The Very Beginning of the Supplement Empire! (As I witnessed it.)

[stuntmovie]

Since we're discussing very strange 'stuff' that most GetBiggers have never heard before .... Let me continue with two that even caused me to wonder ... "Wha da fook!"

A long while back there was a guy in his 20's who trained 6 days a week. On the 7th day he went to church!

He only trained his stomach. Trained it for at least 90 minutes each those 6 days each week.

The weird thing was that he trained if to get it exceedingly large.

Within a good number of months he looked like he was 8 month pregnant and as proud as any new dad could be and he'd spend a few minutes after every workout posing his protruding stomach in the YMCA gym mirror while everyone in the place did their best to avoid looking at him.

And he also had 4 inch fingernails which he was very proud of.

Second guy was an avid Olympic lifter who ate nothing other than honey,bee pollen, tuna fish and peanut butter. He lived in a 400 square foot room in an apartment that was condemned and abandoned.

He loved cats and weird girlfriends so there was only one bed in the place but carpeted 2x4's criss crossing every square foot of that room.

That was for the cats to run around on.

And he was too kind-hearted to kill the cockroaches.

But, DAMN! He was one hell of a strong olympic and power lifter and had all the trophies to prove it .... But they were in the backyard in a garbage can that would remain there until the place was demolished and the garbage carted off 2 years later.

His whole  life was honey, bee pollen, peanut butter, and tuna. Plus  those damn cats and his numerous girlfriends (they must have also loved cats).

But anyone having a problem within the lifting game would come to him seeking training advice which always seemed to work far better than anyone ever expected.

It was mostly simple advice that won national and international lifters ... major trophies. "Move your feet wider apart! Bend the knees! Turn this way! Turn that way!"

Yo be more specific ....He saw ways to make improvements !

He was the lifting guru of his age .... so to speak. And believe it or not but a few of you GetBiggers knew him.

Off track here but .... what's done is done!

[njflex]

Since we're discussing very strange 'stuff' that most GetBiggers have never heard before .... Let me continue with two that even caused me to wonder ... "Wha da fook!"

A long while back there was a guy in his 20's who trained 6 days a week. On the 7th day he went to church!

He only trained his stomach. Trained it for at least 90 minutes each those 6 days each week.

The weird thing was that he trained if to get it exceedingly large.

Within a good number of months he looked like he was 8 month pregnant and as proud as any new dad could be and he'd spend a few minutes after every workout posing his protruding stomach in the YMCA gym mirror while everyone in the place did their best to avoid looking at him.

And he also had 4 inch fingernails which he was very proud of.

Second guy was an avid Olympic lifter who ate nothing other than honey,bee pollen, tuna fish and peanut butter. He lived in a 400 square foot room in an apartment that was condemned and abandoned.

He loved cats and weird girlfriends so there was only one bed in the place but carpeted 2x4's criss crossing every square foot of that room.

That was for the cats to run around on.

And he was too kind-hearted to kill the cockroaches.

But, DAMN! He was one hell of a strong olympic and power lifter and had all the trophies to prove it .... But they were in the backyard in a garbage can that would remain there until the place was demolished and the garbage carted off 2 years later.

His whole  life was honey, bee pollen, peanut butter, and tuna. Plus  those damn cats and his numerous girlfriends (they must have also loved cats).

But anyone having a problem within the lifting game would come to him seeking training advice which always seemed to work far better than anyone ever expected.

It was mostly simple advice that won national and international lifters ... major trophies. "Move your feet wider apart! Bend the knees! Turn this way! Turn that way!"

Yo be more specific ....He saw ways to make improvements !

He was the lifting guru of his age .... so to speak. And believe it or not but a few of you GetBiggers knew him.

Off track here but .... what's done is done!

WOW SOME CHARACTERS,,,KEEP IT COMING.

[Tapeworm]

Since we're discussing very strange 'stuff' that most GetBiggers have never heard before .... Let me continue with two that even caused me to wonder ... "Wha da fook!"

A long while back there was a guy in his 20's who trained 6 days a week. On the 7th day he went to church!

He only trained his stomach. Trained it for at least 90 minutes each those 6 days each week.

The weird thing was that he trained if to get it exceedingly large.

Within a good number of months he looked like he was 8 month pregnant and as proud as any new dad could be and he'd spend a few minutes after every workout posing his protruding stomach in the YMCA gym mirror while everyone in the place did their best to avoid looking at him.

And he also had 4 inch fingernails which he was very proud of.

Second guy was an avid Olympic lifter who ate nothing other than honey,bee pollen, tuna fish and peanut butter. He lived in a 400 square foot room in an apartment that was condemned and abandoned.

He loved cats and weird girlfriends so there was only one bed in the place but carpeted 2x4's criss crossing every square foot of that room.

That was for the cats to run around on.

And he was too kind-hearted to kill the cockroaches.

But, DAMN! He was one hell of a strong olympic and power lifter and had all the trophies to prove it .... But they were in the backyard in a garbage can that would remain there until the place was demolished and the garbage carted off 2 years later.

His whole  life was honey, bee pollen, peanut butter, and tuna. Plus  those damn cats and his numerous girlfriends (they must have also loved cats).

But anyone having a problem within the lifting game would come to him seeking training advice which always seemed to work far better than anyone ever expected.

It was mostly simple advice that won national and international lifters ... major trophies. "Move your feet wider apart! Bend the knees! Turn this way! Turn that way!"

Yo be more specific ....He saw ways to make improvements !

He was the lifting guru of his age .... so to speak. And believe it or not but a few of you GetBiggers knew him.

Off track here but .... what's done is done!

That's fucking brilliant!  Come on, give us his name, Stunt.

[NelsonMuntz]

Since we're discussing very strange 'stuff' that most GetBiggers have never heard before .... Let me continue with two that even caused me to wonder ... "Wha da fook!"

A long while back there was a guy in his 20's who trained 6 days a week. On the 7th day he went to church!

He only trained his stomach. Trained it for at least 90 minutes each those 6 days each week.

The weird thing was that he trained if to get it exceedingly large.

Within a good number of months he looked like he was 8 month pregnant and as proud as any new dad could be and he'd spend a few minutes after every workout posing his protruding stomach in the YMCA gym mirror while everyone in the place did their best to avoid looking at him.

And he also had 4 inch fingernails which he was very proud of.

Second guy was an avid Olympic lifter who ate nothing other than honey,bee pollen, tuna fish and peanut butter. He lived in a 400 square foot room in an apartment that was condemned and abandoned.

He loved cats and weird girlfriends so there was only one bed in the place but carpeted 2x4's criss crossing every square foot of that room.

That was for the cats to run around on.

And he was too kind-hearted to kill the cockroaches.

But, DAMN! He was one hell of a strong olympic and power lifter and had all the trophies to prove it .... But they were in the backyard in a garbage can that would remain there until the place was demolished and the garbage carted off 2 years later.

His whole  life was honey, bee pollen, peanut butter, and tuna. Plus  those damn cats and his numerous girlfriends (they must have also loved cats).

But anyone having a problem within the lifting game would come to him seeking training advice which always seemed to work far better than anyone ever expected.

It was mostly simple advice that won national and international lifters ... major trophies. "Move your feet wider apart! Bend the knees! Turn this way! Turn that way!"

Yo be more specific ....He saw ways to make improvements !

He was the lifting guru of his age .... so to speak. And believe it or not but a few of you GetBiggers knew him.

Off track here but .... what's done is done!

was that the Bill "Peanuts" West guy?

ps, I remember reading about the exploits of Mike Dayton

[dseiler]

These stories are the best! Reminds me of the onlyme thread. Keep them coming!!

[Havenbull]

Hey stunt, how about some giving some timelines to give us some perspective?

I have no idea what years you are talking about.

More early supplement stuff!

What would be considered the first OTC supplement specifically for muscle building?

[ratherbebig]

just look in some old muscle mag and youll see what supplements were around

[wes]

Mike could also break a pair of regulation handcuffs!!


I took 30 dessicaTED LIVER PILLS DAILY AS PRESCRIBED BY VINCE GIRONDA TO NO AVAIL.

SORRY

[Skeletor]

Mike could also break a pair of regulation handcuffs!!


I took 30 dessicaRTED LIVER PILLS DAILY AS PRESCRIBED BY vINCE gIRONDA TO NO AVAIL.

SORRY

You forgot the hydrochloric acid tablets.

[wes]

Hey stunt, how about some giving some timelines to give us some perspective?

I have no idea what years you are talking about.

More early supplement stuff!

What would be considered the first OTC supplement specifically for muscle building?

Probably Energol by Hoffman which was wheat germ oil.

[wes]

You forgot the hydrochloric acid tablets.

Took thos also along with papaya tabs to no avail also.  

[stuntmovie]

TAPE, This all occurred way before your time when the world was still a bit saner than it is today ... and you would not know him by his name  even honestly because he only worked with a small group of very dedicated lifting stuff "insiders".

I can tell you that Gary Leonard says he won the Mr. A. title  due to his advice and  recommendations  and Lee Haney says that he helped him win the one major contest that he did win due to a five minute discussion with him.

And that's just two out of many, many more.

OK, here's another very interesting bodybuilding related individual.
He held the title "DR." before his name, but he wan't!

He was maybe about 5'4" and 105 pounds (give or take a dozen or so).

And he resided in a very old house in one of the valley communities of Hawaii. A very quiet old guy who always whispered during intelligent conversations.

A good friend of mine (once a Pro in the WFL) was being treated by a doctor associated with the WFL for a painful shoulder injury but nothing seemed to work.

So one Saturday morning I drove him up that beautiful Hawaii valley and introduced him to the 'doc'.

The pro told him that he was suffering savere pain and no one was able to fix it.

So the 'doc' said, "OK, lay on that table and I'll take a look but it might be painful!" (A standard massage table in the living room.)

Pro said, "OK, I can take the pain if you can fix it!'

SO the 'doc' jumped on the side of the table and it took less than a second to 'dis-joint' him. (I don't know the medical term for getting dis-jointed, but the pro let out a humongous yell and his arm fell limp off the edge of that table.)

But the 'doc', who most likely had done this many times in the past, proceeded to work his fingers into the area when the dis-location had occurred.

And then he said. "OK, get ready to yell again!" and within a split second and a very loud yell, he replaced the dis-jointed bone into the correct place where it should have been.

"OK, you can get up now."

SO the pro sat up and said, "WOW! That really hurt but it doesn't feel as painful now! WOW! Thanks, Doc!"

"You had an obstruction which caused the blood to flow in but not flow out. That was causing your pain. But it's OK now!" (Not the exact words but close enough.)

So the pro returned and played that Sunday, still amazed that this litte Oriental 'doc' did something that school trained specialists could not.

To the best of my recollection the pro took many athletes up to that little house in that beautiful valley and everyone came out feeling better or , as in the pro's case, completely cured.

A true story here, which the 'pro' may be reading someday when his team is not down there on the field.

Call me .......

[Taffin]

I have to respect Wes and Stunt - true original Iron Men - for example, not many people realise that aeons ago back in ancient Sumeria, it was actually these two pushing directly behind young Conan on the Wheel of Pain...

[wes]

I have to respect Wes and Stunt - true original Iron Men - for example, not many people realise that aeons ago back in ancient Sumeria, it was actually these two pushing directly behind young Conan on the Wheel of Pain...

Conan was a child to me and stunt!  LOL 


I`m fromSpringfield Mass. and on every Saturday morning we`d drive to Hartford Conn. to train at this dungeon like gym.............anyway the owner was an old fuck who used to walk around shouting encouragemment and all of a sudden if A guy had 5 plates on the t-Bar he`d just grab it and do reps withouit even warming up.

Also saw him squat 315 on a walk through and do 80 pound flyes cold.

What a character.

[wes]

we also saw/met 2 animals at that gym which turned us onto a supp called Staminex............vile shit, but we gagged it down in the hopes that we would look like them.  LOL 

[stuntmovie]

TAFFUN, Yep that's me!

You owe me twenty bucks!

But here's one more before I sign off for the evening.

This happened shortly after I was kicked out of Sumeria thanks to Wes' fuck-up.

SO it was a long time ago and I may forget the details so ..... I'll make it short and just relate the basics.

I think it was Marjo and Hanu who introduced me to a guy who could remove lug-nut from cars with his bare hands.

A lug nut is a fastener, specifically a nut, used to secure a wheel on a vehicle.

But a good friend of his butted in and said, "I seen him take them nuts off of tractors.!"

And eventually I ran into him at some function that I've forgotten all about and asked him if he could really do that.

He said, "Yes! Do you have a nickel?"

So I gave him my last nickel and he proceeded to tear it in half for me but I stopped him half-way through and got my nickel back explaining that a whole nickel torn halfway would not be as easy to lose as the two half nickels.

Or something like that.

I seriously  doubted that anyone could do that with his bare hands until I saw him do it with my very own nickel.

But we never did do the lug-nut test as it was a very formal occasion if that's at all possible among a group of heavy lifters.

[wes]

TAFFUN, Yep that's me!

You owe me twenty bucks!

But here's one more before I sign off for the evening.

This happened shortly after I was kicked out of Sumeria thanks to Wes' fuck-up.

SO it was a long time ago and I may forget the details so ..... I'll make it short and just relate the basics.

I think it was Marjo and Hanu who introduced me to a guy who could remove lug-nut from cars with his bare hands.

A lug nut is a fastener, specifically a nut, used to secure a wheel on a vehicle.

But a good friend of his butted in and said, "I seen him take them nuts off of tractors.!"

And eventually I ran into him at some function that I've forgotten all about and asked him if he could really do that.

He said, "Yes! Do you have a nickel?"

So I gave him my last nickel and he proceeded to tear it in half for me but I stopped him half-way through and got my nickel back explaining that a whole nickel torn halfway would not be as easy to lose as the two half nickels.

Or something like that.

I seriously  doubted that anyone could do that with his bare hands until I saw him do it with my very own nickel.

But we never did do the lug-nut test as it was a very formal occasion if that's at all possible among a group of heavy lifters.

Sorry `bout the fuck up Stunt!!   LOL 

[stuntmovie]

WES, Some of those supps you mentioned .... I've never heard of.

I think that back then the various types and brands of supps were somewhat regional.

MLO was popular in the San Fran Bay Area region.

Rheo H.Blair was popular in the LA area of Southern Cal.

And I believe that Weider and Hoffman were the only ones who branched out nationally due to their publications.

Physical fitness wise, Northern California was at least 10 years behind the LA/Southern California area.

And I have no idea how it was within the other states,

But back then we truly thought that the best bodybuilders resided in Southern Cal and Florida . And the New Your guys had a look that placed them a distant third at least.

Other than those three regions, there seemed to be no mention of the word 'bodybuilder' anyplace else. (Correct me if I am mistaken.)

And then a guy name Strydom appeared in LA from South Africa  (Capetown?) via Texas and another guy appeared from Austria and Serge Nubret showed up from where ever he was from (Paris?) and the world of bodybuilding changed entirely.

And on many occasions  ... Not for the better!

But that's the subject for another story.

Good seeing you here, Wes!

[wes]

I`m sure you`re right Bill and it`s great interacting with you buddy! 

[Twaddle]

Ultimate Orange is the greatest supp of all time.  It was cocaine mixed with Speed, mixed with Caffeine mixed with adderal and tasted orangy.  I had the best workouts of my life on that shit.

X2

It truly was a legal form of speed.   

[Master Blaster]

Hott Stuff was big.

[pellius]

I went through many a can of MLO during my teen years. Hoffman products were so nasty that I would drink it over the bathroom sink with a loaded toothbrush at the ready. I would gulp that foul concoction as fast as I could and then immediately brush my teeth then gargle with Listerine, which wasn't exactly a taste treat either.

I also went through the torture of downing those liver tabs one by one with a glass of water until I was bloated.

I remember when I use to work at a Vitamin Shop years later when  a customer would ask me if this or that product "taste good". A feeling of mild contempt would wash over me and then I would smile and say I'm the wrong guy to ask. Compared to what I took as a teen everything is like candy to me.

A kid, whose parents bought all his supps for him (hundreds of dollars a month), once returned some watermelon flavored BCAA saying it had an "after taste". I wanted to punch him in the face. All BCAAs are like Koolaide and you need maybe three ounces of water to mix so you could down it in one gulp -- yet still that was too much.

I hate getting old but I sure as hell am glad that I grew up in my generation rather than today's.

[stuntmovie]

PELLIUS, Where you a Hawaii resident at one time? I seem to recall seeing a photo of you with a well known beach in the background.

I could be mistaken though.

POKE is a popular staple in Hawaii and is commonly used to get cut up for bodybuilding contests. One individual I knew would eat almost nothing but Poke for 12 weeks.

But he was shredded!

[pellius]

PELLIUS, Where you a Hawaii resident at one time? I seem to recall seeing a photo of you with a well known beach in the background.

I could be mistaken though.

POKE is a popular staple in Hawaii and is commonly used to get cut up for bodybuilding contests. One individual I knew would eat almost nothing but Poke for 12 weeks.

But he was shredded!

Sigh... I'm such a huge fan of  yours and really want to meet you some day but you never seem to remember me.

I was born and raised in Hawaii. I went to high school with John Kaiser who I was shocked that you also knew. John had a truck (rare in those days from a high schooler to have his own wheels) and took me and a couple of others to see Pumping Iron for the first time. We all went back to his house where he had an awesome home gym and started working out and doing poses in the mirror. I move to Cali at 19 and live there for twenty years. That's where I met "OnlyMe/NoWorries" when he bounced at Tequila Willies.

I also got to train once while still in high school at the original, and very unknown, Nautilus Gym that was housed in a little shack at a high school or college. In fact, you were the one that reminded and corrected me of that when I said that I trained at the Nautilus Gym above that bank that was owned by Hank Grudman (started that Iron Man competition in Hawaii). It was Hank that turned me on to A. Jones when I was working as a security guard in the building that he lived in (The Esplanade). He gave me a book written by Jones that changed my whole perspective on training which I still follow to this day. That's when Mentzer started to make a splash and I would read all of his articles in the mags.

 I was shocked at how many people we mutually knew during those times like Mits, Ernie Santiago, Tommy Kono...

Anyway, I have been back in Hawaii since 2006 and still buy Poke from Foodland several times a week. I get off work late and Foodland has a lot of Poke ready to expire at 50% off. I know it's sacrilege but I pan fry the Poke with rice when I get home. I'm scared to death to eat any raw fish unless it's right off the boat. I got food poisoning once from raw fish and it was the worse thing ever.

Anyway, you are a pure treasure on this slowly declining board and one the few that keep me here. The non-training "haterz" that will never show their face but spend most of their waking lives here just bringing down this board and throwing spit balls at others while  comfortably hiding behind the keyboard is really sapping the life out of this board.

[Deadpool]

Hott Stuff was big.

I loved it.