilizes the whole floor.

He's very theatrical.

Kai sit down,
actually, before the show,

and he'd draw every move
he's gonna do and stuff.

[Rich]
He would wow the audience

doing stuff
that you've never seen.

and actually, he used poses
that he did in stripping

and used it in bodybuilding.

[Kai]
Long story short,
I did my routine,

Roddy did his routine,
and Kai Greene got a check
for 10000 dollars

and we won the best poser award.

And that best posing routine
was the beginning of,

"You'll see a lot
of other things happen."

[man]
He took that ten grand.
Then he bought the food

and he did what he had to do.

He won the money
and he still shared

the prize money with me,
and I will never forget that.

[Kai]
It would just so happened
that my path

would cross with this guy's path

with the bald head
and the round muscles.

And even then,
I didn't understand

just how significant
a personality

and character he was going
to become in my life

and in my career.

Phil was already claiming off.

Phil already had the contracts

that people wait five,
ten years for.

Phil had it off the bat.

[Gerard]
At the time, nobody was even

really thinking
about Phil Heath.

Then all of a sudden,
this guy comes to the scene

and he's mixing things up
pretty fast and pretty quick.

So it's almost like maybe
somebody's pros were like,
"Hey, wait a minute.

This kid doesn't
belong here yet."

But in fact he did

because his body was,
you know, he was that good

Phil's phenomenal.
I mean, he's called The Gift
for a reason.

[George]
You know why he's The Gift?
Because the guy's just

so pretty to look at.
He got everything.

[Rich]
When you look at Phil,
he's genetically gifted

as he had that small waist
and wide shoulders.

He was totally balanced,
you know,

between his upper body,
his lower body,

he had the muscles
that were like

almost bulbous, you know,
they popped, so on stage,

he was very impressive.

When I saw Phil Heath
win that show,

I said, here's
the next Mr. Olympia.

Phil Heath, the guy
with the bald head
and the round muscles.

He actually placed first
at that show.

And Kai Greene,
the guy doing the monkey shit

Kai Greene placed fourteen.

[interviewer]
Phil Heath interview.
Take one.

You know what,
if he was sitting right here,

which, he ain't coming, right?
No. [laughs]

That show in particular,
I think there's a lot of guys

that, in my opinion,
were like the same.

So I don't feel like he was
lacking that much.

I actually feel like
he just was lacking

maybe some harder muscles.

Um, and that could have been
just a prep thing.

I do feel that it was more
about his size.

Kai was natural
at the 2006 Colorado.

So strategically,
have you got a guy

that's natural looking
like this?

And this guy is pushing
his... [chuckles]

...pushing his regimen
beyond belief.

If he gets what you got,
he's going to beat you.

[Kai] I think that was
the last time I was going to be
placed at that low at a show.

I was very, very,
very clear about knowing
that you can work very hard

and you don't want to work
to be the last guy on the stage.

[gentle piano music]

[Kai]
After placing last over
and over again,

I had to make
some tough decisions.

I had to do what I had to do.

I had to improve.

I had to chase that wind

whatever it took
to get the qualification

for the Olympia.

Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler
were ruling the Olympia stage.

In order for me
to stand close to them,

I had to get bigger
and more defined.

Part of the improvement
that was required

in order to move up in the ranks
would be to put on more size.

If you were not a certain size,

you weren't identified
as being pro-caliber yet.

I didn't drink. I didn't smoke.

I maintained
a drug-free lifestyle.

I never wanted to take steroids.

Being unenhanced
was important to me,

at least at that point
in my life.

But I wanted to become
a really good athlete.

I would spend a lot of time

in doing whatever I could do

to discover more information
about that.

And, uh,
I began to seek out the support

and wisdom from an old friend.

that from what I understood

had a much clearer
and diversified understanding

of the dark arts.

I had to do what I had to do.

[Mike] I think he tried to take
natural as far as he could,
but there comes a point

where, when to be
the greatest of all time,

you've got to take some risks
and he began to take his risks

and like everyone does.

There shouldn't be
a stigma attached to it,

but because there is
many bodybuilders hold that

close to the vest
and they won't talk about it,

even though we understand
that's a necessary part

of taking your body
beyond its natural limits.

It's what bodybuilding is.

You need to have
the regimen on deck.

And again, I'm sorry to crush
your dreams or whatever.

Your regiment is so extreme

that 99% of the people
watching this have no clue.

To be straight up, his career
shifted like everyone knew

when he started
taking something.

[laughs] It was just
a matter of time.

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
I needed to do more work
if I wanted to win

in and out of the gym.

I was willing to train
until my muscles burst.

The Olympia was my dream...

...and I was chasing it.

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
I spent a lot of years training

and eventually I became
more successful

and capable of climbing
to the next rung.

That was on Arnold Classic.

[gentle piano music]

[Kai]
In 2009, I was invited to
compete at the Arnold Classic.

Appearing on this stage
is an honor.

But I didn't come here
to make an appearance.

I came to fight.

The Olympia was like
the Super Bowl,

and there was nothing
higher than that.

The Arnold Classic
was the necessary step

towards winning the Olympia.

That was the beginning
of being Mr. Olympia.

Once you won the Arnold,
you are pretty much
open for the Olympia.

The Arnold Classic was
the premiere show opportunity

that represented
and carried the name
of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

To compete
at the Arnold Classic...

...it was by invitation only.

[dramatic music]

[crowd cheering]

[Kai]
I worked hard, but there was
always a sheer of doubt,

And that was because
Victor Martinez,
the Dominican Dominator,

said that he was coming
into that show.

[Gerard] People had really
predicted that Victor was going
to be the next Olympia.

So Victor was
on that trajectory.

So then here comes Kai.

[Victor]
Showtime comes. I'm looking
at a branch, you know?

And then there's Kai.
My man looked cut off for me.

Kai is Kai, man.
Kai has always been a threat.

I never looked that Kai lightly.
I knew Kai was great.

[dramatic music playing]

[crowd cheering]

[Victor]
I was the favorite,
but the thing is

he did everything so precise

he steps out, and there
was just what bodybuilding

should be
and it was always different.

