Author Topic: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?  (Read 7570 times)

bodybuilder1234

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Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« on: December 19, 2009, 08:38:12 PM »
Didnt the dude have cancer or something?
WHats going on with this guy, used to be be a major player in the industry

che

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2009, 08:40:11 PM »
Didnt the dude have cancer or something?
WHats going on with this guy, used to be be a major player in the industry
He died two month ago . PIP

240 is Back

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2009, 08:46:10 PM »
Wayne is still alive and kicking.

Earl1972

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2009, 09:10:24 PM »
i miss hearing wayne say "if the music man is ready, POSEDOWN!!!!"

E
E

calfzilla

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2009, 09:12:54 PM »
He's in schmoe heaven.   :'(

Magnus Greel

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2009, 12:19:09 AM »

Dont know the date of this article, but it was post his bout of cancer which according to the article went into remission

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His Side of the Story…
The Wayne Demilia Interview

By Giles Thomas

Little has been seen or heard of this man since the PDI sadly became no more in 2007. Poor health caused ex-IFBB Chairman Wayne Demilia to call it a day on an incredible run of 25 years in the game of bodybuilding contest promotion. In 25 years, Wayne pretty much single-handedly organised a staggering nineteen Mr Olympia contests from 1984 to 2003, a string of Grand Prix tours that covered countless different corners on the world and also his baby, the Night of Champions, which always delivered something just that little bit different in terms of entertainment value for the fans.
I myself worked with Wayne in 2006 in organising the British Night of Champions and then a UK Lee Priest tour. Against a lot of endless negativity and obstacles, the PDI ran two very exciting and unique contests in New York and London. I’ve never met anyone quite as capable as Wayne Demilia, and working with him was an experience I will never forget. The sport of bodybuilding has lost one of its major driving forces since his retirement, and respect is due to this man, as I doubt his like will ever be seen again…

Giles Thomas: Hi Wayne, long time… no speak. Firstly and perhaps most importantly, how is your health nowadays?
Wayne Demilia: At the time of this interview, I am doing better. My cancer is in remission again so I cannot ask for more than that.
Giles: I hear on the grapevine that you are writing a book, is this true and, if it is, what is it going to be about?
Wayne: I have been approached about doing a book about my time in bodybuilding, since I was involved with every aspect of the sport for over 30 years including both Pumping Iron films. Some rough drafts have been written on a few chapters so far.
Giles: Let’s go back to the start… What got you first interested in bodybuilding and were you always involved with promotion of some kind or another before bodybuilding?
Wayne: I got interested in bodybuilding at 13 years old because I was a weak, little, fat kid and I wanted to look better and be stronger.
Giles: When did you first get involved with the IFBB and what was your position then?
Wayne: My first position in 1973 was IFBB/AABA Metropolitan Director. I was named to that position by Tom Minichello, who was an IFBB Vice President at the time and promoted the 1973 and 1974 Mr Olympia in New York.
Giles: How did you land the job of promoting and organising such a huge job like the Olympia?
Wayne: The first time I ran the Olympia was in 1984. I bid on the event and won the bid. I won the bid by raising the sanction fee from $10,000 to $25,000 and raising the prize money from $50,000 to $100,000.
Giles: So I guess the big question here is what happened? Why did you leave the IFBB? There has been so many different accounts of why you left… what were the basic events that led up to you leaving?
Wayne: If I publish my book, full details will be in it.
Giles: I heard that it was Ben Weider that you clashed the most with when you were with the IFBB. Was this true and, if so, why?
Wayne: Yes, we did clash all the time. In fact we went through a period where we didn’t speak for about three years. I communicated with Ben through the IFBB General Secretary at the time, Harris Kagan.
Giles: How did you feel when you left? Betrayed? Unhappy?
Wayne: I think at that time I had had enough of bodybuilding. I had been involved since 1973, so by 2004 I felt burned out.
I remember sitting at the end of the banquet at the 2003 Olympia, the last one I promoted, and as the workers were folding the tables I said to my wife that I felt totally burned out and did not want to do this again. She said I was tired and I would feel different in the morning, but the next morning I came very close to announcing that at the Sunday seminar.
Giles: What led you to want to start the PDI? What would you say was your primary motivation for taking on such a huge undertaking as starting up a new federation to effectively rival the IFBB, or was it never your intention to take them on, rather to just do your own thing your way without having to deal with other’s conflicting with your ideas and decisions?
Wayne: After I left the IFBB over the course of the following year I was approached by dozens of IFBB athletes who were not happy with the direction that the IFBB was going. I was also approached by many non-IFBB athletes who wanted to compete as professionals but did not or could not compete in the IFBB. By January 2006 I was being contacted by athletes from all over the world on a daily basis, so I decided to start PDI.
Giles: In your opinion Wayne, do you think it was the stress of all the endless obstacles and negativity (primarily from the IFBB) that led to your lapse of health, which basically ended the PDI project?
Wayne: The problems with my health stemmed from immense stress due to personal problems. My wife had two nervous breakdowns and suicide attempts, which caused my son to have emotional trauma and attempt to harm himself. PDI was my escape from real problems in life. With that type of stress in your life on a daily basis, it was only a matter of time before my cancer returned.
Giles: What would you say were your best and worst experiences in bodybuilding?
Wayne: My best experiences were all the contests I promoted. Each had their own special moment. The worst was dealing with some of the people in the sport who cared more about money rather than the athletes and the sport itself.
Giles: What was your favourite era of bodybuilding and why?
Wayne: My favourite time in bodybuilding was all of the time I was involved. I always looked at each promotion from a fan’s point of view and tried to make each event fun and exciting from that perspective.
Giles: What would you say is your state of mind nowadays? Are you happier now you haven’t the huge stresses to deal with anymore or do you miss the daily challenges that you faced with both running the IFBB and then the PDI?
Wayne: I am happy moving on to new projects, new ventures. Bodybuilding as it was constructed was getting stale to me. If I could not make the changes in the sport necessary to increase the excitement for the fans and increase the money for the athletes… then why do it.
Giles: What is your life like now? Are you retired or do you have more to fulfil and more plans in or out of the sport?
Wayne: I am involved with different major sports now dealing with large companies on higher financial levels.
Giles: Do you ever hear from any of the IFBB pro’s or officials anymore?
Wayne: Yes, I still hear from quite a few of the athletes and from several officials.
Giles: What are your thoughts on the current state of bodybuilding Wayne? Do you think it’s heading in the right direction or do you think it is headed for self-destruction?
Wayne: I cannot really comment on the state of bodybuilding, since I have not been to a contest in a few years. All I can say is the problem that bodybuilding has… it has been coming since 1988 (when Ben Johnson got caught on steroids at the Olympics). You no longer have young people involved with the sport. Teenage events are almost extinct. The fan base is aging.
The sport is bodybuilding – men’s bodybuilding – and that is the foundation of the sport, and without a strong foundation, the structure will fall. By creating all these “window dressing” fitness, figure, and now bikini events and convincing yourself that the sport is strong, really is just living in denial. Eventually everything will fall down. I think the sport is already seeing the cracks in the foundation.
The bodybuilding officials have to work to get male teenagers back involved in large numbers. When I started running Night of Champions, more than 80% of the audience was under the age of 30. In 2004, the last time I ran NOC in the IFBB, over 90% of the audience was over 40!
Parents don’t want their sons to be in bodybuilding because of the drug aspect of the sport. There needs to be testing to restore faith in the sport.
The pro shows exist because of the sponsorship of the supplement companies. Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors do not use much of the products of the supplement companies. The big consumers are males, especially young males. When the supplement companies realize that their market has moved on to other sports, such as Mixed Martial Arts, then they will move their sponsorship dollars there also.
Giles: Were you pleased with what you achieved with the PDI in the time that it ran for before you got ill again?
Wayne: Yes.
Giles: Any regrets Wayne?
Wayne: NO.
Giles: Do you still follow the sport anymore?
Wayne: Not really.
Giles: Who is your all-time favourite physique?
Wayne: I like the more symmetrical physiques: Clairmonte, Paris, Labrada, Benfatto, and going back even further, Steve Reeves. I always felt that if you train as a bodybuilder, you should look good in clothes as well as out.
Giles: What about you, I remember seeing some photos in Musclemag years ago with you sporting a pretty mean six-pack… do you still work out?
Wayne: I still train every day, but I do much more cardio.
Giles: One thing you hear over and over again in bodybuilding is the “politics” card. You hear that shows were “fixed” or “pre-determined”. What’s your take on this?
Wayne: It has always been and always will be difficult to know what a judge is thinking when they make their decisions in a bodybuilding event. It is just opinion. I would always use this example: there are two competitors in a contest and two judges. One judge scores them 1-2; the other judge scores them 2-1. It is just opinion.
Unless you have numerous judges on a panel that will attest that they were told who to vote for, the accusations of politics, fixed contests, etc, will never be justified.
Giles: Of all the rumours you heard what was the craziest one that you heard said about you in the last couple of years?
Wayne: That I was dead, and the person, a fan, called me up. He asked on the phone, “Can I speak to Wayne”.
I said, “That’s me, how can I help you?”
He questioned, “I read on a website that you had died. Is that true?”
I replied, “Give me your number and I will call you back when I get an answer to your question.”
Giles: What would you say were your most memorable moments in bodybuilding?
Wayne: All of the Night of Champions shows. I really enjoyed doing that event.
Giles: Why would you say that, seemingly, the IFBB still seem to have such a problem with you Wayne?
Wayne: I don’t know. I guess you would have to ask them that question.
Giles: What’s next for you then in your life?
Wayne: Just to enjoy doing the events I am involved with. Bodybuilding is now just a memory.
Giles: Thank you, Wayne, for your frankness and honesty. There are hundreds more questions that I could ask but for now, thank you, and I wish you happiness and success now and in the future.

Rampage

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2009, 04:35:00 PM »
interesting

Mr Nobody

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2009, 05:23:40 PM »
 ;)All GAY

andreisdaman

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #8 on: December 24, 2009, 08:27:50 PM »
bump

nzmusclemonster

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2009, 08:29:24 PM »
Wayne is on a business trip with Squadfather.
P

Gregzs

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2010, 05:13:13 PM »
"Wayne: I am happy moving on to new projects, new ventures. Bodybuilding as it was constructed was getting stale to me. If I could not make the changes in the sport necessary to increase the excitement for the fans and increase the money for the athletes… then why do it."

How much did the winner of the -202 class at the Olympia win?

kiwiol

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2010, 06:29:15 PM »
i miss hearing wayne say "if the music man is ready, POSEDOWN!!!!"

E

Ditto

Earl1972

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2010, 06:39:46 PM »
Ditto



it sent chills down my spine

E

E

just_a_pilgrim

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2010, 06:45:06 PM »
Giles: Of all the rumours you heard what was the craziest one that you heard said about you in the last couple of years?
Wayne: That I was dead, and the person, a fan, called me up. He asked on the phone, “Can I speak to Wayne”.
I said, “That’s me, how can I help you?”
He questioned, “I read on a website that you had died. Is that true?”
I replied, “Give me your number and I will call you back when I get an answer to your question.”


Alright guys which one of you called Wayne

calfzilla

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2010, 10:35:54 PM »
i miss hearing wayne say "if the music man is ready, POSEDOWN!!!!"

E
almost chocked on my cake.   :)

andreisdaman

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2010, 09:33:32 AM »
Hopefully the book will be a real expose on bodybuilding and the Weiders and not a puff piece

ether

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2010, 01:51:16 PM »
I heard he passed away.

RIP. :)

Rami

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #17 on: April 15, 2020, 10:09:26 AM »

Bevo

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #18 on: April 15, 2020, 02:30:57 PM »
He died two month ago . PIP

Matt

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #19 on: April 15, 2020, 03:16:03 PM »
He died two month ago . PIP

For a second, I thought you were serious, Bevo.  Only because you are a very credible Getbigger, and I believe that Wayne's cancer came out of remission on at least two separate occasions!

I'm very happy to hear he is still alive.  I think he had prostate cancer...is that one of the more "livable" forms of cancer, where the mortality rates of those who get prostate cancer is higher with respect to the prospect/lifespan of other forms of cancer?  Asking anyone who may know.  I once heard that every man, if he lives long enough, will eventually get prostate cancer.  I don't know if that is true though.  Also, similarly to COVID-19, there is a difference between dying from prostate cancer versus  :P.

Bevo

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Re: Wayne Demillia, where is he now?
« Reply #20 on: April 15, 2020, 04:31:04 PM »
For a second, I thought you were serious, Bevo.  Only because you are a very credible Getbigger, and I believe that Wayne's cancer came out of remission on at least two separate occasions!

I'm very happy to hear he is still alive.  I think he had prostate cancer...is that one of the more "livable" forms of cancer, where the mortality rates of those who get prostate cancer is higher with respect to the prospect/lifespan of other forms of cancer?  Asking anyone who may know.  I once heard that every man, if he lives long enough, will eventually get prostate cancer.  I don't know if that is true though.  Also, similarly to COVID-19, there is a difference between dying from prostate cancer versus  :P.

Thank you, Matt. You are a very valuable asset to getbig. We can’t afford to ever lose you

All jokes aside, I’m sure he’s doing better, didn’t know he was out of the Ifbb for a while, had to look it up