Interview by Ron Harris
I first met James ‘Flex’ Lewis at the 2006 Olympia Expo, though I had heard about him at least a year before after he signed as a Weider / FLEX magazine athlete. He was only 22 years old, but already had a physique on him that was pro caliber. Shortly afterward, the two-time Junior British Champion won the light-heavies at the British Championships but missed the Overall and pro card. He had also just signed with Gaspari Nutrition. What impressed me most about Flex wasn’t his muscular development, but his humble and mature attitude for such a young guy. He was also possessed with a fierce determination to be the best bodybuilder he could be. In 2007 he swept the British light-heavies and Overall as its youngest-ever champion. All well and good, but now it was time to start all over again as a pro, where he would be up against the very best physique athletes in the world. Not much was expected of him as he geared up for his debut in the 202 class at the Tampa Pro – except to those who knew Lewis and had been watching his steady improvements. Placing second there, he went on to win the 202 class in a field of 25 seasoned veterans the following weekend at the Europa Pro. The 24-year-old had gained an astonishing 12 pounds of quality muscle since turning pro only ten months before, going from 183 to 195 pounds with even better condition. I was fortunate enough to speak with him just days later, as he was just a few weeks away from standing on the Olympia stage at the 202 Showdown. He was on zero carbs and low in energy, but bursting with excitement and nervous energy about recent events and in anticipation of standing on stage in Las Vegas soon.
RH: Flex my man, last time we spoke you were still an amateur. You’ve been competing as a pro for only a couple weeks now, and already you have a win under your belt. How does it feel?
FL: To be honest, it hasn’t sunk in yet. Tampa was such a big occasion. Standing on stage as a pro was something I had been dreaming about since I was fifteen, and there I was. As soon as that show was over, I was immediately focused on my prep for the Europa. Since then I have been so busy with various photo shoots and traveling that I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and think about what it all means yet. I remember that winning the British Nationals and turning pro didn’t really hit me until months later in the off-season when I was fat and happy. Suddenly I was like, whoa – I’m a pro now! I’m sure that something similar will happen with these shows. You can’t appreciate it all until later when things have calmed down a bit.
RH: There were some real veterans at the show, guys that were anywhere from ten to fifteen years older than you and who have been around a long time. Were you confident going into the event that your age and relative lack of experience wouldn’t matter?
FL: I didn’t dwell on who was going to be there. You can’t do that. I focused on my prep and everything I had to do in order to be at my very best. At the same time, I was very excited and honored to be standing up there. I was getting callouts with guys like Darrem Charles, who I have been reading about for years and years. It was a surreal experience. I had no false illusions that I was going to dominate the show or anything like that. My intent was to show how hard I had been working, and the judges would sort it all out as they saw fit.
RH: Let’s go back a year. How did you become associated with Gaspari Nutrition? What things struck you as being different about them?
FL: I had actually been using SuperPump, Size-On, and Cytolean in the months leading up to the British Championships. I was very pleased with the results. Rich found out about this, and we met for the first time at the 2007 Europa show. Rich was very interested in my career and I liked the products a lot, so we started corresponding back and forth and talking about the possibility of me working with the company. A few weeks later at the Mr. Olympia weekend, I signed on the dotted line and became the first official athlete to endorse Gaspari Nutrition. I had always wanted to get with a reputable company with products I actually used and believed in, both from a business and a moral point of view. I used to be that guy coming up to the booth asking about the products and what they could do for me. Now I would be the one behind the booth. It was critical to me that I could look that person in the eye and tell them that yes, these products will work for you. I should note that other companies had been making offers and certainly were willing to pay me to endorse their products, but that’s not enough. With Gaspari, I actually use all the products and I feel very confident recommending them.
RH: Which products did you use at first, and how did you rate them in terms of other products you had used before?
FL: I had a very short off-season before the British Nationals, only about six months. I stacked SuperPump 250 and Size-On and was able to put on four pounds of new muscle. I know, because I was 179 at the 2006 Brits and 183 at the 2007 when I won, and I didn’t change anything else about my training or my diet. Less than a year later, I was 200 at the Tampa show, though that was a bit too heavy. I was 193 when I won the 202 class at the Europa, so that’s another ten pounds of solid muscle. So to say I am a believer in these products would be an understatement.