[Rich]
If you look at Kai's
conditioning for that 2009,

it was pretty impressive.

I mean, he was pretty peeled.

He was just in phenomenal shape,
he wowed the audience.

He did everything that was
needed to win that show,

and then his presentation
was so spectacular.

It was icing on the cake,
and that's where you noticed.
"Who is this guy?"

[host]
Let's bring out our top six.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[Kai]
As the judges announce
the places,

you want to be
the last man standing.

But it's nerve racking,
and it feels like time stops

as they call the names,
one by one.

They get to fifth place...

...fourth place
and it's not you.

[host speaking inaudibly]

[Kai]
You're still standing.

And then... there are two left.

[Victor]
I think it was just the pain
that that he just went through.

I think he put his guts
on this one, man.

When Kai came out, I'm like,
"Psst, Oh, no, Kai got it."

[laughs]

[Kai]
When they announced my name
in the first place,

it took a minute to say again.

[host]
The 2009,
Arnold classic champion,

-Kai Greene.
-[crowd cheers]

[Kai]
I was now
the Arnold classic champion.

I did this.

[gentle piano music]

[Kai]
I worked my ass off...

...and I got the win.

I got my prize money
and I got my respect.

I was a pro

with a major win and...

...and Olympia qualification.

[Rich]
I definitely think
that the Arnold Classic win

for Kai was a pivotal moment
in his career

and winning the Arnold Classic,

you're normally destined
to be able to be the top three

or winner of the Mr. Olympia.

[crowd cheering]

[background chatter]

Good morning,

What's up? What's up?

What's up, big man?
How's everything?

The Arnold Classic
Sports festival.

I used to compete here.

[man]
We're getting photos here.

[Kai]
Now I return here
as an influencer.

Even though I don't compete,

people seem happy to see me.

It feels surreal to see
that they recognize me.

-Thank you so much.
-Great talk.

-God bless you,
brother. [grunts]
- Thank you. God bless you.

[Kai]
They want a handshake.
some an autograph.

Maybe a selfie.

They respect my career
in bodybuilding.

Some know me from social media.

We're keeping
our fingers crossed.

[inaudible]

[Kai]
Avid bodybuilding fans

always ask when do I plan

to make a comeback to the stage?

[man]
We'll talk. You, you'll respond.

[Kai]
I usually smile

[chuckling] and change
the subject.

[indistinct chatter]

[Kai]
Being here this time
feels different.

I'm presenting,
The Chronicles of King Kai.

As I mentioned, I have worked

on this graphic novel
my whole life.

I feel the pressure.

but I stay confident. I smile.

This is a new beginning.

[host speaks inaudible]

[man]
Oh, hey!

Hey, look who's back.
Thank you, everybody.

-All right, all right.
-[host] And...

[crowd cheers]

[man]
Whoa!

Oh, boy!

[host]
You actually got a camera,
a really hi-tech camera,

overhead that is going
to watch what you draw.

No intimidation at all.

-[Kai] No pressure.
-[host] So, uh...

[Kai]
I do feel passionate
about succeeding.

What I identify with being
successful has changed a lot.

There was a time when going
to a bodybuilding
stage anywhere,

it would have been
something that I would have

worked tirelessly
and passionately for.

But right now
we're in another place.

There are other challenges.
There are other things to do.

If you want
to be successful then you have
still a lot of work to do.

[crowd cheering]

[inaudible]

[tense music]

[Kai]
After the Arnold Classic,
I expected to have

at least two contracts,
one with the supplement company.

[Gerard]
When I saw Kai, I was like,

"Yeah, this guy
has got what it takes."

It was nice to give him a little
bit more financial support.

[Kai]
I also landed an endorsement
with Weider publications.

The most prestigious fitness
media conglomerate
founded by Joe Weider.

[Mike]
Joe Weider made IFBB.
He made bodybuilding.

And you would always want to be
under contract with Joe

because that's the cover the
magazines, that's the stories.

You're getting verified on
"You're one of the greatest."

[Kai]
Later that year, I gave up
dancing once and for all

and settled in a small
apartment in the projects.

Here, I was able to focus
on the next step.

My life's goal to hold
the title of Mr. Olympia.

The biggest show in the IFBB
is the Mr. Olympia.

That was usually the end game.

It's hard enough
to become a bodybuilder,

But then to win the pinnacle
of all the contests

and be thenumber one
bodybuilder in the world.

What percentage
of the population

can even aspire to do that,
let alone achieve that?

[Kai]
First time on the Olympia stage,

it was a stack show,
and he was there also.

You know, the man
with the round muscles,

Jay got
the Sandow trophy that year.

I got four.

[Mike]
He was disappointed with that.

That was a better first placing

than many other champions
had done in the past

and yet that still
wasn't enough for him.

He truly expected to win.

[Jerry]
If you're entering
the Olympia the first time

and you make the top six,

that means you are already
qualified for the next year.

You've met one hurdle.
Plus, you've beaten

some of the best bodybuilders
in the world

because everybody
in the Mr. Olympia is good.

[Phil]
I'm like, "Man, I was a point
away from beating this dude."

We're going to be seeing
each other again.

And, of course,
my whole mentality,

after my first Olympia being
third place to getting fifth

and then having him ahead
of me pissed me off.

So I was like, "I'm coming back.
I'm kicking everybody's ass."

[Kai]
2010 Olympia turned out
to be something else.

That show ended up being
a breakout moment for The Gift.

Jay reclaimed the title,

but Phil... went up
to second place.

At that moment, we all knew

that there was a new force
in bodybuilding.

A new era was about to begin.

I got seventh place.

I was no longer
in the spotlight.

The thinking is that
to win the Olympia

you got to be big, big, big,
the biggest guy,

the thickest guy wins.
He overwhelms everybody.

So I think what happened was
Kai made a mistake

and he tried to enter
a little bit too big.

[Gerard]
The criticism of that show,
I believe,

was that he came in too big.

Unfortunately, a lot of times,

bodybuilders aren't judged
by who they're standing against.

