Avec des machines presque nazes les mecs avaient quand même des resultats!!

IL a baissé son pantalon

In 1997, Tommy Lee Thomas was working on his first movie production and asked one of his boyhood hero's, Pro Bodybuilding Legend, Mr. Universe, Tom Platz to co-star in the movie with him. Tom accepted and discusses that experience here in this interview!:

Interview en 1980

PLATZ FROM THE PAST
The Day Tom Platz “Arrived” at Gold’s.
By Peter McGough

In the February edition of Muscular Development (on newsstands now) the True Brit column, penned by this humble scribe, is dedicated to Tom Platz, whose pro career ran from 1979 through 1987, and who was without doubt the most charismatic bodybuilder of his era. In the course of researching that column I came across a taped interview with Tom that somehow had never been turned into an article. In this excerpt The Golden Eagle recalls his early days at the legendary Gold’s Gym, Santa Monica, which gives an insight into a hallowed time that is sadly gone.



Peter McGough: When did you first come out to California?
TOM PLATZ: It was the spring of 1978; I was 22 years old and had just graduated from college in Michigan. I’d finished second in the short class at the ’77 Mr. America and decided to go to California and prepare for the ’78 event. I wanted to train at Gold’s in Santa Monica, it really was the Mecca. I came out with hardly any money and ended living in an apartment with twenty-five people – 15 guys and 10 girls -- all pursuing an individual dream. The apartment was in Santa Monica on Seventh Street right near the 405 Freeway entrance on Lincoln Boulevard. The traffic was so noisy that if you opened the windows you couldn’t hear a thing inside the apartment. I had the couch – very important to get the couch. I got a job at the Pritikin Foundation Longevity Center right by the ocean. They promoted a low-fat, high-carb diet, and I was an odd-job person handing out beach towels and stuff. After four months I was able to afford my own place and moved out of the apartment.

What happened to the other twenty-four people?
As far as I know everybody, apart from two, went back to where they came from. The other two who stayed were Dave Zelon who went on to promote bodybuilding shows [several USA Championships and the 1991 Ms. Olympia which was broadcast live on ESPN]. He now works as a producer in Hollywood. And Steve Parris, who created all the clothing for the Gold’s Gym chain and other lines of apparel. We were the last three left standing in LA from that 1978 club.



So Gold’s Gym was the draw?
Yeah, it was an unbelievable place. At this time we’re talking about the second Gold’s Gym on Second and Broadway in Santa Monica. I walked in on the first day out here and there was Robby [Robinson], Louie [Ferrigno] Frank Zane and Ken Waller. I was like, Oh, my God, This is heaven. I touched the cable bar Robby had just been working on and I felt I was growing already. The guy who really went out of his way to make me feel at home was Kent Kuehn [1975 Mr. North America] who was in the movie Stay Hungry with Arnold. He was a fixture at Gold’s and was from Detroit, where I’d moved to when I was 18. We’d met before so he made a point of introducing me to everybody.

There was just so much energy in Gold’s you couldn’t help but feed on it. There was an overhead skylight, through which the sun would stream through early in the morning. You could be fat but once you stepped into that light you looked great. It was a magical place. I couldn’t wait to get there in the mornings. Somebody gave me an old bicycle and I used to ride full speed to the gym on that. Later a myth built up that the bike riding was elemental to my leg development. Actually it was the only form of transportation I could afford – the Corvettes came later.

How much did you see of Arnold Schwarzenegger at that time?
Arnold wasn’t in the gym so much then. He’d retired after the ’75 Olympia and was busy with getting his film career going. At the time Robby was the guy. He was larger than life – just had this aura around him. He wore torn-up T-shirts and the short dreads – which no one else did at the time. He loved working out and he trained hard all the time. I went into Gold’s one Christmas Day morning, figuring no one else would be there but there was Robby training as hard as ever. Robby hardly ever talked. But he would go with a bunch of us for lunch at Zucky’s Deli on Wilshire and 5th, and we’d order tons of eggs and beef. Robby would order a tuna salad, eat half of it and then leave without saying a word. We’d look at our full plates against his half-eaten one and say, Wow! How does he do it? He was like a hard 245, which was enormous back then. Thing is Robby loved the training, not the competitions. Because he loved training he tried to stay in shape all year round and never gave himself a break. That’s why I think he missed out on winning the Olympia [Robinson was Mr. Olympia runner-up to Frank Zane in 1977 and 1978].

Did Robby ever give you encouragement?
Like I say, he hardly spoke. But shortly before the 1978 Mr. Universe [now known as the IFBB World Amateur Championship] something really special happened. Robby walked by me in the gym as I was hitting couple of poses and quietly said, “You look good, man.” It took me aback. I looked into the mirror and said, “Tom, Robby gave you a compliment: You’ve arrived.” Coming from him that meant such a lot and I went on to win the middleweight class [in those days the bodyweight limit was 198 pounds] at the Universe, turned pro and my life changed forever.

That’s only part of the tape. If you want to see more unpublished nuggets from one of bodybuilding’s most legendary figures, let us know.

Peter will be back next week and every Wednesday with a new topic looking at the world of bodybuilding like only Peter McGough can do.

Quelques extraits de vidéos (cassettes VHS de "Powerlifting USA") consacrés à lui :

(dsl pour la qualité, les cassettes n'étaient déjà pas très soignées)

On commence par du squat au Gold's Gym de Venice CA :



puis un séminaire avce quelques stars de l'époque :

Merci kepler , c'est sur ta chaine youtube ?

Oui.

Whow! Merci pour ces perles rares