Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but sometimes in a professional setting, it’s how that opinion is delivered that defines its impact.

In a recent episode of the Real Bodybuilding Podcast News, host Fouad Abiad gave his brutally honest take on Shawn Ray's commentary skills.

“Shawn Ray is a Hall of Fame bodybuilder. He has one of the greatest physiques of all time, but all the credit to Sean, and I respect him as a bodybuilder. As a bodybuilding analyst, he fails hard. You're a hall of fame bodybuilder. Sure. But you fail miserably at being an analyst or a commentator."

Abiad criticized Ray's credibility as a bodybuilding analyst, stating that he is only well-versed with the top 10 bodybuilders and doesn't know most of the new ones. 

“He doesn't know half the guys who are competing. I've seen him misname a number of guys that are competing. He doesn't know anybody outside the top five or top 10.”

Having said that, Abiad also had some nice things to say about Ray. Complimenting him as a bodybuilder, Fouad praised his physique and his status as a hall of famer.

"He has a very high bodybuilding IQ. I'll give him that. He may be on a different level than me in bodybuilding, but I am on a different level than him in commentary and analysis. Shawn, will you just leave the analyst s*** to me because you don't really know what you're doing."

With all this back and forth, the question remains: How did this feud start?

How Did The Feud Start?

The clash between Shawn Ray and Fouad Abiad started in February 2026 over a single athlete. At the heart of the feud is Samson Dauda, whose "Mass Monster" potential has become the ultimate test case for whether the sport still values the classic lines Ray championed or the mass Abiad advocates.

Ray started this feud when he talked about Abiad’s advice to Dauda on various platforms.

"Well, let me give a firsthand experiential uh example because Fouad can't do that when it comes to the Olympia. He didn't have enough experience to play around with body weight. I won the national. I'm praying that Samson is not listening to Fouad as a source of information."

Abiad didn't respond well to this and went ahead to explain his views on bodybuilding on his podcast.

"The biggest bodybuilders have always been Mr. Olympia. Ronnie Coleman biggest bodybuilder. Dorian Yates biggest bodybuilder. Lee Haney biggest bodybuilder. Arnold Schwarzenegger biggest bodybuilder."

According to Abiad, since bodybuilding is a mass game, a great bodybuilder needs to be put together well and have a great structure.

"You have to have shape. Yes, you have to have conditioning, but if you don't have the muscularity to go with it, it doesn't matter."

Shawn Ray represents the "Giant Killer" philosophy, where balance, conditioning, and aesthetic flow were the primary metrics. For Abiad, a beautiful shape is wasted if it’s out-muscled by 20 pounds of raw mass.

Who do you think is right in this feud?

Follow Bodybuilding Bros for more.

Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi