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September 02, 2010, 07:38:24 pm |
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V I S I T I R O N A G E . U S
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Topic: Vince Basile's stories (Read 9848 times)
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Vince Basile
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Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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Thought I would open a new thread so I don't mess up other good ones! 
In 1968 I was training at Golds on Pacific Avenue. Joe let me train there for free for a month. He just said, "Tell me how long you are going to be here." When I opened my gym in 1971 I always remember that courtesy and have been generous when I had visitors who were bodybuilders.
Joe inspired me to build good equipment. I remember his stuff and when he came to my gym after the Olympia in 1980 he said as long as the equipment was smooth that was the main thing. I showed Joe some photos of equipment I have built but he never visited Australia again and so missed seeing my gym after I had my own factory.
Arnold arrived in LA at the same time I did, October 68. I came to LA hoping to settle there but left after a month. I had a social security number but didn't feel right about trying to get a job. Canadians would be deported if illegally in the States. That was because the US had strict laws which applied to all countries. Arnold somehow survived and I ended up in Australia instead after marrying an Aussie, Roz.
Arnold showed up at Golds to train legs. Vince Gironda didn't believe in squats so didn't have a squat rack. So the boys went elsewhere to train. Arnold was a big guy and was easy to approach. He let me measure his arms in the locker room. 21 1/2. He weighed about 250 pounds then. He wouldn't let me measure his chest but I could see what he was around the shoulders. The 60 inch tape plus another 2 inches. I asked if I could measure his calves and he said to come back in 2 weeks. I took a couple of photos of Arnold and the boys and had one published by Dan Lurie. I will see if I can find those images.
I met Dave Draper training there. Nice guy. When I saw him again in Hawaii several months later he said, "Hi, Vince." Arnold didn't remember my name. He did remember my laugh, though. Well, I saw Dave doing calf raises. The guy had these huge arms but his calves were lagging way behind. I watched him put on about 400 pounds or more on the primitive calf machine over in the corner. Then he bent his knees while doing that movement and I instantly knew why his calves were never going to get any bigger. I could pump my calves to over 18 inches then and would make sure I would get to the gym earlier than Dave and pump them to the max. I never did train with Dave and maybe had I done so his calves might have become bigger. The deal was you never interfered with their training out of respect.
One time I tried to help Arnold doing the archer's pose. I tried to move his arm into position and he pushed me away. He never knew how to do that pose right. After that I never offered to help him again. Other people must have because he seemed uncoordinated to me but eventually became a smooth poser.
Joe looked at me one day and said 180. I knew that was what he estimated my contest weight would be. I wasn't impressed. I weighed 210 then and was trying to get even bigger. He would tap on the wooden desk when I walked by. I think he thought I was another Malcolm Brenner. I told him I was going to bulk up. Joe just shook his head. I competed at 190 in the Mr Canada and I still lacked cuts in my thighs. Maybe Joe's estimate was spot on afterall?
When I was getting bigger there I used to go down to the beach. One day at Santa Monica's Muscle Beach I was tanning myself and enjoying the October sun. Arnold was there but sitting maybe 50 metres away. He got up to go for a swim. I watched this huge guy stroll over the sand. Hardly anyone seemed to pay any attention. At Bondi Beach everyone would have stared. Minutes later Zabo's Mexican girlfriend got up and went for a swim. This gal was shapely but on the curvaceous side. She was stunning and had long, dark hair. When she walked to the water everyone noticed and looked. I thought to myself that this physique stuff wasn't as great as I thought.
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Vince Basile
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Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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My visits to Vince's Gym. Hollywood, that is. I had a gym in Sydney that was called Vince's Gym for many years. I even asked Vince if it was alright to use that name. He said okay and even sounded pleased.
Anyway, back in 68 Gironda was well known in bodybuilding. He wrote articles and had guys like Larry Scott train there. He published training articles and sold Vince's Gym T-shirts. He was ahead of his time but never made the big bucks that others did.
