The WBF: Twenty year anniversary

[GHGut]

So 20 years ago Vince McMahon tried his hand at bodybuilding.

We all know how that worked out, but what I find amusing now is to look back at the premier issue of "Bodybuilding Lifestyles" magazine with Jimmy Quinn on the cover.

Yeah, most of us remember the original 13 WBF signees--Jim Quinn, Mike Quinn, Gary Strydom, Mike Christian, Aaron Baker, David Dearth, Eddie Robinson, Troy Zuccalto, Danny Padilla, Tony Pearson, etc.

But what's really funny to me in retrospect is who else is in that first magazine. There is an article on Bev Francis by Allyson Hayden. There is a pictorial spread of Jim Quinn, Troy Z., Aaron Baker, and Rich Gaspari (!) on a football field. [Was Gaspari going WBF?]. Roger Stewart is throughout the magazine. And there is a chest training article illustrated with pics of IFBB stalwart Bob Chick training chest.

Funny.

[littleguns]

I really wished that it took off, granted 13 people was a little small to start off with but I wouldn't be surprised if Gaspari was being considered as well as Louie but of course decided against this for whatever be...

IMO Jim Quinn was one of the first mass monsters and was a true heavy lifter

[GHGut]

Jim is a personal trainer in NYC. He still looks great!
I got to train with him and one of his clients a couple of weeks ago and the guy knows what he's doing. I said to him, Jim, did you train this smart when you were competing and he basically laughed and said heck no.

[tommywishbone]

"Troy Zuccolotto has abs like a can of ravioli!!"  -Bobby The Brain Hennan

[Figo]

Jim is a personal trainer in NYC. He still looks great!
I got to train with him and one of his clients a couple of weeks ago and the guy knows what he's doing. I said to him, Jim, did you train this smart when you were competing and he basically laughed and said heck no.

next time ask him what was Flex's bodyfat at 93 mr o please

[Montague]

next time ask him what was Flex's bodyfat at 93 mr o please

It was -0.2% according to his autobiography.

[Hulkster]

"Troy Zuccolotto has abs like a can of ravioli!!"  -Bobby The Brain Hennan

I always remember Gorilla Monsoon talking about how great the biceps were on Berry DeMey.

(which was odd because his bis were good but not spectacular)

Then Bobby made some joke about DeJune or something LOL.

[Fatpanda]

its a pity this didn't take off - bodybuilding wouldn't be the joke it is now if it did.

kai could be himself and people would think its an act 

[littleguns]

Ironically people like Strydom and Quinn made more money in the 2 yr tenure then they would have competing for 10 yrs.....although many thought it was suicide and exile from IFBB....financially..no way

[MCWAY]

So 20 years ago Vince McMahon tried his hand at bodybuilding.

We all know how that worked out, but what I find amusing now is to look back at the premier issue of "Bodybuilding Lifestyles" magazine with Jimmy Quinn on the cover.

Yeah, most of us remember the original 13 WBF signees--Jim Quinn, Mike Quinn, Gary Strydom, Mike Christian, Aaron Baker, David Dearth, Eddie Robinson, Troy Zuccalto, Danny Padilla, Tony Pearson, etc.

But what's really funny to me in retrospect is who else is in that first magazine. There is an article on Bev Francis by Allyson Hayden. There is a pictorial spread of Jim Quinn, Troy Z., Aaron Baker, and Rich Gaspari (!) on a football field. [Was Gaspari going WBF?]. Roger Stewart is throughout the magazine. And there is a chest training article illustrated with pics of IFBB stalwart Bob Chick training chest.

Funny.

Gaspari claimed that McMahon offered him a 2-year, $250,000 deal, which he almost took. But, Gaspari thought he still had a shot at winning the Olympia, plus, he didn't want to risk being banned from the IFBB. He was, to say the least, FURIOUS when the WBF folded and the once-IFBB pros were allowed to return. He could have made the money and still kept his IFBB pro card.

A lot more than the 13 guys...well 10 guys....wanted to jump ship (Zuccolotto, Baker, and J. Quinn never competed in an IFBB pro show, before going to the WBF; so why were they fined?).

[JasonH]

its a pity this didn't take off - bodybuilding wouldn't be the joke it is now if it did.

kai could be himself and people would think its an act 

Judging from the pics and videos I've seen of the WBF days I would have said Vince McMahon would have made bodybuilding even more of a joke. The stupid costumes and all the drama just doesn't suit bodybuilding at all. You can't force bodybuilders to have a personality that they don't have.

Let's face it, bodybuilding will never be mainstream because the judging is too subjective and the steroid use required to make it to the top will always put the masses off. It doesn't matter how you dress it up with bells and whistles - it ain't gonna work. Leave bodybuilding as it is - an underground subculture for the few, not for the many.

Kai Greene is an exception - you are right - he would have fitted in with the WBF nicely. That's what makes him unique. I like Kai, he brings a bit of originality to bodybuilding, but if they were all like him? Somehow, I don't think it would work.

[funk51]

So 20 years ago Vince McMahon tried his hand at bodybuilding.

We all know how that worked out, but what I find amusing now is to look back at the premier issue of "Bodybuilding Lifestyles" magazine with Jimmy Quinn on the cover.

Yeah, most of us remember the original 13 WBF signees--Jim Quinn, Mike Quinn, Gary Strydom, Mike Christian, Aaron Baker, David Dearth, Eddie Robinson, Troy Zuccalto, Danny Padilla, Tony Pearson, etc.

But what's really funny to me in retrospect is who else is in that first magazine. There is an article on Bev Francis by Allyson Hayden. There is a pictorial spread of Jim Quinn, Troy Z., Aaron Baker, and Rich Gaspari (!) on a football field. [Was Gaspari going WBF?]. Roger Stewart is throughout the magazine. And there is a chest training article illustrated with pics of IFBB stalwart Bob Chick training chest.

Funny.

         jim quinn used to train shame o-mac  he did a hell of a job there......

[Playboy]

Then when McMahon was indicted for steroid distribution he start drug testing in the WBF as well and all the guys cam in contest shape looking horrid. Especially Mike Quinn.

[Montague]

Then when McMahon was indicted for steroid distribution he start drug testing most of the competitors in the WBF as well and all the guys cam in contest shape looking horrid. Especially Mike Quinn.

Fixed.
 

[MCWAY]

Fixed.
 

And who supposedly didn't get tested?

[bradistani]

its a pity this didn't take off - bodybuilding wouldn't be the joke it is now if it did.

kai could be himself and people would think its an act 

are you mad?

the wbf was camp as fuck and was a right joke lol

[Montague]

And who supposedly didn't get tested?

"Supposedly" is the key word, as these are just rumors, but...
I believe it's been speculated that Strydom was exempt from testing - possibly based on how he looked compared to those (like M.Q.) who were very obviously/visually clean.

[Hulkster]

the WBF guys were let back in but they were buried politically.

look no farther than Aaron Baker.

he got royally screwed at the 1994 Olympia:

this physique placed something like 14th.

 

[MCWAY]

"Supposedly" is the key word, as these are just rumors, but...
I believe it's been speculated that Strydom was exempt from testing - possibly based on how he looked compared to those (like M.Q.) who were very obviously/visually clean.

Strydom looked to be at least 10-15 lbs smaller in '92 than he was in '91. Even McMahon made the comment about that during the broadcast (I actually ordered the show on PPV for $15, the first time I've actually seen a bodybuilding contest the day it happened). "Unbelievable, Gary STRYDOM!! I don't believe he's quite as big as he was last year. But, overall, he may even be better!!".

Jim Quinn was asked in a MuscleMag interview, point blank, whether or not he and Strydom were tested. Quinn stated they both were. Quinn cited that he and Strydom were super-huge, prior to the drug-testing edict, from Mr. McMahon (Quinn claimed he was well over 300 lbs, with Strydom just under three bills).

He also bragged that, because both he and Strydom were so big and because they trained super-heavy, they were able to keep most of their size, even though they were both smaller than they were in '91. As "The Future" told it, when you train the way they do, you don't just shrink like the other guys.

They also cited that, unlike some of their WBF brethren (i.e. Mike Quinn), they didn't try Dr. Mauro Dispasquale's high-fat diet to try and offset the effects of their going off anabolics.

To be honest, the only guy I'd suspect of cheating the test would have been Aaron Baker, as he was the ONLY guy who actually looked better in '92 than he did in '91. That final WBF championship is what really put his career on the map, so to speak.

[MCWAY]

the WBF guys were let back in but they were buried politically.

look no farther than Aaron Baker.

he got royally screwed at the 1994 Olympia:

this physique placed something like 14th.

 

I wouldn't go that far. I posted footage from that particular Olympia. Baker looked a bit smooth, compared to some of the competiton.

Ironically, only three guys from the WBF who returned to the IFBB qualified for the Olympia: Aaron Baker, David Dearth, and Mike Quinn.

[Montague]

Jim Quinn was asked in a MuscleMag interview, point blank, whether or not he and Strydom were tested. Quinn stated they both were. Quinn cited that he and Strydom were super-huge, prior to the drug-testing edict, from Mr. McMahon (Quinn claimed he was well over 300 lbs, with Strydom just under three bills).

Was that the article they did featuring a spread of him, his wife, and daughter today (at the time of the article)?

[MCWAY]

Was that the article they did featuring a spread of him, his wife, and daughter today (at the time of the article)?

I don't remember. I do recall MuscleMag interviewing MIKE Quinn with a spread of him, his wife, and his stepdaughter.

[Montague]

Nevermind.
It was Mike Q.
That was the article in which he talked about tearing a pec while bouncing one night after doing a chest workout earlier in the day.

[Fatpanda]

Judging from the pics and videos I've seen of the WBF days I would have said Vince McMahon would have made bodybuilding even more of a joke. The stupid costumes and all the drama just doesn't suit bodybuilding at all. You can't force bodybuilders to have a personality that they don't have.

Let's face it, bodybuilding will never be mainstream because the judging is too subjective and the steroid use required to make it to the top will always put the masses off. It doesn't matter how you dress it up with bells and whistles - it ain't gonna work. Leave bodybuilding as it is - an underground subculture for the few, not for the many.

Kai Greene is an exception - you are right - he would have fitted in with the WBF nicely. That's what makes him unique. I like Kai, he brings a bit of originality to bodybuilding, but if they were all like him? Somehow, I don't think it would work.

hahahaha you say the wbf was a joke but you like kai ? hahahahaha

wwe is a joke, but it is enjoyable - not that i watch it, but i used too when i was younger.

yes it was comedy, but still athletic athletes competing.

the wbf could have merged with the wwe and acted as bodyguards etc i think it would have been more entertaining than men in thongs posing for queers.

on another note - have you seen celtic's last two games 

barca esq football - kayal, juarez  amazing

neil lennon = hun skelper !