RH: I know he was probably a little before your time, but were you a fan of Rich Gaspari, the Dragonslayer, like I was starting out?
FL: The three guys I looked up to were Tom Platz, Lee Priest, and Rich. Rich was a pioneer in conditioning. He was the first guy to ever have striated glutes! I always admired his work ethic and how he used condition and muscle density to beat taller, heavier competitors. Now it’s come full circle and I am actually friends with the man. He texts me and busts my balls all the time to make sure I am staying on track. It’s hard to believe that I personally know one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, and that he’s helping me with my career now.
RH: How closely have you been able to work with Rich? I heard that he actually helped you out quite a bit for the Europa show.
FL: The first thing Rich did was to help me with my posing. The day before the Europa show, he came to my hotel room and worked with me for only about fifteen minutes on my mandatories, but in that short time Rich was able to fix my side chest, front and rear lat spread poses so I looked much better. I was amazed at how subtle little shifts in where I positioned my arms and shoulders and so on made such a tremendous difference. Now I will never hit those shots the way I did before. But the really fun part was backstage at the Europa. Rich was running around all frantic and stressed like he was the one competing, not me! He was back there with me, touching up my oil and giving me little pep talks, and all the other guys were staring. I’m sure it was a sight to see – this rookie pro being helped by an IFBB Hall of Famer, a guy that was second only to Lee Haney for years. They were joking around and saying stuff like, “How come my sponsor isn’t back here helping me like this?” While I was on stage, Rich was sitting front and center with the photographers yelling out things like “Legs! Abs! Lean back!” Just little reminders. When I came offstage after winning the 202 class, Rich came up to give me a hug, but I had to stop him. He had on very nice clothes, an Ed Hardy shirt and all that, and he would have ruined them all with tanning color and oil when he still had awards to give out later on. But the smile on his face and the pride in his eyes were priceless. He told me that he was living through me now, since his contest days were long past. When I think that when Rich was my age, he was competing at the Mr. Olympia against Lee Haney, it’s wild. To have someone of his caliber encouraging me and helping me is just brilliant.
RH: Were you nervous for your first pro show? How was it different from the amateur events you have competed in?
FL: I was nervous, but it was more like nervous energy, if you know what I mean. I’d have to say the main difference was that there was so much more camaraderie backstage. I couldn’t believe how courteous and hospitable everybody was. Dennis James was really cool. He treated me like a little brother and was constantly joking around and laughing to help ease my nerves and keep me calm. That’s important, because stress will make you hold water. The show was run fantastically, too. It was totally organized. The only downer was that I had digestive problems during my carb-up and wasn’t in my best condition in Tampa. Luckily all went much better at the Europa.
RH: Your original coach from Wales, Neil Hill made it out to Tampa for your pro debut. What was it like having the man who has been with you since your first contest on hand for such a momentous occasion?
FL: That was wonderful. Neil was a judge at my first contest and has been working with me doing my nutrition ever since. He knows my physique backwards and forwards even better than I do. Neil is more like a big brother to me than a coach, and he’s been there to guide me not only through my bodybuilding struggles, but life in general. He’s a father of two and a family man, so he gives me a great perspective on how to keep all this stuff balanced. It was only fitting that he was there for my first time as a pro. He couldn’t make it to the Europa, and he was quite upset about that. But he stayed up to watch the entire web cast, which meant with the time difference that it was over at six in the morning his time! Neil is a cornerstone in my life and I know he will always be there for me. With him and Rich on my team, I feel there is nothing I can’t do.
RH: There’s also another valuable person in your corner, right? A special lady?
FL: I couldn’t do this without my fiancé, Shina Mitchell. We are actually getting married the same day as the NPC Nationals, November 22. My family is coming out to Tennessee from Wales and will stay on the next week so they can experience the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Shina has been so supportive and understanding. Neil told me that after all the shows, I had better give back to her and pay her back for standing by me through all the dieting and madness – and I will!
