Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: funk51 on April 09, 2022, 07:15:50 AM
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The article I just posted was prepared by Bill on Tuesday morning. It had rained the night before, but the sun had come out, and he decided to go up the hill and mow around the barn. He was using the smaller Craftsman riding mower and it got stuck on a squirrel mound, so he put it in reverse to back off of it and it kind of jumped, and being close to an embankment, rolled over the edge and came to rest against the barn, on top of Bill's back.
I was working in the house and realised I hadn't heard the mower in a while and walked up the hill to check on him.
When I first saw the mower upside down, and him under I panicked and ran the rest of the way, fearing the worst. (The best was bad enough) he was conscious, but totally pinned, face-down in the grass.
I knew I'd have to leave him that way to call 911. Just as I stood up to leave , a truck came up the drive, with two strong guys, a friend and his son, there to take a workout in the barn. Together, they were able th lift the machine up and off of Bill's back without injuring him further.
They then called for an ambulance, and they were able to apply a neck brace strap him onto a backboard and safely turn him and take him to the hospital.
After X-Rays a Cat scan and an MRI, a Neurologist determined that he had a compression fracture of his T-10 Vertebrae,
among other things.
He was schedualed for surgery the next day. He endured six hours of very complicated surgery and Praise The Lord,he is resting UN comfortably in the hospital, and should be home in a few days.
It may be awhile 'til he can sit at a computer again, but HE'LL BE BACK !!!
We have many friends and family to thank for thier Prayers and good wishes, we are so grateful.
Bill and Judy
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no fool like an old fool
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This will be the end of Bill. A back injury in your early 90s, the end is near.
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This will be the end of Bill. A back injury in your early 90s, the end is near.
thanks, Dracula
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no fool like an old fool
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thanks, Dracula
:D If any 90 year old can recover from a broken back it will be Bill.
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(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/95/26/94/95269404cbe1e9fa637a557020cadc1c.jpg)
The Rusty Jeffers of the golden era
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Best wishes to Mr. Pearl
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Pearl's brother Harold was a back alley abortionist - https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2209079/people-v-pearl/? .
(https://scontent-lga3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.18172-8/13198645_1001976306555110_6035762006862640653_o.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=Kcm7nUQ49dkAX-gV2XB&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-2.xx&oh=00_AT-dXiSOmz5Gyp54ratvz6ActCaeO8NvH5pg0iQ9zUFneA&oe=62777B19).
Harold's leftmost, Bill's rightmost. Harold had the rep for being #30-40lbs heavier, a couple of inches taller, and far more of a rougher guy than Bill.
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Not the final death blow for Pearl. Many elderly men and women have had similar vertebrae operations in their later years. Though even during this modern advanced medical time, backs can still be difficult. Not applying that Pearl will be 100% to normal, but still functional in daily life. Rehab will be very important. Best to him.
For what it's worth and from some secondhand information, Harold Pearl had been a California highway officer at one time. Also a guest at San Quentin prison at another time. If it was the "Harold Pearl" who was on trial , https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2209079/people-v-pearl/? , that I don't know. Be surprised how many names are the same among many folks. (the gentleman who offered this secondhand information about Pearl had also been a guest of San Quentin prison...just saying)
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Glad he`s OK....I hope he can recover nicely.
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http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=627502.0 http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=669932.msg9689432#msg9689432 http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=669308.msg9489975#msg9489975 http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=634887.msg8850018#msg8850018
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This was a neat little story from Ken Leistner about the time he met Bill Pearl as a young guy, it's nice and rather wholesome -
"When Jack and I arrived in Los Angeles, we made a beeline to Bill Pearl’s Gym on Manchester Avenue in Inglewood. We remained mindful of the destructive riots that had occurred there in the recent past, and understood immediately that we were not in the nicest neighborhood. As we prepared to begin our California adventure and what we believed would be a significant learning experience, we drove past Pearl’s Gym and saw, standing in front, Bill himself. Huge, muscular to the point that even an overly large sweatshirt could not hide his development, Bill appeared other worldly, and a bit dangerous with his goatee and glower.
Wait. Bill did not have a goatee, and as one of the nicest men in the Iron Game, was never seen, at least not in public, with a stare that would have melted even the baddest of the bad guys on the street. Jack looked at me, I returned his startled look and we ducked my old Ford into a parking space. As we unfolded ourselves from the car, congratulating ourselves on arriving safely and in the warp-speed time of fifty-four hours despite the unscheduled delay with law enforcement in Amarillo, we cautiously approached the front of the gym. Wanting to just blurt out a greeting to Bill, we realized as we were almost upon this tremendously developed bodybuilder that it was in fact, not Bill Pearl. We said hello, Jack introduced himself, and we could then tell the world that we knew or at least had met, Bill’s little known but bigger-than-Bill-brother, Harold Pearl. Our great adventure had officially begun.
Our excitement in finally arriving in California was in part due to the expectation that we would discover as yet unknown secrets, secrets that would allow some sort of miraculous and rapid increase in muscular size and strength. Within us, there was also a hope, if not an expectation, that all of the sets, reps, and dietary manipulation we had developed were in fact, correct, and that we had not wasted a lot of precious training time. We knew top level contest winners in our home area but we were certainly jerked into a state of reality meeting Bill Pearl’s brother Harold. The impression he made has lasted to this day.
Bill Pearl was huge, and usually maintained a bodyweight, as he told us, of approximately 225 pounds. He said that when he prepared for contests, he would first diet down and then gain weight. This was a rather unique theory for us because everyone that we knew on the east coast that either lifted in the relatively new sport of powerlifting, or competed as a contest level bodybuilder, first allowed their weight to go up, becoming as big and strong as possible, and then trimmed down, to either enter a specific weight classification or become more defined. Bill would first reduce his body fat levels, bring his overall weight down, and then build muscle on top of that.
Bill’s approach was unique, and at this time he was in fact preparing for a major contest and series of posing exhibitions, and thus was going up. His goal was 240 pounds but whatever Harold’s weight was at this same time, it was enough to make Bill, with no disrespect intended towards one of the greatest physiques of all time, appear to be “just one of the lifting guys” when standing around in street clothes. Harold was wide, thick, and scary!
Before we departed on our great adventure, we had been told a little about Harold but that “little bit” was enough to make us wary. With a number of top level physique competitors and odd-lift contest trainees in the storefront gym we frequented, the “inside news” about the name lifters and bodybuilders around the country was often a topic of conversation. Because a few of the fellows had traveled to California or competed in different states, we were fairly certain we received the “real story” about many of the stars.
We knew that Harold had spent time in prison, which was not an unusual occurrence among many we were acquainted with, but we were also told that while in prison, he had amped up his training and gone as high as 303 pounds while maintaining no more than a thirty-seven-inch waist. To add an exclamation point to that description, we listened to a more detailed presentation of a guy who no one messed with, even in prison, who was as strong as he was large, and who was Bill’s polar opposite in temperament.
“The brothers have huge physiques, everyone knows who Bill Pearl is, but Harold is bigger. That thirty-seven-inch waist measurement wasn’t all sucked in, this guy is really all muscle and he doesn’t have much to say.” At least that was one definitive description we received. Harold was nice enough while I stood back a bit and Jack introduced himself and said that Bill “knows I’m supposed to be here.” It was enough to get us through the front door of the gym on Manchester Avenue and we sort of stared at each other and shook our heads as if to say, “If the guys out here are as big as Harold, we really don’t know what we’re doing” and it wasn’t as if Jack at 225 pounds, and myself at 230 were small.
We looked around and were greeted by Larry, the proprietor of the juice bar that was located within the gym, in what was more or less a side room. Of course, the entire gym was so unlike what we were used to. Not fancy or large by today’s standards, it was very much other-worldly to us with its outdoor swimming pool, skylights, varied selection of equipment, very muscular guys, and the juice bar. Who had a juice bar in a gym? I’m not sure we had ever seen a juice bar prior to this, but Larry, who himself was short, stocky, and an obvious lifter, was friendly and said that Bill was due in shortly.
He asked if we wanted a drink and, “Of course, “a protein shake, please” would have been and was the obvious response. When he opened a can of MLO protein powder, yet another revelation struck me: “A brand of protein powder I have not seen before – how much don’t I know?” I had actually spent many years having my entire family remind me of the vast amount of knowledge I didn’t possess but I thought I had a handle on protein powder. The Hoffman, Weider, and Blair names were the big ones, but MLO was new to me, a brand produced by Millard Williamson, winner of a number of the local Mr. Muscle Beach type of contests, and a chemist. I also knew about some of what to my interpretation were brands of “old people’s protein powder,” like Schiff’s, but because lifters and bodybuilders never mentioned these, it was as if they did not exist.
