Zane is overrated both for physique and intelligence. Period.
Agree with you on these points. He was great but I do believe a bit overrated. His intelligence? I guess he gets a reputation for being smart because he was a teacher. His nickname was supposedly 'The chemist.' I never read anything in his books or heard in his interviews anything that comes across as so much more high minded than any of his contemporaries. A lot of new age spiritualism. It's like he read Jonathan Livingston Seagull and his mind was blown.
Also ive heard a lot of his interviews. Funny thing about his recollection of his career: whenever he won a show It's because he was such a better bodybuilder, the way he posed, his symmetry etc...but whenever he lost a show it's because it was fixed. He lost to Arnold becaused the judges were his buddies, he lost toFranco because Franco was Arnolds buddy, he lost to Pearl because they wrre on London and Pearl was popular in London etc...etc...
Great for sure, 79 unbelievable, but overrated and kind of unlikable.