RH: Tennessee seems like a strange place for a pro bodybuilder to wind up, especially a guy from Europe. Why do you live there?
FL: At first, I lived in Los Angeles. I was actually there for a year and a half and trained at Gold’s in Venice. It’s a great gym, but there are just so many distractions and interruptions. Everybody wants to talk to you. That’s fine, but not when I’m trying to train! I would have to keep my iPod on and my head down to be able to get my workouts done. Shina and I moved to Reno after that and I actually liked it there. But we went to visit her family in Tennessee, and we’ve been here ever since. We live in Brentwood, which is actually a very affluent area. Britney Spears, Nicole Kidman, Garth Brooks, and Carrie Underwood all have house around here.
RH: Were you able to find a suitable place to train, or is it all posh health clubs?
FL: That’s funny because the first time I went to the Franklin Athletic Club, I thought it was way too fancy for my tastes. The gym I trained at in Wales had a cement floor with sawdust littered about, home-made welded equipment, and so on. I didn’t want to like this F.A.C. place, but there’s plenty of great equipment. A lot of the Tennessee Titans players train here. And to my surprise, they were very welcoming to me as a pro bodybuilder. The general manager actually asked me early on if there was any equipment they were lacking that I would like so he could acquire it for me! There’s also a cardio theater. I mean a real theater, with machines instead of seats. How neat is that? If you ever get down this way you have to check it out. It turns out there are actually a lot of very good bodybuilders in this area, a lot of NGA competitors from that natural organization. At one time there was no bodybuilding scene in Venice until some guys started it, right? So soon there will be a scene here in Tennessee too.
RH: How was your training and nutrition different over the past year since you turned pro?
FL: The main thing was that I hardly trained my legs at all. I did a couple sets of leg extensions and leg curls every couple weeks. I knew that I had to bring my upper body up to match. I trained chest and back every four or five days and used two different workouts. They both improved accordingly, though they still need more work.
RH: Which Gaspari products played a part in your prep?
FL: I would say that the two products that played the biggest role for me were Cytolean and SuperPump250. Cytolean gave me a boost of energy without a crash, and a euphoric feeling too. That’s great when you’re dieing, because euphoria isn’t typically how you feel – more like miserable! I relied a lot on SuperPump250 for training energy, especially on my low-carb days. It helped the most on back and chest days, as those are the two training days that matter the most to me at this point. I used PlasmaJet here and there and also liked it. Size-On was good during my workouts, but I cut that out as I got close to the shows because I had to take my carbs way down low.
RH: I understand Gaspari is also filming a mini-series with you that will be available on this site. What’s that all about, and what can we expect to see?
FL: It’s going to be pretty entertaining. I shot some training footage back in Wales that’s really raw, and that will be in there. You get to see where I came from. Then we shot a segment in New Jersey at eight weeks out from Tampa, when I was still training in sort of an off-season style. It picks up again ten days out from Tampa, and follows me as I train and eat for my pro debut. You get to see some drama as I wasn’t feeling well at all in the last couple days, but still managed to pull it together and take runner-up to Dave Henry. There’s footage from the Europa where I get my first win. The series will be a good insight into who I am and what it was like for me venturing into my first pro shows as this young kid from Wales going up against the US veterans.
RH: You also had a photo shoot at the famous Metroflex Gym in Texas with one of the very best physique photographers of all time, Per Bernal. This was your second shoot with him, correct? What’s a photo shoot with Per like? And what did you think of Metroflex?
FL: I love that gym! I honestly felt like I was back home in my old gym in Wales, where it was all about old-school, hardcore training. I love the set-up there. It’s dirty and grungy, but there is all the weight you would ever want or need. The dumbbells go up to 250 bloody pounds! Brian Dobson is a very hands-n gym owner and a cool guy. When I was there, he was out in front skinning and cutting up a boar he had just hunted and killed. He donates all the meat to the local homeless shelter, too. To be in the same gym that Ronnie Coleman has been training at for his entire career was humbling. Branch Warren was there training the day we shot, and he is about as intense as it gets. The only thing that was tough was the Texas heat in August. I wasn’t used to that. I wish I could train at Metroflex all the time. As for working with Per, what can I say? He is one of the absolute best in the business. This was my second shoot with him. He works you hard, but the shots are out of this world. Per can take a good physique and make it look truly phenomenal. You look at some of the pictures and say, wow, is that really me?