They are sometimes judged by
how they've looked in the past.

So in their mind,
Kai is not at his best.

I've got to mark him down
for this.

Now, sometimes that happens.

When you're looking
at bodybuilders, that elite,

they're very, very close.
So Kai was off.

Whatever happened that caused
him to go down to three places.

[Kai]
Some fans thought
I was a fluke.

Someone who came up on the scene
and burnt out too fast.

[George]
You can see in his eyes.

He was so disappointed.
They're so hurt.

And that's when everybody,
like, that's it,
they thought Kai is done.

[suspenseful music]

[Mike]
He wouldn't let any of us
around him for a while.

We all waited outside
of the venue

for about an hour,
and even then,

when he came out,
he collapsed on the sidewalk.

And he started a monologue
of disappointment and sadness.

That was really very touching.

-This was, this was it.
-[woman] Yeah.

Yeah.

This was it.

And...

That used to be like...

...[inaudible]
mother or grandmother.

I feel like something dying.

[Mike]
I know that he was
questioning his future.

If he wanted to continue,
I know that he was questioning

everything he had done up
until that point

if it was worth it,
he was questioning everything.

Some of us thought he,
he might even quit
at that point.

[tape rewinding]

[pencil scratching]

[Kai]
Luckily for me,
things are finally paying off.

The novel has been
generating interest

and we have structured a deal
with the studio

to produce it
into an animated series.

[phone ringing]

Hey! Oh, yeah.

You here? All right.

Hey. [laughs]

Right, Alan.
I got to get off the phone.

-[laughter]
-[Alan speaks inaudibly]

-So...
-I'm really excited to hear
what the next step is.

To tell you the truth, everyone
is hyped for this project.

But, you know, the,
the team just didn't feel

that the prologue showcasing you
throughout your childhood

wasn't really going to resonate
well with the audience.

But how does that mean?
You don't lose the prologue.

Prologue, it is the story.
It's the story.

Listen, I'm just
telling you the feedback
that I got from the producers.

These are the guys
putting the money into this.

But we still need to do a story
that is true to my own.

And if we don't tell the story
the way it is,

it just becomes something
for a cash grab.

People appreciate
your dedication,

your passion, your creativity.

We've got to stick
more mainstream, though,

so hoping that we can come to
common grounds here because...

[Kai]
Meetings like this,
they're part of the process.

I feel like it's just
one of those things
that have to happen.

It's like going to your earlier
bodybuilding competitions

and your head and your heart
set on a certain outcome.

This didn't happen exactly
the way that I expected it to.

As far asThe Chronicles
of King Kai's concerned,

those are my names,
those are my ideas.

These are things
that aren't negotiable.

There's too much value there
to compromise on that.

So... I need to have as much
of what we're doing work.

So that we can get this story,
my story, in the spotlight

-and where it needs to be.
-Listen, I hear you,
uh, believe me,

and I'm just telling you
what their feedback is.

Some of what you've done
is a little too abstract

and I think that if we stick
between these lines

um, that it will
be more fruitful,

and it will
then allow you to unlock

uh, much more down the road.

Is that the only bone
of contention

that they shared with you
or is this something else?

You know, they,
they like the whole idea

of even the magical individuals

to have um, two arms.

They just think that four arms
is very expensive,

so not only for budgets
but just because

people associate
having four arms,

they could be evil,
and dark, and very negative.

Um, I don't think
that that's a major change,

but wanted your feedback
on that one.

Draconian's have four arms.

[sighs]

I know that there are some

compromises that have to be made

if you consider yourself

a creative writer.

It doesn't sound like
that's something

that's too hard to do.

But I'm still developing
my skill sets.

[Alan]
Thank you.

[Kai]
Whatever you write,
you still have to be,

you know,
true to the story at his mind.

This is not,
this is not my story.

This is not my story.

[sad piano music]

[funky music]

[Kai]
I had to figure out
what went wrong

and most importantly,
how to fix it.

[George]
This coach tried
to blame it on him,

and he said, "You know,
you couldn't hold your belly.

You should have ate less
and this..."

And Kai told me, he said,
"I looked at him.

I was, 'Okay'."
He said, "That's it."
And then he left.

He said, "That was
the last time I talked to him."

So Kai started working
with George Farah in 2010.

He is an ex-pro bodybuilder,

very knowledgeable
with nutrition and training.

I think Kai hired him
on his reputation.

He had already
worked with several

successful professional
bodybuilders.

I think it was a great call.

George is a great guy.
He's an experienced guy.

He's been
around the industry forever.

They have a great connection.

I know he made a lot of changes
in how Kai ate.

So he was able to help him
hone in on his genetic potential

to get to that top spot.

-I told you last time.
-How to do these?

[George unintelligible]

Out this way
and box in like that.

We started the,
we did the New York Pro.

[tense music]

[Kai]
Since I failed to place in
the top five the year before

I needed to get
an Olympia qualification again.

So we made a decision.
And I entered the New York Pro

right here in my hometown.

I was focused.

I followed the plan.

I came in to dominate.

[crowd cheers]

[Kai]
Hungry to win.

That night,

I reminded people

I was not a fluke.

He goes, "Man, do you think
I'm going to be okay?"

Now I was just looking
at the freaking freak,

I looked at him
and he will tell you this.

I said, "Kai, listen to me.

If anybody beat you
at that show...

...I'm going to quit.

There's nobody beating you, bro.

I swear, I still remember

I got goose bumps
when he walked out.

He won the show.

[Kai]
With my number one placing,

I was headed
to the Olympia again.

[gentle music]

[host]
Folks, I know a few of you
have got to be here

for the Mr. Olympia prejudging.

You know, Jay Cutler has
returned the strive for five.

However, The gift informs me

that he is
in his all-time best shape.

Will the student
beat the teacher...

...or will a predator emerge?

[Kai]
I arrived to Las Vegas later
that year to seek redemption.

He worked hard.
He really worked hard, man.

He busted his ass.
He did whatever he had to do.

