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Prologue: The 1980s

The Glory Years of Modern Bodybuilding

Abodybuilder in theOvalOffice? Arnold? Close,butnocigar intheWhiteHouse! The blue ribbon actually goes to SealtestDan,TheMuscleMan.Ithadbeen27yearssinceDanLurieappearedinfrontoftheCBSnetworkcamerasasthefamedSealtestBigTopStrongman.Thesewerenowthe1980sandthe60-year-oldbodybuildingentrepreneurwas,onceagain,backinthemediaspotlight.However,thistimehisstagewasthatprestigiousWashingtonhighofficewherehesquaredoff inanarmwrestlingmatchwith the 73-year-old President of theUnited States ofAmericaoverthefateoftheColdWar.Well,actually,itwasn’treallythatclimactic.We’llleavetheColdWartoArnoldasweshallsoonsee,buttheWhiteHousedefinitelydidinfactreceiveDanLurieonFebruary16,1984toinductPresidentRonaldReaganintoLurie’sWorldBodyBuildingGuildHallofFame,andtoawardhimasthemostphysicallyfitPresidentof all time. Andyes, the twomenactuallydid armwrestle, andLurieclaimed to have thrown thematch! IfAmerica’sMostMuscularManfrom1942through1944could40yearslatermusclehiswayintotheOvalOfficeasDanaccomplished,thenbodybuildinghadfinallycarveditselfpositivelyintotheculturallandscapeofAmerica.

The actual tools of the bodybuilding trade, such as the barbell andresistance training, had already begun receiving more acceptance forgeneral fitness and increased athletic performance in the 1970s. Butnow,evenhardcorecompetitivebodybuilding,ifjudgedpurelyonpublicappeal, couldclaim itsgloryyearscirca1977 through the1980s. Thiswasduetoanumberoffactors,oneinparticularbeingacontinuingheftypublicignoranceofthecompleterealmofperformanceenhancingdrugs(PEDs).Theironyherewasthatthesportofbodybuildingexperiencedmuchmorepublicreceptivenessduringsomeheavydrugyearsthaniteverreceivedthroughitsnaturalera.

Although the sport did in fact begin to delineate itself along thelinesofdrugusagewithChetYorton’sfirstdrug-tested show inMarchof1978,mostlaymen,andevensomenaïveyoungmusclebuilders,stillwereconfusedoverthe“natural”label.Theriftbetweendrugandnon-druguserswouldfurtherwidenenormously. InJuneof1985atWayneDeMilia’s Night of Champions, a 22-year-old Rich Gaspari turned hisback to theaudienceandexposeda look thatboregreatsignificance in

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the next evolution in contest conditioning and judging criteria—and itwasn’thisbackthatdrewtheattention! Thelookandrazor-sharp shapethatGaspariattainedwouldhaveramificationsthatwouldmanifestmuchmoreinthe1990s.

Thepublicnaiveteregardingtheuseofperformanceenhancingdrugsinthe fields, courts, rings, and stages of athletics came to an end inSeptember of 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, when Ben Johnson ran hisworld record 9.79 second 100-metre dash and then tested positive foranabolic steroids; themedia drug circus commenced. WayneDeMilia,headoftheProDivisionfortheInternationalFederationofBodyBuilders(IFBB),wastravellingwiththetopprofessionalphysiquestarsintheworldontheirEuropeanGrandPrixtourandtookcarefulnoteoftheheadlinesofthemajornewspapersacrossWesternEurope.TheheightenedmediaattentionthatDeMiliaobservedonJohnson’spositivedrugtestledhimtoimmediatelyinformhisathletesthattheirsportwouldneverbethesame.Thegloryyearsofbodybuilding,whicharguablybeganwiththelaunchof“PumpingIron”in1977,wouldinfactdiminishfollowingthemagnitudeofexposurenowfocusedonanabolicsteroidsasDeMiliapredicted.

JoeandBenWeiderbythattimehadbeensuccessfulinmonopolizingmostof theworldofbodybuilding. ThishegemonywassecuredwhentheyfinallywontheallegianceoftherelativelylargeAmericanamateurbodybuilding infrastructure previously governed, for decades, by theAmateurAthleticUnion (AAU) andBobHoffman. However, cominginto the1980s, theAAUPhysiqueCommittee, freed from theAAUbylaw,emergedasitsownautonomousbodyoperatingunderthenameoftheNationalPhysiqueCommittee(NPC).Thisacquisitiondidnotcomeeasily for theWeiders, as initial effortswere falteringveryearly in thedecade.Theiracemechanic,KenSprague,hadtobecalleduponforonemorejob.However,unbeknownsttoSprague,thistimehewouldnotbeoperatingalone,asacovertapprenticeworkedsimultaneouslytokeeptheIFBBincontroloftheNPCattheAAUConventionheldatCaesarsPalacein late 1981. With the IFBB/NPC affiliation secured and using theWeider empire as leverage, Joe and Ben would proceed to rulebodybuildingwhileinvokingeveryconflictofinterestunderthesun.AstowhetherJoeandBenbuiltbodybuildingtotheheightofitspopularity,orsimplylootedtheeconomythatcamewithit,isupforquestion.

TheAAUwouldnotdisappearentirely.Intheirsignificantlyweakenedcapacity, theywouldactuallyattempta resurgenceagainst the IFBBbyteamingwithSergeNubret’sWorldAmateurBodyBuildingAssociation(WABBA) and Oscar Heidenstam’s National Amateur Bodybuilders

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Association(NABBA).DanLuriemayhavebeenpopularintheWhiteHouse,buthisWorldBodyBuildingGuildwouldalsofaderapidlyinthewakeofthegrowingWeidership.ThebigdogintheIronGameyardfordecades,BobHoffman,wasnolongerapowerandtheindustrywouldlosehimandagoodnumberofthemusclepioneersbeginninginthe1980s.

Asspeculatedin“Muscle,Smoke&Mirrors,VolumeII”,theWeidersand their IFBBmayneverhavegained suchpowerhad it notbeen fortheanticsofKenSpragueandthelackofdesireofArthurJonestofocushistenacity,finances,andperipheralresourcesinthatdirection.Arthur’sfinancialdistractionswoulddiminishhisindustryinfluenceandhewouldactually, himself, fire a torpedo into the Nautilus ship by selling theCompanyin1986.Indoingso,hissomewhatestrangedsonGaryJoneswouldteamwiththepowerfulmidwestNautilusduoofKimWoodandPeteBrown toHAMMERtheirown imprint into the IronGame/fitnessindustry.TheywouldinfactbecometheNautilusofthe1990s.

WithArthurJonesandtheNautilusshipexperiencingmoreturbulentwaters,itstillwasnotclearsailingforJoeandBenWeiderandtheirIFBB,asamoreseriousthreatcametheirwayintheveryearly1990s.Infact,ifnotforthatapprenticingWeidermechanicwhobythenwasmuchmoreseasonedinthepoliticsofthegame,theWeidersmayhavebeenplayingsecond fiddle in professional bodybuilding. Also indirectly aiding thesurvivalofJoeandBenwasthearrivalofDr.MauroDiPasqualeontothedrugtestingscene,duetothegovernmentandmediafrenzysurroundingperformance enhancingdrugs. Theuseof anabolic steroidswasn’t theonly media fodder impacting the bodybuilders in the 1980s. A muchbigger issuewould finally come to a head, earlier in the decade,whichoccupiedmainstreamnewsthroughouttheindustrialworld.

Fat Phobia

Themedical community, beginning in themid-1950s, haddeclaredthat a dietarymenace was at hand. Their persistent promotion of thetheorythatanimalfats–andespeciallycholesterol–werethecausalfactorforheartdiseasereachedafeverpitchbytheearly1980s.Didmedicalacademiareallyhaveabasisforthisassertion,orwastheindustrializedworldavictimofperhapsthebiggestmedicalfraudinmodernhistory?

With mainstream investigative journalism sound asleep at thewheel, the general public, the burgeoning fitness community, and eventhehardcore, close-knitbodybuildingcirclewouldall feel thedramaticimpact from these medical and nutritional politics. No other era saw

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suchchange to itsdietary landscapedue togenerated fearanda totallyunleashed food processing industry. We would become a culture thatconsumedmanufacturedfoodpartswithourdailysustenanceconsistingofonepartgrown,fivepartsmanufactured.

Regardingourtwodietarytemplatesestablishedin“Muscle,Smoke&Mirrors,VolumeI”,wasthelongreignoftheHighProteinandFat(HPF)templateover?DefinitelytheschismbetweenitandtheLactoVegetarian(LV) template lessened considerably. Would the atmospheresurrounding fat and cholesterol become so hostile that even a VeganVegetarian model would be considered optimal for muscle building?Howwouldourbodybuildingnutritiongurusreacttothisaffronttotheirlong-standingnutritionalparadigmpremisedonanimalfats?Confusiondefinitelymadeitswayintothegame.

Withthedawningofthecarbohydrateera,thenewly-forgedfat-phobicculturewouldbedemandingalargervarietyoffoodproductsfromwhichtochoose.Industrywouldhaveabonanzaandtheinevitableexpansionoffoodtechnologieswouldmoveustothenextsupplementtier. Therewasawholenewgenerationofyoungerplayerscoming into thegame.TheyweremoredistantfromtheoriginsofPhysicalCulturefromwhichbodybuildingandthefitnessindustrysprang,butmuchmoreintunewithwhatopportunitiesmoderntechnologywouldoffer.

Regardless of the debate over whether the food supply was beingexpandedormauled,itwasdefinitelybeingconsolidatedandtakencontrolof behind the scenes. The 1970s and 1980swere certainly decades offurtherunderlyingchange.Thegreatmeltingpotsofthewesternsocietieswould continue with their cultural delineation and dilution. Thosegrowingseamsofdivisionwithintheirsocialandeconomicfabricwere,inactuality,aslowunweavingoftheirnationalconstitutions,orchestratedcovertlybypowerfulglobalarchitects. Muchof thisnew transnationaleconomic and governing framework and erosions of freedom wouldnot reveal themselvesuntil the1990sand the21st century. Of course,mainstreamjournalismwouldbecomatoseonthisfrontaswell.However,themediawasmuchmoreawakeandalerttotheburgeoningbodybuildinglook in the 1980s, especially fromHollywoodmotion pictures and themajortelevisionnetworks.

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The Beauty and The Beast Formainstreamwestern society, the 1970s closedwithwhat couldbe deemed retrospectively as a symbolic foreshadowing of the culturalagendafor thecomingdecade. Twoeventsunfoldedin1979thatweretotallyoppositeintheirrepresentation,yetsignificantintheirbearing,andabit ironic in their subtle interplay. Theywouldbe the literal “beautyandthebeast”ofthe1980s.Wherethebeastleftgeographicalandsocialdestructionthroughtheunfoldingof thenewdecade, thisbeautywouldalsoleaveitsshareofemotionalandphysicaldisruption.

Thebeautydebutedwith the releaseofBlakeEdwards’1979movie,“10”.Thetitleitselfprobablyboremoresignificancethanthenewstarletit unleashed; albeit, Bo Derek did in fact showcase an incredibly lean,conditioned,butstillcurvyfeminineform.Notonlywouldshebeelevatingthestandardforthenewimage-consciousAmerica,butalsosignifyingthatourphysicalpresentationswouldnowbesubjecttoanewtypeofscale(1to10),andthebarwasresetveryhigh;formost,probablytoohigh.

Complicatingtheevolvingphysicalstandards,the1980sfacilitatedyetanevenmoredaringnewmeasureneverreallypresentedtothemainstreambefore. Infact, theatmospherewassuchthatauniquegroupofwomen,liberatingthemselvesfromtheirownhistoricalsocialandathleticbondage,literallykickedofftheirheels,clenchedtheirfists,andstruckposesnowherenear resembling that of their Miss America predecessors. Women’sbodybuildingwasmeteoricinitsascentascomparedtothedecades-longplightoftheirmalecounterparts.Theculturewasbecomingpermeabletowomenwithnoticeablemuscles,butcoulditacceptasignificantbreachinthegenderbarrierorabsorbanentirelynewarchetype?Whatthewomencouldnotdisguiseaswellasthemenwastheeffectofanabolicsteroids,andtheirfallwasimminent.Regardless,betweenBoDerekandthearrivalofwomen’sbodybuilding,thefemaleformwouldfeelthepressuretoanteupphysically.

Asdiscussed,culturalbarriershadalreadybeenbreachedthroughthe1970sintermsofimprovedsportsperformancethroughincreasedsizeandstrengthalongwithaheightenedawarenessofphysicalfitness.Butnow,inatotalreversaloftheBobHoffmanphilosophyoffunctionalmuscleandgoodhealth,thenewmottohadshiftedto“musclesjustshouldn’tperform,theyhadbetterlookgoodtoo.”Itwasdefinitelythedecadeofthe“hard-bodies.”NewtermsenteredtheEnglishlexiconsuchas“ripped”,“buffed”,and “shredded”, right along with “bulimia”, “anorexia”, and “anabolicsteroids.”

