Fcking click bait man; the title of the episode is ABSOLUTELY pointless. It should've just been titled 2023 Arnold Recap since 97% of the show was about the show and 3% was about Shawn's confrontation SMH!
The reason people remember all the bodybuilder s from the 80s an 90s is the magazines. Social media is not as easy as going to buy a magazine once a month an u couldn't wait til it came out. Nothing beats the still photograph. The moment is captured forever. There is nothing like it. As soon as u watch a video on utube it's over. There's nothing like the stories in flex magazine an the writers like Jeff everson was my favorite. Those days r gone an so is the majic of the body uilders from the 80s an 90s
Yeah, the magazines really helped to get their names out there. I wouldn't have known about Ronnie Coleman if it wasn't for bodybuilding magazines. People still had the attention span and patience to wait for issues and read the articles. Now everybody wants instant satisfaction and have the attention spans of goldfish. 😂
Ha ha.. I always wondered how Rich won that first Arnold, and how him and Robby beat Gary Strydon who placed 3rd. To me it looked like Rich was invited to win (he was 2nd at the Olympia I the preceding 3 years but quickly fell into oblivion afterwards) and Robby had a connection to Arnold whilst Gary was still new..
I like how Bob said it as far as Nick Walker goes .. if you are a mutant or a freak you have to be a mutant or freak don’t try to play a symmetrical game with a symmetrical bodybuilder. That’s why Branch was so successful he embraced being a freak.
samson deserved that win not only does he have a great phsique but he is also a great ambasador for the sport. but the question has to be asked would nick or andrew have entered if arnold didn,t up the prize money by 100k i think not. my point is samson was in the entry list from the begining so just goes to show he didn,t give a toss about the money offered.
Dennis, Hey I met you Sat. morning in fyre having breakfast, came up and talked to you for a couple of minutes about the pre judge. I so much appreciate you taking your time and talking to me. I wanted to respect your time, and I forgot to thank you for having Dr. Kahn on TMP. Thanks to you for introducing those new ideas, because I now have an appointment with him in Cabo. Maybe I'll see you and Chris there. Thank you Jon
The federation SAID last year they were going to stop rewarding super conditioning.. they SAID they were going to change things to protect the people. How quickly we forget
@@bbginc694 as a life long fan, growing up in the time of Arnold, Milos would have to be one of the top 5 entertaining personality ever. He's a legend in my book. I love his stories, and I don't doubt he's quite intelligent
What did Ramy put in his quads to get rid of those holes? Now he has zero separation in his quads. His delts always looked suspect. Ramy will never win Olympia again.
Supposedly I got the last copy from Amazon Milos about 3 weeks ago. Where did you find yours? Goldman was very anti steriod in the book. Whats his take on the subject in person?
Please tell Samson on the lat spread , use his thumbs into the waist so he can rotate his elbows forward. At the moment he puts his knuckles in which stops that rotation. I know guys he amazing , but I'm sure it would improve him even more.
Chris is funny he said at this age Shawn don't even want to fall down LOL.. I think I spit a little of my chicken and rice out what he said that I laughed so hard!
In 1989 at 15 yrs old me and my best friend Sal took the bus over to Garden State Plaza to get a picture with Rich, I still remember the disposable camera. Dean Caputo and Johnny Morant was there too
Isn't it strange that you can't see any detail watching the livestream but when someone with a modern Iphone makes a video from the crowd you can suddenly see all this detail? I just can't fathom why it's not possible to get quality like that for a livestream. ESPECIALY IF YOU PAY 50 FCKING BUCKS FOR IT!!!!! 99% of people follow these shows through a livestream, please make the IFBB and the promoters do something about this cus it's really hurting the sport and the athletes.
The Judging at the Arnold was very strange and rigged,NICK should have Won,he was better at the Olympia and came in flat,but still he was good And Samson was way Soft compared to Nick and also Andrew and even RAMY, And also the judging was strange because they never put RAMY in the mix and I thought RAMY looked better than the Olympia and was on💪
32:00 I will have to RESPECTFULLY disagree with THE GREAT Mr. Gaspari and said judges: If you had asked at Arnolds retirement if there would ever be such a dominant O winner most would have said, NO. Along came Lee Haney. When Lee retired if you had asked if another dominant O winner would come, NO would have been the answer...........along came Dorian. After Dorian came Ronnie. Then Jay. Then Phil Heath...............so based on history I would think odds are we will likely see another dominant force arrive at the O throne, sooner or later. Who that will be? I have no idea but I do think it will happen.
