’82 Mr. Olympia Chris Dickerson Had a Great Mentor in Bill Pearl

Bodybuilding is different from many other sports. Winning a competition is a self-gratifying accomplishment, one that differs from team sports. There are no other players, coaching staff or front office to thank. But there are special people behind the scenes that are there with the athletes every step of the way, from that first workout in preparation to the night of the contest.

Chris Dickerson had someone that fit that description, and then some.

“My parents divorced when I was just a kid,” he said. “I’m one of triplets, so I never had an older brother. Bill Pearl was like a father, older brother and coach to me.”

Pearl, the legendary bodybuilder from the 1950s and ‘60s, was a mentor to a young Dickerson, who began training at the age of 23. “I emulated [Pearl] even with the big plaid shorts he wore,” said Dickerson. “He influenced me in many ways.

“Winning was for myself, but also to please him.” Continue Reading »

Long Island Native Finishes Second in 202 Showdown

Most athletes have the luxury of something called an ‘offseason.’ You know, the winter in baseball and the spring for football. A time of the year to recover from all the work that you put in. That is the case in most sports.

Not in bodybuilding, which is a 12 month, seven days a week commitment. To prepare for a competition, especially one with the magnitude of Mr. Olympia, there isn’t a day to waste. Kevin English has to get down approximately 70 pounds to his contest weight of a little over 200.

“Usually when people see me on stage they think that I’m about 20 pounds heavier,” the 5’4” Great Neck, New York native said. No wonder with the mass that he possesses.

In September, he was on bodybuilding’s largest stage at the 44th Mr. Olympia contest, which took place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. It was English’s rookie ‘O,’ and he finished 16th out of 19 competitors. Earlier in the day, he was the first runner-up in the 202 Showdown, which pitted the smaller bodybuilders against one another. Continue Reading »

Will Come Back in March from Injured Triceps; Will Compete in 2009 Mr. Olympia

Las Vegas, NV - Injuries are a part of the game. From football to bodybuilding. Just as Jeremy Shockey was forced to sit out Super Bowl XLII, Branch Warren is forced to watch from afar while the best bodybuilders in the world vie for the 2008 Mr. Olympia title.

While he rehabs his injured triceps, Warren will be here taking it all in. He was visibly disappointed when asked about missing the contest.

“Very much so,” he said during the ‘Meet the Olympians’ event on Thursday night. “I’ve been training very hard for the competition. I thought I would do very well, but things happen. But you have to keep the faith. I’ll be ready back at the Arnold Classic in March and I’ll be here next year.”

Judging by the size of the man, the rest of the competitors should heed the warnings.

1970s Bodybuilding Legend Still Going Strong

Some things just are better the way they were. Take bodybuilding, for instance. Back in the ‘Golden Age’ and era, which spawned the sport into the mainstream, the scene in California became the face and personality of the fledging way of life. In particular, two places in the state – Gold’s Gym and Muscle Beach, both out of which several men became household names.

One of those men was Bill Grant, who still looks back on those days as something extremely special. “Those days at Gold’s Gym,” Grant remembered, “they were the best days of my life. It was like living your dream. I wanted to go to Muscle Beach and work out there. Little did I know, Arnold was thinking the same thing in Austria.”

Arnold, of course, is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became and still is the most popular bodybuilder of all time. When ‘The Austrian Oak’ came over from Europe, his unique accent and personality became a big attraction, and can easily be seen in the major motion picture, “Pumping Iron.” Continue Reading »

MuscleSport Mag Sits Down with MD’s Own

Recently, MuscleSport Mag had the pleasure of doing a one-on-one interview with Gregg Valentino, who is a top staff writer in ‘Muscular Development’ magazine. His ‘Ramblin’ Freak’ column is just one of his contributions each month to the famous publication and is known throughout the industry as the type of writer that pulls no punches and tells it like it is – if it pisses off some people or not.

Here is one part in a continuing series from our session with Gregg.

Being shy about his own steroid use is not a trait for Gregg Valentino. Instead of being like someone who was born again and preaching the clean life, his experiences with the substances were not all bad and he’s been as open about that as the detrimental part of them.

Due to his being brutally frank about the subject, Valentino is sort of like that old television commercial for E.F. Hutton – when he talks, people listen. Picking his brain about the modern world of bodybuilding was as enlightening as it was interesting. With the ‘grand daddy’ of them all, Mr. Olympia, right around the corner, the topic of drug testing at that level is one that has been broached before, but remains cloudy.

