This is more like several years old.
Platz is a good guy. Got to know him quite well back in my MuscleMag days. Spent a few days out in Venice with him when he was pushing the Big Beyond Belief stuff. We trained, ate, drove around, etc.
The thing with Tom is, he's VERY passionate when he speaks. One time Tom and me were eating at The Keg Mansion in Toronto and got around to talking about training/squatting. His eyes bulged and he got so intense it started to frighten the other diners (ha, ha).
It's unfortunate, but time has largely forgotten abot Tom Platz. Seems to be the fate of many ex-BB champions. Especially those who don't win the Olympia. (But even them, too. Dickerson, anyone? Cutler ain't gonna be remembered much, either, I don't think.)
To this day, few can claim to be as natural a squatter as was Tom. He told me once that had he focussed solely on maximum poundage, he believe he could have squatted 1,000. I believe it. Something like a month before the '85 Olympia he hit a set of 12 with 635. And this is pure Olympic style and with zero equipment, save for a belt.
He told me he didn't like to venture above 700 much for fear of injury, but on any given day, at his best, he could EASILY hit sets of 10 with 600. And his reps were always ass-to-grass.
I wish him well in life, He always treated me with respect and friendliness.