Benjamin "Ben" Pakulski, nicknamed the Pak-Man, is a Canadian IFBBprofessional bodybuilder and winner of the 2008 Mr. Canada competition. In the IFBB, he finished 2nd twice in 2008. He has increased his standing in the Arnold Classic competition, placing 2nd in 2013, after a 4th-place finish in 2012 and a 10th-place finish in 2011. In the 2012 Mr. Olympia contest, his first-ever, he finished 11th.
Biography
According to his website, Pakulski began his interest in nutrition at 12 years old, when he read about vegetarianism and experimented with it for two years. He began weightlifting at 15 in Macks Gym in Toronto. There he was trained by Tom Hall, who taught him the correct biomechanical way to do each exercise and helped him secure his first Muscletech contract at 18 years old. Pakulski also credits the deceased Peter Chiasson, a health professional with a kinesiology background, for teaching him early in his career. Pakulski began watching professional events at 17, when his father took him to a Night of Champions competition between Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman. He received coaching from Charles Poliquin and Charles Glass, two highly-influential figures in the bodybuilding world. His favorite bodybuilders growing up were Lee Priest and Dorian Yates. Pakulski is engaged to Amanda Vassalo and has two children. He stated in an interview with Team MD Poland that he is Polish, and his father is from Lublin, Poland. Pakulski routinely eats 120 lbs of meat every month, costing roughly $1,100. Ben Pakulski graduated with honors from the University of Western Ontario with a B.S. in Kinesiology. On his website, he attributes this background for making his name "synonymous with an intelligent and healthy approach to bodybuilding." He teaches seminars and coaches aspiring bodybuilders with his education in nutrition and exercise science. As per his website, since November 2012, he has been actively writing a book on bodybuilding.
Performances
Pakulski's first pro-bodybuilding event is generally listed as 2009 at the IFBB in Tampa, Florida. He finished third in that event and qualified for a 2009 Olympia invitation, which he chose to turn down. Pakulski said in a Feb 18, 2013 Bodybuilding.com interview that the dieting necessary to prepare for an event would have cost him valuable training time and energy, and chose to take on only 2 professional events a year in 2008 and 2009. A 2009 feature story on Pakulski alongside Fouad Abiad, entitled "The Canadian Invasion", publicized them on entering the pros internationally. The title came from the potential the two rookies had to overtake professional titles and represent Canada, which has not been known for many bodybuilders. Muscular Development reviews of Pakulski have commended his legs as sizeable, but his upper body as lacking. A review given in 2009 stated similarly that he had a "Scandinavian look" and "huge legs", but "could stand to have a meatier back." In 2012, Pakulski competed in the Mr. Olympia contest, his first-ever, and won 11th place. He qualified for the 2013 Arnold Classic contest and a writer for Flex magazine speculated that Pakulski would win the contest. The writer justified his prediction by the lack of an incumbent champion, as leading pros Branch Warren, the reigning Mr. Olympia Phil Heath, Jay Cutler, Kai Greene, Evan Centopani, and Victor Martinez would be out of the competition. In the article, Dexter Jackson was reasoned to be a serious contender, but his performance in a grueling Masters Olympia contest weeks before would make him vulnerable to a fresh competitor like Pakulski.
Muscle Insider cover
Muscle Insider broke its own rule to display Pakulski on the cover of its magazine in 2012. Scott Welch, its President, stated that the move was to support Pakulski as Canada's #1 IFBB bodybuilder. Welch admitted, "This was the first time we chose a non-Olympia winner for our cover but as a Canadian magazine, we felt it was very fitting to have Ben on it." Welch explicitly told a writer in 2011 that its cover page was reserved to Mr. Olympia winners, saying, "To get on the cover of the best bodybuilding magazine in the industry, you need to win the best bodybuilding competition in the industry! Only winners of the Olympia make it on the cover of Muscle Insider." Welch defended the change in decision, saying that amazing bodybuilders would need to be recognized and he felt that Pakulski was not far from winning the Mr. Olympia crown someday.
Personal life
The July 2013 issue of Muscle Mag reported that Pakulski underwent a hernia surgery for a protrusion that had affected him for years.
Bodybuilding titles
September 2008 - Canadian Championships Overall Winner and Pro Card Victory in Montreal Quebec. August 2009 - - Pro Bodybuilding Weekly, Tampa - 3rd May 2010 - New York Pro - 7th February 2011 - FLEX Pro - 5th March 2011 - Arnold Classic - 10th March 2011 - Australia Pro - 4th February 2012 - Flex Pro - 2nd March 2012 - Arnold Classic - 4th September 2012 - Mr.Olympia - 11th March 2013 - Arnold Classic - 2nd March 2014 - Arnold Classic - 7th March 2015 - Arnold Classic - 8th June 2016 - Toronto Pro Show - 4th July 2016 - Vancouver Pro Show - 1st
