Phil Heath - Bio and Competition History

Phillip "Phil" Heath is the current 4-time Mr. Olympia champion. His professional career began in 2003 with his appearance on The Rocky Mountain NPC USA Championship where he won the title and has been competing ever since.

Born on December 18th, 1979 in Arvada, Colorado, Heath is best known among the masses as "The Gift" - a nickname he received because of the gifted genetics.

Related - The Complete History of Bodybuilding

According to many, Heath is one of the best-looking bodybuilders of all time and a lot of that has to do with his well-rounded muscles, the shape of his abdomen and his massive legs.

After playing basketball at the University of Denver, Heath saw bodybuilding as a major opportunity for him - but also a personal challenge.

In 2002, he decided to make a leap forward and develop a body that people will admire. During that time, Phil Heath was disciplined and dedicated to succeed and compete professionally.

The results confirmed that, as Heath went from 185 lbs to 215 lbs in a very short time, topping off only 6% of body fat. As soon as he did that, he entered the Rocky Mountain NPC USA Championship, won the title and therefore turned professional and was eligible to compete as an IFBB Pro.

Heath’s career was blossoming as he entered and won new championships. In 2005, he once again won the NPC USA Championships, followed by both The Colorado Pro Championships and The New York Pro Championship in his first year of competing.

At this point, Heath was natural and went on to win the Arnold Classic (2007), where he finished fifth in a close contest. Even though Heat felt unprepared to compete against the big stars at that point (2007), his wins gave him the ticket to the prestigious Mr. Olympia contest.

The Gift competed at the Mr. Olympia for the first time in 2008 when he placed 3rd and became the first rookie to place in the top 3 since Kevin Levrone and Flex Wheeler. The same thing happened the following years when Heath placed fifth in the Mr. Olympia in 2009 and second in the 2010 Mr. Olympia contest.

However, since the 2011 Mr. Olympia contest, Phil Heath remains undefeated with seven consecutive wins. For that, Heath is known as one of the most dominant bodybuilders in history and undoubtedly the best bodybuilder in the modern era.

He has been featured in a lot of fitness magazines, articles and on a lot of popular media outlets. Heath has also released a series of bodybuilding DVDs including The Gift, The Gift Unwrapped, Journey to the Olympia, Becoming the Number 13, and Operation Sandow.

Today, Heath is proud of being the current seven-time Mr. Olympia winner and a sponsored athlete by Team MuscleTech. Year after year, Heath is closer to equaling the record of Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman. He also owns a fitness apparel company called Gifted Athletics which derived from his unique nickname.