Synthol - Gregg Valentino

[Dokey111]

waste of time

[Van_Bilderass]

Greg is a liar. Those arms are not a result of shooting gear or even Synthol oils.

[Joe Pietaro]

Greg is a liar. Those arms are not a result of shooting gear or even Synthol oils.

OK. So what is your hypothesis? You can't make an accusation like that and leave it open ended.

[Van_Bilderass]

OK. So what is your hypothesis? You can't make an accusation like that and leave it open ended.

I'm not sure what the hell is going on but even if he was putting 3 whole bottles of gear each day into each arm this would not be the result. Then imagine the weekly steroid dosage he would be on, completely unrealistic. Now what about Synthol? Guys who are doing it do tons of shots over long periods of time just to gain an inch or whatever. The owner of professionalmuscle, who sells the popular Syntherol oil, says Greg has implants, that Synthol simply can't cause this type of expansion.

The Brazilians with those absurd arms use the ADE vitamin oil. Maybe Greg was one of the early experimenters of this stuff? I don't know but I'm quite confident that it's not just gear or even Synthol (MCT oil).

[Mawse]

was Gregg an early PMMA user?

[tommywishbone]

Our heroes.

[ritch]

The thumbs up just makes it so damn funny. And how they take themselves all seriously, lol!?!?....

[Tennisballz]

Even if it wasn't synthol in his biceps he looked terrible.  Piana's arms have a similar look only not nearly as pronounced.  I know zero about site injections, but are you saying he was just injecting cc's of test directly into his bicep??  Is that even possible??  He looked pretty good early on.....should've just stuck with that physique and added little by little.

[muscularny]

Ever meet a junkie that will admit he did everything except say heroin or something? Now a weak minded person would say, well, at least he is honest, and glad he avoided the real nasty stuff. A sane person would not care about what the junkie took, the focus would be on how the junkie acts and looks.

I dont care if Valentino did or didnt shoot synthol, but it sure looks like he did and really nothing else matters.

[Joe Pietaro]

Even if it wasn't synthol in his biceps he looked terrible.  Piana's arms have a similar look only not nearly as pronounced.  I know zero about site injections, but are you saying he was just injecting cc's of test directly into his bicep??  Is that even possible??  He looked pretty good early on.....should've just stuck with that physique and added little by little.

Gregg was a natural bodybuilder when he competed (began in his teens) and didn't begin using gear until long after that, even after he was a promoter for NPC shows. Never lost a show and beat guys using shit.

And, yes, site injections with juice has been around forever and all of the pros do it. That's nothing new.

[Van_Bilderass]

Gregg was a natural bodybuilder when he competed (began in his teens) and didn't begin using gear until long after that, even after he was a promoter for NPC shows. Never lost a show and beat guys using shit.

And, yes, site injections with juice has been around forever and all of the pros do it. That's nothing new.

Most site inject, smart ones avoid it and try to put most in the glutes.

However, do you personally think you can look like Gregg doing site injections with gear?

[Ronnie Rep]

Hey Joe do you think if Gregg had to do it all over again would he have gone crazy with the site injections? After all that is what brought him fame and notoriety, and keeps him being talked about still today.

[El Diablo Blanco]

If Greg is claiming it was just oil based AAS then he's full of shit. It would mean taking enough steroids daily where he'd pretty much fall and die of a heart attack.  I would venture he was site injecting pump and pose as well as a lot of drugs.  If he was friends with Palumbo and got his drugs from him it was probably nothing but canola oil. 

[Joe Pietaro]

Hey Joe do you think if Gregg had to do it all over again would he have gone crazy with the site injections? After all that is what brought him fame and notoriety, and keeps him being talked about still today.

That's a good question and one that I will certainly pose to Gregg and get back to you on it on here.

[Howard]

Gregg helped bring bbing down a couple hundred notches. Whatever credibility it may have had, he helped lose it.

It's always the ones that want attention, who have no talent, that wind up doing the outrageous just to get the attention.

He wasn't a freak, he was an abomination.

Trust me, I'm not defending the absurd , crazy stuff he did.
I am saying his crazy antics caught a wave and many within hardcore bodybuilding related to him.

Bostin Loyd is a new version of the same " drugs rule" mentality.

[ritch]

Trust me, I'm not defending the absurd , crazy stuff he did.
I am saying his crazy antics caught a wave and many within hardcore bodybuilding related to him.

Bostin Loyd is a new version of the same " drugs rule" mentality.

what makes Gregg hardcore? Curious why you find the hardcore people related to him? He never gave one training,eating,drug routine ever. Just a bunch of stories, some interesting, most of it was just him bullshitting into thin air boasting how great and informed his is about real training.

He has great morals though in regards to kids and how they should be brought up, respect for that.

