More from the book, on Arnold, and a few other things -
Robbie feels Arnold should've helped him earlier with Weider/IFBB. The Stan is Stan Morey, AAU big wig -
"Stan would go on to become one of the top promoters for the AAU in Florida and fight for me so I could compete and enter some of the AAU competitions that had turned me away. Stan pushed me to join the Weider bodybuilders in Los Angeles, California, not Joe Weider, as it was to be published in magazines for years.
Stan’s support enhanced my presence and notoriety. He would later make a call to Arnold about this incredible black bodybuilder who was destined for greater things. He called Arnold as a friend asking him to set up an appointment with Joe Weider. It never happened."
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More Arnold and Weider Stuff. The Dave mentioned is Dave Johns -
"When I asked the guys at Pearl’s gym if they agreed, I got a unanimous “no.” They told me straight out that Weider was a nice guy to only a few, and that he was really only supporting Arnold. Dave chose not to compete in the Weider’s IFBB and remained amateur, staying with the AAU federation.
He told me point blank that if I went, it would be like putting a noose around my neck, because Joe had never supported a black bodybuilder, not even Sergio. Their reasons kept me right where I was. But I still wanted the Mr. America title."
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Robbie meeting Arnold and crew -
"When I returned the next day, and Big Red acknowledged me with only a nod, I walked through the gym and approached Denny Gable. Denny was the most welcoming in the group. There was an honesty in his manner. I had seen Denny in the magazines and thought hewas the most photogenic bodybuilder of them all. His handsome face, that often graced the covers of Muscle Builder, resembled Clark Gable’s - so much that he was known within the group as Clark’s illegitimate son. He downplayed his good looks, which made him seem more humble and sincere.
Denny welcomed my company, and within a couple of minutes, asked if I wanted to train with him. This came as a shock, because he was training with Arnold. When Arnold didn’t object, I knew the reigning Mr. Olympia saw me as a good challenge."
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Robbie's buddy -
"As fate had it, in those first days of training, I met a man by the name of Mike Armstrong. Originally from Florida, he was an aspiring bodybuilder at Gold’s. He hadn’t quit his day job as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified school system to chase his dreams. He welcomed me to stay in his apartment right on the Venice boardwalk, so that I could be near Gold’s.
His kindness went far beyond a roof over my head; if Mike ate steak, Robby ate steak. I was finding out that Florida guys always helped each other out. Mike made me feel like there were no color lines between us."
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Arnold being nice -
"I could actually feel people’s envy. I was part of a mob family and Arnold, sitting at the head of the table, with his loud and generous manner, was the Don. He would always be the one to pull out his gold card to pay for our orders of ground beef, eggs and toast."
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Meeting Weider for the first time, Weider tells him to go back to college, then offers -
"With this he said, “Well, I’m not going to be able to help you. But I can pay you $50 for photo shoots and $50 more to put your name on an article and if you want a job in my warehouse, I can set that up. Call Gene Mozee to meet for a photo shoot.”
The warehouse job is $200/wk, Robbie takes it. Claims the pay often bounced, and you were expected to schmoe on the side to make ends meet. You could go to gay mansion parties a couple of times a month if that was your thing.
Also claims Joe and Ben played good cop/bad cop during negotiations Joe was the nice guy, Ben the taskmaster.
Claims Joe sounded like the Penguin from the 1960s Batman show.
Joe gave him the "Black Prince" nickname while at the Mr World show.
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Robbie's real beef with Arnold starts when the bodybuilders start to try and Unionize and Arnold sided with Weider, and during Pumping Iron filming.
Unionizing, starts with Ben addressing the group -
“There will be no union,” hitting his clenched fist on the table. With that, Arnold stood up, walked to the front, kissed Joe and Ben on their cheeks and walked out of the room. All of our jaws dropped, because we thought we had Arnold’s support behind the union. We had all talked about it and agreed that if we came at them as a group, they would have no choice. Now it was clear whose side Arnold’s was on. I was amazed at what I was witnessing and thought the Weiders should have been ashamed of themselves."
Pumping Iron -
Originally they wanted the guys for free. Then supposedly it was supposedly $10,000 each for the main guys, plus an extra $100 per diem on shooting days -
"The next day at Gold’s, they appeared with contracts in hand, agreeing to pay us $10,000 each for our parts in the movie. I glanced over at Arnold standing off by himself with a calculating look, and felt something wasn’t right."
The inference here being Arnold was the one trying to get the other guys to do Pumping Iron for free because he was the go between for the film crew. They originally all did business at Arnold's apartment over drinks, and Robbie and Denny Gable walked out in protest.
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Which beings us to another sore point, Robbie blames Arnold and Weider from pushing his friend Denny out of bodybuilding -
"While Manny’s [Manny Perry] optimism for the future helped fuel my determination, Denny’s will was taking a beating. Because he had taken my side and walked out of Arnold’s apartment over the “Pumping Iron” contract issue, and because he was still my training partner and friend, his $400 a week contract was cut in half. His decision took him out of the inner circle and left him with a rocky future in bodybuilding, just like
mine.
Being black prepared me for this road, but Denny is white, with smalltown Iowa experience giving him little grit. It was an eye-opening experience for me to see what happens to a white man who goes against the grain and backs a black man. The whole situationsaddened me, and our friendship began to suffer. I could see he wasn’t putting the same fire into his workouts, and some days he would be a no-show. I thought the worst and turned out to be right. He got mixed up with drugs."
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Thinks Arnold has it out for him at the 1976 Mr International show and will fix it for Franco, Zane, or Callard -
"Going into the show, I knew I had to get solidly into a winning mindset, because Arnold was producing the International show, as well as the Olympia. It was clear that Arnold took care of his friends and since I was not a part of the “Arnold clique,” the odds were stacked against me."
Robbie winds up winning that show, Callard was 2nd.
He goes into 1977 thinking Arnold and Weider will fix the 77 Mr O.
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Robbie on Zane beating him in 77 -
"I was in even better shape this time around. Zane, with his beautifully symmetrical shape, was
shredded, but he lacked the fullness and thickness I had.
At the evening show, the crowd got behind me with cheers. Having seen the show previous year, I knew something else was being played out on this Olympia stage, and there was nothing I could do above and beyond the hard work I had put into my condition.
What I had prepared myself for came to pass. Zane was awarded his first Olympia Sandow, and I was runner-up. The only thing I said to myself was, next. Unlike Zane, who was under contact, I had to make a living."
He goes into 78, thinking they'll fix the 78 Mr O too, and, of course Zane wins -
"The ‘78 Olympia was almost a carbon copy of the previous year’s show, with Arnold at the helm, Frank Zane on the winner’s block, and me in second place. This year it came down to a point difference between us, with the last vote to be cast by the head judge, Bill Pearl.
In an unheard of move, Bill decided not to cast any vote. By not voting for the promoter’s friend, the guy under a Weider contract, he appeared to be taking a stand against Weider and Arnold’s power over the show."
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And from there it just goes on and on.....