I talked to Vince and he let me train there once. I like to look at photos on the walls and I have to tell you they were a monument to him! What an ego, I thought. Most of the photos were with him in them. Anyway, I did some triceps pressdowns and noticed that he had a steel pole almost behind that station. It inspired me to build triceps stations with back rests. I eventually made some that were sloping so that you could get some resistance near the bottom.
After training I told Vince I had some photos of Arnold just back from processing. He told me to go get them. When I brought them back he started leafing through them and said out loud, "Here's a guy who carries photos of guys in his wallet!" That joke must have pleased him because he repeated it even louder a second time to the fellas in his gym. I have to say I instantly disliked the man after that. It was a good lesson on how NOT to treat other people.
In 1980 I visited his gym again. He wasn't there but they said I could have a look around. They had a crummy women's section upstairs. They let me phone Vince and he said he was busy writing articles. I laughed to myself because I thought that shouldn't take that long. This is when I asked if it was okay to use his business name for my club. He sounded rather pleased that another gym was named after his. I changed the name of my club because people in Australia have a different idea what a gym was 25 years ago. Also, the name sounds southern European and many Aussies avoid going to wog premises. I changed it to Vince and Roz's Fitness World. I was trying to appeal to women and the fitness market. I think we still have a reputation as a hardcore gym.
It was very sad to learn that Vince had a big flood damage his property. He used to say that wherever he went bodybuilders wanted information. That gym has been closed for some time now. Vince died a couple of years ago just short of his 80th. Some of the oldtimers had a big party planned but he never made it. The guy sure never kissed anyone's butt! I have to respect him for that. He was a pioneer to be sure and still remains the Iron Guru after all these years.
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Vince Basile
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Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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The first gym I ever trained in was the old Western Gym on Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver. It was on skid row and lots poor people hung around there.
One day Lucien Roy, the manager, was showing me some photos in the walls adjacent to his office. "Look at Steve Reeves, the man was perfect! Yet the girls scream for those little creeps The Beatles!" How true that was. To this day a big muscle man is a turn off to most women. I have never understood why that should be so. Oh, the gals do love the good physiques on male strippers but all those years in the gym only attracted gay men and seldom the beautiful women everyone seemed to want! I mean this has to be the opposite of what it should be.
Lucien was a bit of a philosopher. Guess running a gym makes you see the human condition better than most. They used to present a trophy in Vancouver dedicated to Lucien's memory.
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Vince Basile
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Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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Arnold visited Australia several times in the 1970s and was very popular here. In those days I am sure he would have come just for the girls, beach and good time. My friend Robert took him places and introduced him to a friend or two.
In 1974 he came to my gym to present a seminar. It was at the last minute and I phoned around but didn't get enough people to come to cover the $500 fee he charged. We did get a fair turn out and the occasion was one that no one who saw it would forget. The deal was that Arnold would do a posing routine, show us a bit about training and then sit down and answer questions. As a show it was the best that any pro did at our gym.
If you saw Arnold in person at his peak you know he wasn't that wide. Those huge traps dwarfed the width like you see when a guy like Sergio. However, when you see those huge arms with those ropes called veins you really wonder how anyone got that huge. You literally cannot see where he could add any more size. We had a couple of our juniors put on a posing display as a contrast to Arnold. He didn't disappoint and I am sure none of us had seen such a big guy up close. His posing was very fluid and he could go from front to back and so on with flair and impressiveness. His calves always got wows. If you look at what he does then you know how big they were from the side. I can't recall anyone else who could duplicate that calf pose. I think the thickness of his pecs and the size of his chest is the biggest our sport has ever seen.
Arnold did his posing in his posing costume then got dressed in a singlet and tracksuit pants. He showed us some of his training and was funny to boot. He would show us how Sergio would do curls by cheating then he would demonstrate his method which was stricter. He insisted that he stand on a block to do bent over rows with a barbell. We always called that Arnold's block after that. To be quite frank, Arnold didn't tell us anything we didn't know. We were left with the impression that he was some kind of genetic natural who used steroids to get that big.
