On an episode of the Menace Podcast on 20 th December, 2025, Shawn Ray revealed his narrative on modern-day bodybuilding competitors.

The multiple-time Mr. Olympia runner-up, “guarantee that Samson in two to three years will be gone”.

According to Shawn Ray, not only is the 2024 Mr. Olympia winner Samson Dauda, but also “Derek will probably be gone because he's got so many things going on and opportunities. He's not going to compete for another three to five years. Guaranteed he'll be gone”.

Besides the 2025 Mr. Olympia winner Derek Lunsford, Shawn Ray also thinks, “Hadi Choopan, he's going to be gone in two to three years”.

He explained that when these experienced bodybuilders disappear, then young competitors like Regan Grimes and Urs Kalecinski will move up.

Shawn Ray could think that Derek Lunsford will “not going to compete for another three to five years”. However, the Mr. Olympia winner has made his future plan clear.

Derek Lunsford's future plan

On the Ron Harris Muscle podcast, Derek Lunsford said, “It looks like I’ll probably just do the Olympia in 2026”.

He also added, “I thought that this was God telling me I needed to take a step away from the stage this year and just focus on family business and coming back to defend the Olympia title next year”.

He continued by saying, “That being said, I do plan on attending these shows next year. I think we will most likely just focus on the Olympia this year”.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu