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Kenneth Wheeler (born August 23, 1965, Fresno, California, United States), known as Flex Wheeler, is a former American IFBB professional bodybuilder. Wheeler was described by Arnold Schwarzenegger as one of the greatest bodybuilders he ever saw.^[2]

  Biography

  Early life

Wheeler grew up in poverty in Fresno, California.^[3] As a child, Wheeler experienced child abuse and suicidal tendencies. Wheeler struggled in school due to dyslexia, but excelled in sports. Wheeler began training in martial arts, and started bodybuilding as a teenager after discovering weightlifting. He is on record as regarding himself as a "martial artist first, a bodybuilder second".^[4] Wheeler has remarkable flexibility, including being able to do a complete splits, which led to his nickname Flex.

  Bodybuilding career

After a short career as a police officer, Wheeler focused full time on becoming a professional bodybuilder. He competed for the first time in 1983 but it was not until 1989 that he secured a first-place trophy at the NPC Mr. California Championships. He placed second at the 1993 Mr. Olympia, narrowly missing a win (something he was to repeat in 1998 and 1999). He is a 5-time Ironman Pro winner, 4-time Arnold Classic winner, and has won the France Grand Prix, South Beach Pro Invitational, Night of Champions and Hungarian Grand Prix.

While Wheeler had the reputation of being arrogant and overconfident. He attributed this to a need to compensate for his introversion and insecurity as a child and young man.^[5] In 1994, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident that could have left him with lifelong paralysis. Falling back into depression again, he started training from scratch, returning with remarkable speed to bodybuilding's top tier. In 1999, Wheeler discovered that he had Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a form of kidney disease. Despite press speculation as to the cause of the failure, Wheeler pointed out that the condition is hereditary, not self-inflicted. Wheeler announced his retirement from competitive bodybuilding in 2000, but continued to compete until 2002. He received a kidney transplant in 2003.

  Post-retirement

Since retirement, Wheeler has focused again on martial arts, his specialism being Kemp-Kwon-Do, a variant of Kempo and Tae Kwon Do. He participated in a demonstration fight at the 2005 Arnold Classic. In 2007, Flex was interviewed by freelance journalist Rod Labbe for Ironman Magazine's Legends of Bodybuilding series. Entitled "Yesterday and Today," it covers his extensive career and reveals how people can conquer adversity and triumph against incredible odds. Wheeler currently serves in an executive position as the Director of Media and Public Relations for the Sports Nutrition Company All American EFX, based out of Bakersfield, California. He also manages their sponsored athletes and can be seen in advertisements for the company.

  Competitive stats

• Height: 5'9"^[1]
• Off-season Weight: Around 250-260 lbs.^[1]
• Competition Weight: Around 210-220 lbs.^[1]

  Competitive history

• 1985 AAU Teen Mr. America 1st (MT)
• 1989 NPC California Championships 1st (LHW)
• 1989 NPC Nationals 5th (LHW)
• 1990 NPC Junior Nationals 2nd (HW)
• 1991 NPC Nationals 2nd (HW)
• 1991 NPC USA Championship 2nd (HW)
• 1992 NPC USA Championships 1st (HW and Overall)
• 1993 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 1st
• 1993 IFBB Arnold Classic 1st
• 1993 IFBB Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 1995 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 1st
• 1995 IFBB Arnold Classic 2nd
• 1995 IFBB South Beach Pro 1st
• 1995 IFBB Mr. Olympia 8th
• 1995 IFBB Grand Prix Spain 5th
• 1996 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 1st
• 1996 IFBB Arnold Classic 2nd
• 1996 IFBB Night of Champions 1st
• 1996 IFBB Canada Pro Classic 2nd
• 1996 IFBB Florida Cup Pro 1st
• 1996 IFBB Mr. Olympia 4th
• 1997 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 1st
• 1997 IFBB Arnold Classic 1st
• 1997 IFBB San Jose Pro 1st
• 1998 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 1st
• 1998 IFBB Arnold Classic 1st
• 1998 IFBB Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 1999 IFBB Grand Prix England - 2nd
• 1999 IFBB Joe Weider's Pro World 2nd
• 1999 IFBB Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 2000 IFBB Mr. Olympia 3rd
• 2000 IFBB Hungarian Grand Prix 1st
• 2000 IFBB Arnold Classic 1st
• 2000 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 2nd
• 2002 IFBB Mr. Olympia 7th
• 2003 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational 3rd

  See also

• List of male professional bodybuilders

  External links

• Teamflexwheeler.com Official site
• Flex Wheeler Martial Arts Illustrated Magazine Interview
• Bodybuilders.com Flex Wheeler profile
• Flex Wheeler Gallery
• Muscle: The Myostatin Connection as seen in Flex Wheeler
• Allamericanefx.com Official company site
• Flex Wheeler photos

  References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.criticalbench.com/Flex-Wheeler.htm retrieved December 3, 2008
2. ^ http://www.hayhouse.com/authorbio.php?id=95
3. ^ Flex, Wheeler; Cindy Pearlman (May 2003). Flex Ability: A Story of Strength and Survival. Hay House. ISBN 1401901735. 
4. ^ http://martialarts.about.com/od/famousmartialartists/a/kflexw.htm
5. ^ http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/player.htm