[Kai]
The Gift made history
that night by becoming

the thirteenth man
to hold the title Mr. Olympia.

[Rich]
2011 was a pivotal
moment in bodybuilding

because you saw Phil move up
to first place.

But then you saw Kai Greene
move to the third place.

So although Kai didn't get
second, he was right there

because you had Jay as Mr.
Olympia dropped out of place.

[Kai]
But it wasn't good
enough for me.

I knew that I could be
number one.

That haunted me.

After winning the Olympia

the eyeballs are now on me.

The writing was on the wall
that Jay was on his way down.

It was going to be a war
against Phil and Kai.

That's what started
th-- that big rivalry.

[gentle piano music]

[Phil]
I'm more than best
at what I do.

There's no way I'm gonna lose.

[suspenseful music]

[indistinct chatter]

[Kai]
2012 was an interesting year.

The documentary was being made
about the upcoming Olympia,

and some of the top guys were
taking part in it.

We all wanted to win.

And once the cameras were on,

we expressed it
in different ways.

[Phil]
Guess what Kai,
you've been bodybuilding

for twenty years,
I've been bodybuilding for,

it will be ten in October.
I'm already better than you.

You know it. But now you're
making an excuse, saying

"Oh, he got this, he got that."
No, dude. I earned it.

For him to make
it seem like, um,

I've been privileged
and this and that.

He's just trying
to play on the fact
that he had a rough upbringing

quit thinking
about thirty years ago,

but obviously his mind
doesn't think like that.

He thinks that everything
was handed.

It's because I'm better, man.

There's so many things
that can influence

what a person says
with their mouth that...

...we can't really go by.

Words, lips,
tongues can betray you

but there's something
to be said for hard work.

We can say, keep your gifts.

I work hard.

I know how to work real hard.

[man]
The subculture
in the sport was a buzz

with the talk about the film.
This was a really big deal.

There was a lot of people that
were paying attention to it.

[Kai]
Being in the spotlight,
we felt even more pressure

going into this Olympia.

Phil had a lot to prove
as the current champion.

[Phil]
I better kick the shit out
of this dude,

because the last thing
I want to do

is be a one hit wonder man,
because if I lose this,

I don't know if I'm gonna be
able to get it back.

I didn't believe
that it was going to be

one of those situations
where he would win one year,

I would win the next.

Whoever wins
this particular year

is just going to go,
because that in my opinion

becomes more of a standard
for the judges.

[crowd cheering]

[suspenseful music]

[Kai]
Bodybuilding is
a subjective sport,

But there is criteria.

Muscularity, definition and,
of course, posing.

Size does matter

but it's way more
than just size.

You have to know how to present

the package that you've built

on the stage
in its peak condition.

You have to show muscularity
with the lowest of body fat
percentage possible.

The mandatory poses need to be
executed flawlessly.

You have to hold those poses,

front double bicep, side chest,

back double bicep,
front lat spread,

each quarter turn
you have to make sure

every part
of your body is in sync.

The leg muscles have to flex
along with the upper body.

In the comparison round, you
have to out-pose your opponent.

[Rich]
They'll call out
a pose to compare,

say, a front double bicep of two
competitors that are very close.

So abdominals
and thighs or back pose.

And what the judges are doing,
they are assessing,

you know, which person
or individual is better
than the other individuals.

And a lot of times
it could be very close.

So you have to really go over
and over with the call outs.

Judges will then try
to pick apart the physiques

by looking at what's the weak
points on certain physiques.

But when you're
at an elite level,

like the Mr. Olympia,
there's very few weaknesses.

[crowd cheering]

[host]
Judges wait to see...

...Phil Heath...

[crowd cheers]

...Kai Greene, please.

[Kai]
The first day
during prejudging rounds.

It was intense.

The energy
in the arena was high.

Everyone felt the tension.

[host speaking inaudibly]

[Phil]
So Kai had
always outweighed me,

and I'm sure he did that night,

but I looked more dense,

than he did in some poses,

like in the back
and stuff like that.

I trained for more
on the eccentric side of things

and developing
with different fibers.

So I looked more dense
because I knew that

that was his strength.

Him on the other hand
from what I saw

was probably like,
"Well, Phil's more conditioned.

So I got to bring
that same type of conditioning.

So if I have to lose
a little bit more body weight

or like a fullness
I can compare better

'cause Phil is the standard."

And I believe
that's what we saw.

He was ripped.

[inaudible chatter]

[Kai]
After the prejudging round,
George told me...

...it was close.

[George]
They always say
in order for you to win,

you've got to knock
the champion out

and we had enough

but it wasn't a knockout,
knockout per se.

So that's why
I told Kai is very close.

I'm not going to lie to him.
I told him it's very close.

[Kai]
Phil looked upset.

It seemed that he was also told

that it was close.

[inaudible]

What else can I do? [laughs]

You know, I mean, you tell me

where I can be tighter,
you know?

I think I was tighter
than last year, easily.

[Kai]
The word is around
that it's close.

[Phil]
Well, maybe it's close
because it is close.

Maybe it's close
because they don't want
to come back to me

and have my head get big
and me not perform well.

Maybe it's close
because they want people to buy

the next day ticket.
I don't know.

But I knew that I had
a fight on my hands.

[gentle piano music]

[tense music]

[gentle music]

[muted]

[inspirational music]

[crowd cheering]

[Rich]
Kai Greene and Phil Heath
both have great genetics.

Phil has like a smaller waist.

He has more rounder muscles.

But then you compare Kai,

maybe Kai has
a slightly wider waist.

The way his back goes
into his waist

is different than the way
Phil's back goes into it.

I see Phil has more
of a prettier physique

where Kai Greene has
this freaky physique.

So you're looking at two
different types of physiques.

You have apples to oranges.
So, which body is better

depends on the judges.

They're both very impressive.

Kai's got things
about his physique
that you're just like, "Wow!"

The thickness of his thighs,
you know, are incredible.

But then when you look
at Phil and you look
at the thickness of his arms,

shoulders, and he gets
into the most muscular.

His traps.
It's just, everything is round,
full and he's conditioned.

