Golds Gym - "The Mecca", when it really was "The Mecca"

[wes]

I remember waaaaay back when I first started lifting weights...looking at S&H and MD mags wondering why Grymko always placed second in the AAU Mr. America contest...........he looked so much better than the winners every time IMO.

This was waaay back when he trained with Padilla who was always very smooth back in those days,but finally realized hos potential and became famous.

[hazbin]

Christ,you`re dwarfing those guys!! 

ya, weird sport hey?

[hazbin]

I remember waaaaay back when I first started lifting weights...looking at S&H and MD mags wondering why Grymko always placed second in the AAU Mr. America contest...........he looked so much better than the winners every time IMO.

This was waaay back when he trained with Padilla who was always very smooth back in those days,but finally realized hos potential and became famous.

i had read Pete had his drug use monitered by the Rochester university and because of that they wouldn't let him win. too public about it

[wes]

More of Pete.....one of the first mass monsters and he had a tiny waist !!   

[wes]

i had read Pete had his drug use monitered by the Rochester university and because of that they wouldn't let him win. too public about it

I believe I remember hearing that years later also.

Like the rest of the contestants were all natural!! 

[wes]

ya, weird sport hey?

Yup,completely weird!!

I hate trying to explain competing and its ins and outs to people who don`t train.

They look at me like I`m from another fucking planet or something.

First you rip your body apart by pitting it against black iron  everyday,then you eat like a Spartan for 16-20 weeks or more,then you shave off all bodyhair,lie in a tanning bed,also put on a fake tan that looks fake,rub oil into your muscles,put on trunks that resemble your wifes smallest panties,and pose in front of hundreds of people!!

Wonder why they don`t get it  















LOL  

[hazbin]

Christ,you`re dwarfing those guys!! 

that contest was really disappointing. it was the Western Canadian Championships. that would have been a nice title to have. they stopped having it after that. you go straight from provincials to nationals. i did the nationals several times but never even got looked at. just decorated the curtains at the back of the stage.

[hazbin]

I guess we`ll just have to post some Grymko shots ! 

looking at Pete back then you would think his skeleton was three feet wide. seeing him now it is amazing how narrow his shoulders are. you wonder how he could have built so much width. and why someone like Heath can't get wider.

[Max_Rep]

Christ,you`re dwarfing those guys!! 

I'll second that.

[wes]

that contest was really disappointing. it was the Western Canadian Championships. that would have been a nice title to have. they stopped having it after that. you go straight from provincials to nationals. i did the nationals several times but never even got looked at. just decorated the curtains at the back of the stage.

I know that feeling!!

My friend and old time legendary bodybuilder Dave Mastorakis was showing us old pics of some of his contests once................in one pic he looked outstanding and easily looked better than other guy in the comparison shots as well as relaxed.

I said,geezus Dave you killed those guys.......he said,Tim,I didn`t even place in that show at all!! 

Like Bob Chick says,sometimes it`s the elevator,sometimes the shaft!! 

Weird though that at certain shows you know damned well you should have placed better,but didn`t.........very disappointing.

[hazbin]

I know that feeling!!

My friend and old time legendary bodybuilder Dave Mastorakis was showing us old pics of some of his contests once................in one pic he looked outstanding and easily looked better than other guy in the comparison shots as well as relaxed.

I said,geezus Dave you killed those guys.......he said,Tim,I didn`t even place in that show at all!! 

Like Bob Chick says,sometimes it`s the elevator,sometimes the shaft!! 

Weird though that at certain shows you know damned well you should have placed better,but didn`t.........very disappointing.

my trouble with the nationals is that i never did them two years in a row. 5 times total, but that was over 16 years. seems like you have to go one year, they notice you at the end when it is too late, and then they look for you the next year.

[wes]

my trouble with the nationals is that i never did them two years in a row. 5 times total, but that was over 16 years. seems like you have to go one year, they notice you at the end when it is too late, and then they look for you the next year.

Yup,it`s best to keep your name and face out there for sure.

At times, with some competitors who enter the big shows every year after year,it seems like they finally win just for putting the time in regardless of how they look! 

[hazbin]

here it is!

[andreisdaman]

Good for him. I always got the feeling he was ill-used by the industry.

I always got that feeling as well....as if the industry at the time just wasn't ready for him..I wonder why he never competed in Olympias???

[wes]

here it is!

WOW!!

He`s making a lineup of legends look small by comparison!! 

[Figo]

here it is!

wow!

Guy was big, what's his height? 6 foot?

[BB]

wow!

Guy was big, what's his height? 6 foot?

I remember him being listed as 5' 11".

[hazbin]

I remember him being listed as 5' 11".

ya, 72 nationals he was listed at 5'11" and 242 lbs.

[Max_Rep]

I believe I remember hearing that years later also.

Like the rest of the contestants were all natural!! 

Pete used to talk about it, University of Rochester. He also used to supply half the Eastern Seaboard with shipments from Europe. That was before he became an owner of Gold's. 

[Mjolnir]

I know it's already been said but every one of these guys look phenominal and todays behemoth's look like total shit in comparison.  Let's hope it comes full circle.

[Figo]

Pete used to talk about it, University of Rochester. He also used to supply half the Eastern Seaboard with shipments from Europe. That was before he became an owner of Gold's. 

how did Pete Grimko achieve his financial success? How did he buy into golds, I mean..

[crownshep]

how did Pete Grimko achieve his financial success? How did he buy into golds, I mean..

I`ve asked that question before but never had an answer,i remember reading that one minute he was living and sleeping in the gym,next thing you know,he owns the place.I think its been hinted at that he got the money to buy golds from a tony soprano kind of guy.Remember the pic of Pete that i think was from that best in the World show where he is stood on the end of the lineup,closest to the camera,shoulders looked massive in that shot.

[crownshep]

This is the pic.

[Figo]

Clearly huge, one of the biggest of his day

When/which comp did he turn pro?

As to the transition from squatter to owner, as you said, I've wondered bout that before too..

[crownshep]

Pete won the 77 Mr America in the heavyweight class and also the Mr World that year,so i think they let him turn pro on that basis.