It looks like in 1972 Romano walked in on his dad watching the Mr. Olympia as he states here.lmfao at his dad watching Mr. Olympia
John Romano: I was an obese kid who hated his body and was desperate for some kind of physical identity that would keep the kids at school from picking on me. In 1972, when I was 12, my dad called me into the family room to see what was on TV. It was the 1972 Mr. Olympia contest. I walked into the room just as Sergio Oliva was hitting a crab shot and I watched his traps eat his ears. I thought that was the coolest thing I’d ever seen and wanted to have big muscles like that. It took me a year to figure out how one goes about getting such muscles – remember, in 1972 bodybuilding, outside of southern California, barely existed.
After I realized the Charles Atlas program l sent for wasn’t going to work, l saw an ad for a Weider program in the back of a magazine and came to the stunning realization that in order to build big muscles I’d have to lift weights. There were some odd, to mention archaic, weight machines and barbells and dumbbells at the boxing gym I trained at. One day after sparring I went over and started playing around with them. At one point I looked up and saw this huge guy standing there. He was an enormous ripped bodybuilder, who, ironically, was a friend of my dad’s. My dad talked him into taking me under his wing and he agreed to let me train with him and his buddies Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I lifted my first weight at 13 years of age and never stopped – (At 15 years old, my chest decided to leave and move to Hollywood. We parted ways and I've never heard from it again. My nipples grew up as orphans who have come and gone from on body multiple times.) that makes 37 years in the gym! It’s the only place I really feel comfortable.
Seems like Romano's old man really was involved with the men in thongs. Its no wonder he gets pissed when someone mentions the word Schmoe.