On the proportions,
it's a little bit
of a problem with Phil, he,

his arms and shoulders
completely overpowers his torso.

He looks like he has
underdeveloped pecs.

Kai doesn't have that problem.

Second of all, Kai has all
the body parts just like Phil.

I think he has a little
bit better proportions,

a little bit more symmetrical.

But I think Kai,
when he's in top shape,

has a little bit
more muscle definition

at the back
and a slightly wider back.

[female judge]
Okay, we got one more call.

I need Phil and Kai back.

Okay, now.

[crowd cheers]

Quarter-turn to-- no,
wait, hold on, stop it.

No, wait, stay back
on the line both of you.

And do me a favor,
take two steps to your,

two steps to your right.

[crowd cheers]

[gentle piano music]

Okay, do me a favor, take
a step apart from each other.

there's plenty of room.

Got to stay on the same side.

Come on, a little bit
of room between you.

Come on, Phil,
take one more, yep.

Thank you. Okay, now. Front.

Front double bicep.

[crowd cheering]

[Kai]
The space is telling
me that it's responding to me.

[crowd cheers]

[Kai]
They see my effort.
I've worked for this.

I know what I'm doing here.

I'm not in the wrong place.

Everything we've done,
cutting the water
when you did it,

how we did it, when we pull
this, when we pull that,

pushing the carb,
pulling the carb back,

[unintelligible]
how we did it, whatever we did,

it's all worked
because right now...

...I don't need a mirror
in front of me.

I can just watch
how they respond.

Yes, it's happening. I'm ready.

[indistinct chatter]

[judge]
Ladies and gentleman,
we have a one-point decision.

[crowd cheers]

[host]
Gentlemen, please take...

...the first-place award...

...The Olympia Gold Medal...

...the Sandow Trophy,

the check for two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars...

...and the title
of 2012 Mr. Olympia...

[crowd cheers]

...Phil Heath!

[crowd applauding and cheering]

[sad music]

[Kai]
I was unable
to knock him out.

I tried.

But...

...the champ stood on his feet.

[Phil]
I definitely believe
that the rivalry

wasn't at his peak yet.

But it was just the beginning.

And I didn't walk out
of that fight

without a nick or bruise either.

I still knew that it's
the Phil and Kai show.

Yeah. The show goes on.

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
A lot started happening
before 2013 Olympia,

the documentary
that we had been a part of

was being released
and we were eager to support it.

[Interviewer]
Kai Greene, welcome
to New York. How you doing?

I am great.
Thank you for having me.

[TV host]
The two time Mr. Olympia.
Phil, The Gift, Heath.

His new bodybuilding docudrama
titled Generation Iron

is a remake of the 1977--

I believe that fan bases
collide trash talk

and social media
started getting into it.

He's being vocal in some ways.
I'm doing it.

I don-- I don't know
if I said anything. I'm, I'm,

I'm sure, knowing my ass,
I probably did.

We do know
that it was very fierce

and not always so friendly
between the two...

[laughs] between the two
of them.

[dramatic music]

[Rich]
The rivalry years
of 2012, 2013, 2014

was great for bodybuilding
because you had
two great physiques,

going head to head
against each other.

[George]
You're talking
about the best in the world

when you are talking
about Kai and Phil

I don't think we never have
a rivalry like this.

[Phil]
We weren't friends.

We were not friends.

There was respect, but that was
it. Red Sox and Yankees.

[George]
They are totally
different individual.

Phil, he came out
as a cocky person,

like, "I don't care.
I'm winning."

[Rich]
Phil Heath, as great as he was,

he wasn't favored or liked

because he had so much arrogance
in who he was.

[Phil]
This is my town.
This is my show.

This is my title.
This is my throne.

And I refused to give it
to anybody.

[Rich]
Where you saw, this guy, Kai,

he was this hard working guy.
He didn't talk a lot.

But he was there doing the work,

and he was there
proving it on stage.

And I think people relate to him

because not too many people
have the gift.

[gentle music]

[Kai]
So as my name started
to rise in the industry,

I started seeing
some hate as well.

Mostly, there were people
in bodybuilding blogs

talking shit
about my appearance,

my hair, some caught wind

of the fact
that I used to dance.

I ignored all of it.

Then one day,

I heard that some of the tapes

that I had recorded earlier
in my career

started leaking out online.

This is about surviving, man.
I know guys who did much worse.

[Gerard]
He didn't do anything
to hurt anybody else.

These were all decisions
that he made

only at the consequence
of himself.

[Victor]
It's nothing.
What Kai did was basically

feed the pigeons
when they said don't feed them

and you guys are making
a big deal about it.

[laughs] I mean,
guy's, the guy's got to eat.

And to be quite honest, I looked
at it as massive trash talking

to try to pull him down

but then be like, "Oh, yeah,
you know, but he's great."

It's like, "But then what was
the point of saying that stuff?"

[crowd cheering]

[Kai]
Arriving to Vegas felt
a little different
this time around.

I felt support from the people

that saw the film, and
gravitated towards my story.

I knew going in 2013
that he's going all out.

He's trying to wreck my party.

[George]
Phil was disappointed
because he heard

some boos
during the prejudging.

[Phil]
2013, he looked incredible.

I'm standing right next to him
backstage, and I'm like,

"Whoa! He's sick."

I go up on stage. I do my thing.

I get one call out. It's a wrap.

When they said Phil back
in line, I was like,

"I did my job. I beat that ass.

It's a wrap.
I killed this dude."

And I know I probably killed
his confidence a little bit too.

I was just that good that night

that time the judges
gave me the nod.

[host]
Three times,
Mr. Olympia, Phil Heath!

[crowd cheering]

[Kai]
When they announced
his name again,

everything[inaudible]

[host]
Congratulations to Phil Heath.

[Kai]
But mentally, I was gone.

[host]
Once again, Kai Greene...

[Kai]
I failed to deliver the care.

To deliver the knockout
next time.

[host]
Tonight here, Mr. Olympia, 2013

[Kai]
We had to wow the judges.

