Author Topic: Stories - Your favorite stories re pros / legends (Read 550728 times)

stuntmovie · « **Reply #875 on:** July 03, 2005, 12:55:39 PM »

Gold's Preopening Party - First workout

onlyme · « **Reply #876 on:** July 03, 2005, 03:42:40 PM »

Stunt that Blond was the stripper one of the strip clubs brought in to headline. I remember going to the club and meeting her and telling her about the party. We gave her the Gold's Gym shirt to wear. I have a pic of her I will scan she gave me. Her name was like Busty something or whatever. When I scan the pic it says her name.

stuntmovie · « **Reply #877 on:** July 03, 2005, 04:37:51 PM »

Ya, Only, I remember that and she played the role all night long! Was Pete there that nite or was that later. Bill Pearl too? Were you there when we brought in Reeves? That was a trip.

Here's Bob Birdsong. Took him snorkeling to see the tropical fish in Haunama Bay and only realized he was a non swimmer when we got beyond the reef. Took him back to the beach, got him squeezed into a wet suit top and threw him back in. He loved it.

2nd shot is Gary Leonard before he won the Mr A.

Never drive a Volkswagon through a tropical storm with someone who has a restricted license stating that the "bearer of this license is not allowed to drive a vehicle without his glasses" when the driver of that VW cannot find his glasses and needs to drive through one of the worst tropical storms Hawaii ever had in recorded history.

stuntmovie · « **Reply #878 on:** July 03, 2005, 04:45:36 PM »

Great shots of a great guy so I'll post each of the better ones ........

Competitive bodybuilding was a completely different thing back then.

stuntmovie · « **Reply #879 on:** July 03, 2005, 05:01:10 PM »

But some guys still keep it under control.......;

stuntmovie · « **Reply #880 on:** July 03, 2005, 05:15:55 PM »

Rules, refresh my memory here if ya will ..............

I recall going into Leo Stern's gym in the early to mid 60's in downtown San Diego. At that time it was smack dab in the middle of the section of downtown main street which seemed to be pretty popular with Navy guys ..... bars, tattoo parlors, pawn shops, barber shops, etc.

And I recall going up a narrow flight of steps to a second floor where the gym was located. Not too much in the way of looks or equipment but Bill Pearl had trained there so it was sort of popular for anyone who wanted to get "musclebound" off base.

The major idea about lifting weights back then was that it would make you "musclebound" and you would'nt be able to function properly. I guess you recall that period pretty well.

Is Stern's still there?

knny187 · « **Reply #881 on:** July 03, 2005, 05:37:14 PM »

I let Rules fill you in since I really haven't been there.

Here's the link if you haven't checked it out.

www.sternsgym.com

619Rules · « **Reply #882 on:** July 03, 2005, 06:05:05 PM »

Stern's Gym has never been downtown, but it is off a Universirty Ave, a major east west thoroughfare.

It is still upstairs, still an old school hardcore gym with not too much newer equipment-has new leg presses and leg equipment-but that is about it, Arnold sent the a letter when they had their, like 55th anniversary.

Sterns is cool. I am not on their web site as someone else has posted the pics and said they were me

There are so many good gyms in San Diego today that you can literally workout at 30 different gyms and always get in a good workout. 15 years ago there were only about 5 that were good.

knny187 · « **Reply #883 on:** July 03, 2005, 06:55:39 PM »

Rules.....I don't know if you heard...but the Powerhouse in Poway went "tits-up" & sold.

A trainer that I know just bought it & he's going to make it a personal training studio/gym.

He's laughed at the thought about taking on the Powerhouse franchise.

Geo · « **Reply #884 on:** July 03, 2005, 08:31:14 PM »

Quote from: knny187 on July 02, 2005, 11:20:05 AM

I believe he was an Army Ranger

rick was'nt in the army

air force for one tour

619Rules · « **Reply #885 on:** July 03, 2005, 09:23:51 PM »

Quote from: Geo on July 03, 2005, 08:31:14 PM

rick was'nt in the army

air force for one tour

Rick told me Army, and he said the tattoo he has on his left delt is a Ranger tattoo, which is Army special forces.

If you were in the service with him give us the scoop.

onlyme · « **Reply #886 on:** July 03, 2005, 09:38:50 PM »

literally just spent over 2 hours on the phones with Pete G. Told him about the site and he will see if you can get on. I told him some of the stories and people on here on and he loved it. It's just that he is not very computer savvy.

They invited him to go the Gold's Convention next week in Vegas. Not sure if he is going he said. He'l will be at the Olympia since I told him I will probably be there. he is trying to get to the USA at the end of the month.

I was going through this board and just emntioning names and he knew everyone one of them and had other stories about them. he had a really good Waller story about Ken choking a girl with her ostrich boa.

I was telling him how some people bugging me about my lifts and that they think I do it now. he laughed. he has seen me lift quite a bit. That pic of him and the twins doing the BNP he said they could easily do 6 reps and more with it.

He has a really memory for that stuff.So hopefully he'll come on here. he will be a blast to read.

Geo · « **Reply #887 on:** July 03, 2005, 10:26:17 PM »

Quote from: 619Rules on July 03, 2005, 09:23:51 PM

Rick told me Army, and he said the tattoo he has on his left delt is a Ranger tattoo, which is Army special forces.

If you were in the service with him give us the scoop.

I was with rick the night before he went to boot camp (in the army) and his aim was to join the a rangers and we got totally hammered here in oceanside,well the next day he reported to boot camp whick at the time was being held in solana beach and they told him the made and error on some of his paper work (appeantly the corrected his ASVAB wrong or something.......

well.......

long story short he changed his mind about actually jumping out of planes so elected to go into the air force so that he could fix them (the Air Force) instead...

I hav'nt talked to rick in close to a year but I hear he's doing well in Northern California growing garlic up in Gilroy or somewhere

Dan-O · « **Reply #888 on:** July 03, 2005, 11:12:31 PM »

Are you guys sure you're talking about the same guy? Because Rick Stephenson does have "Ranger" tattooed on his left delt and I remember him telling a story about taunting "propheads" in a restaurant one time.

Geo · « **Reply #889 on:** July 03, 2005, 11:16:51 PM »

who the hell's rick stephanson ?

stuntmovie · « **Reply #890 on:** July 03, 2005, 11:18:29 PM »

Thanks, Geo, Rules, and Knny. Interesting to see what some of the guys are doing after the bodybuilding bug fades away.

I've just managed to get in contact with two Marines who ran base gyms (El Toro and Camp Pendleton) back in the 60's to see how their lives turned out.

Both were great bodybuilders who could have made names for themselves. I'll finish this one up after a couple more emails to each of them.

Thanks for the Sterns Gym link, Knny.

Only, I just had a couple of beers with an old friend of Curtis' and he says that Curtis did PBN's with 550 for three on a routine basis. Possible?

?

Geo · « **Reply #891 on:** July 03, 2005, 11:23:35 PM »

Quote from: stuntmovie on July 03, 2005, 11:18:29 PM

Thanks, Geo, Rules, and Knny.

you're welcome stuntmovie and if there's anything else you ever want to know about bodybuilders that lived in San Diego just give me a shout out because I love talking about bodybuilders from the years gone past

Dan-O · « **Reply #892 on:** July 03, 2005, 11:31:51 PM »

I've met and/or trained with all the great amateurs out of the great state of Utah (a veritable bodybuilding hotbed) who have been featured in FLEX magazine.

That would be a whopping two people, D'Marko Blewett and Samantha Madsen. $:-\$

Sam and I trained at the same gym for a while, sometime between '97-99. That gym has been closed for a few years now. She was very nice and even sorta pretty for a female BB and taught me a tip or two that were taught to her by Larry Scott, whom I consider a bodybuilding genius. But I've never met Larry personally (yet).

stuntmovie · « **Reply #893 on:** July 04, 2005, 12:10:38 AM »

Dan-O. here's a bad photo of Larry. Got some good ones but they are packed away till I arrive at my next destination.

Second pic is someone whom I should remember because he was among the top guys at some of the nationals in the 70's. Any help?
-------------------------------------
Geo, how far back can you go? Here's a BB I've been looking for for many years. I think his name was Von Lamon and he was great in his day as an amateur. I heard that he cut his leg pretty seriously with a chainsaw but eventually recovered and got back into shape.

This all occured in the early 60's and I haven't heard anything since. Funny how his name just popped up when you mentioned San Diego.

Way back around that same time someone had a small shack of a gym along the broadwalk at Mission Beach within a block or two from the roller coaster. You could walk out the beachside door and walk four or five feet, hop over a small wall and you were on the beach.

One day the gym owner promoted a fitness shin-dig on the beach in front of his place and we entered one of our Marines who had some of the best shaped arms in the universe. We placed him in the chin-up contest and he kept going and going and going.

He won it easily and then they asked him to enter the BB contest but he was too darn shy to hop into a pair of posing trunks. He would have won that easily too.

DO you recall that little gym?

And there was one notable bodybuilder in San Diego who everyone was praising way back then and even later into the 70's, but I forgot his name too. Any help?

And another name I should remember because I posted something about him a few months back ............. but he had that gym along the PCH south of Oceanside by the racetrack. It looked more like a shack than a structure and it was no further than 10 feet from the main highway with a nice sandy beach in the rear. Haaaaaaaaaaaa ...... Ralph Kroger! That's his name. Just popped up! Do you recall Ralph?

stuntmovie · « **Reply #894 on:** July 04, 2005, 12:17:02 AM »

Dan-O, there was a young guy from Sandy Utah a while back who got a lot of publicity in some of the national magazines for a short while but suddently dropped out of sight.

Got any idea who I may be talking about?

knny187 · « **Reply #895 on:** July 04, 2005, 08:14:12 AM »

Quote from: Geo on July 03, 2005, 11:16:51 PM

who the hell's rick stephanson ?

I guess Rick commutes from Delmar to Gilroy all the time

& Rules.....you're correct.

I've even heard him telling some "Ranger" stories.

Geo · « **Reply #896 on:** July 04, 2005, 10:07:57 AM »

it's Del Mar....... einstien

welcome to Southern California

p.s. only chicks eat california burritos

knny187 · « **Reply #897 on:** July 04, 2005, 11:33:40 AM »

Geo....this board is not for you.....

you can never be taken seriously.

Milly · « **Reply #898 on:** July 04, 2005, 12:46:57 PM »

one of the gyms I used to train at in toronto is owned by a guy named Mark kehr who used to be part of that whole Venice scene, there were alot of pics of him on the walls doing weider endorsements etc and he was a top heavyweight in the us.

Bossa · « **Reply #899 on:** July 04, 2005, 12:48:59 PM »

Quote from: Milly on July 04, 2005, 12:46:57 PM

one of the gyms I used to train at in toronto is owned by a guy named Mark kehr who used to be part of that whole Venice scene, there were alot of pics of him on the walls doing weider endorsements etc and he was a top heavyweight in the us.

What gym was this? It still around?