Regarding Gary being so attractive in the eyes of so many of the opposite sex (very unusual for a pro bodybuilder), I remember an incident supporting this way back in like 1988 or 89 when Gary was on the cover of Muscle Mag International with the beautiful Cameo Knuer (Cory Everson's sister). The pic was taken right after a contest (I don't remember which one, but it was before the McMahon Federation started), and Gary was quite ripped.
Anyway, I was in my late teens at the time and had been training a short time. I remember a trip I made to my dentist a few days after buying the mag. There were several female dental assistants coming in and out of the room, all making a huge fuss over a copy of the same issue of MMI one of them had brought to work. They were all drooling over Strydom in contest condition. None of these women appeared to be bodybuilders or even serious fitness enthusiasts themselves - just typical "girl next door" types. This has always amused me even to this day, since nearly 100% of women will tell you that they feel that almost 100% of all high level competitive bodybuilders are physically unappealing, particularly the closer to contest condition they are.