[commentator]
I think they are well deserved.

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
I had to get bigger.

But maintain
superior conditioning.

As I mentioned before,
muscle and size matters
in bodybuilding.

But without definition, it's
impossible to be Mr. Olympia.

[Victor]
A lot of us were strong,
but the way he executed

the movements and the way
he moved the weights,

at ease,
it was just unfathomable.

[man]
And I take it,
he's extremely focused.

You could have a bomb go off
in the next room.

He's just focused on the muscle
he's working.

That's probably one of the keys
to his success.

[Gerard]
He was eating
an enormous amount of food.

I mean, he was eating
incredible amounts of food.

I think here for 2014,
I think his mindset was,

this is the year,
he's got to do it.

[dramatic music continues]

[muted]

[host]
Ladies and gentlemen,
boys and girls,

fans from around the world,

welcome to Joe Wieters

50th Olympia.

[crowd cheers and applauds]

[Phil]
I'm dedicating this Olympia win
to my late father,

Don Heath,
who passed away in March.

-[crowd cheers]
-You know, I,
I made sure that, uh.

throughout his struggle
with amyloidosis

that I was able to, you know,
see him in the city,

Seattle, Washington,
where I grew up...

You know, obviously,
at that time,

I had just recently
lost my father,

and my focus was honoring him,

taking it up another notch,
using that energy.

But I told my father
before he passed that, you know,

I'm gonna bring one home for him
and that's what I intend to do.

I'd be foolish to come up here.
Like I said before--

[Kai]
That's what the first three
should have been.

-[lady screams]
-[Kai] That's what the first
three should have been.

I respect your father.
I respect anyone
that has had a father.

-I didn't have one.
-[Phil] You know what?

Enough is enough.
Enough is enough.

-[Kai] 2014 is 2014.
-[Phil] This whole--
enough is enough. Enoug--

-[Phil] Enough is enough.
-[Kai] 2013 is the past.

-[lady screams]
-You know what,
you talked about the past

your whole entire career,
making excuses...

[Phil]
I specifically told my ex-wife,
"He's going to start a fight."

She said,
"How do you know this?" I said,
"'Cause that's what I would do."

[laughs]

If you want something greater

than air itself,
you'll be insane.

-I'm here to beat you.
-[Phil] The other side we have
of Kai Greene, people.

-I'm here to beat you.
-Here I am trying to talk
about my late father.

-This is not about, not about
not respecting your father.
-[Phil inaudible]

It's not about not respecting
the champion.

Listen, man, 2013 was 2013.

2014, every man came here
to do their best to win.

Now, if that's if you want to,
if you want to rest to...

[Gerard]
I knew going into it
that there's been this thing

that's been festering out
between the two of them.

and I knew that there was
this thing that the industry
seemed to be going along with.

I'm not saying that this is
what the organizers did want...

...but it seemed to be
that's where this was going.

And, you know,
you have a press conference and,

and questions already asked
that are kind of a little bit

antagonizing questions
and it escalated.

Kai, I'm looking
for some facts here.

He wants to talk facts.
Trash is done.

We're not going to talk trash.
We're gonna talk facts.

-Give me three facts
as to why you will beat Phil...
-He can't do it.

-...Heath on Saturday night.
-He can't do it.

You just gave him a chance
and he starts rambling on.

-He can't.
-[as a child] Don't you
interrupting again.

-[laughter]
-[Kai] Oh.

[Jerry]
When they hold
those press conferences

and the current Mr. Olympia
always beats his chest,

they sit there like
with a smug look on their face.

Kai Greene was saying, you know,
"It's going to be
a different story."

I think he was trying
to put on a little show
of aggression there.

To, to show that he wasn't
afraid of, of Phil Heath.

[host]
Come on, Kai.
Give me three

Here we go.
Fact one, we'll outweigh him
by forty pounds.

Fact two, we'll be wider.

Fact three, it's all over
from the rear.

And that's just it.
That's how it's going to be.

I was like, "Okay."
And then he asked me

the same question,
and I let him know.

Phil, give me three facts
as to why Kai can't beat you
on stage?

-2011, 2012 and 2013.
-[crowd cheers]

[Phil]
Everybody's hyped up.
I've got to calm this down

'cause I got
to save this for tomorrow.

I'm explaining this
to my family and friends

and I said, "Just understand,
come tomorrow,
it's going to get ugly."

[suspenseful music]

[indistinct chatter]

[host]
The final group on stage,
competitors thirteen

through seventeen, please.

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
I knew I was going to win.

Before the prejudging,
George told me so.

For me to look
at Kai and I'm like,

"Kai, nobody is big in this,
nobody."

He was huge, he was the biggest
Kai has ever been on the stage.

When he walked out,
I said, "It's all over."

I knew he won.
I'm like, "That's it."

[Phil]
This is definitely make
or break for him

because to lose
to someone multiple years,

I mean, then it just becomes,
like, you ain't
never going to do it.

I knew what he said was after...

So I had to make sure
that I could give
him some energy on stage.

So what I did was we're doing
the quarter turns,

as we're doing them...

...I'm making sure
he could feel my breath

through my nose on his back.
[exhales]

[Rodney]
It doesn't take
a rocket scientist to see

that all the antagonism
was coming from Phil.

I was doing whatever
I could to present

my aura in his space.

[Kai]
I came out to take
what was mine.

I was not going to let him
or anyone push me
and shove me.

I think one of the funny things
that happened

is he took his hair
and he flipped it

and hit Phil Heath
in the eye, I think.

[Phil]
And I'm like...

..."Motherf#*#*#*#*#*,
you just hit me, did you?"

And I'm thinking,
it's kind of funny

because I'm like...

[laughs] "Did I just get hit
with a braid?"

[Kai]
It was not close this time.

You did it.

You were about to knock him
the fuck out.

[Phil]
Getting closer...

...getting closer...

...and uh, yeah...

...um...

...he gets in my face.

[background screams]

[Rodney]
So when I saw Kai
about to punch Phil on stage.

I was like,"Yo, hold on, man.
You got to call us for that.
You can't do that."

