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

[wes]

Tell us more on that Wes.

Danny Padilla as well. He would literally transform from a Monday to a Thursday. I don't think Danny ever trained 12 weeks for a competition. Most years it was 6 to 8 weeks. The few times he did train for 12 weeks were the 1981 Olympia and the 1990 NOC/Niagra Falls/Grad Prix.

Well,for an example,I was out running the streets and hitting the bottle pretty hard so I hadn`t seen the inside of a gym in almost 7 years at the time.............I hooked up with a young kid who was a friend of my cousins who just started to train,as no one else seemed to want to train with me and actually shunned me...I was pissed and vowed to train my ass off once again.

Looking back,the way I looked at the time,I would not have shunned me,I would have ran far far away from me!!  LOL 

Anyway,I looked like a dead man who forgot to lay down.

Back to King,I hadn`t seen him in eons and he walks in one day with Ed Jubinville and Bob Gruskin and they were gonna` take some pics for an article or something,as King was gonna` start prepping for the 87' NABBA Mr. Universe.

I heard them tell the gym owner that Jeff weighed 305 pounds....he looked huge,but very very solid at this weight.

In walks the kid I`m just starting to train with and he yells out,"Who`s that fat fuck ??

I almost shit my pants...I think King heard  him but said nothing.....it was hilarious at the time.

In a fast 3 months/12-13 weeks, King was ripped to shreds,hit England like a storm and won the Mr. Universe.

In that 3 months time,he literally looked shrinkwrapped and grainy as all hell.

I don`t know what he weighed for the show but he probably lost around 50 pounds or more easily..............the only cardio I ever saw him do was short rides on a stationary bike.

[wes]

Another time after laying off a while,King just blew back up to and beyond his previous size.

The guy knew how to diet and train.....of course he used drugs also, but he was a dedicated animal in the gym.

[Thespritz0]

Watching this pictures give me mixed feelings!
Infact this pictures remind me how much I love bodybuilding the way was back then ,but at the same time remind me how much I hate bodybuiding how became today!  
FOR GOD SAKE! HOW DID WE GO FROM SERGE NUBRET TO BRANCH WARREN???

^^
Easily, the combination of insulin and GH.  Insulin should NEVER have entered the arena, PERIOD!!!!!!

[stuntmovie]

I ain't privy to the secret ingredients but many years ago we invited Pete to guest pose at one of our events and three days prior to the contest he looked "not too good" ,but he simply said, "Lock me up in the hotel room for three days and don't let me out and I won't be a disappointment.

And three days later we let him out and  ..... Yep, he wern't no disappointment and he
brought the house down!

Could have been something in that hotel room water.

[Max_Rep]

I ain't privy to the secret ingredients but many years ago we invited Pete to guest pose at one of our events and three days prior to the contest he looked "not too good" ,but he simply said, "Lock me up in the hotel room for three days and don't let me out and I won't be a disappointment.

And three days later we let him out and  ..... Yep, he wern't no disappointment and he
brought the house down!

Could have been something in that hotel room water.

That was Pete... one time a buddy of mine ran into him in the supermarket. Pete had a cart filled with bananas. It was a Tuesday. He said I have to put on 25 pounds for a guest posing exhibition on Saturday. He did it and looked ph-e-n-o-m-e-n-a-l (one of Pete's favorite words). 

[pellius]

Another time after laying off a while,King just blew back up to and beyond his previous size.

The guy knew how to diet and train.....of course he used drugs also, but he was a dedicated animal in the gym.

Why did Jeff King retire so early? I only remember one show that he did when he made the cover of one of the muscle mags. I believe it was the AAU Mr. America. The gym owner at the gym that I trained at, Mr. Barlow, thought he was going to be the greatest bodybuilder of his generation. He couldn't believe the level he was at at such a young age. The guy had Platz-like legs and the thickest neck I have ever seen on a man. Made me realize the importance of a developed neck and how it made you look so powerful. I think King and I are about the same age because I remember looking at him and looking at me and wanting to kill myself.