From now on it'll be the 4 fantastic Olympia battle : 2 symétrie Monster Samson & Andrew against the 2 young vétéran Derek & Hadi , symétrie and conditions will reveal who is the best, sorry but Nick Walker from now on will be numbers 5 he will Never Never match the beauty of Andrew or Samson,he will place Higher than 5 only if the others Comes off, period.
understood defending one’s father, but Chad is a grown man and should be able to defend himself, plus the fact it looked staged the second day… and as an older person, I don’t like to see an older person being talked to like that.. I don’t have to like you, but respect for elders is still important.. If Chad didn’t want to handle it himself, he shouldn’t have his kids doing it for him… sorry I’m kinda ‘ol skool on that and I thought these OGs would feel the same.. but to Dennis’ point thankfully it didn’t go any further
the big question is will this Mr. Olympia be the best one we have never seen before this year if everyone comes in at their best? p.s.why is Chris hating on Derek physique smh
29:00 If I was Ramy I would plant my flag on the "hill" that it all started on: THE NYC PRO, and I would make that my show every year until I retired. IF he does not need the money from the bigger shows I would make that show, where it all began, his last stand as we all know they LOVE the freaks at the NYC PRO. That's just me as I think that would be cool as hell.
Met Rich Gaspari at the 09 Bodypower. I que’d up to meet him, when I finally got there I told him he was one of the first bodybuilders I saw and he inspired me to get into training. He went “have you tried my new Myofusion protein?” And handed me a sample. My wife who was with me said after - he completely ignored you then didn’t he 😂. Tbf these guys must get bored of fans saying stuff like that to them.
That's an odd response to give someone after they just told you how much you've inspired them. But, bodybuilders aren't really known for their great personalities so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. 😅
Nick walker will end up like breon in classic physique. No matter how conditioned he is Muscular he is he won't win. That's why breon switched to 212. It is now a shape lines and overall package.
Here's MY OPINION. Nick is a freak in the hammies, side leg, lats, back width in the rear double biceps, delts and arms. He needs more meat in the back for density/3D effect, quads. His dryness was 90s bodybuilding perfect. Ronnie Coleman, Dorian level dryness. He just needs the mass in the problem areas. If he does this, no amount of shape from the aesthetic guys will beat him. The freak factor with peeled skin always wins. The theory he lost size due to his dryness is wrong, the proof was his great arms and delts. They still looked just as big as Olympia bit with better detail. The problem with coming in dry is that it exposes your weak body parts and Nick has them. Had Duada and Jacked come in that dry they would have lost, they needed to come in full to have a chance.
Palumbo needs to watch this and see how a BB podcast should be. RX has moved too far away from its roots having people on it like Mr G who knows sweet F- ck all about bodybuilding.
People forget how great ramy can look. The competition has gotten better but if ramy can get to his 290 Olympia size he can out muscle the others. But he should work on his triceps, biceps and back.
I won’t say Ramy should’ve won but he definitely should’ve messed up some other competitors plans that man was good enough for top 3 all day . They forced Ramy to the outside they didn’t expect to for him to be the type of factor he proved to be at the Arnold . And in my heart I believe they wanted to push him out further than 5th but there were already too many skeptical people and analysts talking so they sucked it up and put him in 5th
This title is classic clickbait and for what reason, I am not sure. People like this show and will listen to it regardless of weak-ass clickbait titles. 97% of this show was about the Arnold Classic and had nothing to do with Shawn Ray and his "confrontation" with Chad's son; I expected more from this channel SMH.
I still don't see how hunter beat jacked, Rafael Brandao and krizo, ifbb deep throat the guy and don't give Ramy a 2nd look, Lee labrada must be forking out a lot of dough in sponsoring
This show could be really good if people let others finish, and the rambling from the one guy who cuts everyone off or keeps talking and has nothing to add. Dennis is a great host and he tries but man.. He knows exactly who does this. Lol
Every knowledgeable expert keeps saying that watching The O and the Arnold on tv, even in HD is not seeing the real show and you only can see the truth if you’re in the front rows live. If this is true then stop charging $70 for the livestream. Make it free and just sell advertising for the livestream. Enough of this bullshit. It’s disrespectful to the fans to charge $70 if they’re not seeing anything close to the actual show. If you have to be 5 feet from the stage to accurately see who won it’s not a spectator sport. Don’t take money from photos and videos then say the photos and videos are worthless.
