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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: Ron on December 31, 2020, 10:23:40 AM

Title: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Ron on December 31, 2020, 10:23:40 AM

From Anne Byron McGough

On Tuesday 29th December, 2020  just before 3pm, Peter McGough sadly passed away peacefully at home after an 8 year battle with Cancer fighting right to the end . He was my one true love, my soulmate and my best friend I am truly heartbroken. Peter touched so many lives, he was a great storyteller, journalist and friend to all. He made a huge impact on the world. I have asked two of his very close friends to write a more fitting memorium as I am unable to do so at the moment. I cannot tell you how much Peter and I have appreciated from the bottom of our hearts the love and support we have received from family, friends and all of our facebook friends. His imlact on the world will live on in our hearts amd minds. I love you all. Please excuse me for not replying to your comments right now but I promise I will fead them all and reply when I am able.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: King Shizzo on December 31, 2020, 10:26:34 AM
A titan in the bodybuilding industry.  He will be missed.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: OneMoreRep on December 31, 2020, 10:28:25 AM
RIP

"1"
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: robcguns on December 31, 2020, 10:31:29 AM
That’s sad to hear.Rip.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Taffin on December 31, 2020, 10:52:47 AM
No way - saw him at many shows years ago - nice fella by all accounts

I remember the way he got behind Dorian in the early '90s.  There was a brief spell where he launched a bodybuilding newspaper - The Pumping Press - very cool for the UK scene at the time

(https://i.postimg.cc/ZqFtV9R1/u-https-i-ebayimg-com-images-g-IEEAAOSw-ZMZa0-VOT-s-l300.jpg)

And the way he consistently bad-mouthed the WBF and 'bigged-up' the IFBB, to the extent he ended up a Weider writer - nicely played - we all know it's a small number of people that actually make a living from this ridiculous nonsense

PIP

Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Megalodon on December 31, 2020, 10:55:12 AM
Very nice guy. RIP
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Mr.1derful on December 31, 2020, 10:55:29 AM
Peter was a good guy.  A shame he had to be sick for so long.  He put up a good fight and will be missed.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: BayGBM on December 31, 2020, 11:15:40 AM
Rest In Peace.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: chaos on December 31, 2020, 11:35:00 AM
RIP
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: BB on December 31, 2020, 11:40:09 AM
RIP. I enjoyed his posts on various forums over the years.

If there is a brightside to this, he was a tough guy to get 8 years out of a diagnosis like that, and hopefully he got to settle up peacefully and on his own terms.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Bevo on December 31, 2020, 11:47:22 AM
When I started reading bbing magazines in the 90’s he was the first name I’ve heard about in the industry :'(
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: oldschoolfan on December 31, 2020, 11:54:22 AM
when i was a  young puny bodybuilder buying flex magazines, peter i beleive at the time was one of the main writers of flex.  i always enjoyed his articles.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Matt on December 31, 2020, 12:25:23 PM
When I was a young manlet [as opposed to an older manlet], Peter McGough was one of the first bodybuilding reporters/journalists I read, in issues of FLEX magazine from bodybuilding's Ironage [Starting mid- to late November 2000, which means the first FLEX magazines that I bought at Canada's now-defunct Ironage retailer Zellers were the ones dated early 2001, as they always came out a month or two earlier than the printed date].

In one issue, Peter McGough said fans had accused Nasser El Sonbaty of looking dopey on stage, and assumed he was suffering from liver failure as a result [jaundice eyes, maybe].  To which Nasser responded that he gets his heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver checked three or four times a year.  That was my early introduction to the toxicity of competitive bodybuilding [why would a pro bodybuilder check his vital organs so often if that level of bodybuilding was healthy?].

McGough then wrote something close to "As for calling El Sonbaty "dopey", the only thing I call a man who competes at 287-lb is "Sir"."

Hence starting a long timeframe of me assuming pro bodybuilders could beat up manlet MMA fighters.

Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: wes on December 31, 2020, 01:13:02 PM
RIP
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Taffin on December 31, 2020, 01:46:54 PM

In one issue, Peter McGough said fans had accused Nasser El Sonbaty of looking dopey on stage, and assumed he was suffering from liver failure as a result [jaundice eyes, maybe].  To which Nasser responded that he gets his heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver checked three or four times a year.  That was my early introduction to the toxicity of competitive bodybuilding [why would a pro bodybuilder check his vital organs so often if that level of bodybuilding was healthy?].

McGough then wrote something close to "As for calling El Sonbaty "dopey", the only thing I call a man who competes at 287-lb is "Sir"."



Not wishing to muddy Mr Gough's thread at all, but that 'response' from Nasser doesn't appear to have aged well (knowing what we do now...)
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Rusty Trombone on December 31, 2020, 11:12:19 PM
No way - saw him at many shows years ago - nice fella by all accounts

I remember the way he got behind Dorian in the early '90s.  There was a brief spell where he launched a bodybuilding newspaper - The Pumping Press - very cool for the UK scene at the time

(https://i.postimg.cc/ZqFtV9R1/u-https-i-ebayimg-com-images-g-IEEAAOSw-ZMZa0-VOT-s-l300.jpg)


And the way he consistently bad-mouthed the WBF and 'bigged-up' the IFBB, to the extent he ended up a Weider writer - nicely played - we all know it's a small number of people that actually make a living from this ridiculous nonsense

PIP

  :o
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Rusty Trombone on December 31, 2020, 11:17:59 PM
RIP and schmoe in heaven
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: NarcissisticDeity on January 01, 2021, 01:14:05 AM
That truly suck! Peter was a great guy spoke with him on Ironage many times. Always took the time to answer questions had a wealth of bodybuilding knowledge. Rest in peace.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: johnny1 on January 01, 2021, 02:43:43 AM
RIP Peter was 1 of the better guys in the industry was a straight shooter and actually took a genuine interest in the individuals rather than the system wealth of knowledge gone 1 bye 1 the old school guys are passing on  :( :( :(
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Humble Narcissist on January 01, 2021, 03:08:30 AM
when i was a  young puny bodybuilder buying flex magazines, peter i beleive at the time was one of the main writers of flex.  i always enjoyed his articles.
X2     RIP
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: oldtimer1 on January 01, 2021, 06:04:36 AM
I enjoyed his writing. Especially about Dorian.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Cook on January 01, 2021, 06:28:53 AM
R.I.P.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: pamith on January 01, 2021, 07:01:02 AM
This is sad :( RIP
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: a_pupil on January 01, 2021, 07:22:17 AM
2020

SIP  :'(
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Van_Bilderass on January 01, 2021, 10:44:33 AM


In one issue, Peter McGough said fans had accused Nasser El Sonbaty of looking dopey on stage, and assumed he was suffering from liver failure as a result [jaundice eyes, maybe].  To which Nasser responded that he gets his heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver checked three or four times a year.  That was my early introduction to the toxicity of competitive bodybuilding [why would a pro bodybuilder check his vital organs so often if that level of bodybuilding was healthy?].


Recently Chad Nicholls said Nasser loved Anadrol and injectable Winstrol. Nasser said his eyes were yellow and Chad asked how many drols he was taking - 5 a day.
Not a monstrous amount but especially when combined with everything else can definitely cause jaundice.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Never1AShow on January 01, 2021, 11:41:28 AM
RIP, enjoyed the writing way back when.  Should have counseled Dorian to keep long hair.

How do you pronounce his last name?  Mc-Gow, Mc-Go, Mc-Gaw, Mc-Guff?
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Megalodon on January 01, 2021, 11:48:03 AM
RIP, enjoyed the writing way back when.  Should have counseled Dorian to keep long hair.

How do you pronounce his last name?  Mc-Gow, Mc-Go, Mc-Gaw, Mc-Guff?

Mc-Guff
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Taffin on January 01, 2021, 01:13:14 PM
  :o


Fair enough - that did make me grin  ;D
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: BB on January 01, 2021, 01:15:15 PM
RIP, enjoyed the writing way back when.  Should have counseled Dorian to keep long hair.

How do you pronounce his last name?  Mc-Gow, Mc-Go, Mc-Gaw, Mc-Guff?

He pronounced it very close to - Mcgaoff or McGauff.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: ChristopherA on January 01, 2021, 01:35:12 PM
X2     RIP
X3. 20yrs after the fact I doubt I could name another writer from Flex but I remember Peter. He's the original fanboy the way he always talked up Yates. RIP
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: illuminati on January 01, 2021, 02:32:33 PM
RIP Peter

One of the more decent ones
Wrote some good articles & Always a Big Dorian Fan.

He will be Missed.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Matt on January 01, 2021, 03:21:59 PM
X3. 20yrs after the fact I doubt I could name another writer from Flex but I remember Peter. He's the original fanboy the way he always talked up Yates. RIP

It's funny, but he's the only one I remember too...well, Sean Perrine too.  Other names would come back to me...but I never forgot Peter.  I definitely remember him the most.  I think that was a combination of his excellent writing, and remaining active in the industry for so long.

Sean Perrine was also an excellent writer.  They were almost poets.

In fact, the only FLEX article I can remember with writing as excellent as either Peter or Sean, would have been in this chest article, written by Ronnie Coleman:

Quote
The harder you train, it seems, the slower your progress.  You obey all the rules using good form, hard and heavy, proper pyramiding, and a regimen so precise that the Greenwich prime meridian bends to your schedule...but your chest remains the same.  Sure, it's thick, swollen and proportioned, but you want it bigger.  You want to watch it grow, see it move, bulging and distorting like a Lava Lite in front of a funhouse mirror.

Ronnie is incredibly articulate.

https://www.muscleandfitness.com/flexonline/training/12-week-plan-massive-chest
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Matt on January 01, 2021, 03:24:44 PM
Quote
Greenwich prime meridian

Hmm...on closer inspection, that article may have been ghost-written by Peter McGough.

Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Earl1972 on January 01, 2021, 03:36:16 PM
always enjoyed his articles in flex

one i really remember is in 2003 after ronnie won the O and brought the freakiest body to stage we ever saw

peter asked if what ronnie did to get that body was worth it

E
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Van_Bilderass on January 01, 2021, 04:52:49 PM
Peter is the only name I really remember as far as Flex writers - it was when I really got into bb. Wonder what kind of salary he was making.

I think it was BB who posted a pic of Greg Zulak recently so I went on Zulak's FB, and Zulak said he was training a bit and taking a bit of testosterone but couldn't afford a "proper cycle". Looked like he was living below the poverty line. I was a bit sad for him, if I knew him I might have gifted him some gear to take in his old age. If you can't afford a vial of Deca and perhaps a few orals, that's sad, no way to live your last years.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: BB on January 01, 2021, 05:09:25 PM
Zulak now -

(https://images.classmates.com/pho301/E/Q/x/X/4925337397_display.jpg).

(https://images.classmates.com/pho301/1/b/a/5/4931566453_display.jpg).

Zulak 1985 -

(https://gregzulak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Bob-Kennedy-Marjo-Selin-Greg-Zulak.jpg).

-----------------------------

He was trying to get a guruing / online business going maybe a decade ago. He promised a tell-all book, and there was some interest, but it fizzled away after a few months. I think the age gap had something to do with it, he took too much of a break from the industry, and people forgot. If he maybe started an online show like Drasin, and slowly reintroduced himself, he might've had more success.

His place holder website is up, but it hasn't changed in years :( -

https://gregzulak.com .

That's one thing I remember about Zulak, he didn't push. He seemed happy just to have the MuscleMag audience.

Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Royalty on January 01, 2021, 05:33:13 PM
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJeYoWBLOgq/
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Ronnie Rep on January 01, 2021, 06:36:28 PM
RIP great writer and quality human being.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Taffin on January 01, 2021, 06:43:02 PM
Peter is the only name I really remember as far as Flex writers - it was when I really got into bb. Wonder what kind of salary he was making.

Julian Schmidt (aka our very own Kahn n Singh  ;)) was one of my faves - guaranteed I'd need a thesaurus each time I read his florid prose (e.g. Lou Ferrigno's 'stentorian roar' when training)


I think it was BB who posted a pic of Greg Zulak recently so I went on Zulak's FB, and Zulak said he was training a bit and taking a bit of testosterone but couldn't afford a "proper cycle". Looked like he was living below the poverty line. I was a bit sad for him, if I knew him I might have gifted him some gear to take in his old age. If you can't afford a vial of Deca and perhaps a few orals, that's sad, no way to live your last years.

 ;D
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Earl1972 on January 01, 2021, 06:49:49 PM
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJeYoWBLOgq/

i was surprised he was only 71, he always looked like he was in his 60's including this 30 year old pic

E
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Humble Narcissist on January 02, 2021, 02:07:08 AM
Peter is the only name I really remember as far as Flex writers - it was when I really got into bb. Wonder what kind of salary he was making.

I think it was BB who posted a pic of Greg Zulak recently so I went on Zulak's FB, and Zulak said he was training a bit and taking a bit of testosterone but couldn't afford a "proper cycle". Looked like he was living below the poverty line. I was a bit sad for him, if I knew him I might have gifted him some gear to take in his old age. If you can't afford a vial of Deca and perhaps a few orals, that's sad, no way to live your last years.
It's weird seeing people who were once famous living in poverty.  There are people retired from Wal Mart living better than that.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Hypertrophy on January 02, 2021, 08:55:38 AM
Yep. A minimum wage job with wise money management x 40 years is safer than the entrepreneur/against the grain route.

If you make it as an entrepreneur, you make it big, but more often than not it's an unstable income source.


lol - uh no. I dumped the "stable job" and became an entrepreneur years ago. Yes - you can make it big. Enough said.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Humble Narcissist on January 03, 2021, 02:36:05 AM
Just another closet homo biting the dust .
I think he was pretty open about it.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: kepler2008 on January 03, 2021, 05:50:06 AM
RIP
A great and well-known bodybuilding historian.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Van_Bilderass on January 03, 2021, 01:35:32 PM
Julian Schmidt (aka our very own Kahn n Singh  ;)) was one of my faves - guaranteed I'd need a thesaurus each time I read his florid prose (e.g. Lou Ferrigno's 'stentorian roar' when training)


 ;D

That fella I remember now as well, had no idea he was Kahn.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: tommywishbone on January 03, 2021, 06:46:42 PM
He shot the legendary Dorian black & white pictures in 1992. That alone is an entire awesome career.   

PIP.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Matt on January 03, 2021, 08:14:27 PM
always enjoyed his articles in flex

one i really remember is in 2003 after ronnie won the O and brought the freakiest body to stage we ever saw

peter asked if what ronnie did to get that body was worth it

E

I think the title of that article was called "Redemption?  But at What Cost?"  And inspired the title of Ronnie's DVD "The Cost of Redemption."

I also remember that article very well.  One thing McGough said was something like "The extent and depth to which Ronnie's glutes connected to his hamstrings must reflect some degree of how intense his squatting program [or "regiment"] was."

The next year [2004], there was an article featuring Ronnie Coleman squatting nine plates per side [855-lb], and Ronnie got a nosebleed from it.  That may have been the same article where he was doing t-bar rows, and the handle broke.

A thread on Mayhem blew up about that article, possibly featuring a response from John Romano at MD, where he said something like "How is dying young from bodybuilding/steroids any different than dying young from diabetes or liver failure [implication - McGough would die young of this]."

Romano also said that McGough's daughter was hot, in that article.  That he sat behind her at one of the Olympias or something.  Maybe she's around 45 now, but I don't know.  She must be very sad right now.

Not sure if I got all those details right, but close enough, I think.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Titus Pullo on January 04, 2021, 12:48:00 PM
Julian Schmidt (aka our very own Kahn n Singh  ;)) was one of my faves - guaranteed I'd need a thesaurus each time I read his florid prose (e.g. Lou Ferrigno's 'stentorian roar' when training)


 ;D

Heh :)

I elevate Khan above Schmidt.  For one, Khan is a genetically engineered ubermensch; Julian, meanwhile, was merely intelligent opposite normal, unmodified homo sapiens -- no match for a homo superioiris.

Secondly, Julian's writing focused unduly on million dollar words and almost stream of consciousness missives that had little bearing on the subject at hand.  A fine vocabulary is commendable but, when coupled with constant digressive spiels, we reach a point at which the writer forgets the cardinal rule of good writing and communication:  the ability to be understood.
 
Studying Ernest Hemingway taught me that lesson.  Later study of different writing styles in literature, journalism and public relations reinforced it, but Papa was the one who showed me the power of "more is less."

Consider:  "Jesus wept" versus "Jesus, tears in his eyes, suffered on the cross."  Which has more impact? 

We already know he suffered.  We already know the means by which He was executed. 

Most would agree the first line connotes all of the information we need and, consequently, it comes across with greater power.

Our Khan doesn't multiply words for verbosity's sake.  Schmidt?  Eh, I don't know.  But from my interactions with Mr. McGough, I don't care how many articles he ghost-writ:  he was a class-act, gentleman and a neat guy.  I hope he rests in eternal peace.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Vince B on January 05, 2021, 02:35:40 AM
Julian Schmidt (aka our very own Kahn n Singh  ;)) was one of my faves - guaranteed I'd need a thesaurus each time I read his florid prose (e.g. Lou Ferrigno's 'stentorian roar' when training)


 ;D

According to Flex Magazine, Julian Schmidt died in 2015. Kahn n Singh is still posting on Getbig recently. Can't be the same guy.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Vince B on January 05, 2021, 02:40:46 AM
From Anne Byron McGough

On Tuesday 29th December, 2020  just before 3pm, Peter McGough sadly passed away peacefully at home after an 8 year battle with Cancer fighting right to the end . He was my one true love, my soulmate and my best friend I am truly heartbroken. Peter touched so many lives, he was a great storyteller, journalist and friend to all. He made a huge impact on the world. I have asked two of his very close friends to write a more fitting memorium as I am unable to do so at the moment. I cannot tell you how much Peter and I have appreciated from the bottom of our hearts the love and support we have received from family, friends and all of our facebook friends. His imlact on the world will live on in our hearts amd minds. I love you all. Please excuse me for not replying to your comments right now but I promise I will fead them all and reply when I am able.


Those of us who once aspired to be a muscle magazine writer know how fickle that occupation is. Goodness knows what some of those guys had to do to get and keep their jobs. It wasn't that long ago that Shawn Perine was chosen ahead of Peter McGough to head Flex magazine. Perhaps Peter's health had something to do with that decision. I agree that Peter was respected in the Iron Game. According to most here editors are quickly forgotten by readers.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: TheGreatOak on January 05, 2021, 05:58:52 AM

Those of us who once aspired to be a muscle magazine writer know how fickle that occupation is. Goodness knows what some of those guys had to do to get and keep their jobs. It wasn't that long ago that Shawn Perrine was chosen ahead of Peter McGough to head Flex magazine. Perhaps Peter's health had something to do with that decision. I agree that Peter was respected in the Iron Game. According to most here editors are quickly forgotten by readers.

I thought you've been around long enough to know the correct spelling of Shawn's name, Vince, not the incorrect way some people spelled it on this forum when Shawn passed.

It's Shawn Perine, with one r.
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: Ron on January 14, 2021, 08:20:51 PM

Great article by Greg Merritt, who worked for Peter at Flex Magazine and Weider for a long time. 
  Thank you Greg!
 

THE LIFE OF PETER MCGOUGH (1949-2020)

https://www.thebarbell.com/the-life-of-peter-mcgough-1949-2020/?fbclid=IwAR3wNaG5zDuwYOTjX0NvpAYP9y3D0YhNiOnB75lrrKfiuiT7IXVKiFPVY04
Title: Re: RIP - Peter McGough
Post by: falco on January 15, 2021, 01:01:19 PM
RIP.