Kai Greene (born July 12, 1975), is an American personal trainer, artist, actor, and
professional bodybuilder
Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB or Wabba International Pro Card.
A professional bodybuilder may be one who earns his or her primary income from ...
. He came in second place at the 2012, 2013, and 2014 editions of the
IFBB's
Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
competition and has not competed in it since, though he never formally announced his retirement.
He is often regarded as one of the best bodybuilders to have never won the competition.
Early life
Kai Greene was born in the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
borough of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on July 12, 1975. From the age of six, he was raised in
foster care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...
and
residential treatment center
A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch ...
s in Brooklyn. According to his online biography, his rapid physical growth and development drew the attention of his seventh grade English teacher, and since his behavior in school was troublesome, he was encouraged to enter teenage bodybuilding competitions as an outlet.
Bodybuilding career
NPC
Greene became an enthusiastic bodybuilder when he worked at Johnny Lats Gym in New York City, where he began training with personal trainer Jakob Panotas in 1996. He competed in the
National Physique Committee
The National Physique Committee (NPC) is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States. Amateur bodybuilders compete in competitions from local to national competitions sanctioned by the NPC. While the term "bodybuilding" is ...
(NPC) aiming to move into the
IFBB. He perceives his success in the NPC as mixed. Although he won the 1999 NPC Team Universe, afterward he took a five-year break from competitions, before re-emerging in the 2004 NPC Team Universe contest, which he won again. This victory qualified him for a career as an
IFBB when his professional career started as bodybuilder.
New York Pro & Mr. Olympia
In 2011, Greene began working with preparation coach George Farah and placed 1st in the 2011 New York Pro Championship. His 3rd place finish at
Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
in 2011 qualified him for the
2012 contest, so he did not compete at the 2012 New York Pro in order to focus on Mr. Olympia. He placed 2nd in the 2012 Mr. Olympia, the
2013 Mr. Olympia
The 2013 Mr. Olympia contest
was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held September 27–28, 2013, at the Orleans Arena at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. It was the 49th Mr. ...
, and the
2014 Mr. Olympia
The 2014 Mr. Olympia contest
was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and part of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2014
that was held on September 18–21, 2014, at the South Ha ...
.
Greene did not compete in the
2015 Mr. Olympia due to unknown circumstances, and issued a statement to say that "there is a lot more going on behind the scenes that
ecannot discuss". Olympia officials allegedly denied any claims that he was banned from competing, but did confirm that he did not register and had been reminded to register several times since May of that year. Greene did request an extension on the registration period and was given an extra two months, but he did not meet this deadline either.
Greene won the 2016
Arnold Classic
The IFBB Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arnold Classic''), strongman ('' Arnold Strongman Classic''), fitness, figure ...
, which he had also won in 2009 and 2010, but has not competed since.
In June 2017, he was given a special offer to compete in that year's Mr. Olympia competition without having to re-qualify, which he declined.
Documentaries
In 2009, Greene worked with director Mike Pulcinella to release ''Overkill'', which documented his preparation for his first appearance at the 2009 Olympia. In 2010, he reunited with Pulcinella to film the sequel ''Redemption'', showcasing his training and philosophies for the 2010 Arnold Classic, which he won for the second year in a row. He features in the 2013 film ''
Generation Iron
''Generation Iron'' is a 2013 American documentary film which follows the world's leading professional bodybuilders as they train and compete for the 2012 Mr. Olympia. Considered to be a spiritual sequel to the 1977 documentary ''Pumping Iron'', t ...
'', detailing the lead up to and events of the 2012 Mr. Olympia competition. He was also featured in the sequels ''
Generation Iron 2
''Generation Iron 2'' is a 2017 documentary film and sequel to ''Generation Iron''. The film follows the next generation of bodybuilders as the industry opens up to viral internet stars as well as younger bodybuilders pushing the limits of how ma ...
'' and ''Generation Iron 3''.
Technique
Greene has often discussed the "mind-muscle connection". In an article published by ''
Flex
Flex or FLEX may refer to:
Computing
* Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay
* FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800
* FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research
* FLEX (protocol), a comm ...
'' as part of his "Top Ten Big Back Principles", he explained, "The mind-muscle connection is the number one factor in training. You develop it over time by posing your muscle, and also by paying close attention to how your muscles feel when you work them. Eventually, you get to where your mind can read the feedback your muscles are providing, and your muscles can react to the stimulus your mind is providing. Practice posing between sets or anytime. And feel your muscles working throughout your sets. Eventually, your mind and muscles will speak the same language and communicate back and forth."
Sponsors and endorsements
Greene was sponsored by ''
Flex
Flex or FLEX may refer to:
Computing
* Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay
* FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800
* FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research
* FLEX (protocol), a comm ...