Honestly. Dennis James “playing a joke” on Milos about Sampson being behind after Pre judge, and letting him believe that until after the final decision is CRAZY. I’ll stop there. Pro competition is full of high emotions and thought. What if Milos took that info and fucked with Sampson’s look. I’m saying it could of been a harmless prank but wrong place wrong time.
We have become distrustful of those responsible for the sport of bodybuilding, and everyone has become angry at what is happening with Big Ramy There is a very bad policy that has become clear and exposed to all Personal and political interests, bad refereeing and dirty things will cause the loss of this sport We are all aware of the size of the conspiracy that was plotted against Big Ramy in order for him to retire, and this is an injustice and a great shame for those responsible for this sport.
47:15 Shawn Ray chat begins
Fcking click bait man; the title of the episode is ABSOLUTELY pointless. It should've just been titled 2023 Arnold Recap since 97% of the show was about the show and 3% was about Shawn's confrontation SMH!
Ty
Thanks!
Love all the Old School Bodybuilding episodes!!! Rich Gaspari knows his shit!!!
Nobody but nobody loves bodybuilding more than Milos
The reason people remember all the bodybuilder s from the 80s an 90s is the magazines. Social media is not as easy as going to buy a magazine once a month an u couldn't wait til it came out. Nothing beats the still photograph. The moment is captured forever. There is nothing like it. As soon as u watch a video on utube it's over. There's nothing like the stories in flex magazine an the writers like Jeff everson was my favorite. Those days r gone an so is the majic of the body uilders from the 80s an 90s
Yeah, the magazines really helped to get their names out there. I wouldn't have known about Ronnie Coleman if it wasn't for bodybuilding magazines. People still had the attention span and patience to wait for issues and read the articles. Now everybody wants instant satisfaction and have the attention spans of goldfish. 😂
Saw Gaspari win 1st Arnold Classic. Hard to believe it was so long ago. Rich was a great champion. Glad to see him here.
Ha ha.. I always wondered how Rich won that first Arnold, and how him and Robby beat Gary Strydon who placed 3rd. To me it looked like Rich was invited to win (he was 2nd at the Olympia I the preceding 3 years but quickly fell into oblivion afterwards) and Robby had a connection to Arnold whilst Gary was still new..
So cool you were able to see that event live. As a Jersey guy Rich has always been a legend.
@@yoholmes273 For me too. I remember going to a few appearances he did in central Jersey in his competitive years.
Yeah, Gaspari is great. Especially when his products are amino spiked.
Samson dauda was most balanced onstage
He takes all the front shots. His lats are holding him back though
@@untilyoupuke except he wasn't held back because he won and continues to improve show to show, year by year...so, what was your question again?
He was lights out
@@untilyoupuke AJ takes the front double, ramy wins front lat spread by a mile
@@GreatSeo standing relax Samson beats everyone by a country mile. Even Andrew. Andrews back is flat and and stringy compared to Samson and Nick.
Awesome podcast fellas. Had alot of great laughs. Awesome to see the legends I grew up idolizing all come together.
Man, all the feels with this podcast gents! Makes us glad we were growing up during this era! Great episode team.
I like how Bob said it as far as Nick Walker goes .. if you are a mutant or a freak you have to be a mutant or freak don’t try to play a symmetrical game with a symmetrical bodybuilder. That’s why Branch was so successful he embraced being a freak.
Never heard of the symmetrical mutant
What’s that on Dennis’ face? 😂😂😂😉
When the top goes clean.
samson deserved that win not only does he have a great phsique but he is also a great ambasador for the sport. but the question has to be asked would nick or andrew have entered if arnold didn,t up the prize money by 100k i think not. my point is samson was in the entry list from the begining so just goes to show he didn,t give a toss about the money offered.
