T Nation

What ever happened to.....

Bodybuilding
#1

I was cleaning up my apartment and I came across some old bb mags. Very amusing to look at what was in vogue 10 years ago. So many pro bodybuilders seemed to have dropped of the face of the earth since then.

Some of the bodybuilders featured were…
Shane Dimora, Mike Quinn, Gary Strydom, Mike Christian, Steve Brisbois, Glenn Knerr, Troy Zuccolotto, Vince Comerford, Franco Santoriello, Berry Demay and Rich Gaspari (In my opinion Rich had the most overrated physique of all time).

In that same mag, Gary Strydom was asked the following question… Do you think that someday the IFBB and the WBF will merge?
Gary said “I’d like to see that, but right now I don’t believe that’s feasable. The WBF is gonna be number one anyway, so why give the IFBB that exposure?”

Very funny stuff. Reminds me of todays XFL.

Just thought I’d share.
J.P.

#2

If I remember correctly, Gary had the biggest contract in the WBF, I think DeMay had the 2nd biggest. Anyway, at one of the 2 shows that the WBF was able to do before they folded, the placings were according to contract size. The biggest contract got first place, second largest contract was placed second, and so on. It sounds as if their bodybuilding contests were just as staged and choreographed as their wrestling matches. They even had bikini clad women on the stage while the men did their posing routines.

#3

Not sure about most of those names (although I do remember almost all of them), but I did run into Rich Gaspari at the Arnold Fitness Expo last month.

#4

The reason Vince Mcmahon (WWF owner) WHO IS A GENUS MAKE NO MISTAKE-billionaire couldnt make the WBF work is NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO WITH COMPETITIVE BODYBUILDING IT WILL NOT DRAW! IT IS A JOKE! IT IS BORING TO WATCH, THEY ARE NOT I REPEAT IN NO WAY ATHLETES & THE PUBLIC JUST DOESNT CARE ABOUT BB SHOWS THEY SUCK!

Now the l still does MUCh better than the CFL and world league (attendance and ratings are better) but you cant blame Vince-its been 1 year and nobody gave it a chance-you cant trock the NFL its been around for 80 years! IT IS VERY VERY HARD TO BUILD A NAME BRAND NEW LEAGUE-just ask the womens soccer league that is in trouble and the WNBA (and the other womens basketball league that is gone!)

#5

You rang?

#6

Okay…no messin’ around…is this the REAL “Iron Warrior?” Mike, if it is…you’re one of the greatest! I knew you never “went away”…I knew you said in a recent article that there were some “bumps in the road” (that we ALL have), but it’s great that you’re still on the scene!

If it IS you; what are your thoughts on the current state of bodybuilding, how it compares to the past and where you think it’s going, ESPECIALLY the women?

#7

I’ve seen Rich Gaspari on numerous occasions. I’m from central Jersey, so he must be from around here. I’ve seen him lift at a gym I used to be a member at and another gym dropping off his own line of supplements. Dont think Biotest has to worry about too much competition. The guys still huge but he’s just a big ball of mass, not very asthetic looking which isnt all that immpressive, in my eyes.

#8

I live in Arizona, and Vince Comerford lives out here, I have trained with him a couple of times, he still looks great. His arms are freakin’ huge!!! Real nice guy, I think they just get sick of the scene, and move on to other things.

#9

To flex69… Hate to tell you, but, Rich Gaspari is NOT “just a big ball of mass”. He still looks terrific.

How do I know?

I trained with him for a week in February. The guy is still ripped. Probably 5% bodyfat. Now, for Rich… 5% is not nearly as lean as he was in his prime in the late-80’s. However, his arms, chest, and legs are still freaky vascular.

For being an ex-pro, being almost 40, and running a full-time supplement business, he is in amazing shape.

-Rob

#10

Rob, I hate to tell YOU but Gaspari never looked good. He always looked boxy. I believe he worked his abs too much when he was younger and built too much muscle…especially his obliques. Hence the boxy look (but, I have too admit he wasn’t bad for a white guy). Sorry man.

#11

Not to pick on Rich Gaspari since at the time he was a top bodybuilder but he certainly could not compete at the same level now but remember that was the 80’s. A friend of my in fact trains with Richie’s new girlfriend so let me recap some of the major events for him over the past years. A)Very brief marriage ending in divorce B) Gaspari Fitness (his gym) goes bankrupt C) building a lucrative career as a “dancer”

And lets not forget another NJ legend…Phill Hill who had one great year until his body could not handle the amount of drugs he took is now a Corrections Guard in the State Penal System

#12

What bodybuilder from the 80’s or before could compete with modern bodybuilding standards. I’m not saying today’s bodybuilders are better or look better (I’d much rather look like a Zane, Arnold, or Draper than any of today’s pros), I’m just saying that pro bodybuilding standards are such that noone under 260 and not totally shredded has a chance to win. Aesthetics have just been thrown out the window.

#13

Its a shame the turn bodybuiling has taken since the late 80s. I remember when Bertil Fox was considered a freak, but nowdays everyone and their brother has that type of size. Of course, they also have those distended stomachs and gyno that would put Dolly Parton to shame. I remember seeing Paul Dillet a few years back (in the off season) in the gym and he looked like shit. Even though it was pretty warm outside (and even warmer in the gym) he kept covered up, but you could still see the fat and water he was carrying. He walked liked he was going to keel over at any minute from hauling all that weight around, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if his body just quit on him and he dropped dead right there on the gym floor. Yup, that’s the picture of health. And Weider wants to sell these guys as “athletes” for the Olympics? Ha. For comparison, i was on a flight with Robbie Robinson (yup, “The Black Prince”) back in Dec '93/Jan '94. In an overcoat and jeans, you’d have no idea this guy was a pro-bodybuilder. Of course, when he took his coat off on the plane, it was a different story.