RH: A lot of the bodybuilders and aspiring bodybuilders out there are young guys, and I think they often find it hard to relate to champions that are anywhere from thirty to forty years old. You seem to be reaching and inspiring a whole new generation that sees what you have accomplished at such a young age.
FL: I do seem to appeal to the younger guys, yeah. That’s important I think, because they are the future of the sport. I also seem to be getting some older fans, and that’s also nice. I think one aspect that has been helping my fan base to expand is that I seem to have a more attainable physique than a lot of the top guys. I’m not six foot tall and 280 pounds. 200 pounds is a weight a lot more people can identify with. I do have very good genetics, but I am not so freaky that people think I’m from another planet or something.
RH: Next up is the 202 Showdown, where you will be up against some very tough competitors, including David Henry. Do you think you can take him out?
FL: Don’t forget Kevin English, either. Kevin beat David at the New York Pro, so he could beat him again at the Olympia. I try to be realistic about my chances. Of course I would love to beat David, Kevin, and the others and become the 202 Olympia champion. I do have better legs than David, but he kills me on the back shots. I’m not going to out-muscle those two guys. All I can do is bring my best condition and the chips will fall where they will.
RH: What will you be doing over the next few weeks to try and look even better than you did at the Europa?
FL: Rich has been working with me to help my abs and intercostals really ‘pop.’ At this stage it’s all about bringing in the finer details and dialing them in. I don’t do anything sudden or drastic. I keep everything gradual so I am always in control. I will be sharper than I was at the Europa.
RH: I know your focus now has to be on the Olympia, but what’s the game plan for your coming off-season? What will you be working on, what are your goals?
FL: I’ve always eaten very, very clean in the off-season at all times. My motto has been ‘quality calories, quality gains.’ I even keep the sodium low. But after talking to some guys like Jay Cutler, I am starting to re-think that approach. Loosening up my diet a bit could be just what I need to make even better gains. Also, I want to give PlasmaJet a true off-season run. I used it sporadically this year, but never anything consistent. I’m excited to see what it can do if I use it for the whole off-season. I am also getting back to heavy leg training again. I know I lost some of my outer quad sweep and especially the deep cuts in my legs that I had before since I stopped training my legs properly. As long as my chest and back come up, which is my priority, I can afford to bring my legs back up so they are really freaky again. I’ll never be completely happy with my physique, I’m sure. I always say the day I am totally satisfied with it is the day I retire! The name of the game is improvement. There is always room for improvement.
RH: What are your long-term goals in the sport? Do you want to stay in the 202’s, or do you plan on entering the Open shows and beginning to climb that ladder toward the Mr. Olympia?
FL: Like I said, I am realistic. I set realistic goals, one at a time. One thing that remains constant is that I always train for first place. After I won the British Championships, the 202 class came along and I saw that as a great opportunity. I knew that I wasn’t ready yet to win an open show, but in the 202’s I had a very good chance. Whatever happens in a few weeks in Las Vegas, my next goal is to win the 202 Showdown at the 2009 Mr. Olympia. I will stay in that class until I outgrow it. For now, it’s an excellent way for me to get my name out there, whereas in the open shows I might have got lost in the shuffle among the bigger men. Dave Henry and Lee Priest have both done very well in the open shows, and that inspires me. I think that winning the 202 Showdown would put me in a much better position at the open shows, and eventually at the actual Mr. Olympia. In five years, I want to be one of the top men in the sport, not just in the 202 class. My long-term goals are simply to be in the IFBB Hall of Fame one day like Rich, and to be healthy and happy with my wife – and our children.
Stay tuned to this web site for Flex Lewis’ blog as he prepares for the 202 Showdown, as well as his video mini-series. Gaspari Nutrition will make sure you are right there along with him every step of the way!