Dennis, Hey I met you Sat. morning in fyre having breakfast, came up and talked to you for a couple of minutes about the pre judge. I so much appreciate you taking your time and talking to me. I wanted to respect your time, and I forgot to thank you for having Dr. Kahn on TMP. Thanks to you for introducing those new ideas, because I now have an appointment with him in Cabo. Maybe I'll see you and Chris there. Thank you Jon
Milos knew what he was doing with that quads shirt lol
THIS WAS AWESOME - FELT LIKE I WAS HANGING WIT HTE GOOD OL BOYZ! - WE ALL GREW UP TOGETHER - CHRIS GOT ME IN TEARS
Ramy lost the politics round
Ramy lost long time ago when his muscle started looking like triangles 🔺️
Intresting to see if he comes at this years pittsburgh
@@stefanallard3084 too late
Ramy looked like crap, balloon legs are terrible
Good one. Not.
Great talk, greetings from Finland :)!
Could we stop discussing about ManDough, complete mess with pointy delts and filler Quads.
Would you guys vote for a pre Arnold show like the Ironman? Especially in LA? I think the pros liked it.
Was it nappie time for Chris again at 1:08:20? LOL
Ramy's muscles look like triangles 🔺️💔
New Oil, takes time to settle in 😁
The federation SAID last year they were going to stop rewarding super conditioning.. they SAID they were going to change things to protect the people. How quickly we forget
I think Chad should have talked to Shawn not Dominick, I would not want my son to fight my battles.
Best podcast on TH-cam. Milos is such a legend. Chris is awesome when he's having fun and Dennis is a great guy
Milos is a legend of what?! He never won a pro show lol. This is the first major show any of his clients ever won. Stop using “legend” so loosely lol.
@@bbginc694 as a life long fan, growing up in the time of Arnold, Milos would have to be one of the top 5 entertaining personality ever. He's a legend in my book. I love his stories, and I don't doubt he's quite intelligent
Ramy looked great imo. He was really hard and full.
the seo balloon?
What did Ramy put in his quads to get rid of those holes? Now he has zero separation in his quads. His delts always looked suspect. Ramy will never win Olympia again.
wtf goes thru som1s brain when they do that there is a correct seo protocol ramys straight up tryna go on stage with fake muscles
This is so awesome. These 4 are the pefect combo of brains and personalities!
Starts at 47:00
Supposedly I got the last copy from Amazon Milos about 3 weeks ago. Where did you find yours? Goldman was very anti steriod in the book. Whats his take on the subject in person?
lol oh god I was dying when Christ taking about the whole bottle!
Nice to hear you all and know the insight👍
Rich did so much for bodybuilding. He doesn't get the credits he deserves.
I was very fortunate to be at the 1988 Mr Olympia and 1989 Arnold Classic to see Rich compete.
Judges just don't like ramy anymore no matter how he looks like in future.
Better for him to call it a day
Chad punk son didn't want none of Shawn Ray. Shawn should have sue him for talking crap
Please tell Samson on the lat spread , use his thumbs into the waist so he can rotate his elbows forward. At the moment he puts his knuckles in which stops that rotation. I know guys he amazing , but I'm sure it would improve him even more.
Ok sir
Chris is funny he said at this age Shawn don't even want to fall down LOL.. I think I spit a little of my chicken and rice out what he said that I laughed so hard!
love that dennis kept the creepy wink intro lol
In 1989 at 15 yrs old me and my best friend Sal took the bus over to Garden State Plaza to get a picture with Rich, I still remember the disposable camera. Dean Caputo and Johnny Morant was there too
1:12:32 Important advice for men's health after 50🚨
HEY RICH - whatcha eatin paisano - chick peas? Kix cereal? LOL
Que pasa parcero?
@@adamschinaski7098 hola agonia quefueke?
wtf r u talking about
Shawn Ray story at 47:08
You're the Dawg.
Thank you Gentlemen!
God I love this podcast!!
Isn't it strange that you can't see any detail watching the livestream but when someone with a modern Iphone makes a video from the crowd you can suddenly see all this detail? I just can't fathom why it's not possible to get quality like that for a livestream. ESPECIALY IF YOU PAY 50 FCKING BUCKS FOR IT!!!!!
99% of people follow these shows through a livestream, please make the IFBB and the promoters do something about this cus it's really hurting the sport and the athletes.
Called gaspari as a guest and didn't let him talk.. he looks bored in that car feels like he is disrespected.. 8mins into it they realized that
Milos and denniss are the next to be inducted intona hall of fame if there is such a thing
The Judging at the Arnold was very strange and rigged,NICK should have Won,he was better at the Olympia and came in flat,but still he was good And Samson was way Soft compared to Nick and also Andrew and even RAMY, And also the judging was strange because they never put RAMY in the mix and I thought RAMY looked better than the Olympia and was on💪
Would Arnold Ramy Beat Brandon Curyy at last Olympia ?
Chris Cormier is such a cool funny fella
When he's not stammering.
32:00 I will have to RESPECTFULLY disagree with THE GREAT Mr. Gaspari and said judges: If you had asked at Arnolds retirement if there would ever be such a dominant O winner most would have said, NO. Along came Lee Haney. When Lee retired if you had asked if another dominant O winner would come, NO would have been the answer...........along came Dorian. After Dorian came Ronnie. Then Jay. Then Phil Heath...............so based on history I would think odds are we will likely see another dominant force arrive at the O throne, sooner or later. Who that will be? I have no idea but I do think it will happen.
As I said before Andrew need that Milos protocol for rebound.
Richie made the light heavy bodybuilder into something special.
Walkers abs look like he's hiding a bald guys face inside his abs on front lat spreads.
From now on it'll be the 4 fantastic Olympia battle : 2 symétrie Monster Samson & Andrew against the 2 young vétéran Derek & Hadi , symétrie and conditions will reveal who is the best, sorry but Nick Walker from now on will be numbers 5 he will Never Never match the beauty of Andrew or Samson,he will place Higher than 5 only if the others Comes off, period.
understood defending one’s father, but Chad is a grown man and should be able to defend himself, plus the fact it looked staged the second day… and as an older person, I don’t like to see an older person being talked to like that.. I don’t have to like you, but respect for elders is still important.. If Chad didn’t want to handle it himself, he shouldn’t have his kids doing it for him… sorry I’m kinda ‘ol skool on that and I thought these OGs would feel the same.. but to Dennis’ point thankfully it didn’t go any further
Chris’ finger 😂🤣
Dennis cmon man, chris literally used to do the worm with his abs? hahahahaha
I trained my abs earlier in my comeback and Dr. Dave Williams had me doing extensive an iiwork.
the big question is will this Mr. Olympia be the best one we have never seen before this year if everyone comes in at their best? p.s.why is Chris hating on Derek physique smh
29:00 If I was Ramy I would plant my flag on the "hill" that it all started on: THE NYC PRO, and I would make that my show every year until I retired. IF he does not need the money from the bigger shows I would make that show, where it all began, his last stand as we all know they LOVE the freaks at the NYC PRO. That's just me as I think that would be cool as hell.
Look at the panel trying to convince pedal to the metal Milos not to make Samson get bigger
Samson Won The Arnold Fair and Square His Quads Are Awesome.
It was so good seeing Rich on here. Hope he comes back again. Great video guys!
Met Rich Gaspari at the 09 Bodypower. I que’d up to meet him, when I finally got there I told him he was one of the first bodybuilders I saw and he inspired me to get into training. He went “have you tried my new Myofusion protein?” And handed me a sample. My wife who was with me said after - he completely ignored you then didn’t he 😂. Tbf these guys must get bored of fans saying stuff like that to them.
That's an odd response to give someone after they just told you how much you've inspired them. But, bodybuilders aren't really known for their great personalities so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. 😅
Love the real talk..and most of all the memories of thes legends...i meen priceless cmon man ❤
Chris has the best laugh!
Grow ip..you judging laughs..jeez
Nick walker will end up like breon in classic physique. No matter how conditioned he is Muscular he is he won't win. That's why breon switched to 212. It is now a shape lines and overall package.
Here's MY OPINION. Nick is a freak in the hammies, side leg, lats, back width in the rear double biceps, delts and arms. He needs more meat in the back for density/3D effect, quads.
His dryness was 90s bodybuilding perfect. Ronnie Coleman, Dorian level dryness. He just needs the mass in the problem areas. If he does this, no amount of shape from the aesthetic guys will beat him. The freak factor with peeled skin always wins.
The theory he lost size due to his dryness is wrong, the proof was his great arms and delts. They still looked just as big as Olympia bit with better detail. The problem with coming in dry is that it exposes your weak body parts and Nick has them.