Remember our sources of “legitimate information” did not extend past the muscle magazines and word-of-mouth education inside the gyms and garages where we trained. Another of my many jobs had me stocking shelves in the only health food store in the area. Fulton Health Foods in Hempstead was not geared to bodybuilding but more towards the “physical culture” crowd, offering a lot of soy based “fake meat” products, organic foods, and supplements. While some of Hoffman’s offerings were displayed, we sold primarily Schiff products that I believed were for “non-athletes.” The elderly owners of the store, a lovely husband and wife team who were die-hard devotees of “clean living” and devout religious activity, served their corresponding clientele with Schiff Bio-Foods products which were actually of very high quality. Schiff began as a whey production company and expanded to vitamin, mineral, and brewer’s yeast supplements. They filled a market that developed during World War II for dried or dehydrated products, including a soy based powder meant to be a source of dietary protein. If however, the weight training populace was not using a product, we didn’t think much of it.
We gazed at the handwritten board above the juice bar counter and saw “Guava Juice” and “Mango,” and I would have been embarrassed to make the admission that I had no clue what these exotic sounding things were. Larry explained that he was going to college and studying nutrition and that he had recently bought the juice bar from Pat Casey who had moved down the coast to open his own gym, although he still trained with many from the Bill “Peanuts” West crew on weekends.
While I was trying to take in so much new information, Harold came in, sat down next to us, asked Jack how he came to know his brother, and reached around the juice bar counter… for a large glass and a bottle of Wild Turkey Bourbon!
Harold proceeded to pour a full drinking or “milk glass,” twelve full ounces of Wild Turkey, stare at us, and gulp it down. We were speechless, and watched him walk onto the gym floor. Believing in a muscle magazine-driven lifestyle that warned against cigarettes, alcohol, and late night carousing, I was stunned, especially when looking at what could have been the largest muscular physique I had seen up to that point in time.
In Bill Pearl’s 2003 book, “Beyond The Universe – The Bill Pearl Story,” he is clear that for much of their lives he and his older brother Harold had a contentious relationship, highlighted by many physical confrontations. They made peace at a much later age, but after I got to know Bill a bit, he conceded that Harold was often “not a very nice guy,” and there was no doubt he could kick almost anyone’s ass if he chose to do so. I was also told by gym members on that very first visit that he did in fact, often choose to do so! His version of a juice bar drink would not be one that we believed should be copied to become bigger and stronger.
When Bill arrived, he was told that “some guys from New York were here to see him,” and he was no doubt disappointed that he was looking at Jack and me instead of Chris Dickerson and Dennis Tinerino, both of whom traveled to Bill’s on occasion for training instruction and information. He could not have been more gracious, and he treated Jack like a long-time acquaintance instead of a fan who had written a series of inquiring letters. In a society that was much less consumer driven than it is today, Bill’s attitude and behavior were more typical among weight training comrades than not. As we spoke, Bill asked where we had arranged to stay during our time in California. Of course, this rather minor point was never discussed, and I don’t believe Jack and I had given it the slightest bit of consideration. The goal was to get to Southern California and get a lot stronger and bigger. We obviously had to live some place, but in truth not once did that come up in our hasty conversations or my conscious thoughts prior to leaving New York.
Again the ultimate gentleman, Bill explained that the increasing violence in the neighborhood had recently driven him and his wife Judy out of the apartment he had on the second floor above the gym, and they had moved into a house in a safer, quieter neighborhood. He further stated that if it “wasn’t complicated by the current circumstances, you guys could stay upstairs for a few months.”
The “current circumstances” as Bill clarified, included the fact that Harold was “living up there with three women.” Again, we were dumbfounded, but Bill said, “Yeah, I don’t know if they’re all up there at the same time, I don’t ask, but he has three regulars that stay with him, so it would get a little bit uncomfortable if you guys were up there too.” The last thing I saw myself doing was sharing an apartment with Harold Pearl, who might have believed I was infringing upon his privacy. Wanting to remain alive and without broken bones for a while longer, I thanked Bill for his thoughtfulness. He then said, “If you guys want to sleep on the floor of the gym, I could lock you in for the night but I’m back by 4:30 AM or so to start training. Let me know.”
