Happy 80 th Vince Basile

[Vince B]

Finally got around to taking birthday photo at 80. I am fussy about photography but used my Note 20 Ultra and a mirror. Used a clip to hold the phone and triggered it with "Smile". Then I edited it and painted out the background that was cluttered. No pump at all. Got a bit sunburned on my biceps and neck from welding.

[Flexacon]

I picked 15 judges from current and past bodybuilders. 13 showed up including Chuck Sipes. I was surprised I won but most believed it was a fair decision...except Ken Rivard who came second. He refused to be in the top 3 winners photo after the contest. He never competed again as far as I know.

We both trained at Western Gym in downtown Vancouver in a skid row area of the city. We were mates but not friends. 4 months before the contest he asked if I was entering. I told him I was going to win it. He laughed in my face. From that day I got serious. Decided to take Dianabol...two tablets a day. I also trained in secret wearing a track suit so nobody knew what I looked like. I practiced posing 15 minutes every day. Ken arrived with no tan and and didn't know how to pose. He won best arms and back, John Mikl won best chest, I won best legs and best poser, and Walter Milner won best abs and most muscular. I don't recall seeing Ken again after that contest. Then in January 1971 I emigrated to Sydney, Australia so never enjoyed being Mr Canada in my home country. Well, not for long anyway. When I returned in 1980, 87, 2000 and 2004 the bodybuilders had no idea who I was.

Ray Beck was the promoter. He was running two gyms and had a store selling supplements and equipment. He got my wife Roz and me to do most of the work for the contest. Pick judges, select and order trophies, do the advertising, etc. I appeared on TV doing my posing routine during a wrestling program.

Always great hearing these stories Vince. Just a small correction, I believe Ken also won best chest.

[illuminati]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VINCE
                     
                                                    HAPPY BIRTHDAY VINCE


                                HAPPY BIRTHDAY VINCE

[wes]

Great photo Vince you`ll be around for many many years to come.

[IroNat]

Thanks for the stories, Vince.  Great stuff.

Your photography is excellent.

[Vince B]

Thanks for the stories, Vince.  Great stuff.

Your photography is excellent.

Thanks for the compliment.

[Vince B]

Always great hearing these stories Vince. Just a small correction, I believe Ken also won best chest.

You are correct. I edited my post to change that. Here is the story I wrote for Joe Weider after the contest. Ray Beck got the credit. I never got paid either.

[SF1900]

I picked 15 judges from current and past bodybuilders. 8 showed up including Chuck Sipes. I was surprised I won but most believed it was a fair decision...except Ken Rivard who came second. He refused to be in the top 3 winners photo after the contest. He never competed again as far as I know. I got 6 votes for 1st, Ken got one and Philippe got one.

We both trained at Western Gym in downtown Vancouver in a skid row area of the city. We were mates but not friends. 4 months before the contest he asked if I was entering. I told him I was going to win it. He laughed in my face. From that day I got serious. Decided to take Dianabol...two tablets a day. I also trained in secret wearing a track suit so nobody knew what I looked like. I practiced posing 15 minutes every day. Ken arrived with no tan and and didn't know how to pose. He won best arms, chest and back, I won best legs and best poser, and Walter Milner won best abs and most muscular. I don't recall seeing Ken again after that contest. Then in January 1971 I emigrated to Sydney, Australia so never enjoyed being Mr Canada in my home country. Well, not for long anyway. When I returned in 1980, 87, 2000 and 2004 the bodybuilders had no idea who I was.

Ray Beck was the promoter. He was running two gyms and had a store selling supplements and equipment. He got my wife Roz and me to do most of the work for the contest. Pick judges, select and order trophies, do the advertising, etc. I appeared on TV doing my posing routine during a wrestling program.

Youre not supposed to pick judges for a contest that you partake in.

That's not the way it works in any sporting or athletic or pageant event.

[Soul Crusher]

You are correct. I edited my post to change that. Here is the story I wrote for Joe Weider after the contest. Ray Beck got the credit. I never got paid either.

NOHOMO - your back shots blew the other people away. 

[Vince B]

NOHOMO - your back shots blew the other people away.

That back shot was Ken Rivard. World class upper body.

[Vince B]

You're not supposed to pick judges for a contest that you partake in.

That's not the way it works in any sporting or athletic or pageant event.

We all know there is a conflict of interest there. However, that isn't sufficient proof that the judging was fixed in my favour. I picked men who were very strong individuals who knew how to make up their own minds. Most of the judges I had never met before. One who knew me didn't vote for me. There was no time during the contest that I felt I had won. The result was a surprise to me. The second and third place guys got a vote each which shows the contest had judges who voted for who they thought was the best.

[SF1900]

Sounds like my aunt, she has lost over $300k in the last 5 years. So much that her husband divorced her so his money wouldn't get wasted. It was crazy. He had saved a lot of money over his career working at a bank; she never saved a dime. One day just starts gambling, gets addicted to it and blows over $100k in one year. My uncle didn't know about it at first. Since the divorce she has gone broke, works as a substitute school teacher at 78 years old. Her ex-husband is retired with a good chunk of money and fishes every day.

This engineer i worked for many years ago was amazing at playing cards. He would go to the casino every 2-3 weeks and make $3-4k playing cards. He was smart enough to stop when he was down, never gone deep into a loss, he would just quit and come back another time. The way he saw it was that he enjoyed it and his wife went to all the shows while he played cards, so it was a free vacation with a little profit. I remember he used to try and count cards during lunch, had a system for blackjack that he used that seemed to work.

300k in the last 5 years is nuts. Gambling must be a horrible addiction to have.

[Humble Narcissist]

My uncle has gambled and lost in his lifetime, at least close to $500,000k, if not more. He’s been gambling for close to 55-60 years, often routinely gambling 500-1000k per month religiously. He didn’t make that good of a living either, which is why my aunt had to work 2-3 jobs.

A few weeks ago he told me he was up $2,000k from winning online. I said “no, you’re not up. You are still in deficit of $498,000k.” But in the gamblers mind, the past losses don’t count. It’s only what’s in front of them.

You are talking about losing gamblers. Anybody with a brain records all of their wins and losses so they are not living a delusion.

[SF1900]

You are talking about losing gamblers. Anybody with a brain records all of their wins and losses so they are not living a delusion.

Evidence shows that the majority of people who gamble lose and are never ahead.

Most people are losing gamblers, not winners. The people you are referring to are a VERY small percentage of the population. How many people do you actually think are keeping track of their records and are coming out on top when examining the general population? In general, most people lose too much to come out ahead.

Eighty-nine percent of gamblers lost money in a study of 4,222 anonymous users of one online gambling network in Europe that includes games of chance like roulette, blackjack, and slots. In the small set of winners, few won more than $150.

Among the heaviest gamblers, 95% lost money. In this group, big losers outnumbered big winners by 128 to 1.

In another study of 18,000 loyalty card holders at U.S. casinos, only 13.5% ended up winning money.

The survey found that callers lost an average of $115,000 over their lifetime. The average current debt due to gambling is $17,000.

[funk51]

 

   

   

[Humble Narcissist]

Evidence shows that the majority of people who gamble lose and are never ahead.

Most people are losing gamblers, not winners. The people you are referring to are a VERY small percentage of the population. How many people do you actually think are keeping track of their records and are coming out on top when examining the general population? In general, most people lose too much to come out ahead.

Eighty-nine percent of gamblers lost money in a study of 4,222 anonymous users of one online gambling network in Europe that includes games of chance like roulette, blackjack, and slots. In the small set of winners, few won more than $150.

Among the heaviest gamblers, 95% lost money. In this group, big losers outnumbered big winners by 128 to 1.

In another study of 18,000 loyalty card holders at U.S. casinos, only 13.5% ended up winning money.

The survey found that callers lost an average of $115,000 over their lifetime. The average current debt due to gambling is $17,000.

What most people do is irrelevant to what I do.

[SF1900]

What most people do is irrelevant to what I do.

I am sorry that you are too stupid to realize that my initial statement was speaking about generalities. How would I know the differences between every single gambler? It’s obvious I was speaking in general in terms of observing trends, as there is no way to know every single gamblers habits.

Then again, what’s obvious to intelligent people may not be obvious to others.

Next time I’ll break it down to simpler terms.

[AbrahamG]

I am sorry that you are too stupid to realize that my initial statement was speaking about generalities. How would I know the differences between every single gambler? It’s obvious I was speaking in general in terms of observing trends, as there is no way to know every single gamblers habits.

Then again, what’s obvious to intelligent people may not be obvious to others.

Next time I’ll break it down to simpler terms.

Lmfao! 🤣

[TheShape.]

Finally got around to taking birthday photo at 80. I am fussy about photography but used my Note 20 Ultra and a mirror. Used a clip to hold the phone and triggered it with "Smile". Then I edited it and painted out the background that was cluttered. No pump at all. Got a bit sunburned on my biceps and neck from welding.

Tremendous arm development at 80, I found a different angle pic of you and Arnold on Instagram.

[AbrahamG]

Tremendous arm development at 80, I found a different angle pic of you and Arnold on Instagram.

For some reason this pic of Breezeway reminds me of Gale Boetticher.

[French]

Happy birthday Vince 
I always appreciate your good old stories and your amazing photo gallery

[Laurie2]

Vince among the Waratahs, which grow in our National Parks.

[Mohammed Omari]

Vince among the Waratahs, which grow in our National Parks.

The uncropped version:

[Henda]

The uncropped version:

Hahaha that’s fucking great

[GymnJuice]

The uncropped version:

That looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels and from the absence of a breezeway