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Yes,bodybuildinghadfinallyarrivedintermsofpublicacceptance,but it was recognized far more for what it could do for our physicalimage,asopposedtoastrivingcompetitivesport.CouldthetoolsofthebodybuildingtradereallygivethemajorityoflaymenwhatGodseemedtohaveneglected?Toagooddegree,yes,but“PumpingIron”andthenewbooksmarketingthesportfellfarshortofexposingthepublictothefullarsenalofthebodybuilders.Asthedecadeprogressed,manyyoungmenandwomeninpursuitoftheimagelearnedoftheadvancedchemistryofmusclebuilding,evenbeforetheBenJohnsonmediahoopla.

Theprobodybuildersofthe1970sbeganthe“cartoon”eraofthesport,asmanybythenwereactuallymoreimpressivephysicallythanthecomicbookcaricatures theygrewup reading. Someevenbrought thesesuper-heroestolifewhencasttoplaythemoutontelevision,andthenlaterontothebigscreen.LouFerrignogainedalargefanbasewithhisoutstandingportrayalofTheIncredibleHulkfrom1978through1982.SuperstarBillyGraham,Jesse“TheBody”Ventura,HulkHogan,andtheUltimateWarriorcarriedthecartoonlookintotheprowrestlingcircuitwithenormoussuccess.

Asmentioned,thebiggest impactoftheeffectofbodybuildingwasshowcased through the mainstream Hollywood media. A number ofcelebritieshadalreadybeenworkingoutwithweightsinsilenceformanyyears.VinceGironda,TerryRobinson,andtheEastonbrothershadbeentakingcareofmostofthemsincethe1940s.ClintWalker,RobertBlake,WilliamSmith, JohnSaxon, and even comics such asSidCaesarwereseriousliftersgoingbacktothe1950s.Theynolongerhadtohidethefactthattheytrainedwithweights;itwasnowalmostmandatory.

Hollywood,who unleashed theBo-dacious “beauty” and a judgingscaleoutofbalancewithculturalcontext,alsowouldlendthevenuethatassistedinslayingthe20thcentury“beast”loomingbehindthatpoliticallydivisiveandoppressiveIronCurtain.

The Beast

Counteringthebeautysprungin1979,the“beast”inthemannerofwarintensifiedwhentheSovietUnioninvadedAfghanistaninDecemberofthatyear to embarkon theirowneightyearVietnam. In typicalColdWar fashion, US President Jimmy Carter would respond by firingindirectlyuponthecityofMoscow. Hisartillerywasnotyourstandardmilitary weapons of war, but something resembling more of a socio-political missile, deployed in the form of a US boycott of the 1980OlympicGamestobehostedbytheSovietUnionthatyear.

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Leaning on the tragic shootings of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972MunichGames,Carterclaimedtobeoperatingundertheguiseofcautionandsafety.Nevertheless,manysimplyvieweditasthe1980athletesbeingused todeliver apolitical slap in theSoviet face. Theboycott servednothing inminimizing thedevastation toAfghanistan,butonlyresultedinreciprocationoftheSovietswiththeirownboycottofthe1984GameshostedinLosAngeles.Obviously,theimageconsciousnessofthe1980sextendedfarbeyondthatofjustthehumanbody.

Using athletes as pawns in global military-style socio-politics wasagain at play that very same year at the IFBB’sWorld BodybuildingChampionshipsbeingstagedatCaesarsPalaceinLasVegas. AligningwiththeInternationalOlympicCommittee’s(IOC)banonSouthAfricanOlympic athletes due toApartheid,BenWeiderwas forced to suspendIFBBrulesprohibitingpoliticsandreligionfromcontaminatingthepureatmosphereofsport.Indoingso,theSouthAfricandelegationwasforcedto withdraw in order to prevent 21 other delegations from pulling outbecauseofambassadorialpressures.

HowlargearolethebanningofathletesplayedinthedissolutionofApartheid a decade later, as compared to other economic and politicalsanctions,isdebatable.However,thelattertwowouldplayabigroleintearingdownthecommunistIronCurtain,beginningwiththefalloftheBerlinWallin1989.Addingtothedebate,manyattributedthedemiseoftheSovietUniontothestronganti-CommunistinitiativesofRepublicanarm-wrestling President Ronald Reagan. The former actor turnedCaliforniaGovernorwouldreceiveassistancefromhisformerprofession,includingonewhoactuallyfollowedinhisfootsteps.

