5 things startups can learn from bodybuilding champion Phil Heath

Phil Heath is the current face of professional super heavyweight bodybuilding. A two-time, back-to-back Mr. Olympia, Heath has pushed the limits of the human physique to its extreme.

It takes a special type of drive, some would say “crazy”, to make it in the sport of bodybuilding. Heath embodies this drive as well as the unrelenting spirit found in many an entrepreneur taking on the challenges of building a business from scratch.

Whether you’re sculpting a physique, or crafting a business, the lessons learned on the way to success are often similar.

The pivot: if it does come, embrace it

Heath once had dreams of joining the NBA. Growing up in Seattle, Washington he developed his talent for playing basketball, despite being only 5’11”. When it was time for him to go to college, he was recruited by the University of Denver on a full athletic scholarship to play point/shooting guard for the Pioneer’s at the University of Denver. During his tenure on the division 1-A men’s basketball team between 1998 and 2002 he managed to score just 86 points — not exactly stellar.

While majoring in IT and Business administration, Heath had a part-time gig as a bouncer at a club. When his time at Denver University drew to a close at 2002, Heath decided to see how far he could push his genetics by putting all of his effort into bodybuilding.

One year later he won his first novice bodybuilding competition. Heath then went on to win his first two pro bodybuilding competitions — the Colorado Pro and the New York Pro — back-to-back in 2006. He would later dethrone Jay Cutler to become Mr. Olympia, for the first time in 2011 and retained his title in 2012.

In business, knowing when to cut your losses, and having the courage to do so can be tremendously rewarding. The key is to not give up. Figure out your strengths and how you can use them to make the biggest impact, even if that means pursuing a completely new direction.

There will be ups. There will be downs. Hold on tight.

Heath took a sensational third place in his first Mr. Olympia competition in 2008. He joined the ranks of the great Lee Haney and Dorian Yates to take a top three placing in a first attempt at a Mr. Olympia and became the first rookie to place in the top three since Flex Wheeler in 1993.

The next year, Heath was pinned as a favourite to take the Mr. Olympia title. A day before the Friday pre-judging, he caught a stomach virus which caused him to stand in front of the judging panel 10 pounds lighter than intended. Heath ended in a disappointing fifth place that year.

Having a startup is a wild ride. Some describe experiencing the highest peaks and conversely, the deepest valleys, especially in the early stages of a startup’s story. Take heart. The difficult days are more often not harbingers of imminent and catastrophic failure. Instead, they offer opportunities for the business to grow stronger.

For example, Rubybox, the monthly beauty box subscription service, ran into trouble with its courier service. Things turned ugly when finally, Rubybox’s customers started venting on social media — a PR nightmare. Rubybox quickly learned how important a reliable courier service was to its success and not to skimp on a core part of its business.

Mentorship opportunities: treasure them.

Jay Cutler is one of the all time bodybuilding greats. When Heath knocked Cutler off his throne in 2011, Cutler still made Olympia history by becoming the first man to finish top-2 for ten consecutive years.

Heath’s friendship with Cutler is well-known. “People fail to realize that we’ve only really trained together a handful of times. He was never really my mentor, but we both shared life decisions. He has a blueprint that worked for him. Early on I think, he and I allowed everyone to kind of let us be the teacher/student, and we didn’t elaborate. He’s been one of my biggest supporters, and has always had that level of professionalism. I’d say he’s been a role model more than mentor to me,” Heath told Bodybuilding.com

Heath also told Flex Magazine, “there’s no way in hell I could have achieved what I have without being a good student and listening to the wisdom of others who have been doing this a lot longer than I have.”

The allure of startup competitions, accelerators and incubators often begin with the promise of riches, but it’s the mentorship and networking opportunities they offer that are often the most valuable.

There’s also the thought that if you own a business, it’s important to higher people who are smarter than you. It’s easy to imagine Cutler — often written about as the mentor figure — taking an interest in Heath to learn more about an up and coming young bodybuilder nicknamed “The Gift.”

March to the beat of your own drum

Heath has been able to avoid injury throughout his professional career by training intelligently. He has been criticised in the past for not training with as heavy poundage as say the legendary, Ronnie Coleman, but it would be a mistake to fault Heath’s work ethic — the fact that he’s won two Mr. Olympia titles back-to-back speaks for itself.

Heath told Flex: “Find what works best for you and stick with it.” In the same way, what works for one business doesn’t necessarily work for another. This is particularly true for businesses that compete in the same industry where innovation is often mandatory to succeed — Read: “Your internet startup: Why’s it’s OK to clone a business.”

The media will talk. Accept it, but remember that you’re in control.

Heath’s approach to the media is spot on. “As far as pressure goes, I stay away from [the] media. I let them talk about me winning or losing. It’s not rocket science. They are going to talk about me winning or not winning. I can’t be concerned about other people. I’m just being the best I can,” Heath told Bodybuilding.com

Newspapers and blogs can’t see the assiduous work going on behind the curtains. While the press can be a tremendously useful utility for letting the world know about your business, it can be difficult when the reporting turns negative. Although it is important to monitor the news and correct misinformation, it remains imperative to keep doing what you know is right and hey, the fact that the press is talking about you at all means that your company is still on the radar.

In the end you are your own harshest critic. “I will always be my harshest critic. It’s never gonna stop. The day I stop doing that is the day I need to walk away from the sport. That makes me want to try even harder to eclipse what I’ve done,” Heath told Flex.

A startup’s relationship with the press is often a bizarre love/hate mashup, but in the end a needed, interdependent one. Embrace it, and keep trucking.