EXCLUSIVE! Interview with Konstantin Ruzanov

Imagine my excitement to receive an email from natural bodybuilder Konstantin Ruzanov himself. Not just because it's a friendly message from a famous person that appreciates my work, but also because it means somebody somewhere is reading this and I'm not just shouting at hyperspace like I've long suspected.



One important correction: previously I stated that Konstantin Ruzanov was leaving bodybuilding, which was hearsay. He's big and impressive as ever, and still has the world's best pectorals.


Konstantin was considerate enough to agree to do an exclusive interview with this blog! One that is the first such segment but hopefully not the last.




Esperanto Grrl: What made you get into bodybuilding? What made you interested in muscles?


Konstantin Ruzanov: As a young man of age 16 I was a drummer in a band. Carrying around a heavy drum set required a great deal of muscles. I was very skinny at the time. (5'9 120 pounds) Our manager of the band suggested I go grow some muscles. Jokingly perhaps. But I took it seriously and since the moment I stepped into the gym, the band lost me.


EG: What do you think about the current state of the bodybuilding industry? What can be done to improve it?

KR: I think we need a new big idol, with graceful and elegant shapes. Not bulky and huge. Grace! to show the beauty of males body that would appeal to masses. I can be that idol!


EG: Who are some of your bodybuilding heroes?

KR: Arnold. Bob Paris. Frank Zane.





EG: Since this is a blog about women that like muscular guys, have you had any encounters with women that are fans of muscular guys?

KR: I have. Almost all the women I encountered loved muscles! As long as its presented in a right package.

EG: How do you see your career going? Are you at all interested in acting or movies? Is there any role in particular you'd be interested in?

KR: I would love to get into movies. Any producers out there interested? I see myself as a next James Bond, or some romantic muscular hero.

EG: Are you involved with any other sports?

KR: Not involved with any sports.

EG: Do you have any tips or advice for young bodybuilders, male or female?

KR: Yes. Read my book when it becomes available. I just finished it, it's all there. But in a few words, what you do with your daily life is what you go to become, physically and mentally. [The Book's] philosophy, training, eating naturally, resting peacefully.

EG: What made you decide to stay natural?

KR: Experimenting and seeing the difference in results. State of mind is very important to me. In a clean body - pure soul.




EG: You're from the Ukraine, what made you come to the United States?

KR: The American Dream...

"Mr. Ukraine" Konstantin Ruzanov

It's very disappointing when a bodybuilder, especially a very good looking one, walks away from bodybuilding as Konstantin Ruzanov did. He was a "natural" and left the sport when he saw what it took to succeed at the higher levels, chemically speaking.

I say, good one on you, Konstantin! The insane quest for size, the bizarro "hardcore" bodybuilding grunt culture personified by MUSCLEMAG, has to end somewhere. The days are long over where bodybuilding was a masculine, healthy pursuit: it's funny how Reg Park and Steve Reeves outlived many that came after them. Besides, natural bodybuilders look better anyway: better proportions, zero 'roid bloat.

If Konstantin Ruzanov ever made it in movies, I have a feeling he'd play bad guys, or do costume dramas. If he's any good as an actor, he'd make a great Count Vronsky in ANNA KARENINA. On the other hand, I can see him as a "Conrad Veidt" type: a guy best known for playing the Nazi heavy in movies like CASABLANCA despite the fact he left Germany because of the Nazis.

Incidentally, I had a Konstantin Ruzanov pic as my desktop wallpaper for a few days (I change it, on average two or three times a week, and I almost never have beefcake pics). I was working on a research assignment with a fellow grad student, a girl that was the daughter of immigrants from Trinidad.

When I went to show her my work on my laptop, as it booted up, she approvingly looked at Konstantin Ruzanov and said, "wow, now he's a black woman's kind of white guy."

I have absolutely no idea what she meant by that, but it's worth noting that in her own apartment, there was only one "sexy" pin-up poster: a white wifebeater clad Justin Timberlake. Hmmmm...!

A few YouTube vids: