The Golden age of Bodybuilding On Tape!

Will Brink said:

Those old enough to remember the 90′s know it as the “golden age of bodybuilding” and it was! The magazines – pretty much all of whom I wrote for – were at their peak in sales and popularity, the industry was growing rapidly and still a lot of fun, and people actually cared about who won what show and so forth. Bodybuilding on all levels at that time was truly fun and exciting and I was lucky enough to be right in the middle of it. Those who were part of that time will remember Muscle Media 2000 as perhaps the best of the mags, and names like Dan Duchaine, Bill Phillips, Mike Mentzer, Shawn Phillips, Will Brink (yours truly), Charles Poliquin, and many more, were the names people knew and followed.





Why this trip down memory lane? Shawn Phillips literally found some boxes full of the original Muscle Media 2000 audio tape series and has digitized them and put them on line! When he called to tell me he was looking in the warehouse for something else and found this box of old cassette tapes interviewing all the popular names of the time, we went down memory lane laughing like idiots. It was obvious what needed to be done next, and the MM2k Vault was created for those who want to be transported back in time to the golden era. For those who may not remember all this with the clarity us old dudes, this is your chance to see what the big deal was! I had a great time doing them, and even more fun listening to them myself. If you wanna go down memory lane, or want to listen to what the most popular people at the time had to say and what it was like to listen someone like Dan Duchaine or Bill, or a much younger me pontificate about all manner of fun topics, these are a MUST listen. Interested, page is HERE

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Vince said:

What about the Iron Man magazines. Started and published by Peary Rader.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peary_Rader

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Mountain Man said:

I remember being a teenager and waiting for Strength and Health and Muscular Development to come out each month. Physiques in the late 1960s were fantastic. Large enough to freak you out and not so freaky in and of itself. In 1968 and 1969, I worked out for football at the gym of John Decola, the 1969 IFBB Mr. America. The inspiration from that Golden Age bodybuilder and the nice guy approachable personality still inspire me to work out today. I remember him on the cover of one of them in a picture taken on the hill behind the gym in 1969.

I read that after he won in 1969, steroids hit the scene big time, and he wanted no part of it. He stated that one year later in 1970,he wouldn't have even placed. Golden Age bodybuilders we're healthier. Decola is 79 today and I read that he still works out and placed in a masters division in his 70s. That's what it's all about.

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madman said:

Vince Gironda was against the use of steroids too! He had an amazingly lean/muscular physique.

Heard he used to poke at Arnold when he first came over from Europe stating Arnold looked fat/bulky...................guess Arnold eventually proved him wrong!

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madman said:

Vince Gironda was against the use of steroids too! He had an amazingly lean/muscular physique.

Heard he used to poke at Arnold when he first came over from Europe stating Arnold looked fat/bulky...................guess Arnold eventually proved him wrong!

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Mountain Man said:

I remember that John DeCola was going to compete in the 1968 Mr. America, but was injured getting a vitamin B 12shot in his hip. I believe he may have tried a steroid that year and had a bad reaction and just decided steroids weren't worth it. Guy was unbelievable to look at. His gym was tiny, the living room of a small ranch house and dining area had been converted to a gym. No machines except lat pull down and a calf machine. Dumbells and barbells. Everyone was given a program that he walked you through, and monthly he'd tape your measurements.

The guy was 5'8 or 9, 205-210 and was always in contest shape. Never did any bulking and cutting, just kept in great shape. He'd workout in the afternoon in absolute silence. Technically, the gym was closed, but he'd let my buddy and I workout. We weren't allowed to talk until he was done. He was incredibly focused and would stare down each muscle he was working like it was his enemy. If the phone rang, there was no shortage of unbelievably good looking women that were chasing this guy at the time, we would take a message and tell him who it was after his workout. One day after his arm workout, my buddy Mike measured his arm at 20 inches pumped. He usually won the best arms category in contests he competed in. There was no better place for a 14-15 year old kid to be introduced to the Iron Game. The two summers I worked out at his gym there was never any hint of or mention of steroids. In 1970 or so, he sold his gym to one of those huge national chains, the tiny ranch house was leveled and a huge “health spa” with shiny machines and little chrome dumbells replaced his old school bodybuilding gym. I used to walk one hour to get there and one home to workout. Ever since those days, I hated commercial gyms with all the chaos. When we were raising our kids, I always had a home basement gym with the same equipment he had in his gym.

I know that some consider the Golden Age of bodybuilding to be the 1990s, but to me it will always be the 1960s and guys like John DeCola, Larry Scott, Chris ****erson, and Dave Draper. Once Arnold came along, he was so far ahead of the curve that guys had to up the drugs to compete with him. That started the trend toward freakdom and turned competitive bodybuilding into the unhealthy pursuit it has become.

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Vince said:

Vince Gironda's materialView attachment 4864​

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FeelingLost said:

Good info Will I shall give these a listen to.

I did not know there was a golden age of body building in the 90's
I follow the really old timers and subscribe to Ric Rasin's Youtube channel. He talks about body building in the 70's
Ric worked out with Arnold at the original golds gym. He interviews all the old timers on his show.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ricdrasin/videos

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Vince said:

Here's a picture of a few of my old magazines.
View attachment 4874

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Dave B. said:

Wow, great stuff.

To me all the modern bodybuilders look like balloon-people.

I always wanted to look like Frank Zane.

And speaking of the 90s greats, I always admired Bob Paris for symmetry.

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Will Brink said:

By that I mean, peaked in popularity, magazine sales, show attendance, supp industry growth, general interest and excitement. There was a period where it was at it's pinnacle by those metrics.

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TestAdvocate said:

I was getting MM2000 sent to the house for free over a year from Jeff Everson. My wife thought it was soft porn at first because of all the hot female Fitness Models in the magazine!

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Will Brink said:

Bob Paris, Lee Labrada, etc. Probably the era of the best muscle, leanness, and size combo before they went full balloon animals.

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