From my perspective, wrapping up in a sleeping bag in Bill Pearl’s Gym was infinitely better than almost any other lodging offer one could ever get. Wow, we could add muscle just from being in the building where so many greats had trained. I did give thought to the huge weights that were lifted by the powerlifters, football players, track athletes and Olympians, bodybuilders, and the Pearl Brothers themselves, and considered that sleeping on the floor might have some sort of secondary growth effect. We wanted to train then and there, but explained to Bill that while it was still early in the day, we also wanted to locate and meet Rheo H. Blair. Bill freely stated that “he has some good products,” so we promised to return in the evening.
We had our “audience” with Rheo H. Blair, and decided to return the next day to pick up our protein powder and the supplements we could afford. We then began our return trip to Pearl’s Gym for our first California workout. Of course we were exhausted from our non-stop cross country drive, our lack of food, relative dehydration, and running-around-like-madmen activities on our first day in Los Angeles. No matter – we were there to train. Even Bill suggested that we slow it down and acclimate for a day but we figured that every day, if not every minute, counted, so we trained, albeit lighter and easier than usual.
One of our first “lessons” came as we completed our workout. Sensing that we were poor and had little to wear, or perhaps that we were so hip that we were capable of pulling off the ultimate in Los Angeles area lifting fashion, Bill showed us to a small room near the locker room area. The Lost And Found baskets were there, filled with sweatshirts, shorts, and yes, old and previously worn jock straps that had been pulled out of the lockers of former members or those tossed from the gym for non-payment or more serious transgressions.
Bill explained that “the guys” – meaning all of the big lifters, football players, and track and field athletes in his gym – wore oversized sweatshirts that were then cut down at the sleeves and at the bottom hemline, to allow for unrestricted upper extremity movement while training. These oversized garments also made for a larger-than-expected appearance. He sensed that we either couldn’t afford the trip to the local Army-Navy store where his gym members and friends purchased these double or triple extra-large sweatshirts, or he just felt that giving these items to us from the discarded bin was the fastest and easiest way to get us into the Southern California training ensemble.
We weren’t offended, but rather flattered that Bill Pearl himself would think highly enough of us to help dress us correctly for “proper” training. We knew enough to ask directions to the nearest Laundromat before actually putting anything on but taking a few huge sweatshirts, washing them, and then cutting off the bottoms and sleeves up to elbow level more than doubled our available wardrobes. "
Full version here - https://startingstrength.com/article/west_coast_impressions_a_random_journey . It's very long, going from East to West Coast.
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Best wishes to Mr. Pearl.
About 15 years ago I spent some time with Bill. A wonderful and decent man.
Fortress is better for that encounter.
In my 52 years, I have not met a more manly man than Mr. Pearl. Just a friendly, rugged and awesome human being.
I can’t express how much I respect and admire him.
Hail, Bill Pearl!
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Brutal if true
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why was he using a riding lawnmower.... he seemingly had the health and strength of a man much younger, so why not use a walking lawnmower for the exercise?..
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Pearl is no Bhanky.
Bhanky would have triple somersaulted off that mower, landed on his feet, grabbed the spinning mower blade with his bare hands, arresting its spin, and then choked out the engine to a stall.
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Pearl is no Bhanky.
Bhanky would have triple somersaulted off that mower, landed on his feet. grabbed the spinner mower blade with his bare hands, arresting its spin, and then choked out the engine to a stall.
Agreed, brother! All whilst downing a peach cobbler from Marie Callendar's and a pitcher of his own piss.
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Brutal if true
Bro...
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Best wishes to Mr. Pearl.
About 15 years ago I spent some time with Bill. A wonderful and decent man.
Fortress is better for that encounter.
In my 52 years, I have not met a more manly man than Mr. Pearl. Just a friendly, rugged and awesome human being.
I can’t express how much I respect and admire him.
Hail, Bill Pearl!
^^
I believe Robert Kennedy also respected Bill Pearl as well!!
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Pearl is no Bhanky.
Bhanky would have triple somersaulted off that mower, landed on his feet. grabbed the spinner mower blade with his bare hands, arresting its spin, and then choked out the engine to a stall.
Chuckling all the way, but then that bit made me legit LOL! ;D
I was going to post some shit in here about his high T level 'hands-free' story to see if it was true, but now I see Fortress respects Mr Pearl, I'll stand down my immature crap 8)
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Pearl is no Bhanky.
