Milos Sarcev Wrecks Bob Cicherillo – IronMag Bodybuilding & Fitness Blog

by Christian Duque

I hate to beat a dead horse, but that’s kind of the feeling I get when I pen yet another article about Bob Cicherillo and the whole athlete rep saga. The reality is that Bob is just days away from turning 60 and it almost feels like elder abuse to rag on him. Did he ever win the NY Pro, the Arnold Classic, or the Mr. Olympia? Of course not. He came close to winning a pro show, but 2nd was the best he could ever get. Then he decided to compete in a masters show that was pretty much made for him and a documentary he was filming around it. He was able to somehow get his first and only pro win that way, even though mostly everyone thought European sensation and international ladies heartthrob Pavol Jablonicky had him beat. Just as soon as he was declared the winner, Bob unofficially retired.

Since then, Bob has been a media guy. But his fallback has always been this fictitious athlete’s rep position. Many of the top pros prefer to avoid drama than get into a pissing match with the Rochester, NY native. This is because everyone knows that Cicherillo has no sway with Pittsburgh, but if he gets offended he’ll start talking into his Obama phone on YouTube. No one listens to him and no one cares what he has to say. If Bob’s position actually had any real power, there would have been others trying to get the post. I mean how aware is a near 60 year old man who hasn’t competed in 20 years of what today’s athletes are going through?

Although he desperately tries to be hip, Bob is all but an old geezer with an inflated ego. He’s a nobody to the current crop of athletes. They know him as the contest emcee and a guy who talks in his broom closet with a Voice Of Bodybuilding banner hanging in the background. It’s not even a top of the line banner. It looks like it was made by a high schooler selling banners at the local flea market. Bob as a media personality is almost as laughable as he was a pro bodybuilder, but it’s all in who you know. If it wasn’t for Jake Wood, Bob would be training people on the down-low at Planet Fitness.

I know it sounds like I’m hating on the guy, but I’m not. He’s blessed to have made key contacts once he retired. One good friend is legendary bodybuilder “Sugar” Shawn Ray. Shawn is said to have been the most photographed bodybuilder in FLEX Magazine history. To date, Shawn continues to enjoy being highly sought after by companies and continues to get mobbed wherever he goes. Shawn has always looked out for Bob, almost like a little brother. Another key contact is Dan Solomon. I also believe Dan looks out for Bob.

For several years, Dan spearheaded Pro Bodybuilding Weekly. Bob was Dan’s faithful sidekick, earning himself the notice of the industry in a different light. Over time, Cicherillo started doing MC work and has been able to make a living telling bad jokes and announcing athletes. He has also been able to work with companies that believe that he can make them money. Even still, with all his MC work, Bob just isn’t relevant. He lacks the industry cred of a Dave Palumbo or Ron Harris. He has always wanted to be taken seriously by the athletes, but many top pro’s won’t acknowledge him on social media, let alone in person. Many times Bob can be seen walking by himself at contests and/or talking into his phone, presumably with someone else on the other line. The more he ages, the more I believe he wants to convince as many people as possible that he matters.

And that’s where the athlete’s rep thing comes up most. Bob often injects himself in conversations taking up for the federation, speculating as to policy changes, and many times earning himself a phone call from Pittsburgh to be quiet. He’s not an official and never has been. An official would be a district or state chair, a judge, or an officer in the federation (e.g. secretary, vice president, or president). Bob has also – to the best of my knowledge – never served on any policy committees. He’s basically a guy who calls himself the athlete’s rep but has no official tite, doesn’t have a salary, a business card or an official office. He’ll occasionally chime in with his unsolicited two cents and many times gets all but ignored. That doesn’t stop him though, he just keeps talking and name-dropping, giving the impression he’s a shotcaller.

The fact is, there’s about five legitimate shot callers in the IFBB Pro League and three of them have the same last name. Then there’s a guy in NY and there’s a guy in PA. That’s about it. Everyone else is just on a lower rung. Bob isn’t even on the proverbial ladder.

Again, I’m not looking to knock the guy while he’s down, but he’s just not a factor. And as of late, it’s become a test of sorts for many athletes to stay quiet. I think it’s because competitors may actually want representation at some point, but Bob isn’t the guy they want. Before they can even consider organizing, they need Chick out of the picture. Most athletes are moving behind the scenes in a non-confrontational way to get this goal to become a reality. Some of the old school cats, like Milos, just don’t give a shit, though. They’ve been wanting to unload on Bob for years. And Milos did just that on the Dennis James Podcast.

Milos hasn’t been this angry since NATO decimated Serbia. The fact is, Sarcev wanted to clear the air and put the alleged athlete’s rep on notice. He slammed Bob for being largely irrelevant and when Bob tried to reach for the athlete’s rep position, Milos let him have it. He accused Bob of being Pittsburgh’s lackey, he pointed out that no one ever elected Chick, and moreover, challenged Bob on any accomplishments he could take credit for. Milos might as well have been speaking another language because Bob was totally stunned. It’s like he could hear Milos, but it was like a language foreign to him. He looked more confused than Joe Biden at 2AM. He hadn’t taken a beating like that in the media in ages. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever had to endure this kind of questioning while on air. And with regards to Milos, he was asking questions which he already knew the answers to.

Sarcev let the Chickster have it. He blasted him for never acting with the athlete’s in mind. In one bombshell soundbite, Milos made a point that’s never been made before. At least, I can’t recall a single instance when the MC extraordinaire was accused of using this ceremonial title to benefit himself. That’s a first, and Bob didn’t really have much of a rebuttal. He just sort of sat there and took it on the chin. Was this part of a strategy? Was he taking the higher road? Or did Milos succeed in finally shutting up one of the biggest and fastest talkers in the industry?

Bob usually can bs his way out of tense situations, but not this time. This time, he was very much on the ropes and had nothing to say. And unlike other settings where Bob has years on those questioning him, the guys on DJ’s podcast were all old school cats. They’re people that are revered in bodybuilding. Bob was outclassed and he knew it.

Milos slapped him around like a Mississippi pimp would an underperforming lot lizard.

And I tell you, I felt bad for the aging charlatan Bob Cicherillo. I think this was a long day coming. But did Bob learn? Is Bob done overinflating his ego and/or inserting himself into the bodybuilding world? Of course not. This is all he knows. He has been able to make a living because he’s a bullshit artist. Always has been and always will be, but seeing Milos lay into him was something we haven’t seen before. It all but sealed the deal. Older competitors don’t feel represented by Bob any more than athletes under 30 do. Bob’s been exposed as being nothing more than a brown-noser and a lackey of Pittsburgh. He’s not the athlete’s rep and if anything, he’s his own rep.

What say you? What did you make of Milos exploding on Bob? I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to drum up some great conversation.