Also a lot of people don't realize that Lou quit just as there was a big leap in chemical inhancements...stuff like HGH, insulin, and before the chemical guru's...Lou basically worked out on his own in a basement without a training partner.....and he had only his father to guide him..if he had one of those so-called "gurus" like all the guys do today and he had access to all the stuff they have today he would have been incredible for his size
Lou did go to a gym and his basement for his lifting, but his father didn't guide him. That was all made up for Pumping Iron. After the 75 Olympia, Joe Weider offered to train Ferrigno in Cali, but his dad told him to give up bodybuilding and start in a real trade. He had training in sheet metal, and moved to Columbus, Ohio and worked for Purdie Metals. I don't know if he knew that the Olympia was gonna start being there or it was just coincidence that he took a job here.
A buddy of mine worked in a factory near the one Lou worked at, and the workers of both factories would eat their lunch together by some railroad tracks. My friend said Lou was the nicest guy, but that was before he was famous. My buddy worked out with Lou at Otterbein College's weightroom, and it took 2 or 3 guys to spot him on the bench.