Tom Platz Interview

Tom Platz was a bodybuilding badass in the 1980s!

Tom Platz was a High Intensity Training BEAST back in the ’80s. He was a true contender for the biggest bodybuilding prize of all – the Mr. Olympia. He came close a couple times but never won.

Many suggest it was because his legs were overdeveloped, which left his massive upper body out of balance.

I disagree.

I think his reputation preceded him into competitions. By this I mean that judges had preconceived notions of this imbalance that no longer existed.

In short, Platz kept his massive, awesome leg development and built up his upper body to epic proportions.

While reviewing information this morning, I came across this current video of Platz.

In it, Tom talks about his past, the 1981 Mr. O, his mindset, and how he was so focused he didn’t even know who was on the stage with him!

Bill Pearl

Bill Pearl ushered in the modern era of bodybuilding, in my humble yet accurate opinion. He was the first really massive bodybuilder to experience a whole lot of success in the ’50s and ’60s.

Pearl won the pro Mr. Universe 4 times and would likely have won the Mr. Olympia; however, that contest didn’t exist during his heyday so he never entered it. In fact, by the time the first Mr. O was held, in 1965, Pearl had already amassed 3 of his Mr. Universe titles.

Not many remember but Pearl was in his forties when he won his fourth and final pro Mr. U in 1971.

Even fewer remember that he won his first major contest in 1953, beating out Sean Connery in the amateur Mr. Universe.

Many know him to be a vegetarian bodybuilder. But he only converted from being an omnivore to a vegetarian after he’d built all his mass and experienced much of his success. In fact, he was 39 when he became a lacto-ovo vegetarian (meaning he includes dairy and eggs in his daily diet).

Bill Pearl has authored several bodybuilding books. Two of his most popular are Keys to the INNER Universe and Getting Stronger.