Kai was just saying, "Hey,
buddy, I don't care who you are,

you're not going
to nudge me off the stage."

And everybody acted
like Kai started it

but if you look at the video,

Heath is the one
that initiated it.

It was epic, man.

It was epic seriously.

[crowd cheering]

[Phil]
I think you'd have to interview
the other athletes,

but I think they all knew
that they were just on this

Kai Greene, Phil Heath train.

And they're just along
for the ride.

[George]
I'm sure some of the judges,
they get mad

because he was aggressive.

But wait a minute. You guys
wanted him to be aggressive

and because he's aggressive,
you're going to take

some points at him
and jab at him?

[crowd cheering]

[host]
All right, folks, we've reached
that point in the night.

It is time for awards.

If I could have Kai Greene
and Phil Heath
in the center, please.

[Kai]
That night. I didn't know
that this was my last time,

stepping onto the Olympia stage.

All I kept thinking was...

..."This is it.

I got this." Everything was
where it was supposed to be.

All the work had been rightly
placed up into that point.

My intentions at the time,

were based on the thought
that I am ready

I've left no stolen turns.
It's already done,

and I'm just waiting
for the judges

to announce their findings.

[host]
Presenting...

...the first-place award...

[crowd cheering]

...a check
for 275,000 dollars...

[crowd screaming]

...they will take all
that and the title
of 2014 Mr. Olympia.

It's fourth time Mr. Olympia,
Phil Heath.

[sad music]

[Kai]
At that point,
there's nothing you can say.

When they called
his name again...

[chuckles] I smiled.

I shook his hand.[sighs]

The golden Sandow
was raised in the air.

Did I accept this decision?

Uh...

...I respect the judge's call.

[Gerard]
I think at that point,
Kai had lost...

...a little bit of his belief...

...that he would
ever win this title.

Having worked so hard,
having come so close,

I think I was kind of like,

"I don't know
if I'm ever going to get this."

I think there's a lot
of frustration, and I think

there was a lot
of the letdown inside.

Here's this dream
of yours that you've had.

You've worked so hard for
and you've come so close,

and you feel like.
"You know what?

No matter what I do, I'm
not going to get this thing."

I think of anything,
I think I had it that year.

Phil is pretty phenomenal.

I can see why the judges
went with Phil.

I can see why they did.

I said Kai, "Psst,

I would hate to be Phil."

That's like marrying
the homecoming queen,

but she wants to fuck you.
That's a horrible feeling.

You got her, but she wants him.

You've got the title,
but everybody's rooting for Kai.

That's a horrible feeling.
I mean, "You know

you're not supposed
to have this title."

And here I am,
I'm looking at Kai's 100%

and Phil is off
with this belly and I'm like,

"How the hell
you give it to Phil?"

I, and honestly, I still don't
know, I don't understand it.

It was really hard on both of us

because that was the first time

I really promised Kai
that he's going to win.

2014...

...I don't care who gets mad
at me, Kai should have won it.

I could see how George
could say that.

When you work with somebody
or you're friends with somebody,

for whatever reason,

I think there's something
in your subconscious,

there's something
that makes you feel

that this person that you have
this connection with,

this relationship with
is better.

I think there was something
going on with Kai

where he wasn't really liked.

It wasn't that they thought
he was a bad person,

but there's, there's some,
let's say, qualities about him.

that kept him from winning.

There's some sort
of thing against Kai

I couldn't tell you exactly.
Maybe it's the hair.

Maybe they don't
like his posing.

I don't know what it is,
but I don't think

they would ever have given him
the title, honestly.

And Kai didn't directly
say this, but he hinted

that he'd spoken
to a top official bodybuilder

who basically told him that.

So I think that somehow
he got word that,

"Hey, buddy, there's no way
we're going to let you win."

So why would he
knock himself out

trying to compete here
when he has no chance?

Those films, in that time
of his life as a,

as a dancer and,
and making erotic films.

It definitely came back
to haunt him.

There's no doubt
that, that people are
judging him because of that.

And that may or may not
have affected his placements.
We'll never know.

So, yeah, that was,
that was tough.
It was tough loss man.

It was tough loss
and that's why people ask me,

"Is he going
to do the Olympias?"
I'm like, "Dude, I don't know."

I don't think
he can ever recover
from something like this.

[interviewer]
Why didn't you try to come back
again and compete next year?

[dramatic music]

[Kai]
The truth is,
I was ready to compete.

Well, circumstances surrounding
the 2015 Olympia

prevented me
from returning to that stage.

I didn't complain.
I didn't respond to anyone

on the blogs or social media.

I didn't want to do anything
to tarnish bodybuilding,

the sport that I love,

I didn't want
to disappoint the enthusiasts

or the community
that I became part of.

I explained myself
the best way that I could.

And wished good luck
to all the competitors.

Most notably,
what happened in 2015

was my Wieder contract
was withheld

because of a dispute,

with my, uh, supplement company
at the time.

There was really no animosity.
I mean, we would have,

we would have loved
to have him stay.

We had a lot invested
with him over the years,

but you know, he thought that

that was the better path
for him to take at the time.

[Kai]
I understood
that my value was more

than what I was being paid.

I had to address that,
and the only time to address it

was at the time the contract
would be negotiated.

First, I started
with the supplement company.

Everybody has
to have a contract,

and ultimately, the fact
that I didn't have a contract

with the same said company

affected my ability
to have a Wieder contract.

My Wieder contract was withheld,

and as a result
of that being withheld,

it became impossible
to sign the Olympia contract.

[sad piano music]

It shouldn't have been withheld.

So imagine losing the contract.
A six figure contract.

Imagine that money being
taken away from you...

...and then that same company
that took the money

away from you runs
the biggest show in the world

that is gonna use
your image and likeness

to generate money with.

They get you images
from the show the previous year.

They can write about you
because they can go

on your social media
and write about you.

So therefore,
they can go up to vendors,

get money, Kai's coming back,

Phil, you guys know,
even if you don't sponsor him,

he's bringing people.

Phil and Kai
are bringing people.

