Henricus Ferris on his Physique, Coaching and 212 Olympia
I'm joined backstage ( by a very familiar athlete, a middleweight, while I'm not sure when he's competing again but you all know him, he's an animal, beast, NPC Middleweight Champ , it's Henricus Ferris, how you doing bro?
Henricus: I can't complain, things have been looking good, I hope things are good with your side as well, the shows and everything, but other than that, I'm well, thank you.
How would you judge your season so far, and in fact, seeing as I haven't spoken to you since 2023, in 2024 you competed and I remember you came second, in fact, how would you judge your last two seasons, actually, since we last spoke?
Henricus: Look, last year we won my line-up, and definitely we got the judges' feedback, and then we've been working well since then, I just got him back from a mini-cut, and now we're starting off definitely for end of next year again, but yeah, I have to say myself, the weight that we've put on and the size that we've put on as far is tremendous, and I'm very happy, it's going to be something new, I can definitely say that.
You say it's going to be something new, can you just let us in on what the judges actually told you, what was their feedback?
Henricus: The only thing was the lower body, to pick up the size from there, and from there, definitely we've been hitting the lower body, I've been hitting glutes like bikini models, I've been hitting those exercises and we've really brought the lower body up tremendously, so that it comes in proportion with the upper.
Ok, so you say you've made those improvements, when it comes to exactly, what does the coach want from you at this point of the season and whats the main focus at this point?
Henricus: At the moment, like I mentioned, we just came off from a mini, about 16 week, I can call it pre-comp look that we had, just to get things back on track again, and we're just starting off-season, but from here on, just build overall size. I mean, still clean, the size that we've put on is very minimal fat, and that's what I love about my physique at the moment, my jeans really cater for, doesn't matter how much carbs I'm having, the jeans, and even in off-season, I'm not putting on that much fat, so that's a bonus for me, I think.
And then what brings you to Superbodies, I always meet you at Superbodies, you're always around here supporting, what does Superbodies mean for the bodybuilding community, and what exactly are you doing here?
Henricus: I mean, Superbodies, I've been following them on social media, and I think it's a good show, I mean, it's not a non-federated show, that's a nice thing, anyone can come and compete here, and I love the vibe of Superbodies, I mean, I also got some clients that's gonna compete next year, so I'm always here, you know, just to check what's the standards at, and I mean, bodybuilding, the sport itself, I'm a fanatic fan of bodybuilding itself, so it doesn't matter if I'm looking at NPC shows, IBFF, I'll go to any show, because I love the sport, and that's the thing, I don't think people appreciate that, the sport that we're in, it's really tough on ourselves, and we need to appreciate that.
Okay, let's just touch on the Olympia, I'd love to hear your take, especially because you're a 212 guy. Sean Clarida vs Keone Pearson, what's your assessment?
Henricus: Look, Keone brings the enormous size, I mean, he also brings the shreddedness, Clarida, I think, his genes, I think from birth, he's quite a skinny, small, packaged guy, but the size that that guy brings, I mean, his last comp now, the past weekend, I think it was, what, 83? Yeah. With that size, I mean, that's tremendous, Clarida have to, and I mean, for us guys, 212, that has to compete open bodybuilding, I mean, look at those guys weighing about, what, 110 on stage, now you come with an 83kg guy, and beating that line-up, I mean, I take my hat off for those 212 guys that does the open bodybuilding. But beyond Keone and Clarida, Keone for me, the package, the size, and the aesthetic look he's got, I think it's undeniable in the 212 at the moment.
Interviewer: You think he's unbeatable at the moment?
Henricus: At the moment, definitely, I'll take my hat off for him.
Clarida competed this past weekend, he won this past weekend, and he puts himself in contention to compete at the 212 and the open Olympia, so do you think he should be allowed to compete in both divisions?
Henricus: I truly believe, for the sake of bodybuilding, not a lot of guys are capable of doing that, so I would definitely say, why not allow one or two guys that you know can stand against these open guys, allow them to compete there, I mean, looking back from 2 years ago, where Keone Clarida's body was, and he moved over to Jon Jordan, it's enormous size he's put on, and I think they should allow him to be on that stage, open and to do well, but I mean, he's going to be tough on the body, but definitely, they should allow him, I think it will be good.
And lastly you said you have athletes, which athletes of yours should we look out for in the near future, the exciting names, just give us a feel of what your athletes look like, and how you're going about building your team, because I believe every bodybuilder should actually build their team and pass on knowledge and grow, and that sort of stuff, so give us a feel of your team and the athletes that you have coming up.
Henricus: Look, they've competed quite a while back, but they've been out of the game, but they're really going to do good, that's why for me, I mean, I put the standard there for bodybuilding, for me, if you're not going to lift up or be at my standard, I'm not going to put you on stage, it's either all or nothing, I don't want you, I just want to feel how it feels like to compete, this is bodybuilding, man, you're going to look back at those pictures 10 years ago, why did I even go on stage? So it's either all or nothing, but I'm really excited for the clients that's going to be on stage next year, I've got a few bikini female athletes, so I'm kind of picking and choosing the right bikini girls, but I'm very excited,
