Before we go any further, the unnamed ‘TMZ Staff’ member who put this crap up on their website (http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/22/mr-olympia-jay-cutler-muscle-photo/#comments) didn’t even have the balls to do it under their name. In less than 24 hours, there has been an accumulation of seven pages of reader’s comments, one as feeble as the last.

One of the ‘geniuses’ even broke ground by writing that this was an obvious case of steroid abuse! Wow, thanks for clearing that up, jdohe! Of course there was the regular comments about getting back your balls, half a man in certain areas, it will all turn to flab when he stops exercising and even one happy-ass TMZ junkie calling bodybuilding ‘professional weightlifting.’

Let me make one thing perfectly clear – when an overwhelming amount of folks are all throwing barbs at someone with muscles to be proud of all resort to hiding behind a screen name and anonyminity, they are showing obvious jealousy and their small-man complex shines through. And to assume that steroids were the only factor in Cutler becoming a three-time Sandow winner also shows how the uneducated public thinks. I suppose that the 20 minutes on the treadmill a few times a month gives them enough credibility in the gym to look sideways at someone who really trains like a man.

They say that bodybuilders don’t have balls (literally) when it is in fact they who are ballless.

This is why the mainstream will never accept bodybuilding as a sport and lifestyle. They refuse to give it the time to learn about it enough where they see what is really about. You know what I say? Let them sit on their fat asses and make comments like this. We have the last laugh. And if they ever come out of their hiding spot and say it to someone’s face, they’ll just end up getting their asses kicked in.

Photo by Francisco Pillari

Being a personal friend of Gregg’s and having spoken to him about this appearance for months now, I had figured that – for the most part – he would be portrayed the way he has been in a number of other mainstream media outlets the past few years. For the first part of the story that held true. The reporter spoke to Chris Bell, director of “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” and – in a part that should have made the cutting room floor – a brief word or two from Dan Clark who played ‘Nitro,’ one of the original American Gladiators who has admitted to being a steroid user for 20 years. Clark admitted that he didn’t know Gregg personally but was at a loss to comprehend how he does not have any side effects from his extended use of anabolics and stated that Valenino was a “walking side effect.” This claim was totally refuted when ESPN put Valentino through a battery of medical tests and, according to the reporter, he is in overall good health. 

At one point during the story, the screen goes black and states, ‘One month later,’ and Valentino is again being interviewed and breaks down emotionally. This is due to the fact that he is estranged from his teenage son and that his daughter saw him on a school film talking about drug and steroid abuse. That was it for him and Valentino had an epiphany. 

The man who has always been connected to steroids does not want to talk about them any longer and feels that they are ruining the sport of bodybuilding. On camera he is seated in front of his computer at home and was writing his “Ramblin’ Freak” column for the June issue of Muscular Development magazine. This one would be different, he said, and didn’t care if people would consider him a sell-out for writing what he did. 

As soon as the segment ended, I called Gregg and to my surprise he was not watching it but rather out on the road somewhere in his car. He told me that he was “nervous” to watch it but wanted to make sure that it was done properly and in good taste, especially the parts about his children. 

For those of you that do not know Gregg and he is just a guy you read about in the magazines, he is the most down-to-earth and honest guy out there. His knowledge of the history of the sport of bodybuilding is vast and deep and he is far from just ” The Man Who’s Arms Exploded.” Being funny, witty and having street smarts are just a few of the traits that make him who he is. 

Gregg compared the way he feels now to a recovering alcoholic that never wants to see a bottle again. Although he has been talking about this for some time now with me, I was still surprised to see this side of him come out in the media. He may have made a name for himself due to steroids, but he is so much more than that and I for one feel that it is about time that everyone gets to see the ‘new Gregg,’ if you will, and not just the ones who know him away from the game. 

Gregg Valentino E:60

E:60 Gregg Valentino Preview

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.

“I love my sport, but the business has to come out of the hole,” Robinson said. “All the money that ‘The Classic’ – they used to call it the ‘Arnold Classic’ – is making, that you only have a $150,000 paycheck?

“Bodybuilders have come up to me recently and said they’re not happy,” continued Robinson. “They deserve more. From the Weiders and from the Governor. No disrespect.”

Back in the 1980s, Robinson actually moved out of the United States to “escape the destructive politics of the business,” having strong feelings about corruption in bodybuilding and steroid abuse.

“There’s a lot of drugs in the sport,” he said. “To be 300 pounds and come down to 260 or 250… I think the government ought to do something.” Robinson made his point clear, but also was up front about his own use. “I never took drugs when I came here (to California from Florida) in 1975. The first time I got involved was two weeks before Mr. World. I took the shot – which was primo depot – and remembered going home and sitting down and the whole room started spinning.”

During his competing days, Robinson would not use steroids during the offseason, but said that when he was eight weeks out, he would take something every two weeks.

“I still practiced that until I retired,” he said. “Recently, B-12 was low in my body, and I know that was from steroid use.”

Regarding the popularity of the sport, Robinson feels that the powers that be are deliberately holding it back. “They’re trying to keep it down because of the drugs,” he said. “We’re not in a big light. It’s more of a sub-culture, a cult sport. It’s (stopping steroids) going to take away from it. The government will get involved – like (Roger) Clemens and (Barry) Bonds.”

Robinson feels that the baseball players named in the Mitchell Report are getting a “bad rap,” and all the injuries this season are not a coincidence.

“Take (Jason) Giambi,” he said. “When you use that stuff (steroids), you get blown up. When you stop, you’re weaker.

“Barry (Bonds) got nastier,” continued Robinson. “I love the guy, but c’mon!”

Very opinionated. Very intelligent. And very charismatic. That’s Robby Robinson. A bodybuilder who says that he will continue working out “until the end of time,” and no one would argue that.

Photo courtesy of Robby Robinson. (left to right) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Corney, Robby Robinson, Mike Mentzer, Ken Waller