Bhanky would have triple somersaulted off that mower, landed on his feet, grabbed the spinner mower blade with his bare hands, arresting its spin, and then choked out the engine to a stall.
And would post 20 pics of himself posing next to the mower to prove it!
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typical bbber too tired n weak to use a pushmower
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Pearl is no Bhanky.
Bhanky would have triple somersaulted off that mower, landed on his feet, grabbed the spinner mower blade with his bare hands, arresting its spin, and then choked out the engine to a stall.
Agreed, brother! All whilst downing a peach cobbler from Marie Callendar's and a pitcher of his own piss.
;D ;D ;D
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This was a neat little story from Ken Leistner about the time he met Bill Pearl as a young guy, it's nice and rather wholesome -
"When Jack and I arrived in Los Angeles, we made a beeline to Bill Pearl’s Gym on Manchester Avenue in Inglewood. We remained mindful of the destructive riots that had occurred there in the recent past, and understood immediately that we were not in the nicest neighborhood. As we prepared to begin our California adventure and what we believed would be a significant learning experience, we drove past Pearl’s Gym and saw, standing in front, Bill himself. Huge, muscular to the point that even an overly large sweatshirt could not hide his development, Bill appeared other worldly, and a bit dangerous with his goatee and glower.
Wait. Bill did not have a goatee, and as one of the nicest men in the Iron Game, was never seen, at least not in public, with a stare that would have melted even the baddest of the bad guys on the street. Jack looked at me, I returned his startled look and we ducked my old Ford into a parking space. As we unfolded ourselves from the car, congratulating ourselves on arriving safely and in the warp-speed time of fifty-four hours despite the unscheduled delay with law enforcement in Amarillo, we cautiously approached the front of the gym. Wanting to just blurt out a greeting to Bill, we realized as we were almost upon this tremendously developed bodybuilder that it was in fact, not Bill Pearl. We said hello, Jack introduced himself, and we could then tell the world that we knew or at least had met, Bill’s little known but bigger-than-Bill-brother, Harold Pearl. Our great adventure had officially begun.
Our excitement in finally arriving in California was in part due to the expectation that we would discover as yet unknown secrets, secrets that would allow some sort of miraculous and rapid increase in muscular size and strength. Within us, there was also a hope, if not an expectation, that all of the sets, reps, and dietary manipulation we had developed were in fact, correct, and that we had not wasted a lot of precious training time. We knew top level contest winners in our home area but we were certainly jerked into a state of reality meeting Bill Pearl’s brother Harold. The impression he made has lasted to this day.
Bill Pearl was huge, and usually maintained a bodyweight, as he told us, of approximately 225 pounds. He said that when he prepared for contests, he would first diet down and then gain weight. This was a rather unique theory for us because everyone that we knew on the east coast that either lifted in the relatively new sport of powerlifting, or competed as a contest level bodybuilder, first allowed their weight to go up, becoming as big and strong as possible, and then trimmed down, to either enter a specific weight classification or become more defined. Bill would first reduce his body fat levels, bring his overall weight down, and then build muscle on top of that.
Bill’s approach was unique, and at this time he was in fact preparing for a major contest and series of posing exhibitions, and thus was going up. His goal was 240 pounds but whatever Harold’s weight was at this same time, it was enough to make Bill, with no disrespect intended towards one of the greatest physiques of all time, appear to be “just one of the lifting guys” when standing around in street clothes. Harold was wide, thick, and scary!
Before we departed on our great adventure, we had been told a little about Harold but that “little bit” was enough to make us wary. With a number of top level physique competitors and odd-lift contest trainees in the storefront gym we frequented, the “inside news” about the name lifters and bodybuilders around the country was often a topic of conversation. Because a few of the fellows had traveled to California or competed in different states, we were fairly certain we received the “real story” about many of the stars.
We knew that Harold had spent time in prison, which was not an unusual occurrence among many we were acquainted with, but we were also told that while in prison, he had amped up his training and gone as high as 303 pounds while maintaining no more than a thirty-seven-inch waist. To add an exclamation point to that description, we listened to a more detailed presentation of a guy who no one messed with, even in prison, who was as strong as he was large, and who was Bill’s polar opposite in temperament.
“The brothers have huge physiques, everyone knows who Bill Pearl is, but Harold is bigger. That thirty-seven-inch waist measurement wasn’t all sucked in, this guy is really all muscle and he doesn’t have much to say.” At least that was one definitive description we received. Harold was nice enough while I stood back a bit and Jack introduced himself and said that Bill “knows I’m supposed to be here.” It was enough to get us through the front door of the gym on Manchester Avenue and we sort of stared at each other and shook our heads as if to say, “If the guys out here are as big as Harold, we really don’t know what we’re doing” and it wasn’t as if Jack at 225 pounds, and myself at 230 were small.
We looked around and were greeted by Larry, the proprietor of the juice bar that was located within the gym, in what was more or less a side room. Of course, the entire gym was so unlike what we were used to. Not fancy or large by today’s standards, it was very much other-worldly to us with its outdoor swimming pool, skylights, varied selection of equipment, very muscular guys, and the juice bar. Who had a juice bar in a gym? I’m not sure we had ever seen a juice bar prior to this, but Larry, who himself was short, stocky, and an obvious lifter, was friendly and said that Bill was due in shortly.
He asked if we wanted a drink and, “Of course, “a protein shake, please” would have been and was the obvious response. When he opened a can of MLO protein powder, yet another revelation struck me: “A brand of protein powder I have not seen before – how much don’t I know?” I had actually spent many years having my entire family remind me of the vast amount of knowledge I didn’t possess but I thought I had a handle on protein powder. The Hoffman, Weider, and Blair names were the big ones, but MLO was new to me, a brand produced by Millard Williamson, winner of a number of the local Mr. Muscle Beach type of contests, and a chemist. I also knew about some of what to my interpretation were brands of “old people’s protein powder,” like Schiff’s, but because lifters and bodybuilders never mentioned these, it was as if they did not exist.
Remember our sources of “legitimate information” did not extend past the muscle magazines and word-of-mouth education inside the gyms and garages where we trained. Another of my many jobs had me stocking shelves in the only health food store in the area. Fulton Health Foods in Hempstead was not geared to bodybuilding but more towards the “physical culture” crowd, offering a lot of soy based “fake meat” products, organic foods, and supplements. While some of Hoffman’s offerings were displayed, we sold primarily Schiff products that I believed were for “non-athletes.” The elderly owners of the store, a lovely husband and wife team who were die-hard devotees of “clean living” and devout religious activity, served their corresponding clientele with Schiff Bio-Foods products which were actually of very high quality. Schiff began as a whey production company and expanded to vitamin, mineral, and brewer’s yeast supplements. They filled a market that developed during World War II for dried or dehydrated products, including a soy based powder meant to be a source of dietary protein. If however, the weight training populace was not using a product, we didn’t think much of it.
We gazed at the handwritten board above the juice bar counter and saw “Guava Juice” and “Mango,” and I would have been embarrassed to make the admission that I had no clue what these exotic sounding things were. Larry explained that he was going to college and studying nutrition and that he had recently bought the juice bar from Pat Casey who had moved down the coast to open his own gym, although he still trained with many from the Bill “Peanuts” West crew on weekends.
While I was trying to take in so much new information, Harold came in, sat down next to us, asked Jack how he came to know his brother, and reached around the juice bar counter… for a large glass and a bottle of Wild Turkey Bourbon!
Harold proceeded to pour a full drinking or “milk glass,” twelve full ounces of Wild Turkey, stare at us, and gulp it down. We were speechless, and watched him walk onto the gym floor. Believing in a muscle magazine-driven lifestyle that warned against cigarettes, alcohol, and late night carousing, I was stunned, especially when looking at what could have been the largest muscular physique I had seen up to that point in time.
In Bill Pearl’s 2003 book, “Beyond The Universe – The Bill Pearl Story,” he is clear that for much of their lives he and his older brother Harold had a contentious relationship, highlighted by many physical confrontations. They made peace at a much later age, but after I got to know Bill a bit, he conceded that Harold was often “not a very nice guy,” and there was no doubt he could kick almost anyone’s ass if he chose to do so. I was also told by gym members on that very first visit that he did in fact, often choose to do so! His version of a juice bar drink would not be one that we believed should be copied to become bigger and stronger.
When Bill arrived, he was told that “some guys from New York were here to see him,” and he was no doubt disappointed that he was looking at Jack and me instead of Chris Dickerson and Dennis Tinerino, both of whom traveled to Bill’s on occasion for training instruction and information. He could not have been more gracious, and he treated Jack like a long-time acquaintance instead of a fan who had written a series of inquiring letters. In a society that was much less consumer driven than it is today, Bill’s attitude and behavior were more typical among weight training comrades than not. As we spoke, Bill asked where we had arranged to stay during our time in California. Of course, this rather minor point was never discussed, and I don’t believe Jack and I had given it the slightest bit of consideration. The goal was to get to Southern California and get a lot stronger and bigger. We obviously had to live some place, but in truth not once did that come up in our hasty conversations or my conscious thoughts prior to leaving New York.
Again the ultimate gentleman, Bill explained that the increasing violence in the neighborhood had recently driven him and his wife Judy out of the apartment he had on the second floor above the gym, and they had moved into a house in a safer, quieter neighborhood. He further stated that if it “wasn’t complicated by the current circumstances, you guys could stay upstairs for a few months.”
The “current circumstances” as Bill clarified, included the fact that Harold was “living up there with three women.” Again, we were dumbfounded, but Bill said, “Yeah, I don’t know if they’re all up there at the same time, I don’t ask, but he has three regulars that stay with him, so it would get a little bit uncomfortable if you guys were up there too.” The last thing I saw myself doing was sharing an apartment with Harold Pearl, who might have believed I was infringing upon his privacy. Wanting to remain alive and without broken bones for a while longer, I thanked Bill for his thoughtfulness. He then said, “If you guys want to sleep on the floor of the gym, I could lock you in for the night but I’m back by 4:30 AM or so to start training. Let me know.”
From my perspective, wrapping up in a sleeping bag in Bill Pearl’s Gym was infinitely better than almost any other lodging offer one could ever get. Wow, we could add muscle just from being in the building where so many greats had trained. I did give thought to the huge weights that were lifted by the powerlifters, football players, track athletes and Olympians, bodybuilders, and the Pearl Brothers themselves, and considered that sleeping on the floor might have some sort of secondary growth effect. We wanted to train then and there, but explained to Bill that while it was still early in the day, we also wanted to locate and meet Rheo H. Blair. Bill freely stated that “he has some good products,” so we promised to return in the evening.
We had our “audience” with Rheo H. Blair, and decided to return the next day to pick up our protein powder and the supplements we could afford. We then began our return trip to Pearl’s Gym for our first California workout. Of course we were exhausted from our non-stop cross country drive, our lack of food, relative dehydration, and running-around-like-madmen activities on our first day in Los Angeles. No matter – we were there to train. Even Bill suggested that we slow it down and acclimate for a day but we figured that every day, if not every minute, counted, so we trained, albeit lighter and easier than usual.
One of our first “lessons” came as we completed our workout. Sensing that we were poor and had little to wear, or perhaps that we were so hip that we were capable of pulling off the ultimate in Los Angeles area lifting fashion, Bill showed us to a small room near the locker room area. The Lost And Found baskets were there, filled with sweatshirts, shorts, and yes, old and previously worn jock straps that had been pulled out of the lockers of former members or those tossed from the gym for non-payment or more serious transgressions.
Bill explained that “the guys” – meaning all of the big lifters, football players, and track and field athletes in his gym – wore oversized sweatshirts that were then cut down at the sleeves and at the bottom hemline, to allow for unrestricted upper extremity movement while training. These oversized garments also made for a larger-than-expected appearance. He sensed that we either couldn’t afford the trip to the local Army-Navy store where his gym members and friends purchased these double or triple extra-large sweatshirts, or he just felt that giving these items to us from the discarded bin was the fastest and easiest way to get us into the Southern California training ensemble.
We weren’t offended, but rather flattered that Bill Pearl himself would think highly enough of us to help dress us correctly for “proper” training. We knew enough to ask directions to the nearest Laundromat before actually putting anything on but taking a few huge sweatshirts, washing them, and then cutting off the bottoms and sleeves up to elbow level more than doubled our available wardrobes. "
Full version here - https://startingstrength.com/article/west_coast_impressions_a_random_journey . It's very long, going from East to West Coast.
I've heard of MLO, but didn't know it was put out by millard williamson.
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Agreed, brother! All whilst downing a peach cobbler from Marie Callendar's and a pitcher of his own piss.
(https://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Laughing-GIF-Image-for-Whatsapp-and-Facebook-1.gif)
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&t=330s &t=7s
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Bill Pearl outlived another bber today. Definitely came from a smarter generation of people with a lot less accessible information
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Bill Pearl outlived another bber today. Definitely came from a smarter generation of people with a lot less accessible information
Truth.
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Truth.
it seems the intruduction of "gurus" seems to have increased the number of deaths
Maybe prepping yourself and not listening to fuckwits who couldnt give a shit about you seems the sensible option
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it seems the intruduction of "gurus" seems to have increased the number of deaths
Maybe prepping yourself and not listening to fuckwits who couldnt give a shit about you seems the sensible option
The guru has no idea how you are feeling either. You are just a machine they experiment on.
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it seems the intruduction of "gurus" seems to have increased the number of deaths
Maybe prepping yourself and not listening to fuckwits who couldnt give a shit about you seems the sensible option
Gurus + social media = death
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it seems the intruduction of "gurus" seems to have increased the number of deaths
Maybe prepping yourself and not listening to fuckwits who couldnt give a shit about you seems the sensible option
What a concept.
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First of all I wish to thank, from the bottom of my heart, so many of you sending encouraging messages and prayers. I read them all to Bill and he is greatly touched.
He has been on the rehab floor for about a week now, and making progress every day.
The first day he went down to the gym in a motorized wheelchair, and walked with a support harness just ten steps forward and ten steps back. The second day, twice that, plus exercises and stretches in bed. The next day he walked, with a safety harness 76 feet down the hall and back. Then it wass all the way, 200 or so feet down to the gym and back.
Then we had a day we were confined to the room, as it was discovered that we had been exposed to an employee with Covid nine days prior, and so we had people coming in and out with space suits for a day.
The last couple of days they have had him walk with just a walker and someone following closely with a wheelchair as a precaution.
Bill is very anxious to be home and back on his page, but he needs to be able to do certain things and get a little stronger first.
Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and encouragement.
Bill and Judy
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He's a total badass!
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He's a total badass!
And Judys such a nice lady. I would call to order his booklets and she would answer, a real family business.
"Do you want Bill to sign them for you"
"Yes maam" I would say.
His 3-book "Legends" set is one of the best ever put out on the Iron-Game.
A real collectors item. Even better than "Anvils, Horseshoes & Cannons" IMO. (Leo Gaudreau).
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why was he using a riding lawnmower.... he seemingly had the health and strength of a man much younger, so why not use a walking lawnmower for the exercise?..
...I am guessing that you have never maintained acreage?...
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First of all I wish to thank, from the bottom of my heart, so many of you sending encouraging messages and prayers. I read them all to Bill and he is greatly touched.
He has been on the rehab floor for about a week now, and making progress every day.
The first day he went down to the gym in a motorized wheelchair, and walked with a support harness just ten steps forward and ten steps back. The second day, twice that, plus exercises and stretches in bed. The next day he walked, with a safety harness 76 feet down the hall and back. Then it wass all the way, 200 or so feet down to the gym and back.
Then we had a day we were confined to the room, as it was discovered that we had been exposed to an employee with Covid nine days prior, and so we had people coming in and out with space suits for a day.
The last couple of days they have had him walk with just a walker and someone following closely with a wheelchair as a precaution.
Bill is very anxious to be home and back on his page, but he needs to be able to do certain things and get a little stronger first.
Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and encouragement.
Bill and Judy
(http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=678241.0;attach=1366890;image)
"That's it girls - lean right in - go on, right in - that's right - close enough to sniff those balls..."
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Based on his wife's post it sounds like Pearl is doing as well as Ronnie Coleman.
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Happier days before rise of the machines.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VLmX04X9/278081597-535429714616896-4370608635763653357-n.jpg)
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Happier days before rise of the machines.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VLmX04X9/278081597-535429714616896-4370608635763653357-n.jpg)
What did Bill ever do to this lawn tractor to make it turn against him? Plug his pecker into the tailpipe?
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What did Bill ever do to this lawn tractor to make it turn against him? Plug his pecker into the tailpipe?
Most people learn too late that lawn tractors are sentient.
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Most people learn too late that lawn tractors are sentient.
They may be sentient, but are they sexual?
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They may be sentient, but are they sexual?
Not willingly. :P
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(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/95/26/94/95269404cbe1e9fa637a557020cadc1c.jpg)
The Rusty Jeffers of the golden era
[/qo
Where was Bills first gym? In the early 80's I used to drive E. on Manchester Ave. and on the left side I could see a building with faded sign that said "Bill Pearls Gym....This would be in Inglewood..(I think)