Kevin Levrone

Last updated
Kevin Levrone
Bodybuilder
Personal info
NicknameMaryland Muscle Machine
Born (1964-07-16) July 16, 1964 (age 59)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
WeightContest: 240–250 lb (109–113 kg)
Off season: 265 lb (120 kg)
Professional career
Pro-debut
  • Junior Nationals
  • 1991
Best win
  • IFBB Arnold Classic
  • 1994 and 1996

Kevin Mark Levrone (born July 16, 1964) is an American IFBB professional bodybuilder, IFBB Hall of Famer, and musician.

Contents

During his professional career, Levrone competed in 68 IFBB Professional contests. Considered one of the best bodybuilders of the 1990s, [1] despite never winning the Mr. Olympia title, he has won 20 pro shows with three amateur wins. Holding the record of the most wins as an IFBB professional until 2001 when Vince Taylor won his 21st pro win, taking the title of Masters Olympia. Ronnie Coleman set the new record in 2004 and that record was eventually broken by Dexter Jackson in 2016 with 29 wins.

Early life

Levrone was born on July 16, 1964, in Baltimore, Maryland, to an Italian-American father (originally from Sicily) and African-American mother. He lost both parents to cancer at a young age. [2] Kevin was first inspired to pursue bodybuilding by his cousin. After seeing the size and condition of his cousin, who had returned from serving in the military, Kevin became more serious about working out and bodybuilding in general. [3]

Training and competition

Levrone began his professional IFBB career in 1991 after finishing first in the NPC Finals. After placing 2nd at the 1992 Mr. Olympia contest, for his first participation, he had a severe injury in February 1993, completely tearing his major and minor pectorals while bench-pressing 600 pounds, and he needed surgery to reattach them. [1] He had two surgeries, the first one lasted 8 hours, then while he was healing he got an infection and he needed a second surgery. At that time everyone thought that Levrone's career was over, yet he managed to be in contest shape for the 1994 Mr. Olympia only eight weeks later, and placed 3rd. [1] He placed 2nd at Mr. Olympia four times—in 1992 and 1995 behind Dorian Yates (six times winner), in 2000 and 2002 behind Ronnie Coleman (eight times winner). [4] That is the record for most Mr. Olympia seconds without a win. [5]

When he stopped competing in 2003, Levrone did not officially announce his retirement; he explained this as he never thought about retirement, but just decided to do something different and find other challenges. [6]

Despite having been away from competition for well over a decade since 2003, Kevin officially announced in May 2016 that he would return to once again compete at the professional level at the Mr. Olympia contest, by special invite; [7] he indeed entered the 2016 Mr. Olympia contest, at age 51, and placed 17th, with only five months of preparation. [8] In 2018, in the lead up to competing in the Arnold Classic Australia competition, Levrone announced that this would be his last competition; he placed 13th out of a field of 14. Many believe he had improved over his 2016 Mr Olympia condition, but he was still far from the condition that had made him a big name in bodybuilding in the 90s and early 2000s.

Levrone has qualified and participated in 13 Mr. Olympia competitions (including a special invite from IFBB President Jim Manion for the 2016 edition). He's placed 2nd four times, once making his Olympia debut in 1992 to Dorian Yates. 3 to Ronnie Coleman(98, 2000, 2002). Due to his popularity and close calls he has been given the title of an uncrowned Mr.Olympia (an honorary title he shares with Kenneth “Flex” Wheeler). Levrone has been applauded for his ability to train quickly for competitions, rather than training year-long. [1] This fact is often attributed to the reason why he was able to come back for the 2016 Mr. Olympia competition. Despite not placing in the top 10 for the first time, Levrone got himself in competition-shape in only 5 months. After the 2016 Mr. Olympia competition Levrone revealed he had trained despite injuries to his pectorals and knee.[ citation needed ]

Post professional career

Since ending his competition career, Levrone enjoys playing other sports like tennis and golf. He has acted in several films and is also a musician. He released an online training platform in early 2016 naming it TeamLevrone.com. In 2015, he released a supplement line called, "Kevin Levrone Signature Series". [9] Also in 2015, he released 4 songs in various streaming platforms.

Stats

Competitive history

[14]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "90's Bodybuilding... (The Golden Era?)". Protein Hunter. 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  2. ↑ "Kevin Levrone". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  3. ↑ "The Kevin Levrone Interview". Bodybuilding.com. 2004-11-26. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  4. ↑ Mitos do Bodybuilding: Kevin Levrone revistasuplementacao
  5. ↑ "The Mr. Olympia Record Book". The Barbell. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  6. ↑ "The Kevin Levrone Interview". Bodybuilding.com. 25 November 2004. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  7. ↑ Chris Nicoll (videographer) (8 May 2016). "Kevin Levrone Is Back!". FLEX Online. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  8. ↑ "2016". Mr. Olympia. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  9. ↑ "Kevin Levrone: revolutionary sports supplement brand created by me, Kevin Levrone". levrosupplements.com. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  10. 1 2 3 "About IFBB Pro Kevin Levrone". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  11. 1 2 3 "Kevin Levrone – Evolution of Bodybuilding". Evolutionofbodybuilding.net. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  12. ↑ Greg Merritt (30 June 2015). "Kevin Levrone's Training Philosophies". FLEX Online. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  13. ↑ "Bodybuilder Kevin Levrone". Criticalbench.com. 1965-07-16. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  14. ↑ "Levrone, Kevin". musclememory.com. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
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