I wonder if TA models himself after Arnold? He had the same personality, he just had the body and charisma to back up his arrogance. His behavior just strikes me as being so similar to the mentality that Arnold had in his younger days at least. I'm reading through Wendy Leigh's Unofficial Biography right now (the one that Arnold tried to suppress) and I've certainly been noticing the similarities in outlook.
Adam's biggest tool in manipulating people is that he will not admit fault, ever. Even when caught lying he will continue to shout out his dogma over and over again despite being proven wrong constantly. He just won't give up and won't admit he is beaten, ever. And some people misinterpret that as confidence and so are swayed by him. The moment you start to lick his boots he'll start telling you how great you are (though not as great as him) and how it's you and him against everyone else. He craves power, any kind of power, and he'll lie and cheat and do whatever he has to to get it. He is not an inherently powerful or confident person. If he was, he wouldn't be constantly on the boards trying to get people to declare him the next Weider or Schwarzenegger. I'll admit that he gets under my skin. I know he lies, I have proven he has lied as have many others, but he will never come back to reality and admit it. He will never give anyone that satisfaction. Most people, when caught in a lie, will admit it. But he will not, ever.
He does bring a lot of traffic to the boards and sparks a lot of controversy, but I don't think it's good. Every other thread turns into an argument of him and his toadies preaching his lies and those of us who are more reasonable debunking them. For those who are actually listening to him, I feel sorry because he is setting them back and costing them a lot of hard work and effort, delaying their gains and even damaging their physiques. A perfect example is DaddyWaddy, who if he had dieted clean for the MGB and come in just a little leaner than he did would have been fighting Whateva for first. But he followed Adonis' advice and it cost him some placings. I don't think that what he has to say helps the boards because anyone with a shred of reason who comes on here and sees all his posts will think that these boards aren't worth being a part of because they are full of drivel. Since I came on here I've been seeing and been a part of the same arguments over and over again because he just keeps putting them out there despite being proven wrong over and over. And I'm sure that as long as he is on here he will continue to do the same. Maybe he'll stop or leave when he gets crushed in the next MGB, but even then he might stick around and continue to propagate his madness. At least, after more time has passed less people will listen to him and follow him like sheep when the can see that his "principles" are lies and he is a fraud.