by Christian Duque
Rubiel Mosquera aka Neckzilla looks like something out of a comic book and he’s lighting up the pro circuit unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Just a few weeks ago this guy wasn’t even a pro. Now he’s a pro and he’s made serious damage on the pro circuit. Just one look and you’re left wondering where his neck ends and where it begins. If you loved the freaks, then you’re going to love this guy. He’s a throwback to guys like Markus Ruhl and Paul Dillett, but with his level of conditioning, he can stand with the best of the best.
Not only has this Columbian phenom pushed the mesomorph card to the absolute limit he’s getting compared with the likes of Samson Dauda! That’s pretty insane considering the ink on this guy’s pro card hasn’t even dried yet and he’s being included in the same conversation as a defending Arnold Classic champion and a Top 3 Olympian. And it’s not a fantasy comparison or a topic to pass the time among muscleheads on a message board, either. These guys actually went toe to toe in open competition. Moreover, Dauda didn’t exactly best the rising star, and that too has been grounds for some pretty lively discussions.
It is very very rare for an amateur competitor to turn professional and then turn around and do so well at a pro competition like we just have seen with Neckzilla. The fact that just one show into his pro career he already has a distinctive nickname and this amount of buzz makes it as to where any promoter is going to want to have him in their lineup.
At the end of the day we cannot ignore the 10,000 lb elephant in the room. It is very important to sell tickets at the door and to sell pay-per-view packages. Nowadays it seems everyone wants world class productions for purchase online but very few promoters are seeing the numbers to justify the investment. Moreover at a time when many businesses are filing for bankruptcy protection it is becoming increasingly difficult for contests to sell booth space. Companies do not want to take a bath and lose out on the opportunity to move products when there are simply very few members of the audience available to purchase anything. Competitions need to think outside of the box and they need competitors whose very presence is going to bring in the fans. More fans means more booths they can sell and that means more money they can keep at the end of the night. After all, contest promotion is very much a business primarily and a pastime secondarily. You can’t pay the bills with passion, but you can pay the bills with money.
The bottom line is that Neckzilla is already becoming a force to be reckoned with. A lot of competitors are becoming very uneasy at the fact that he is earning so many accolades and winning over so many fans with very little time in the sport.
Now here’s the big question and that is – will he be able to do what he did at his pro debut at some of the bigger competitions? Would it be justified for him to get an Arnold Classic invitation when he’s barely been a pro for just a couple of months?
I have to be honest with you, the invitational committee has to think about the dollars and cents involved in putting on a competition whose prize money last year was $300,000 and which next year may be equal to that or even more. The one thing they never want to experience again in Columbus Ohio is that the second biggest bodybuilding show only has six competitors. The show that is second only to the Olympia and it almost didn’t happen in 2023. They will have to really bring it in 2024 to be able to rival a competition known as the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding.
There have been years where the event in Columbus was as big as the event in Vegas. Last year of course was not one of them. Could we see Neckzilla at the 2024 Arnold Classic? Only Time Will Tell.
I will tell you I would not be surprised to see his name on the invite list even though many veteran competitors would be up in arms that he would be given this monumental gift so early on.
Other folks are talking about whether or not we will see Neckzilla at the 2024 Mr Olympia? Could he qualify? And if he qualified where would he place?
The fact of the matter is he is becoming a fan favorite very quickly and he could potentially win the people’s award next year in Las Vegas. If we see Mosquera battling with the biggest guys in the sport on the biggest stage – all bets are off. Imagine seeing Neckzilla battling it out with a revamped Big Ramy, a revamped Nick Walker, and guys like Hadi and Derek. That would be the kind of showdown that every fan of mass monsters and genetic freaks would kill to see. Even if Neckzilla didn’t win, if he was at least in the conversation, that would be blockbuster!! Gangbusters!! It would be the biggest bodybuilding show that you could ever imagine! I don’t even know how to describe it!
I mean you have to realize that although the sport of bodybuilding is based on aesthetics and symmetry most fans could care less about all that. They don’t want to see little frail bodybuilders with beautiful muscle bellies. They want to see veins, slabs on slabs of muscle, and guys that look as cartoonish as possible. They may not have beautiful physiques but who cares about that to everyday fans?!?! They want to see the wow factor. They don’t care if bodybuilding doesn’t become a mainstream sport. They’re not here to grow the sport or see it in the Olympics. They know that the freaks use gear and they know that some of the freaks are literally human pincushions. They could care less about that. They want the freak factor and Neckzilla delivers on that 110%.
The big question is not going to be whether or not Neckzilla will be able to rise to the top of the sport rather the question will be how long will it take? If you have a bodybuilder that is seriously committed and listens to the judges, that bodybuilder can go all the way to the top.
Moreover, Columbia is a hotbed for the sport as is Brazil, Europe and Asia. Even though bodybuilding seems to be focused in the United States, I would argue that the sport is far more popular around the world than it is here. The same way that Big Ramy and Hadi set the Arab world on fire when they won the Olympia, I suspect that Mosquera would do the same for Latin America.
We have never seen a Latin American champion. There have been some pretty close calls with Victor Martinez and Gustavo Badell, but there has never actually been a Spanish-speaking Mr Olympia – at least not since the late great Sergio Oliva back in the late 1960s. That was 50+ Years Ago!! This would be an absolute bonanza for every country from Mexico to Chile and Argentina all the way over to Spain. The sport would come alive if it had a Latin American as Mr Olympia.
Now of course this is extremely premature because we’re talking about a guy who literally just got his pro card less than a month ago but nonetheless the possibilities around this one particular competitor are basically limitless.
As someone that loves media and loves marketing I can tell you I can think of any number of campaigns centered around Neckzilla. This is great for the sport in terms of developing a real buzz that can be sustained not just for a few weeks or even a couple of months but for years to come. This guy could be the next Markus Ruhl or he could be the next Dorian Yates or Ronnie Coleman. Again we’re not just talking about a guy with slabs of muscle; Mosquera has some shape, he does have some symmetry and he has conditioning on his side. However, the neck looks pretty gnarly and I don’t know if that’s going to throw a monkey wrench into his Olympia aspirations. Nonetheless as long as he is this popular and this committed and driven the sky’s the limit for him.
How far do you see Neckzilla going? Do you think a lot of this is premature hype or do you think this particular competitor warrants all of the attention?
Only time will tell what he does on the pro circuit but from what I’ve seen thus far a lot of guys should be absolutely mortified to share a stage with Neckzilla!
