Not unlikely, Ive heard similair stories from other bodybuilders in the beginning of their career.
True story
Fred Chadwick Snr (father of a friend of mine) went to a show with a guy from his gym who he helped get ready for the show, once backstage they had a shortage of over 40s competitors and asked Fred if he wanted to enter, he had no trunks, no tan and hadn't even dieted
He borrowed some trunks and went onstage and won the show
That as back in the day when dieting fora show as about two weeks of cutting out gravy on pie and chips, guys were always in shape , bodybuilders looked like bodybuilders year round, not just 4 weeks of the year.