[HTexan]

What waste of space

[Howard]

Gregg was a natural bodybuilder when he competed (began in his teens) and didn't begin using gear until long after that, even after he was a promoter for NPC shows. Never lost a show and beat guys using shit.

And, yes, site injections with juice has been around forever and all of the pros do it. That's nothing new.

GV was/is a good dude  and I like him.

BUT unless he did the crazy stuff to blow his arms up, he never would have become the " Ramblin' Freak".
It's likely he would have ended up as a guy like me.
Some dude that did well in regional shows and got into promoting and judging contests. That's it, I know, I'm that regular guy.

That's not a bad bodybuilding existence but hardly one with the fame and notoriety of the Ramblin' Freak ,whose arms exploded.
NOBODY does a show on "Howard, the decent, (but not that great),  bodybuilder "

Gangsters and renegades get noticed , even it looks wrong or crazy.
Very few bodybuilders want absurd arms like GV. He can't compete with those things, BUT it got him noticed.
Guys like me lead stable, decent and obscure lives. Wild-men like GV get some fame  and live a crazy, fun lifestyle... until it goes bad.
THEN, they want to rebuild their image , BUT, you can't put the toothpaste back into the tube.

Modern reality TV is full of pseudo celebrities who get their 15 min of fame via some wild antics.
The rest of us "normal" folks plod along in relative obscurity.

[Joe Pietaro]

what makes Gregg hardcore? Curious why you find the hardcore people related to him? He never gave one training,eating,drug routine ever. Just a bunch of stories, some interesting, most of it was just him bullshitting into thin air boasting how great and informed his is about real training.

He has great morals though in regards to kids and how they should be brought up, respect for that.

Our new video series #LivinTheJackedLife will have a number of clips with Gregg talking about hardcore training, nutrition, supplementation and steroids. He knows his shit and one of the books he has authored is all about training and nutrition.

[wes]

http://www.musclesportmag.com/2015/03/19/gregg-valentino-kills-the-synthol-myth-video/

WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME












FUCKFACE

[Joe Pietaro]

GV was/is a good dude  and I like him.

BUT unless he did the crazy stuff to blow his arms up, he never would have become the " Ramblin' Freak".
It's likely he would have ended up as a guy like me.
Some dude that did well in regional shows and got into promoting and judging contests. That's it, I know, I'm that regular guy.

That's not a bad bodybuilding existence but hardly one with the fame and notoriety of the Ramblin' Freak ,whose arms exploded.
NOBODY does a show on "Howard, the decent, (but not that great),  bodybuilder "

Gangsters and renegades get noticed , even it looks wrong or crazy.
Very few bodybuilders want absurd arms like GV. He can't compete with those things, BUT it got him noticed.
Guys like me lead stable, decent and obscure lives. Wild-men like GV get some fame  and live a crazy, fun lifestyle... until it goes bad.
THEN, they want to rebuild their image , BUT, you can't put the toothpaste back into the tube.

Modern reality TV is full of pseudo celebrities who get their 15 min of fame via some wild antics.
The rest of us "normal" folks plod along in relative obscurity.

I'm assuming that this is the same Howard from the MD boards (sorry if I'm wrong), but if it is, you know first-hand how effective and popular Gregg was there before Adina and Blechy froze him out. His threads were some of the most active on there, even before that entire site turned to utter shit.

He fit in perfectly with the Muscle Mob mentality when Dave & John were with MD, and Robbie also knew that Gregg was a big part of that magazine and website's popularity. But that all changed over time once Robbie went to FLEX.

[Howard]

I'm assuming that this is the same Howard from the MD boards (sorry if I'm wrong), but if it is, you know first-hand how effective and popular Gregg was there before Adina and Blechy froze him out. His threads were some of the most active on there, even before that entire site turned to utter shit.

He fit in perfectly with the Muscle Mob mentality when Dave & John were with MD, and Robbie also knew that Gregg was a big part of that magazine and website's popularity. But that all changed over time once Robbie went to FLEX.

Yup, same Howard.

No question that GV is a cool, funny, charismatic dude, that is a popular personality within the hardcore scene.
He did some pretty wacky and crazy shit, BUT had the sense to market it effectively.
Over the years, I've tried to get him to "explain" why he blew up his arms to absurd size and related crazy crap.

Not sure why, but he always avoids any serious explanations  for his past actions.
Granted, he doesn't owe me any explanation , but wtf.
He claims to be this "no BS", straight shooter, yet he can't even explain his own past behavior in a clear, candid manner.

Having said that, I do like GV and wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do.

[Joe Pietaro]

Yup, same Howard.

No question that GV is a cool, funny, charismatic dude, that is a popular personality within the hardcore scene.
He did some pretty wacky and crazy shit, BUT had the sense to market it effectively.
Over the years, I've tried to get him to "explain" why he blew up his arms to absurd size and related crazy crap.

Not sure why, but he always avoids any serious explanations  for his past actions.
Granted, he doesn't owe me any explanation , but wtf.
He claims to be this "no BS", straight shooter, yet he can't even explain his own past behavior in a clear, candid manner.

Having said that, I do like GV and wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do.

Hi, Howard. I suppose that you figured out that both Gregg and I were fired by MD months ago. The school marm has banned me from their boards and probably Gregg, too. He hasn't bothered to even look since Blechy terminated him after 14 years via a text message.

But Gregg has always explained why he wanted to be a mass monster - and the first one, at that. Since he is short, he wanted to grow as wide as he could. First naturally, and then using juice once he saw guys bypassing him that had been training less than him - in years and intensity.

[Howard]

Hi, Howard. I suppose that you figured out that both Gregg and I were fired by MD months ago. The school marm has banned me from their boards and probably Gregg, too. He hasn't bothered to even look since Blechy terminated him after 14 years via a text message.

But Gregg has always explained why he wanted to be a mass monster - and the first one, at that. Since he is short, he wanted to grow as wide as he could. First naturally, and then using juice once he saw guys bypassing him that had been training less than him - in years and intensity.

Sorry you and GV got axed. I figured GV did but didn't know you did as well.
 I don't really keep up with the real BB scene much these days or go to shows, etc
I can see why they let GV  go, but you Joe? Hmmm, that seems odd and not good business, but wtf do I know?
MD was pretty cool at the peak of John R, Dave P and GV, no question about that.

Ok, fair enough, but he ended up looking like some side show freak instead of a champion bodybuilder.
C'mon now, he couldn't compete looking like that.
I remember hearing lovely Tyra Banks say he was king of the bodybuilders and GV agreed with her during some interview.

He was never "king of the bodybuilders" and he knew it.
The man couldn't place 4th out of 3 guys in the Mr Podunk at the peak of his arm injections.
I always wanted to know, WHY he did the crazy stuff, that guaranteed he'd never be able to compete again.
What was he thinking? GV is an intelligent man, and he couldn't think it really looked good...did he?

Question for you Joe; I suspect you know WHY that MD never was allowed to do a video webcast of the shows they covered?

[Joe Pietaro]

Sorry you and GV got axed. I figured GV did but didn't know you did as well.
 I don't really keep up with the real BB scene much these days or go to shows, etc
I can see why they let GV  go, but you Joe? Hmmm, that seems odd and not good business, but wtf do I know?
MD was pretty cool at the peak of John R, Dave P and GV, no question about that.

Ok, fair enough, but he ended up looking like some side show freak instead of a champion bodybuilder.
C'mon now, he couldn't compete looking like that.
I remember hearing lovely Tyra Banks say he was king of the bodybuilders and GV agreed with her during some interview.

He was never "king of the bodybuilders" and he knew it.
The man couldn't place 4th out of 3 guys in the Mr Podunk at the peak of his arm injections.
I always wanted to know, WHY he did the crazy stuff, that guaranteed he'd never be able to compete again.
What was he thinking? GV is an intelligent man, and he couldn't think it really looked good...did he?

Question for you Joe; I suspect you know WHY that MD never was allowed to do a video webcast of the shows they covered?

I was handed my walking papers three months earlier than Gregg and it came down to Blech wanting to revert back to his original FitnessRX For Men magazine platform that made it the best kept secret in the industry for a decade. No-name male fitness models on the cover instead of the celebrities that I was hired to bring to the table, the ones that landed us on national network and cable television a fuckload of times and had the magazine up in pages (advertising and editorial).

But when the boss doesn't like to have something that he did not do succeed - even to his and the company's advantage - he wants to either take credit for it or change it. Coupled with him wanting to use FRX as a pseudo catalog for his then-new supplement company, my time had quickly run out over at MD HQ. The last few issues of that title have been under 100 pages, down 20-something from my tenure. But what do I know, right?

Gregg was let go because of a few reasons, mainly that they wanted to take a softer approach away from why they had become "The World's Biggest Bodybuilding Magazine"  - something that is missing from their current cover after I don't know how many years.

This direction was totally driven by the school marm, who I'm sure had a lot to do with Valentino being given the boot. And he's the one that introduced her to Blechman. Nice way to repay a guy. (I was there when it happened at the MD BBQ in NJ on 2009.)

Regarding your other points, Gregg was long done with competing by the time he began juicing and had no aspirations to go back on stage. He did it for himself and admitted a bunch of times for enjoying the attention that it gave him.

Not many people in the bodybuilding industry have been on mainstream TV and movies like Gregg has; that's a fact. And his segment in "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" was the most memorable one, while Jay Cutler's was cut from the movie - the then-current Mr. Olympia.

With the video webcast, I have to surmise that it is because no one but the promoters have the right to do so. When we pick up our media credentials, there are parameters that we have to sign for and follow. One of them is (I believe) around only 30 second clips at a time.