[hazbin]

Why did Jeff King retire so early? I only remember one show that he did when he made the cover of one of the muscle mags. I believe it was the AAU Mr. America. The gym owner at the gym that I trained at, Mr. Barlow, thought he was going to be the greatest bodybuilder of his generation. He couldn't believe the level he was at at such a young age. The guy had Platz-like legs and the thickest neck I have ever seen on a man. Made me realize the importance of a developed neck and how it made you look so powerful. I think King and I are about the same age because I remember looking at him and looking at me and wanting to kill myself.

i think it was because he was a multiple mr. Universe winner and he wanted to compete in the IFBB.  he tried and they said they didn't recognise his wins and he would have to earn a pro card through the NPC . he would have to qualify through the ranks and win the USA's or nationals.

[wes]

i think it was because he was a multiple mr. Universe winner and he wanted to compete in the IFBB.  he tried and they said they didn't recognise his wins and he would have to earn a pro card through the NPC . he would have to qualify through the ranks and win the USA's or nationals.

Yup.....he didn`t feel that he should be made to re-qualify.

[wes]

 

[njflex]

late eric otero good build,,charles durr won class at usa's matarrazzo won overall dude was good bber think he turned pro eventually .

[funk51]

Well,for an example,I was out running the streets and hitting the bottle pretty hard so I hadn`t seen the inside of a gym in almost 7 years at the time.............I hooked up with a young kid who was a friend of my cousins who just started to train,as no one else seemed to want to train with me and actually shunned me...I was pissed and vowed to train my ass off once again.

Looking back,the way I looked at the time,I would not have shunned me,I would have ran far far away from me!!  LOL 

Anyway,I looked like a dead man who forgot to lay down.

Back to King,I hadn`t seen him in eons and he walks in one day with Ed Jubinville and Bob Gruskin and they were gonna` take some pics for an article or something,as King was gonna` start prepping for the 87' NABBA Mr. Universe.

I heard them tell the gym owner that Jeff weighed 305 pounds....he looked huge,but very very solid at this weight.

In walks the kid I`m just starting to train with and he yells out,"Who`s that fat fuck ??

I almost shit my pants...I think King heard  him but said nothing.....it was hilarious at the time.

In a fast 3 months/12-13 weeks, King was ripped to shreds,hit England like a storm and won the Mr. Universe.

In that 3 months time,he literally looked shrinkwrapped and grainy as all hell.

I don`t know what he weighed for the show but he probably lost around 50 pounds or more easily..............the only cardio I ever saw him do was short rides on a stationary bike.

what's the story with bob gruskin, i know he had connections to all the top east coast bodybuil;ders like king and meeko etc?  bob o'leary, ed jubinville and bob gruskin?

[wes]

I don`t really know much about Gruskin......just saw him earlier this month at the NABBA Nationals,he`s involved with NABBA USA these days and has been for years.,

He used to come to Central City Gym back in the day and photograph guys like Pat Hayes and Rich Roy training for upcoming articles in "Muscle Up",Muscle & Bodybuilder",and the other Charlton publications............ their names escape me at the moment.

[stuntmovie]

WES and all, I don't ever recall meeting Gruskin but possibly could have.

But does the name Joe Nazario strike a bell? Good friend many years ago and another one of many with whom I have lost contact with over the years.

But speaking of 'back east', I did meet a bodybuilder who always wanted to be Superman since he was a little kid (I think I wrote this on this Board a long time ago).


His mom even made him a Superman costume which he wore every day beneath a look-a like Clark Kent suit and tie. I forget the actual details but I seem to recall that he wore that get-up all through high school and evem during those long hot summer months.

He said he did lot of sweating in those good old days and knew the precise location of every telephone booth in his neighborhood.

The last time we communicated he was working for some railroad line in the NY area but still dreaming of leaping over tall buildings with a single bound! (His words.)

Hey, SUPE! If you're reading this, please contact me!

Ditto Bill Grant, Gary Leonard, Joe Nazario, Ernie, Solo, Hernon, Dale Ardrian, Birdsong and the Robert who was primed to be a shoe-in for the O but became a Sumo star instead.

