Post by 1705total on Oct 29, 2006 16:42:40 GMT -5
The year was 1984, the month was December. I had just turned 14 years old and for the first time in my life I was allowed to go to the local Mall, all by myself. I had been training in my basement with a crude weight set (cast iron at least), that my older brother was using. I was doing full body workouts, and had never picked up a muscle magazine prior. I was in Walden’s book store when I grabbed the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness.
Inside the issue was the 1984 Olympia coverage. Lee Haney had won his first Mr. Olympia and I was flabbergasted by the photographs. Up until then the only pro’s I saw were guys like Arnold and Franco, and Platz.
30 days later I had the next issue in hand. Mike Christians had won the nationals and was preparing for the Mr. Universe. A guy by the name of Rich Gaspari had won the light heavy weight class. To me Richie (who Jeff Everson gave the nick name of “Dragon slayer”) was nothing special.
Several months later Muscle and Fitness had Sylvester Stallone on the cover. It had contest coverage from the 1985 Night of Champions. I open it up to see a big pic of Albert Beckles winning the show. But it also had a small pic of Rich Gaspari (who placed 2nd) hitting a side tricep pose. Rich had put on about 15 lbs since his Nationals and Universe win and looked unbelievably thick and freaky! I was hooked and became a super fan of Rich Gaspari at that moment. From that point on I followed his career. Every show, every year, I would anticipate his success. I was a total fanatic. Many a time I thought he should have won the Olympia. To me he was a shining example of everything that was right about bodybuilding.
Years have gone by since then, about 24 to be exact; but not much is out there about Richie. His training videos are hard to get, and the mags don’t really print that much about him. Well in comes GMV videos to save the day. Back in 1987, they made a video of Rich Gaspari giving a seminar in Adelaide Australia. They also filmed him guest posing. Well they have recently remastered it and placed it on DVD. The other nice thing GMV has done is add footage from several different times they filmed Richie, such as in 1989 at FIBO, 2001 Mr. Olympia, and the 2005 Olympia. Plus they have added a neat photo gallery.
This dvd is a must for anyone who grew up in the 80’s watching the bodybuilding scene. Richie’s seminar is so full of good, timeless information. His diet strategy can still apply today. He knew his stuff and wasn’t afraid to discuss it. The audience asked some pretty in depth questions and Richie answered them all. I couldn’t help thinking that I wish I would have gotten this when it first came out. It would have helped me when I was competing. The detail he goes into in answering their questions shows that he wasn’t the least bit afraid of divulging and secrets. He openly discusses what supplements work and which ones don’t. Interestingly enough he comments on hoe ineffective grandulars are/where (remember those?). He appears to be more interested in helping the folks in the audience then hiding anything. It was really great to get some good first hand knowledge on nutrition. In fact the information was so good I’m thinking about showing this dvd to kids I train and teach lifting too.
The guest posing footage shows a very, very in shape Gapsari. He looked awesome. He was doing front double bicep shots for the crowd and was able to pull his stomach up into a vacuum. Name one pro that could that today? He was shredded and ripped. Striations everywhere! The various interviews are worth listening to over and over again.
I can’t thank GMV enough for putting this onto dvd format and adding to it. It was great not only for reliving the days of Gaspari, but reminding me of a sensible approach once again.
If your serious about bodybuilding, you need this dvd.
Inside the issue was the 1984 Olympia coverage. Lee Haney had won his first Mr. Olympia and I was flabbergasted by the photographs. Up until then the only pro’s I saw were guys like Arnold and Franco, and Platz.
30 days later I had the next issue in hand. Mike Christians had won the nationals and was preparing for the Mr. Universe. A guy by the name of Rich Gaspari had won the light heavy weight class. To me Richie (who Jeff Everson gave the nick name of “Dragon slayer”) was nothing special.
Several months later Muscle and Fitness had Sylvester Stallone on the cover. It had contest coverage from the 1985 Night of Champions. I open it up to see a big pic of Albert Beckles winning the show. But it also had a small pic of Rich Gaspari (who placed 2nd) hitting a side tricep pose. Rich had put on about 15 lbs since his Nationals and Universe win and looked unbelievably thick and freaky! I was hooked and became a super fan of Rich Gaspari at that moment. From that point on I followed his career. Every show, every year, I would anticipate his success. I was a total fanatic. Many a time I thought he should have won the Olympia. To me he was a shining example of everything that was right about bodybuilding.
Years have gone by since then, about 24 to be exact; but not much is out there about Richie. His training videos are hard to get, and the mags don’t really print that much about him. Well in comes GMV videos to save the day. Back in 1987, they made a video of Rich Gaspari giving a seminar in Adelaide Australia. They also filmed him guest posing. Well they have recently remastered it and placed it on DVD. The other nice thing GMV has done is add footage from several different times they filmed Richie, such as in 1989 at FIBO, 2001 Mr. Olympia, and the 2005 Olympia. Plus they have added a neat photo gallery.
This dvd is a must for anyone who grew up in the 80’s watching the bodybuilding scene. Richie’s seminar is so full of good, timeless information. His diet strategy can still apply today. He knew his stuff and wasn’t afraid to discuss it. The audience asked some pretty in depth questions and Richie answered them all. I couldn’t help thinking that I wish I would have gotten this when it first came out. It would have helped me when I was competing. The detail he goes into in answering their questions shows that he wasn’t the least bit afraid of divulging and secrets. He openly discusses what supplements work and which ones don’t. Interestingly enough he comments on hoe ineffective grandulars are/where (remember those?). He appears to be more interested in helping the folks in the audience then hiding anything. It was really great to get some good first hand knowledge on nutrition. In fact the information was so good I’m thinking about showing this dvd to kids I train and teach lifting too.
The guest posing footage shows a very, very in shape Gapsari. He looked awesome. He was doing front double bicep shots for the crowd and was able to pull his stomach up into a vacuum. Name one pro that could that today? He was shredded and ripped. Striations everywhere! The various interviews are worth listening to over and over again.
I can’t thank GMV enough for putting this onto dvd format and adding to it. It was great not only for reliving the days of Gaspari, but reminding me of a sensible approach once again.
If your serious about bodybuilding, you need this dvd.
