Mike Mentzer biography - Mr. America - by Nicolas Chemla

[BB]

There it is, my summary of the book. I reworded, and shorten some things, but I think the original feel of the book is captured here. When I first opened it, I really wanted to hate the thing. I have a dislike for historical fiction that bends the line between fiction and non-fiction too much. I also hate when foreign writers try to imagine the America of the past. But still, after a while, I found myself mostly enjoying the book.

7.5/10

I hope you got something out of it.

[Sandrock]

There it is, my summary of the book. I reworded, and shorten some things, but I think the original feel of the the book is captured here. When I first opened it, I really wanted to hate the thing. I have a dislike for historical fiction that bends the line between fiction and non-fiction too much. I also hate when foreign writers try to imagine the America of the past. But still, after a while, I found myself mostly enjoying the book.

7.5/10

I hope you got something out of it.

I really enoyed the write up, thanks for taking the time to do that.

[BB]

I really enoyed the write up, thanks for taking the time to do that.

Thanks .

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I've been researching little parts of of the story I didn't know. For instance, he names Cathy Gelfo - Kathleen in the book, which I knew. I wonder if Jullie McNew is the model for "Sandra" in the book. She was a girlfriend after Cathy, and she matches the general description of Sandra physically in the book -

https://www.instagram.com/musclemommiez/p/C6_7B1ErqDn/?img_index=3 .

[Bevo]

Mentzer never recovered after the 1980 Olympia, he was really fucked up mentally. Even when he was about to croak Arnold contacted him to help him financially,  he was still bitter

[illuminati]

Thanks .

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I've been researching little parts of of the story I didn't know. For instance, he names Cathy Gelfo - Kathleen in the book, which I knew. I wonder if Jullie McNew is the model for "Sandra" in the book. She was a girlfriend after Cathy, and she matches the general description of Sandra physically in the book -

https://www.instagram.com/musclemommiez/p/C6_7B1ErqDn/?img_index=3 .

Clearly Mike wasn't a lover of Big Boobs.

[beakdoctor]

There it is, my summary of the book. I reworded, and shorten some things, but I think the original feel of the book is captured here. When I first opened it, I really wanted to hate the thing. I have a dislike for historical fiction that bends the line between fiction and non-fiction too much. I also hate when foreign writers try to imagine the America of the past. But still, after a while, I found myself mostly enjoying the book.

7.5/10

I hope you got something out of it.

Great job, BB. Nice job summarizing the chapters.

It seems like an engaging read.

The main character in Blind Justice looks like he could be a sibling of Mike and Ray.

Overall a really sad story. Sounds like Mike had psychiatric problems bubbling beneath the surface all along, but could probably manage it as long things were going ok. It seems he had bad habits that made it difficult for him to manage his mental health, like his drug use for example.

[Humble Narcissist]

Mentzer never recovered after the 1980 Olympia, he was really fucked up mentally. Even when he was about to croak Arnold contacted him to help him financially,  he was still bitter

It must have been totally humiliating begging his nemesis to pay his bills. Arnold again proved he was the bigger man by helping Mike.

[Never1AShow]

It was John Balik that rescued Mike in the end. He had seen him staring into a diner window as Arnold pitched "Total Recall". The man that stood before Balik was grubby and barefoot, but unmistakenly Mentzer. He walks over and offers to buy Mentzer a health shake, a mainstay at the diner.

Mentzer tried to put on a happy face as he laid the whole sordid deal out for him. At the end of their talk, Balik offers Mike a column in Ironman, and some free ad space every month.

After that, things came fast. He became a trainer again, and secured a spot at Gold's. Some gossiped, but he kept keeping on. The nature and speed of "Heavy Duty" workouts meant he could train 2 to 3 times as many people per day compared to the average trainer.

Somedays he hated arguing with the non-believers, but that was soon to change.

Was this health shake diner The Good Earth in Marina Del Rey?  God I used to love that place.

[Eric2]

Everything about Mike Mentzer is just depressing. Reading g this and just about everything else related to this sad man is just a chronical of depression, delusion, addiction. He had small blocks of rational times it seems had he the right therapy perhaps he could have done some good.
He lived in a delusional state of greatness in his mind yet was a hapless miserable man that some folks just.blindly follow his ramblings that have been proven ti.e and again to be useless misinformation and theories

[joswift]

Everything about Mike Mentzer is just depressing. Reading g this and just about everything else related to this sad man is just a chronical of depression, delusion, addiction. He had small blocks of rational times it seems had he the right therapy perhaps he could have done some good.
He lived in a delusional state of greatness in his mind yet was a hapless miserable man that some folks just.blindly follow his ramblings that have been proven ti.e and again to be useless misinformation and theories

were you his therapist?

[BB]

Was this health shake diner The Good Earth in Marina Del Rey?  God I used to love that place.

Venice. The other clues he gives was that the main business was shakes, and Balik lived / worked steps from it.

[Never1AShow]

There it is, my summary of the book. I reworded, and shorten some things, but I think the original feel of the book is captured here. When I first opened it, I really wanted to hate the thing. I have a dislike for historical fiction that bends the line between fiction and non-fiction too much. I also hate when foreign writers try to imagine the America of the past. But still, after a while, I found myself mostly enjoying the book.

7.5/10

I hope you got something out of it.

Absolutely fantastic. Excellent work and everything this site needs. Highest kudos!

[Never1AShow]

June 10, 2001 -

Mike has cervical surgery after that fall, but that doesn't stop him from trying to complete what might be his greatest work, a DVD version of the newest version of "Heavy Duty". For hours he has polished the script, mixing exercise science, as he sees it, with Radian and objectivist philosophy. All while his young protege preforms the exercises on film.

Ray is has advanced kidney failure from Berger's disease, a rare genetic condition. Doctors have warned him about it for years. It will be fatal. Three days a week, for 4 hours a clip, he must sit for dialysis. Mike usually keeps him company.

Mike and Ray got a surprise call from Arnold, offering cash and well wishes. Mike is secretly touched, but turns down the help.

Mike is set to have his first million dollar year, but Ray is dying, and can't work. Both his kidneys are gone. Mike ready himself to donate a kidney to Ray. During their last visit, doctors find major clotting happening with Ray's blood. They tell Mike to get checked too, the clotting problem is probably genetic.

They'll also tell the brothers Mike is too unhealthy for organ donation. The DVD set will be there last project together probably.

Later at home, after a day of filming, Ray goes straight to bed. Mike heads to his computer. He adds to his website, readies mail orders, and takes a morphine shot.

He also works on his first fiction novel, "The Integrated Man", about a young bodybuilder and his girlfriend that set off to correct societal dogmas, and in turn, elevate the human race. He stops to send his Canadian friend John an email about the good things in his life the past few weeks.

This makes it sound like he died from the morphine shot or drugs. Google says cardiovascular disease but doesn’t seem like much of a build up here to that.

[BB]

This makes it sound like he died from the morphine shot or drugs. Google says cardiovascular disease but doesn’t seem like much of a build up here to that.

There's an epilogue at the end that says that morphine use and heart failure were listed as contributing factors. I know that most things say heart failure, but I've never seen the official autopsy report. I wonder if this guy got his hands on it. From the acknowledgment/thanks page at the end, he lists a lot of heavy hitters that were part of Mentzer's inner circle that he became friends with.

[Never1AShow]

Making $500K-$1 million last couple of years is surprising, I didn’t think he had a pot to piss in. The amphetamines did him in eventually. Speed induced mental illness. What a waste.

[beakdoctor]

Everything about Mike Mentzer is just depressing. Reading g this and just about everything else related to this sad man is just a chronical of depression, delusion, addiction. He had small blocks of rational times it seems had he the right therapy perhaps he could have done some good.
He lived in a delusional state of greatness in his mind yet was a hapless miserable man that some folks just.blindly follow his ramblings that have been proven ti.e and again to be useless misinformation and theories

X2.

Didn't really know a whole lot about him but assumed his worst years were mid to late 80's and then Balik got him a job and he was writing for Muscle and Fitness then his association with Dorian all sounded like he redeemed hi.self nicely over the last decade of his life but the reality is his life was pretty tragic ever since 1980, even making good bank in the 90's he was still nuts. And just like every other mentz-ophyte this obviously queer author goes off the rails on the Arnold bullshit. I always thought that was somewhat humorous how a deranged mentzer thought Arnold was ruining his life but it's actually pathetically sad.

Would've liked to know more about the client he beat up, trying to fight Arnold in the parking lot of Golds, and sabotaging his own clothing company with Doz. The fact that gullible retards were paying this guy for his half-hearted training courses, to the tune of 500K - 1Mil a year, while he wad barely coherent says a lot about his fanbase.

[BB]

Would've liked to know more about the client he beat up, trying to fight Arnold in the parking lot of Golds, and sabotaging his own clothing company with Doz. The fact that gullible retards were paying this guy for his half-hearted training courses, to the tune of 500K - 1Mil a year, while he wad barely coherent says a lot about his fanbase.

Apparently, the guy Mike got into it with at Ray's gym was just a regular member. He was talking to Mentzer, said HD was probably bullshit because all the pros did crazy high volume, and Mentzer took off and tackled the guy. Ray and a bunch of others pull them apart, and Ray sent him right back to the hospital the same day.

Nothing about the Arnold fight except that little bit.

The Dorian thing is true, but I never heard of it, but Dorian posted these pics a few years back -

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=808884117272466&id=100044526542489&set=a.209769233850627&locale=gn_PY .

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=373691234125092&id=100044526542489&set=a.209769233850627 .

.

.

" Throwback to 1994!
This was a sports clothing line that I was going to release with Mike Mentzer, but it never got off the ground for various reasons.
I think it’s pretty cool…what do you think? "
 

[Humble Narcissist]

Making $500K-$1 million last couple of years is surprising, I didn’t think he had a pot to piss in. The amphetamines did him in eventually. Speed induced mental illness. What a waste.

The mental illness started in 1980.

[beakdoctor]

Apparently, the guy Mike got into it with at Ray's gym was just a regular member. He was talking to Mentzer, said HD was probably bullshit because all the pros did crazy high volume, and Mentzer took off and tackled the guy. Ray and a bunch of others pull them apart, and Ray sent him right back to the hospital the same day.

Nothing about the Arnold fight except that little bit.

The Dorian thing is true, but I never heard of it, but Dorian posted these pics a few years back -

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=808884117272466&id=100044526542489&set=a.209769233850627&locale=gn_PY .

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=373691234125092&id=100044526542489&set=a.209769233850627 .

.

.

" Throwback to 1994!
This was a sports clothing line that I was going to release with Mike Mentzer, but it never got off the ground for various reasons.
I think it’s pretty cool…what do you think? "

Thanks for the extra info.

[illuminati]

Mike & Ray had shitty health genetics as they had a host of
serious ailments. How many other family members also suffered.

[wes]

Great thread!!

[illuminati]

Great thread!!

How 's Wes ?
have you got date for operation ?

I have a Benign Tumour & opted to have it removed , now its a waiting game
Oh & my blood tests show I'm likely diabetic, Got to have them re-done.

[WrongAdvices]

$500K - 1 million in 2000 money is like $1-2 million now.  Plus if he had only hung on a few more years the really big globalization and social media money would have been pouring in.  His 50s and 60s could have been great times for him. 

[Rmj11]

Making $500K-$1 million last couple of years is surprising, I didn’t think he had a pot to piss in. The amphetamines did him in eventually. Speed induced mental illness. What a waste.

methzer wasn't making anywhere near those figures. Pure fiction.

[Humble Narcissist]

Mike & Ray had shitty health genetics as they had a host of
serious ailments. How many other family members also suffered.

It seems like a lot of athletes with great genetics for sports or muscle building have bad genetics for longevity.