“First of all, there is no testing,” Valentino said. “If you tested bodybuilding, the sport would die. Bodybuilding is not like baseball. Steroids are part of the sport. They’re a tool like the baseball bat is. If it weren’t for steroids, bodybuilding wouldn’t be the sport you know now.

“There is such thing as a natural show, but they’re looking for diuretics and stuff like that. Even when they do test, they make it so you have to be stupid to fail the test. They’ll go like, ‘Listen, March 23 you’re going to be tested.’ Long in advance. They give you enough time to clean out.” Continue Reading »

Men’s Line-Up Looking Strong in Radio-Sponsored IFBB Show

With the Mr. Olympia a little more than two months away, bodybuilding fans jonesing for a summer show will get their wish on August 9 in Tampa, Florida. Pro Bodybuidling Weekly, the radio show exclusively covering the sport since 1995, brings us the IFBB-sanctioned event during the ‘dog days’ of summer.

The Men’s line-up, as of today according to the official IFBB website, consists of 44 names, many of which jump off the page. David Henry, Darrem Charles and Fouad Abiad, just to name a few. Continue Reading »

“The Black Prince” Throws Barbs at Arnold and Weider, Steroids in Bodybuilding and Baseball

To be considered one of the pioneers and a legend in your sport is something that can never go away. Even if he never picked up a weight again, Robby Robinson would always be one of the elite bodybuilders of all time.

While most men at the age of 62 find more time to sit around than exercise and have a diet that make their doctors turn red, the man known as “The Black Prince” still busts it in the gym and has not ‘enjoyed’ as much as piece of pie in over 20 years.

Never one to not speak his mind during the ‘golden age of bodybuilding,’ Robinson still has that trait and it is part of what has made him so great while being understood in certain circles. He has his own opinion on some of the biggest names in his sport and others, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Weider, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Continue Reading »

Alex Truman, 17, of PA Masters Powerlifting; Bodybuilding Next in his Sights

This is Part One of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine,” where we profile the every-day athlete. If you would like to see yourself profiled here, please send us your story and photo to superbas@optonline.net.

When you begin preparing for powerlifiting competitions at the young age of 15, you know that you are taking weight training a little more serious than the rest of the bunch. Alex Truman of Butler, PA began working out and shortly thereafter realized where his passion lied. 10 months later, he entered his first local competition.

Only one year later, he won his weight division at the 2007 IPA PA States with a 1,180 pound total at a body weight of only 181. Some would have been satisfied with a victory, but not Truman.

“I knew I had to improve,” he said. “I started to train even harder and set my sights on a local Strongman show.” He entered the YMCA Octoberfest’s Strongest Man as a Novice Middle Weight, competing against people much older and more experienced than him, which turned out to be all the incentive he needed. Continue Reading »

More Than Half the Issue are Advertisements; Fluff Features

When people ask what is the leading publication for bodybuilding and people that work out, most would answer without hesitating, “Muscle & Fitness,” the Joe Weider magazine that has been around (under a few different names) since 1940. How many of us received our first diet and routine from the pages of this title? Through the years, we have kept it by us almost like a security blanket, updating our workout from recommendations taken from pages of ‘The Bible.’ .

But have you seen one lately? Take the June 2008 issue for example. A robust 280 pages makes handling this mag a workout all in itself. But a closer look reveals that only 129 of those pages are completely advertisement-free. That’s only 46 percent editorial. You have yo navigate all the way to page 14 just to reach the ‘Contents.’ Continue Reading »

5th Place Finish in ’07 for Young German

Dennis Wolf will not turn 30 years of age until the month after the upcoming 2008 Mr. Olympia contest in Las Vegas on September 28. The up and coming bodybuilder finished in fifth place last year, and although his official website states that he was “proud to have finished” in that spot, some observers felt that he had enough to place higher.

Moving up 11 spots in one year – and only his second time competing for the Sandow Trophy – Wolf has made quite an impression in a short period of time. Last September, the 5’11” German followed Cutler around the stage during the pose down, and giving the incumbent a run for his money.

Expect Wolf to be a major factor at the Orleans Hotel and give not only Cutler a run for his money, but Dexter Jackson and the rest of the field, as well. A top-three finish for Wolf is not only likely, but should be expected. Continue Reading »