Was Bob from Mass, wes?
Also - was Bob a bender?
Gruskin was married to the muscle
. Seriously, he was gay, but not aggressive with it.
Gruskin was a chemistry professor for one of the (NYC) city colleges for many years, and supposedly knew how to source, and such. Plus, he had an in with most of the important people, particularly on the east coast because he was around covering contests, doing magazine interviews, etc....
For what it's worth, I never heard anything bad about him either, which is rare, in fact most seem to speak about him in glowing terms. He was like a lower budget Ed Conners it seems.
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Some quotes about Gruskin from John D Fair's "Mr America", which is a scholarly book on the contest and the AAU's involvement in it -
"The Mr. America title could be a means to this end, and the New York promoter Bob Gruskin, who had prepped seven winners, helped create an awareness of how to exploit it. “He knew how to train people with very intensive workouts,” according to Bob Bonham, owner of the Strong and Shapely Gym in East Rutherford, New Jersey. “And he taught them life’s lessons. He made them have jobs, keep their jobs, not become bodybuilding bums.” Gruskin liked “a certain type of guy”: “Square jawed, blond hair, very Caucasian.” And they usually had potential before they met him."
"After witnessing Rich Barretta win in 1987 at Atlantic City, Jan Dellinger observed: “[His] most muscular shots were exceptional. Of
course, this is a trademark with any bodybuilder prepped by Bob Gruskin; they look like they were poured into a form of a most muscular pose. Watch King, Meeko, Antorino, Terra, etc.! Ask them for their favorite pose and you’ll get a most muscular of some type on reflex.”
"Don Ross observed that “the AAU and NABBA were the first bodybuilding organizations” and that their “historical significance alone should warrant more attention.” He hoped that such talent scouts as Ed Connors on the West Coast and Bob Gruskin in the East could breathe new life into the faltering contest, which still had a glittering image. Joe DeAngelis seemed to be the future phenomenon that Ross was looking for. An admirer of Jeff King, DeAngelis wanted to win the same titles as his role model had. “Though the NPC champs get more publicity, calling yourself ‘the champion of this’ or ‘the champion of that’ just isn’t as impressive as Mister America and Mister Universe.” "
"Steroid use was most evident in the protégés of Bob Gruskin, who, as noted in a 1991 Muscular Development article by China Blue, “rarely turns out anything but winners.” Blue attributed Gruskin’s success in producing Mr. Americas year after year to his nutritional aids: “Bob feeds all of these big thugs, who systematically and calculatingly, eat him out of house and home.” Karnezis told a different story. Gruskin, who “always had someone in his stable ready for a major contest,” was “well known to be involved in steroids”: “His boys were stoked to the gills.” Karnezis thought Gruskin was “making money directly and indirectly” from drugs and had a friend named Pierce who was “more openly involved in the drug culture.” Karnezis elaborated: “Can I say that all of Gruskin’s boys were involved in drugs and were provided medical assistance from him? No, but I can say that Gruskin was the most successful trainer ever. I don’t have any facts. No syringes, rubber gloves, bottles, etc. No, nothing but his presence.”
To Bob Bonham, Gruskin’s “knowledge” as a biochemistry professor was critical to his connection with steroids. He does not believe that Gruskin administered or sold them to his charges, but counseling was another matter: “Bob’s thing was if one of his boys wasn’t growing, ‘double the dosage.’ That’s a joke we make. But he’s the man with the knowledge, and where else are you going to get that knowledge unless the coach gives it?” Wayne DeMilia recalled going to Gruskin’s house in the mid-1980s: “The refrigerator in the basement was loaded with steroids because he could get them, and he was doing experiments on rats. . . . I saw some of the rats one time. They were gigantic because they were loaded up with stuff. And Bob would set up the guys’ drug cycles.” Gruskin also understood genetics and could predict the muscle thickness of his charges—“He liked big thick good-looking white guys.”