Furthering the Hollywood/political merger, already decentlydevelopedstarsofthe1970slikeSylvesterStalloneshowedupinthe80sin “Rocky III” and “Rambo:FirstBloodPart II”muchmoremuscularthan before. Stallone would be joined by Chuck Norris, Jean-ClaudeVanDamme,DolphLundgren and bodybuilding’s favorite son,ArnoldSchwarzenegger. They filled the cinema screens with bigger-than-lifeactionheroeswhowouldthwartthesinisterplotsoftheterrorists,thugs,andyes,eventheevil,Afghanistan-invadingSovietempire.

Ofcourse,theimage-crazy1980scastthenewColdWarWarriorhard-bodiesinsuchamoldthatmanyoftheirbigscreenendeavorswereshotshirtless—ifnotforsheerfictitiousintimidation,thensurelyasaremindertothevastmajorityofthemaleaudiencethatthey,too,hadbestanteupphysically.

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Schwarzenegger’s rise in thisfieldwaswell engineeredor outrightmiraculous. He had received some good reviews for his performancein“StayHungry”andwasquiteanaturalwhendoinghisown thing in“PumpingIron”,butnoteventheassetsofAnn-Margret,andtheexperienceofKirkDouglas,couldsalvagehiminthe1979releaseof“TheVillain”.Hisperformancepickedupsomein“TheJayneMansfieldStory”in1980,butitwasstillnotatallindicativeofwhatArnoldwouldaccomplishinthisfield.

Fortunately, the 1980s action movies required more style oversubstance, and many of the new action stars were liberated from thepressures of having to deliverAcademyAward winning performances.Arnold was well cast in “Conan the Barbarian” in 1982. The filmshowcasedhimfarmorephysicallythanverbally,aformulathatworkedverywell forSchwarzenegger, and they furthernailed it down in “TheTerminator”! Arnolddidimproveonhisskills,andputoutsomefairlyentertainingperformancesinavarietyofrolesintheensuingyears.

In the meantime, he had become an American citizen in 1983,and showed his strong political leanings by attending the RepublicanConvention in 1984. Schwarzenegger’s arch-rival for box-officesupremacy through the 1980s, Sylvester Stallone, was also known todonatetothesamepoliticalparty. Notsurprisingly, thetwomega-starsflexed their cinemamusclewith films depicting shades of propaganda,seeminglysynchronizedwithRonaldReagan’smemorablepoliticalplea,“Mr.Gorbachev,teardownthiswall!”

Ardent Stallone fans cheered his fourth casting as the fictionalPhiladelphiasluggerRockyBalboain1985.Afterpoundingthe“pinko”outoftheevil,stoned-faced,cold-heartedRussianfightingmachineIvanDrago(DolphLundgren),theRockdeliveredabrotherlylovespeechtotheRussianspeakingcrowd,ineffortstounitebothEastandWest.Sylvester“Rocky”StallonehadsuccessfullylaunchedapoliticallycorrectlefthooktothechinoftheColdWar.

Schwarzenegger followedwithafinishingRepublican right cross in“RedHeat”whencastasaRussiancop,IvanDanko,whowouldcometoAmericainpursuitofadrugdealer.Onceagainportrayedashumorless,stone-faced,androbotically-disciplined,theSovietEnforceruniteswithhismuchmoreunregimentedAmericancounterpartArtRidzik(JimBelushi.)Farmoreinterestingthantheplotwasthenotionthatafterdecadesof“ColdWar”,ittookthehardbodyimageofabuffedmuscle-boundactortokickaholethroughthe“IronCurtain”,deflatingthedecades-longColdWar.

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In February of 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the rest of thecastandcrewof“RedHeat”werethefirsttobeallowedtorollcamerasinMoscow’sRedSquare. Ironically, theveryday theywere shooting,Gorbachevsupposedlygave theword that theSovietswouldbepullingoutofAfghanistan.Who’dathunk it,eh?

Politics,themedia,andmovieswereworkingquitewellfortheAustrianOak.Hiscelebritystatuswaselevatedevenhigherinthespring of1986when he marriedMaria Shriver, to become the Republican oddball inAmerica’smost Democratic family, theKennedys. By the end of the 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to the estimates of Forbesmagazine,wouldgross34milliondollarsfor1989toeasilycrackthetop10highestpaidentertainers.Arnoldwasontopoftheworldbytheendof a decade that began riddled in controversy in his bodybuildingcomeback after a five year absence from the sport. In seeking hisseventhMr. Olympia crown,wouldArnold Schwarzenegger derail theglory years of modern bodybuilding in 1980? Compounding thequestion,wouldhisbestfriend,FrancoColumbu,exacerbatefurtherthenegativeatmospherewithhisowncomebackin1981?

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