It would be funny if you're reading this stuff after all these years.

[wes]

late eric otero good build,,charles durr won class at usa's matarrazzo won overall dude was good bber think he turned pro eventually .

Durr did bevome a pro...sadly enough he also passed away a few years back.

[njflex]

Durr did bevome a pro...sadly enough he also passed away a few years back.

oh yeah forgot about that,,,well gruskin he came to where i trained many times in 90's had good eye  ;)for bbing/bbers/ect,,,very non bbing looking look/dress wise was older then,,was nabba/aau guy who discovered /found alot of those guys all had same look great legs actually insane legs /conditioning,,he was friendly with casey kutchurak sp/ who came by the gym he was aau/nabba later ifbb mr poland he won to qualify,hade great build then.

[stuntmovie]

MAXREP, Speaking of Pete and supermarkets!  ..... and I don't want to accuse you nor Pete of malicious deeds .... but did you ever go grocery "shopping" with some of the Gold's Gym regulars?

I did once but never twice.

We'd all walk in with the intent to do some shopping and then meet up at the check-out stand, but I was the only one to show up with a cartload full of food.

Everyone else had walked up and down the aisles eating away to their heart's content starting in the vegetable section and finishing in the ice cream row after downing a quart or two of low fat milk.

Once they got to the register they'd pick up a roll of breath mints and pay the ten or twenty cents and leave that store with a belly full of food and a good smelling breath.

Just last week one of my wt lifting nephews pulled that shit by eating an apple while I was buying the turkey and what went with it and he was embarrassed as shit when I told the lady at the register to ring up the apple that 'num-nuts' (pointed to num-nuts) ate while going through the store.

Is that a common practice now-a-days? Or is it just a continuation of an old gym-rat tradition.

PS. PETE NEVER DID THAT!

OH yea! One well known individual was notorious for squirting a couple of cans of Redi-Whip on each and every grocery store visit. I never could understand that.

[wes]

Casey was an awesome bodybuilder:

[njflex]

Casey was an awesome bodybuilder:

nice guy looked older than he was tho,,,great bi's,back,legs were sick in person.knew his stuff,,,

[stuntmovie]

DURR and CASEY!! How come I never heard of either of them? Must have been outside of the NPC.

The only Casey I knew was Pat Casey who I witnessed set the 600 pound bench press record in San Diego (and as soon as he racked it a lion roared - the contest site was close to the San Diego Zoo)  and Casey Sneider who was a great BB from somewhere around the Fresno area.

How did Otero pass away? Texas?  RIght?

[wes]

 

[njflex]

DURR and CASEY!! How come I never heard of either of them? Must have been outside of the NPC.

The only Casey I knew was Pat Casey who I witnessed set the 600 pound bench press record in San Diego (and as soon as he racked it a lion roared - the contest site was close to the San Diego Zoo)  and Casey Sneider who was a great BB from somewhere around the Fresno area.

How did Otero pass away? Texas?  RIght?

casey k was aau /nabba long time then crossed over and turned pro for ifbb did night of champions mid ninties when 40 or so guy's competed ,,he got mentioned or small pic in mag's for the show but that show was incredibly stacked for top 15 then rest of class 16th to back pack 40th were the euro guys,crossover with no hype,new guys nobody new.

[wes]

I remember waaay back when Casey sent in a pic from when he first started training to the "Letters To The Editor" section of MD magazine I think it was.......he was a bag of bones.....came a long way and was always shredded in his shows.

[crownshep]

Tim,is that Tony Pandolfo in those last pics you posted,thats great condition for that age.

[wild willie]

Hey Wes......


Thanks again for all the pics.....this is a fantastic thread you have going here!

Any shots of Gary Leonard?? Could you tell us about some of Jeff King's workouts??

[wes]

Tim,is that Tony Pandolfo in those last pics you posted,thats great condition for that age.

Yup that`s Tony...one of my all time favorite amatuers.

He`s dead now also.......passed a few years ago.