Coleman, Wheeler, Levrone, Demayo and Mendenhall video from '91 Nationals

[Earl1972]

Check this out.  I just found this written in the October 1999 issue of Parillo's Performance Press in an article written about bodybuilding competitor Josh Beach. 

In November of 1990 I was introduced to Kevin Levrone at Powerhouse Gym in Linthicum, Maryland.  Kevin at the time was the NPC Maryland State Champion and though he was tiny by his current standards, I could see he was something special.  After meeting Kevin I went home and called my friend Kyle Norris in Knoxville, TN.  Kyle, a Parillo disciple, was the 1989 NPC Junior National Heavyweight Champion and Kyle had his sights set on some national competitions in 1991.  I knew he would be facing the hungry, gifted Levrone, and I told Kyle that he better watch himself at the '91 national shows if Kevin's name was on the contestant list.  I knew as surely as the sun rises in the east that this guy from Maryland would really do some damage.  And he went and did just that.  The rest of Kevin's saga is bodybuilding history.

Whoosh.   

I had no idea you were a Levroneite, Jeff

will you be here for the 2nd annual pic bonanza Novermber 6?

E

[McFarland]

I had no idea you were a Levroneite, Jeff

will you be here for the 2nd annual pic bonanza Novermber 6?

E

Yes, I have been looking forward to it.  Seriously, I've got some good stuff ready to post.   

[Earl1972]

don't tell me what it is, I like to be surprised

E

[body88]

Ronnie C was not frekin natural. Will people ever stop being nieve? You are not that big and ripped o natural

All those guys looked great. Flex looked incredable there.

[Van_Bilderass]

Did you hear where in his acceptance speech for the Weider best poser award he thanked Ed Connors for "making this all possible?"  And I'm telling you, it's just just the growth money or whatever he may have provided.  It was something much more hard to come by.  I've heard Jay Cutler give Ed Connors mad props before, basically crediting him with most of his initial success.  Now he's Mr. Olympia.  You can consider these points from the most superficial perspective or you can look underneath to find the REAL key to the greatness attained by these guys. 

When I finally met Ed at the 2005 San Francisco Pro Invitational, he was adamant in his opinion that "drug use (recreational) is the main factor responsible for the quality decline seen in bodybuilding today."  Demayo succumbed to this fate.   

You mean Ed Connors kept Jay Cutler away from recreational drugs? What exactly does Ed do other than give them a place to stay for free in exchange for walking around in their drawers at his place? That's what I heard from a friend of mine who trained at Venice for a few months, that Ed just liked to look at the guys.

[Debussey]

If you have such animosity towards the game, why frequent or post here?

We all know De Mayo passed on, and it wasnt due to bbing related issues.

Flex was predisposed to kidney issues,and yet chose to abuse the drugs, his choice.

Perhaps Mendenhall had other goals, after getting the shaft for a decade and a half?

Levrone would dwarf anybody, anyday, if he chose to, but he chooses to be marketable to his new industry.

Coleman has achieved every goal, nothing to prove, his life expectancy is not in his, nor anyone's hands, he did what he had to do, knowing the repercussions, last I checked, he's living the good life, and set-up for the future.

Why dont you go watch some Busey reruns or something?

That was easy.

[Van_Bilderass]

Check this shit out...a pro that accompanied Levrone on one of the European Grand Prix tours told me a few interesting things about our man Kevin.  First of all, he said that every time he prepped for a show, that at 8 weeks out, he'd just throw away his cell phone.  He all of a sudden could no longer be contacted, by anyone.  He then said that at some point over the course of the prep he'd begin "locking himself in his bedroom, dressing up in military fatigues and playing army with toy guns and shit for days and days on end.  For just days at a time he'd stay in there."  I'm not sure how this other pro knew this, but he'd have to have gotten it from somewhere...it's just too strange for anyone to have made made up.  Apparently Kevin displayed very strange behavior on the overseas tours as well.  He said he might have seen him eat a total of 2 whole food meals the entire trip but that the rest of the time "he'd just be sitting in the back of the plane drinking straight Jack Daniels.  Every time I saw him he was just drinking hard liquor and then he'd hit the stage and look like he did."

IMO, it takes a very special person to get into a zone like this and if that's what it takes to put on 50 pounds of competitive muscle in right around a year and a half and maybe these behaviors are actually more responsible for his extraordinary legacy than his actual phenotypic genome. 

Check out this clip filmed for American Muscle Magazine right after Levrone's '92 NOC win: 

When I finally got the opportunity to ask Kevin what he was thinking, saying all this shit in the way he did for this segment, he just kinda sheepishly laughed, hung his head, and said, "I don't know, man...I don't know."  In the same conversation he spoke of his macronutrient intake (carbs, protein, fat) in terms of MILLIgrams.  From this I immediately understood that he wasn't exactly well-versed in the more technical aspects of the processes involved in coming to look the way he did.   

   

Milos said in a post that Kevin drank a bottle of Jack Daniels every day during his contest prep. Must be true if it's coming from several places. I've heard that he's an alcoholic. Didn't seem to hurt his bodybuilding though.

Regarding the locking himself up in his apartment, in one of the first articles about him in Flex he said that his secret for success was locking himself up in his closet with a candle and meditating LOL.

[McFarland]

You mean Ed Connors kept Jay Cutler away from recreational drugs? What exactly does Ed do other than give them a place to stay for free in exchange for walking around in their drawers at his place? That's what I heard from a friend of mine who trained at Venice for a few months, that Ed just liked to look at the guys.

The way I see it, Ed Connors knows his bodybuilding so well that he can spot the guys that need encouraging and when he tells them to keep going he does it in such a way that they gain the ability to at least trust his eye for potential, before they've seen enough of their own potential to believe they can become what he knows they can.  I guess Flex Lewis was his last find so he's either stopped looking for these guys or for some reason there haven't been any of them to hit the stage in a few years now.  Maybe he's given up on the sport or perhaps he suspects that today's competitive climes ultimately lead to most of these guys' eventual self-destruction and doesn't wanna see the tragedy keep playing out. 

Basically every pro that was most popular from around 1990 to 1995 was discovered by Ed.

Let's ask Bob Chick who all Ed Connors helped. 

Ed Connors actually found the ABC Network show's first "Bachelor" star Joe Millionaire, real name Evan Marriott.  As far as I know he was one of the last guys to have been living in Ed's house in Santa Monica/Venice before he sold it.   

[Al-Gebra]

The way I see it, Ed Connors knows his bodybuilding so well that he can spot the guys that need encouraging and when he tells them to keep going he does it in such a way that they gain the ability to at least trust his eye for potential, before they've seen enough of their own potential to believe they can become what he knows they can.  I guess Flex Lewis was his last find so he's either stopped looking for these guys or for some reason there haven't been any of them to hit the stage in a few years now.  Maybe he's given up on the sport or perhaps he suspects that today's competitive climes ultimately lead to most of these guys' eventual self-destruction and doesn't wanna see the tragedy keep playing out. 

Basically every pro that was most popular from around 1990 to 1995 was discovered by Ed.

Let's ask Bob Chick who all Ed Connors helped. 

Ed Connors actually found the ABC Network show's first "Bachelor" star Joe Millionaire, real name Evan Marriott.  As far as I know he was one of the last guys to have been living in Ed's house in Santa Monica/Venice before he sold it.   

it might be today's "competitive climes," or it might be that at a certain age a man decides to move on to other things . . .

[Earl1972]

Milos said in a post that Kevin drank a bottle of Jack Daniels every day during his contest prep. Must be true if it's coming from several places. I've heard that he's an alcoholic. Didn't seem to hurt his bodybuilding though.

Regarding the locking himself up in his apartment, in one of the first articles about him in Flex he said that his secret for success was locking himself up in his closet with a candle and meditating LOL.

this is another reason why i'm a big Levroenite

kevin is well rounded and fascinating

there is more to him than just eating, sleeping, and training 24/7

E

[McFarland]

this is another reason why i'm a big Levroenite

kevin is well rounded and fascinating

there is more to him than just eating, sleeping, and training 24/7

E

Earl are you squad-approved?  I'm just checking here.   

[Earl1972]

Earl are you squad-approved?  I'm just checking here.   

they did try to get me to join a while back but I told them to go f**k themselves

i'm a one man owning crew

so no

E

[davidpaul]

Earl are you squad-approved?  I'm just checking here.   

Earl is what is known as a homosexual - a male who has anal pentratative sexual relations with another male.

This from what I know, ithis s against squad policy,.

Hope this helps young Jefferson.

[Earl1972]

Earl is what is known as a homosexual - a male who has anal pentratative sexual relations with another male.

This from what I know, ithis s against squad policy,.

Hope this helps young Jefferson.

do you ever get tired of being wrong

E

[Debussey]

do you ever get tired of being wrong

E

Did you hurl1972 the first time you touched a naked girl?

[Earl1972]

Did you hurl1972 the first time you touched a naked girl?

did you know you spelled "busey" wrong

E