Had Duada and Jacked come in that dry they would have lost, they needed to come in full to have a chance.
Palumbo needs to watch this and see how a BB podcast should be. RX has moved too far away from its roots having people on it like Mr G who knows sweet F- ck all about bodybuilding.
Andrew Jacked is almost 40 yrs old. These other guys are in their 20’s. They don’t ever mention is age.
People forget how great ramy can look. The competition has gotten better but if ramy can get to his 290 Olympia size he can out muscle the others. But he should work on his triceps, biceps and back.
I won’t say Ramy should’ve won but he definitely should’ve messed up some other competitors plans that man was good enough for top 3 all day . They forced Ramy to the outside they didn’t expect to for him to be the type of factor he proved to be at the Arnold . And in my heart I believe they wanted to push him out further than 5th but there were already too many skeptical people and analysts talking so they sucked it up and put him in 5th
Patrick Moore got rip'd off...
Rich is the man, but Chris makes these episodes almost unlistenable.
Padilla and Priest hold my beer:
This title is classic clickbait and for what reason, I am not sure. People like this show and will listen to it regardless of weak-ass clickbait titles. 97% of this show was about the Arnold Classic and had nothing to do with Shawn Ray and his "confrontation" with Chad's son; I expected more from this channel SMH.
Samson with a wider thicker and better back especially in front and back poses iwill be lights out and will be Mr Olympia no doubt!!
He needs to open his back more when he hits back double.
Chris is high as a kite 😂
Maybe we saw a diff show
You need to speak your mind if you believe that’s the truth, and when the heat comes let it come
Chris’s mic sucks 😅
Should’ve been more call outs. Ramy should be given chance.. simples.. 💪💪
💥💥💥 GASPARI THE MAN 💥💥💥
For 300 000 dollars and the best lineup for ages, I was expecting ALOT more comparisions. For the fans. Finals were suuper short, like wtf!
The winner might fade and more questions would asked.
I still don't see how hunter beat jacked, Rafael Brandao and krizo, ifbb deep throat the guy and don't give Ramy a 2nd look, Lee labrada must be forking out a lot of dough in sponsoring
1:20:50 I love Milos 😂😂
Big Ramy is coming Back. You forgot to talk about him. The forgotten warrior. I'm sure that Ramy can regain the title.
Chad "the grim reaper" Nichols...
🔔ONE QUESTION LEASE - with the testosterone - Dennis & Rich - do you guys need to go for PHLEBOTOMIES every few months for high blood count???
You guys funny…😅😅😅
#bodybuilding.... i love Milos 😂😂🫡
If Nick would have been compared to Ramy a bit more he woulda placed even lower, ramys physique is much nicer and bigger
❤❤❤
This show could be really good if people let others finish, and the rambling from the one guy who cuts everyone off or keeps talking and has nothing to add. Dennis is a great host and he tries but man.. He knows exactly who does this. Lol
Every knowledgeable expert keeps saying that watching The O and the Arnold on tv, even in HD is not seeing the real show and you only can see the truth if you’re in the front rows live. If this is true then stop charging $70 for the livestream. Make it free and just sell advertising for the livestream. Enough of this bullshit. It’s disrespectful to the fans to charge $70 if they’re not seeing anything close to the actual show. If you have to be 5 feet from the stage to accurately see who won it’s not a spectator sport. Don’t take money from photos and videos then say the photos and videos are worthless.
Ramy,s done dennis.....
Honestly. Dennis James “playing a joke” on Milos about Sampson being behind after Pre judge, and letting him believe that until after the final decision is CRAZY. I’ll stop there. Pro competition is full of high emotions and thought. What if Milos took that info and fucked with Sampson’s look. I’m saying it could of been a harmless prank but wrong place wrong time.
We have become distrustful of those responsible for the sport of bodybuilding, and everyone has become angry at what is happening with Big Ramy
There is a very bad policy that has become clear and exposed to all
Personal and political interests, bad refereeing and dirty things will cause the loss of this sport
We are all aware of the size of the conspiracy that was plotted against Big Ramy in order for him to retire, and this is an injustice and a great shame for those responsible for this sport.
WTF that was Dennis . He looks like Mexican gangster now. Didn't recognize.
he was born in hidalgo mexico bro
Cmon you guys been around long enough . Score cards don’t hold merit