Many major sports have two ways of connecting to their fans. They had the actual games, then they had the sports trading cards. Fans of an older generation will tell you that there was something special about opening a new pack of cards and hoping to find a superstar, favorite player, or special card that turned out to be very valuable. Imagine pulling a Michael Jordan Fleer card during the 1986-87 season. If you did, you have a small fortune on your hands now.
As great as the sport of bodybuilding is, bodybuilding cards haven’t been a thing before, but the good news is they are now. The 2023 Mr. Olympia Trading Cards collection feature 115 of the greatest bodybuilders and physique athletes in the world across all 11 IFBB Pro League divisions. Each of them show the prestige that comes with being on the Olympia stage and showcase why the featured athlete belongs on that stage as one of the best in the world.
The man behind it all is Jay Yue, and he’s excited about the first series and the excitement they have created. He appreciates the sport and its loyal international fanbase.
“Bodybuilding is such a big but niche community. We see so much potential in the area and are looking forward to the overlap between this community and the collector community.”
One look at this collection, and you’ll see there was a lot of time and care invested into them. The front of the card shows the athlete in their world-class form on the Olympia stage, and the back features stats and information that will help you learn more about how that athlete reached the pinnacle of the sport. The athletes themselves have seen previews of the cards, and Yue shared they overwhelmingly approved.
“They love them,” he said. “The art director who was behind the famous Michael Jordan 2003 Exclusive card designed the Mr. Olympia cards.”
Aside from the base cards, there are also special edition card types such as the Authentic Autograph group, which includes five-time Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead. Yue shared that he was most excited to see those when he got his first look at them because there’s a chance you will hold a piece of bodybuilding history.
“Think about athletes like Big Ramy. We don’t know if he’s going to compete again, but we have his autograph cards. We also don’t know about Bumstead and if he will compete again or not, either. Those are the cards that fans should try to collect the entire set.”
There is also the rare “Sandow” collection, which only includes Olympia champions holding their world championship trophy in celebration of achieving their dreams. There are only 99 prints of each champion, meaning you got a special one if you pull it.
Other unique subsets include their Score Card collection, Global Power, and Debut, in honor of when the feature athlete stepped on the Olympia stage for the first time. There is also Olympia Moments, which
captures some of the most historic moments on bodybuilding’s biggest stage in a new way. Yue wanted this set to pay homage to the Olympia itself as well as its athletes.
“There are so many people that are not able to come to the Olympia to see what is going on, and those special moments are about more than that day. They are about years of dedication and effort to be in that moment on that stage. It’s those kinds of moments that make cards like that special.”
Fans that want to be among the first to score these can go to the Olympia Cards website to get the box set that comes with 12 packs of four to five cards each. They also guarantee one Authentic Autograph card and five limited edition cards. Yue also shared that there will be a Series Two collection in the future, but details of that set are to be shared at a later date. For more information about Olympia Trading Cards, go to www.olympiatradingcards.com. You can also follow @mrolympiatradingcards on Instagram.