Arguably one of the finest minds in the bodybuilding world, Jay Cutler proved that not all bodybuilders are “all muscle and no brain.” He faced his fair share of struggles early in life, including financial difficulties during his career.

In his recent episode of Jaywalking, the 4-time Mr. Olympia expressed:

“I would only allow myself to eat out once a week. And that was for two reasons. It was mainly because I was so crazy about my nutrition, getting in my so-called calories and nutrients I needed to get in. And number two was the budget.”

Cutler was consuming nearly 8000 calories. However, that was not all. Even when he was making six figures, he was struggling for a bit. Back in 1999, he had to move to California to set up a new home.

“When I literally said I lived in a box, I was just locked in where it was like my area was very short. Yeah. So I had less room for mistakes,” he further added.

These struggles paid off for him later. Not only does he had his own fitness brand, but Culter also makes a hefty amount from real estate. The millions he won from bodybuilding competitions were put into buying properties.

Jay Cutler Narrates His Business Journey

Back in October 2022, Jay Cutler, during his conversation on The Iced Coffee Hour, revealed that after gaining an international fan following following his first sponsorship and magazine cover in 1995, he had an idea.

“I started a mail order, and it’s kind of comical. I would sell one picture of myself and one t-shirt. And people would send me money orders and checks, and I started kind of my business at that point. Every week, I was getting individual money from basically a nobody,” said Cutler.

He further added, “You know, I was a guy that maybe had a couple of pictures in a magazine…and that’s kind of how I started my entrepreneurship.”

What do you think of Cutler's journey? Let us know in the comments!

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar