Phenomenal physique but he pushed it past his prime. I saw him at a NY Pro around 2002/2003 and he looked drawn and like he’d aged 20 years. Wonder what he’s up to now.
I think some bodybuilders lie about their age...among other things. Obviously I think that because I wrote out this long post thinking about what you said about Pavol's age, then relating it to other trends in the industry.
In the 2004 Mr. Olympia DVD, it stated that he was 43 years old. I can't recall if it posted a date of birth of 1961, or - and it's been at least 10 years since I watched that DVD, so I am just going from memory - he stated "43 years old".
From my experience, bodybuilders tend not to lie about their heights, but I am not sure where age is on the grand scheme of things that bodybuilders lie about - or possibly are secure about, and tell the truth about. There have been some notable examples of bodybuilders lying about their age - At the 2010 Mr. Olympia press conference, Dennis James said he had lied about his date of birth, which was previously posted on his website and other sources as...either 1967 or 1968 [I forget]. I did not attend the press conference, but I had the good fortune of meeting up with Getbig legend Wiggs later on at the expo, and it was then that Wiggs recounted the story of Dennis James stating his retirement plans because he was either 45 years old or turning 45 years old. I think his month of birth is in the Spring - so that would make the real date of birth of Dennis James at either April or May of 1965 or 1966.
When Melvin Anthony was arrested, I believe his year of birth came out as being either 1969 or 1970. He previously reported a year of birth of 1973.
We all know that Kevin Levrone's age is a confusing matter,
and Will Harris may have had a year of birth between 1960-1964. I remember in 2005 on the MuscleMayhem boards, someone stated that Will - relatively new to the scene at the time - may have been older than some thought, and was potentially hiding his age.
I'm not sure if the reason for this is because bodybuilding attracts a lot of teenage and young adult males, and thus that crowd cannot relate to a bodybuilder in his forties. I remember Branch Warren said that he would tell young guys that it took him 20+ years to build his physique, and that generally they did not want to hear that - of course everyone wants results fast these days, so that isn't surprising.
Janae Kroc/Janae Marie Kroczaleski, formally Matt Kroczaleski was let go from MuscleTech just as he approached the completion of his 8th annual contract - eight full years with MuscleTech - but I think that was reasonable for them to do and not a matter of "discrimination", because MuscleTech hired a male to presumably attract the interest of young males interested in bodybuilding. I think bodybuilders embellish their weight more often than their height, but look at Matt/Janae being listed as 5'9 [174cm]. I am 174cm but wear shoes that probably make me look 176cm barefoot - but having stood next to Matt/Janae and having had the privilege of him granting me an interview, I do believe he is under my height of 174cm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janae_KrocOverall, bodybuilding definitely has wide ranging elements of insecurity throughout the industry based on the constructions and reconstructions of our bodies - essentially to look better naked - and so it's not surprising that we see a lot of people who would want to lie about a particular personal attribute or embellish matters somewhat. Be it the fake plates used by Andy Haman or Brad Castleberry, or the use of synthol by many top bodybuilders, and some lower level bodybuilders to the point of the complete destruction of their own arms. I recall seeing a video of someone who allegedly died from using so much synthol.
I think it's important not to let this stuff take hold of you, and to know when to take a step back if you've gone in deeply in some of the addictive tendencies that we see in the world of bodybuilding. It can be sad stuff - it obviously consumed the lives of some, including Rich Piana, who said he had Body Dysmorphia - basically Bigorexia in his case, but no one gives a fuck because it's a male issue.
Even look at the photos of Pavol Jablonicky in this very thread. Based on the photo quality, I do believe they are from 1997, which would only make Pavol 36 years old. That is my current age, but I would say I probably look young enough to look like Pavol's much younger brother, or possibly his nephew...I don't want to say son, but you never know - he does look pretty aged in the face there. Maybe he was older than the 1960/1961 year of birth based on the stated age of 43 during the 2004 Mr. Olympia contest.
Wiggs uncle looked so young, I thought he was the brother of Wiggs.
I don't know if Wiggs would want me sharing family details on here, but simply put, the uncle of Wiggs I met was the youngest child of the grandmother of Wiggs - hence why he looked so young: he was young + Blacks don't crack.
Take Dexter Jackson - I don't believe Chad Nicholls in the least regarding Dexter allegedly showing his age in his skin at the past Mr. Olympia contest. He looked amazing IMO, including his skin. There is some clear salt and pepper in Dexter's beard at this point - but that's about it.
At 36, I worry a little about things I did not before...I thought about something cool though: if I start using steroids regularly starting at age 40, I could literally go through my forties looking considerably better than I did during my twenties or thirties, heh. That said, at 40, I would hope that I am in a spot where I would want to start thinking of ways to take preventative measures to keep my central nervous system in proper health...rather than start taxing it from that age moving forward.
