It’s not every day that fans get to see a crossover between two completely different sports, like bodybuilding and hockey. Yet, Phil Heath managed to get the best of both worlds together, after joining the NHL giant Edmonton Oilers for a special occasion. In a YouTube video, he documented his day with the team officials, sharing some special gifts sent to him and his wife and a fun announcement.
Heath had previously surprised the bodybuilding world when he came out supporting the team in a unique collaboration. Since then, Studio 99 featured him in an interview while he put up a supportive message when the team made it to the playoffs.
Of all the highlights of the epic cross-sports interaction that sent fans into a frenzy, Heath’s favorite part seemed to be the memento he and his wife, Shurie Cremona, were gifted. In his video, he unpacked two Edmonton Oilers jerseys for him and his wife, with something special written on them.
Heath’s jersey carried the number ’22’, which was special since his number as a high school basketball champion was also the same. Whereas, Cremona’s jersey carried the number ‘7’, hinting at the number of Olympia titles the bodybuilding icon had won.
“From myself, and obviously from Shurie, thank you…the Edmonton Oilers… especially thinking about us in this way.”
They then moved to Studio 99, where Heath had some fun sessions with the hosts, talking about the game, his interests, and a possible career shift. He joked about considering transitioning to hockey after all, and sitting in a press setup, mocked an announcement.
“So I’d like to announce my one-day contract with the Edmonton Oilers. After a lot of thought, I figured it was my turn to transition out of the sport of bodybuilding…”
He went on to mock his career changes over the years and bragged about how fans would get to see him play hockey in his dreams. Jokes aside, Heath’s interest in various sports doesn’t come as a surprise since he had already been an established basketball player before bodybuilding.
How did Phil Heath go from basketball to bodybuilding?
Since he always nurtured the dream of playing in the NBA, Heath grew up taking his basketball coaching seriously. Although he stood at a stout 5’9, nothing deterred him from scoring an athletic scholarship to the University of Denver until he met with the reality of playing among giants.
As his basketball dreams came crashing down at university, he didn’t give up on his education and made full use of the scholarship to study business and IT. That’s when he came across bodybuilding as a sport, and with some encouragement from his friends and having discovered his surprising genetics, he picked up the sport and only dropped it after winning seven consecutive Mr. Olympia titles.
