Flex Wheeler
| Flex Wheeler | |
|---|---|
| — Bodybuilder — | |
Autographed picture of Wheeler
|
|
| Personal info | |
| Nickname | The Sultan of Symmetry |
| Born |
August 23, 1965 Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5' 10 ½" |
| Weight | (On-season) 212–240 lb (109 kg) (Off-season) 265–275 lb (122 kg) |
| Professional career | |
| Pro-debut | IFBB World Amateur Championships, 1990 |
| Best win | IFBB Arnold Classic Champion, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000 |
| Predecessor | Vince Taylor |
| Successor |
Kevin Levrone (1994) Ronnie Coleman (2001) |
| Active | active |
Kenneth "Flex" Wheeler (born August 23, 1965) is a retired American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He won the Arnold Classic a then-record five times and was once described by Arnold Schwarzenegger as one of the greatest bodybuilders he had ever seen.Ronnie Coleman said that Wheeler was the best bodybuilder he competed against.
Wheeler was born and raised in Fresno, California. He grew up in poverty. As a child, Wheeler experienced child abuse and suicidal tendencies. He struggled in school due to dyslexia, but excelled in sports. Wheeler began training in martial arts, and started bodybuilding as a teenager after discovering weight training. He is on record as regarding himself as a "martial artist first, a bodybuilder second". Wheeler has remarkable flexibility, including being able to do a complete split, which led to his nickname.
After a short career as a police officer, Wheeler focused full-time on becoming a professional bodybuilder. He competed for the first time in 1983, but it was not until 1989 that he secured a first-place trophy at the NPC Mr. California Championships. He placed second at the 1993 Mr. Olympia, narrowly missing a win (something he was to repeat in 1998 and 1999). He is a 5-time Ironman Pro winner, 4-time Arnold Classic winner, and has won the France Grand Prix, South Beach Pro Invitational, Night of Champions, and Hungarian Grand Prix.
While Wheeler had the reputation of being arrogant and overconfident, he attributed this to a need to compensate for his introversion and insecurity as a child and young man. In 1994, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident that could have left him with lifelong paralysis. Falling back into depression again, he started training from scratch, returning with remarkable speed to bodybuilding's top tier. In 1999, Wheeler discovered that he had focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a form of kidney disease. Despite press speculation as to the cause of the failure, Wheeler pointed out that the condition is hereditary, although drug use probably accelerated its onset. Wheeler announced his retirement from competitive bodybuilding in 2000, but continued to compete until 2003.
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