Mike Mentzer- Journey to his final days

[Donny]

always liked this photo

[The Grim Lifter]

always liked this photo

All i see are a bunch of men wider than Heath

[BIG AL MCKECHNIE]

All i see are a bunch of men wider than Heath

It's cool that Vince Basille is in that famous photo. Looking on in case Mike needs a hand beating up Arnold.

It would have been funny if Boyer and Mentzer and Vince had all just kicked fuck out of Arnold. Wonder what the film crew would have made of that if Arnold had ended up in a coma.  Would the competition have gone on?   

[BIG AL MCKECHNIE]

I can hear old Oscar State's voice now if Mentzer had broken Arnold's jaw.

Ladies and gentlemen,  Arnold will not be competing tonight as he has been in hospital sucking his dinner thru a straw for the past 12 hours.

[Vince B]

It's cool that Vince Basille is in that famous photo. Looking on in case Mike needs a hand beating up Arnold.

It would have been funny if Boyer and Mentzer and Vince had all just kicked fuck out of Arnold. Wonder what the film crew would have made of that if Arnold had ended up in a coma.  Would the competition have gone on?   

The bloke behind Mike's head is actually Peter McCarthy who is a well known Aussie BB champion. He was supposed to be the judge for Australia but missed the meeting so was replaced by young Brendan Ryan who was mates with Arnold. That is the only anomaly that I witnessed re the judges. I was standing with Peter and Frank Burwash before the pre-judging and someone told Peter the meeting had started. Peter raced off. He was there as you can see in the photo. He knew how to judge a contest and in fact didn't place Arnold first whereas Brendan did. I have the original judges sheets.

[Nordic Beast]

imagine Arnold's perspective----having to argue with someone in the throws of a amphetamine psychosis while trying to get focused to compete

[PJim]

imagine Arnold's perspective----having to argue with someone in the throws of a amphetamine psychosis while trying to get focused to compete

Arnold did tons of rec drugs I can assure you of that...

[Nordic Beast]

Arnold did tons of rec drugs I can assure you of that...

Why cause he smoked a joint in pumpin iron...weed is not a drug

Far different than abusing speed till you have multiple heart attacks and eventually die----no comparison

[The Ugly]

It was late 1975. I don't know where you're getting "swift and deadly" from. They struck me as two cumbersome oafs. Seemed inbred and silly. Mike was all mouth until I went into a fighting stance. The brother was slow as molasses.

 

[Natural Man]

Yes, those "behind the scenes" shots showed Mike smoking like a chimney and Ray mumbling about drawing lines on his shirt to show how the muscles work in an as yet to be filmed exercise video.

Sad but they're not alone in their weirdness.   Charles Glass is another idiot (aka: former BB Champion) in progress but without half the mind of a messed up Mentzer he's liable to remain in a van down by the river.  I expect the same level of sadness from Freeman, Jay, Coleman and others still out there.

Of course Kai can always fall back on his terrible towel dancing, grapefruit pumping and his extremely high IQ to fund his drugstyle for many years to come, so we don't have to worry about little miss curly top, do we? 

haha best post of the day.

[Darren Avey]

I nearly got into a brawl with Mentzer and his half wit brother over a parking space. Had it escalated any further, they, the two of them, would have learned what it is to be on the receiving end of Karate.

They d have smashed your head into the concrete like it was a basketball! Karate 

[Gonuclear]

It was late 1975. I don't know where you're getting "swift and deadly" from. They struck me as two cumbersome oafs. Seemed inbred and silly. Mike was all mouth until I went into a fighting stance. The brother was slow as molasses.

All mouth, huh?  Fighting "stance"?   Was it a "wide stance", like Larry Craig?

Did you come?

[tommywishbone]

 

[The Scott]

Mike Mentzer is one of the best of all time.  He was a very smart man and there is an interview online where he was asked if he worried about the effects of steroids on his body.  Mike replied that he was more worried about their possible effect on his mind.

Prophetic?  Perhaps.

RIP Mike and Ray Mentzer.

[Noel Fuller]

How can a guy that smart not know meth was bad for you, I smell bullshit.

[The Scott]

How can a guy that smart not know meth was bad for you, I smell bullshit.

Could be that aroma you've detected  is from what you're selling your clientele?   

Fartein, is it? 

[BroadStreetBruiser]

He was my favorite part of Pumping Iron.

[Straw Man]

quote from Jerry Brainum from another board.  I'm not sure of the original source but I recall reading something similar from Brainum years ago with the same conclusion

Jerry Brainum:

"I viewed the offical autopsy report of both Mike and Ray Mentzer, who were long time friends of mine. Mike's offical cause of death was athersclorotic heart disease, and the same for Ray. Yet the toxilogical report listed lethal doses of pain-killing drugs and antidepressants in both men. I asked the coroner who did the autopsy about this apparant discrepancy, and he said that it was difficult to determine which came first, the heart attacks or the overdose. He also said the drugs may have triggered the heart attacks."

[MAXX]

He was my favorite part of Pumping Iron.

heh giving Arnold the stinky eye

[The Scott]

From the interview I mentioned here are the closing thoughts of Mike.

HAUSE:  What do you fear the most?

 

MENTZER:  That anabolic steroids may have somehow altered my personality.  Many people fear that taking steroids will adversely affect them physically.  I’m more concerned about the way they might have affected me psychologically or my personality.  Scares me to death!

 

HAUSE:  If you could start life over again, what would you change?

 

MENTZER:  At this point, I’m not sure that I would change anything.  I haven’t lived long enough to regret anything.  It is my most fervent wish, however, that I will be able to say the same thing at the conclusion of my life!

[BroadStreetBruiser]

heh giving Arnold the stinky eye

Says a lot about a actor like Mike who can just blue steel a guy and make a movie memorable 30years later.

[thegamechanger]

what saddens me the most is all women that never got the chance to explore his body

[oldtimer1]

Mike was my biggest influence when I was a teenager and early 20's. I think I have the most complete set of magazines articles written by him or about him. I copied his routines with good success in my early twenties. I trained with high intensity for decades.

He was a flawed individual as we all are but his mark on bodybuilding is huge. He was a drug user. Using meth made him mentally ill and unstable. A lot was made out of him trying to become a doctor but I believe he dropped out of pre med after three years.

Some that have been in the gym with him have said he used a lot more sets than what he wrote about. Then again the same can be said about Yates but Yates is clearly warming up with non taxing weight and reps to do that one set to failure. Could it be that Mentzer was doing the same? I don't know.

I was a follower of Arthur Jones, Mentzer and the other high intensity trainers. It took me decades to realize that volume is a valid way to train. I wish I learned that earlier.

[ritch]

Was fascinated by the theory of doing less sets and making better gains and put it to work early on. Just works best for me in the end. Was an honor to have done phone consultations with Mike back in the day even though the method he gave me back then was my least productive one, lol!

[Competitor 9]

Is it safe to say that the amphetamines ate his brain and turned mike into a schizophrenic maybe as far back as the 70's?