''. He launched a supplement brand called Dynamik Muscle in 2015, and a training program called The 5P in May 2016. The latter is named after the acronym for his motto, "Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance". He is sponsored by sportswear company
Ryderwear
Ryderwear is an Australian Athleisure, fitness apparel and accessories brand, manufacturer and retailer headquartered in South Australia.
See also
*List of South Australian manufacturing businesses
References
External links
*{{Official ...
, who have released lines of signature clothing and footwear in his name, and he signed a deal with sports supplement and clothing company REDCON1 in 2020.
Other work
Acting
![My Guaranteed Student Loan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/My_Guaranteed_Student_Loan.jpg)
Greene portrayed a male stripper in the 2015 comedy film ''College Debts''. In November 2016, he travelled to the Chinese province of
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...
to start filming for the 2018 martial arts film ''Crazy Fist''. He played a villain who fights the protagonist in an arena during the film's opening sequence. In January 2017, it was announced that Greene had signed with
The Gersh Agency
The Gersh Agency (also known as simply Gersh) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh, based in Beverly Hills, California and New York City. The Gersh Agency is the fourth largest talent agency in the United States.
H ...
. In 2017, he played Funshine in the
second season of the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
sci-fi series ''
Stranger Things''. He appeared in the Indian action-thriller film ''
Pogaru
''Pogaru'' is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language masala film directed by Nanda Kishore and produced by B. K. Gangadhar. The film stars Dhruva Sarja and Rashmika Mandanna with Chikkanna, P. Ravi Shankar, Pavitra Lokesh, and Raghavendra Rajkumar in s ...
'' in 2021.
Art
Greene is an avid artist who often creates self-portraits to help himself build and maintain his ideal physique. In August 2011, he exhibited some of his work to the public; at the exhibition, he stated, "As a professional bodybuilder, I'm a master sculptor. The art show made me realize that I've always been an artist: my medium the human physique. My life is what I make it, just like the art I've produced on canvas and on stage. This art show makes this statement. I'm celebrating some personal accomplishments and my own artistic expression."
Podcasting
In November 2015, Greene and fitness model Krystal Lavenne began co-hosting a weekly
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
titled ''Generation Iron'', in which they discussed various topics while answering questions sent in by fans. Greene left the podcast at an unknown point in time.
In October 2020, Greene began hosting his own podcast called ''Getting It Done''.
Other
In 2021, Greene became the face of a gaming
cryptocurrency called Grapefruit Supercoin.
[https://grapefruitcoin.com]
Contest history
*1994 NGA American Nationals
*1996 WNBF Pro Natural Worlds – 1st
*1997 NPC Team Universe Championships – 2nd
*1998 NPC Team Universe Championships – 3rd
*1999 World Amateur Championships – 6th
*1999 NPC Team Universe Championships – 1st
*2005 New York Pro – 14th
*2006
Superman Pro – 20th
*2006
Shawn Ray Colorado Pro/Am Classic – 14th
*2007 New York Pro – 6th
*2007 Keystone Pro Classic – 3rd
*2007
Shawn Ray Colorado Pro/Am Classic – 1st
*2008 New York Pro – 1st
*2008
Arnold Classic
The IFBB Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arnold Classic''), strongman ('' Arnold Strongman Classic''), fitness, figure ...
– 3rd
*2009 Australian Pro Grand Prix – 1st
*2009 Arnold Classic – 1st
*
2009 Mr. Olympia
The 2009 Mr. Olympia contest
was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and the feature event of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2009 held September 24–27, 2009 at the Orleans ...
– 4th
*2010 Arnold Classic – 1st
*2010 Australian Pro Grand Prix – 1st
*
2010 Mr. Olympia
The 2010 Mr. Olympia was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and the feature event of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2010 which was held September 23–26, 2010 at the Las Ve ...
– 7th
*2011 New York Pro – 1st
*
2011 Mr. Olympia – 3rd
*2011 Sheru Classic – 3rd
*
2012 Mr. Olympia
The 2012 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and the feature event of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2012 held September 27–30, 2012 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Orleans Arena in ...
– 2nd
*2012 Sheru Classic – 2nd
*
2013 Mr. Olympia
The 2013 Mr. Olympia contest
was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held September 27–28, 2013, at the Orleans Arena at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. It was the 49th Mr. ...
– 2nd
*2013 Arnold Classic Europe – 2nd
*2013 EVL's Prague Pro – 1st
*
2014 Mr. Olympia
The 2014 Mr. Olympia contest
was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and part of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2014
that was held on September 18–21, 2014, at the South Ha ...
– 2nd
*2016 Arnold Classic – 1st
*2016 Arnold Classic Australia – 1st
*2016 Arnold Classic Brazil – 1st
References
External links
*
*
Kai Greene's possible participation in OLYMPIA’19
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Kai
1975 births
Living people
African-American bodybuilders
Professional bodybuilders
People from Brooklyn
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople