.

[gcb]

Because the mystique would have been gone...and the never-ending debate of whether he would have been the next coming of Arnold, or a middle of the pack bust....would have ended with his 12th place finish. His name would have vanished in obscurity.

Smart man....If he never competes...he never has to live up to the hype.

unlike you I suppose

[Chick]

Pro or not, Richards obviously had unreal genetics.

Who do you think has the best "genetic make-up" of any bodybuilder (pro or not) that you've ever seen, Bob?

Thats a tough one.... we'll take it by era's:

Steve Reeves

Arnold

Danny Padilla


Dillett

Of guys that didn't make it:

Mendenhall

[MCWAY]

I wonder why he never tried competing at a high level.

My guess is that his ego would be crushed, from being defeated by smaller but better-conditioned bodybuilders.

I remember reading an interview with Rich Gaspari in MuscleMag, in which Gaspari claimed that he beat Richards in a teenage competition and Richards threw a fit.

Richards claimed that there was a conspiracy by the "powers-that-be" in the NPC to not place him properly, because of the guest posings gigs he often got, despite not being a pro. So, to stick it to them, he used his dual-citizenship status and won the Nigerian National Championships and was granted pro status, as a result.

He has not competed since that time. And, I don't recall any other Nigerian National champ being granted pro status. If I am mistaken about that, please let me know.

[Purge_WTF]

No, he doesn't compete today...didn't compete yesterday...and probably won't compete tomorrow.

  They'll be saying the same about you a few years from now. You only wish you looked as good as he did.

[pumpster]

Always a few guys who look great in the gym but don't have the desire, or the balance, etc. Bill Petus, Gold's Venice, Larry Samuels Mid-City NYC. Huge.

Samuels, around 1980:

[Chick]

  They'll be saying the same about you a few years from now. You only wish you looked as good as he did.

That doesn't even make any sense....try and keep up, please.

[knny187]

Vic.....would he....could he....etc...

The best thing he did was not compete.  He made alot of $$$ just guest posing.  Not sure if he invested wisely...but don't really care either.

A friend of mine used to be roomates with him back then & said Vic really hated dieting.  He just didn't have the discipline & would rather eat.

[The Ugly]

Because the mystique would have been gone...and the never-ending debate of whether he would have been the next coming of Arnold, or a middle of the pack bust....would have ended with his 12th place finish. His name would have vanished in obscurity.

Smart man....If he never competes...he never has to live up to the hype.

Excellent point. Bodybuilding's Bruce Lee.

Saw him at a burger joint in Upland, CA once. 90-something. Yeah, he's huge, but no one ever mentions just how black he is. Pitch, this guy! Like deep space.

[americanbulldog]

Thats a tough one.... we'll take it by era's:

Steve Reeves

Arnold

Danny Padilla


Dillett

Of guys that didn't make it:

Mendenhall

Amen to Mendenhall.  I used to work at the Golds Gym in Agoura Hills for Elfie (IDK if she still owns it), and Matt and McDish used to come by.  He was the freakiest guy I have ever seen.  (Vic used to train there with the Barbarians during the Barbarians eviction from Venice).  Vic was a freak, and hella strong, but Mendenhall had aesthics, mass, EXTREMELY small joints (his wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles) which made the long muscle bellys look even more exaggerated.  Truly awesome.  Too bad he never got it together.  He dwarfed Gary Strydom whin Strydom won the Nationals.  Too bad he was smooth. 

[americanbulldog]

Excellent point. Bodybuilding's Bruce Lee.

Saw him at a burger joint in Upland, CA once. 90-something. Yeah, he's huge, but no one ever mentions just how black he is. Pitch, this guy! Like deep space.

At least Bruce Lee was willing to spar ANYONE from his day.  Vic never competed.  Chick did.  Nuff said. 

[The Ugly]

Bruce Lee never competed. Nuff said. 

Fixed.

[Parker]

Thats a tough one.... we'll take it by era's:

Steve Reeves

Arnold

Danny Padilla


Dillett

Of guys that didn't make it:

Mendenhall

You forgot, Edgar Fletcher. Didn't you compete agaist him? The Dude had unreal genetics, yet couldn't dial it in. Also I think Darian Bond, who looked like a light skinned Flex Wheeler (albeit a short one).

[Chick]

You forgot, Edgar Fletcher. Didn't you compete agaist him? The Dude had unreal genetics, yet couldn't dial it in. Also I think Darian Bond, who looked like a light skinned Flex Wheeler (albeit a short one).

There are a whole bunch....that's wy they were the worlds best at one point (or could have been...)

Shawn,  Lou, Flex, Kevin, Chris, etc,etc....the list is long. I just tried to break it down to a few

[Alex23]

Thats a tough one.... we'll take it by era's:

Arnold

Danny Padilla


Dillett

Of guys that didn't make it:

Mendenhall

East Coast bias... 

I was only a kid but I remember being at at seminar with an uncle and Mendenhall was crushing what I assume were d bols in his salad bowl at lunch...   

[americanbulldog]

Fixed.

There was no reason for him to compete at the time.  The only thing available was point tournament sparring, his top students, Mike Stone, Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris, whom he sparred with full contact were winning all of those tournaments anyway.