If I'm a businessman,
if I'm Kai, I'm thinking

"You just took the money
away from me, you want
me to compete at your show?

No, I'm not
I'm not going to do that."

Because I'm sure
if he would have been resigned,

he would've probably competed.

I told people, I was like,

"Hey, man, you guys need
to pay him."

Hand on God, I said,
"Pay that, man."

I didn't even talk to Kai,
but I'm thinking,

"If I could petition
to get him paid,

he's gonna come back."

Because at least
he has guaranteed money
to do the craft.

You can't just
do the craft and not get paid.
We're professional athletes,

like we're professionals.
We're not getting paid
millions of dollars.

So this money is special.

That would, in a sense,
would be enough for him

to sit out and hold out like any
other running back

for a sports team and say,
"You know what?

You're not going to pay me,
you're gonna franchise tag me.

I'm going to sit out
and you're gonna pay me
what I feel I'm worth."

I have invested more
than 20 years of my life

in the idea... of being able
to come to the Olympia

and to do an absolute best.

My resolve has been
to respond as a champion
and just aim to...

...represent the better thought
of what that means to me.

You don't get to this point...

...and just stop.

[sniffs]
It doesn't happen like that.

I am...

I'm not a victim. I'm not a...

They ain't gonna break me.

[George]
Kai wasn't going
to compete at all.

He said,
"I'm done, George, I'm done."

And he's like
"George, man, I'm just so tired,

why I'm doing all this,
you know, for what?

Even when I win,
they give me second?

Why? Why should I bother?"

[Phil]
I was more upset
because he wasn't competing.

Where is my inspiration?

Where is my "why"?

My "why" was like,
"Well, I want to beat his ass.

I want to still win.
I like this feeling."

I enjoy competing against him.

If I got to pick
who I want to really

go toe to toe with.
I want go with Kai.

With Kai, I think it probably
was a factor of emotional,
physical, mental,

that he just said, "I just,
I'm not going to do this

and I can do other things."

[people chattering]

[Kai]
I really do believe
you can write

and control your own narrative.

I think every person
has to do that.

This was an opportunity,

an opportunity to grow

to better myself and advance

to other areas
of my life and career.

I finally focused
on my self-development,

my business, my art.

I was able to focus
on The Chronicles of King Kai

and finally put it down on paper

and make it into a reality.

I started to attend arenas
outside of bodybuilding,

I have invested in myself

and focused on building
my own destiny.

I believe now more than ever,
it's worth it to be clear

about determining a worthy goal

and working
towards its realization.

Even if it will take you
20, 30 years.

My ability to be successful,

depended on my ability
to be willing to work.

There's still work
that can be done,

but all the work
that needs to be done
isn't just done in the gym.

[seagulls cawing]

I think Kai Greene will be
remembered, as you know,

a bodybuilder that brought back
the art of bodybuilding.

[inspirational music]

[Rich]
He was a phenomenal
bodybuilder.

He was a freaky bodybuilder

to put that much mass
on his frame.

You saw him
as this natural bodybuilder

that got his Pro Card
and then from there,

he evolved into this freak.

But still, although he was
a freak, he was graceful.

I think he'll go down
as one of the guys
that should have won the Olympia

but wasn't given the opportunity
that he was a top pro.

He had everything.
But I think that

because of an unjust attitude
on the part of, let's say,

the organizations,
that whole bodybuilding,

they didn't want to give him
a chance to win,
even though he deserved to win.

[Mike]
I think the way people
will remember Kai

in bodybuilding
has yet to be created.

Not as someone
who almost became Mr. Olympia,
but as something else.

I feel like he's moving
toward something else

that's going to encompass
positive thinking,

the building of a great
physique, and the artistry and,

and the presentation of all
of that. I think that's coming.

How he will be remembered
is yet to come.

I really do. I think
he's still creating himself.

And will continue
to create himself.

And that's the Kai we're going
to remember, eventually.

Oh, Kai is always going
to be remembered, man.

He's going
to be the predator for life.

He's the Predator, man.

He's the Predator.

[Kai]
At the end of the day,
I wasn't given

the title Mr. Olympia,

but my journey continues.

I look back on my life
and where I've come from,

I have learned a lot

about my abilities,
my strengths,

my ambitions,
I have traveled the world.

Everywhere I go,
I see opportunity.

I meet like-minded people.

[inspirational music continues]

[Mike]
I think people root for him.

And that's the biggest thing

[Jerry]
I think everybody looks
at him and wants him to win,

and that's why I think he should
get back out there and go again

and make it happen.

[Victor]
It's not about how many
titles you have,

it is how you make people feel.

I he's made people feel
very good about themselves,

and he gave a piece

a large piece
of who he is to the world.

[Phil]
You know, he's done movies.
He's done other things.

He's carried,
that entrepreneur spirit.

His story isn't finished.

And I'm truly honored to have
shared the stage with him.

I'm actually really thankful...

...that he gave it
such a good run

because I don't think
there was anyone

that could have done the same.

Actually, I know it.

[Kai]
Things that I thought
were unachievable...

...I accomplished them.

And yet there is
a lot more work to be done...

...a lot more goals
to accomplish.

And one thing I truly believe,

thoughts become things.

[crowd cheers]

[crowd screams]
Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai!

Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai!

Kai, Kai, Kai!

Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai!

Kai, Kai, Kai!

[gentle music]

[muted]

[reflexive music]

He's a lovable guy. Can't bite
that, yeah, can't beat that.

Well, we'll cut the last part.

[laughter]

Ow!

[Rich]
I'm not telling you that.

[background chatter]

Someone's hurt.
Somebody's fighting. [laughs]

Yup. [groans]

Can you cock it? Oh, yeah,
I wasn't gonna try do that.

[laughter]

[Kai]
Thinking, you know, so candid
that you're irresponsible,

um, with how you handle,
you know...

[laughs]

[Kai]
I do want to encourage
those people

though they'd to turn around,
I can see that,

I see the opportunity.

Damn I forgot what the fuck
I was answering right now.

[laughs]