Shawn Ray – The Best Bodybuilder to Never Win Mr. Olympia
Shawn Ray burst onto the professional bodybuilding scene in 1988 at the International Federation of BodyBuilder’s Night of Champions. He performed in over 30 competitions throughout his career, placing in the top five in all but one competition. He currently holds the title to the most Flex Magazine covers of any bodybuilder in the history of the magazine. In addition to Flex Magazine, he has appeared in fitness and bodybuilding magazines worldwide, as well as videos and documentaries. He is even mentioned in The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.
In 2003, two years after retiring from competition, he was voted “Best Bodybuilder to Never Win Mr. Olympia.” While he placed in the top 5 for 12 years running, he never won the title. However, no other bodybuilder has ever placed as a top 5 finalist as many times as Shawn Ray. In looking at his stage performances in competition, there are only two competitors Ray did not beat when pitted toe-to-toe. Those two bodybuilders were Lee Haney and Dorian Yates, competitors who outweighed him by almost 50 lbs each and stood almost a half a foot taller than Ray’s 5’7”, 210lb. competition size.
Shawn Ray, although retired, has stayed involved in the bodybuilding community. He has hosted or co-hosted shows for ESPN such as Flex Magazine Workout, as well as serving as commentator for the ESPN broadcast of numerous bodybuilding competitions. For a time, he published and made available a book on his bodybuilding techniques called The Shawn Ray Way. While his professional career is one of records, titles, and many near misses for the Mr. Olympia title, since his retirement there have been a host of controversies, rumors, and questioning of past competitions and steroid use. However, the same can be said of virtually any successful professional bodybuilder.
Shawn Ray is not the only bodybuilder to face controversy concerning steroids. However, he has the unfortunate distinction of being the first professional bodybuilder to fail drug tests for steroids at the Arnold Classic in 1990. While he won the competition, when news of his failed test surfaced, he was forced to return the trophy and relinquish the title. However, since his retirement he has been active in charities such as Children’s Hospital in Orange County, California. Today, he works for Vyo Tech Nutritionals as a spokesman and event promoter. In fact, with the help of
Vyo-Tech, Ray has created the only bodybuilding charity event, a golf tournament for the Children’s Hospital in Orange County.