I had a few questions lined up to ask in the question time. I thought if I asked some it might help avoid too many of those silly questions that many have to ask. I knew he drove a big BMW and I had a 2002 BMW. He was surprised that I knew. I guess reading those bodybuilding magazines does help, afterall! Arnold had this way of answering questions that was interesting. He was candid but you never knew if he was pulling your leg or not. Anyone who has seen Pumping Iron knows that Arnold loves to trick people. I doubt he would have gone around the world telling everyone his training secrets.
Arnold left our gym to do another posing routine at Tony's Gym in another part of Sydney. Robert Nailon took that famous biceps shot of Arnold there. What happened was someone else took a flash of Arnold at the same time as Robert did and so the image is lit from two angles which added a dramatic look. That is one of the best photos of Arnold at his biggest.
I had previously invited Arnold and the gang to my penthouse apartment at Manly Beach. In those days property was cheap. If you worked two jobs you could buy good places to live. That apartment is now worth $2,000,000 but we sold it in 1978. My ex insisted that it didn't suit our two children. Ah, you have to find a wife who shares your dream. We would be on easy street today had we kept that place. I told her it would be worth a million dollars one day but she said sell.
Arnold arrived with Paul Graham, Robert Nailon, Tony Benn and others for dinner. Roz said that everyone thanked her for dinner except Arnold! Oh, dear, how rude. Anyway I got to talk to Arnold and of course everyone was sitting around listening. I asked him what he thought about Sergio Oliva. "The guy's a pig!" That was a shock to hear. So I asked him about Robby Robinson and every black champion I could think of. They were all pigs according to Arnold. So I accused him of being prejudiced. "No, I am not, I just don't like any of those guys." Well, why call them pigs?
I asked Arnold about Sergio deserving to win in 1972. He confessed that if he had Sergio's body he would have won. Then he said that everyone who loses claims the contest was fixed. Franco did, Sergio did and so on. He listed several of the guys who said that. Then I asked about the Mr Universe in Florida in 1968 where he lost to Frank Zane. "Oh, that contest was fixed!" You had to be there to laugh at that one. The impression I always had of Arnold was that he loved life and was doing what all of us wanted to do. Be single and care not for anyone or anything. Seymour Koenig told me he saw that contest and Frank deserved to win.
Minutes later Arnold disappeared. My lounge was filled with people so there were plenty of interesting discussions going on. Then the parents of one of my babysitters asked where their daughter was. Oh, oh, I thought. Well, we lived 15 floors up and there was only one entrance and exit in my apartment. Robert Nailon had a hunch and disappeared for a while. When he returned he said that Arnold was in bed with Suzanne! Jesus, what was I supposed to do? Here was Arnold, an international celebrity, seducing a 16 year old girl in one of my bedrooms. I thought that interfering might be unwise because of the damage it could do. Suzanne was over the age of consent in Australia and so she knew what she was doing. She told me after that he "forced" her but she didn't shout out or anything. She said she didn't want to get Arnold in trouble. I have to conclude she consented. I mean, a lot of women in those days were turned on by those celebrity musclemen. Arnold had that charm and presence so that he dominated a room wherever he was. He was an Alpha male for sure. He could tell if a woman fancied him and he was ruthless about the opportunity. The guy was a man's man. I wrote to John Balik about Arnold's adventure and he assured me that story could be retold many, many times around the world.
Those of you who saw Arnold win the race as governor of California know that some women came forth who said Arnold touched them. I never heard of any saying that they were raped. Sounds to me like most enjoyed his company!
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Vince Basile
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You people must wonder how I can relate those stories about Arnold. Well, let me tell you what happened in 1975.
I challenged Robert Nailon to compete against me in the 1975 Mr Australia contest in Melbourne. That was the only way I could motivate myself to do all this silly weight training. He accepted. Well, Arnold came to do a guest pose at the Mr New South Wales contest and the Mr Australia a week later. At the NSW Robert placed first. He had some of his friends judging that contest and even though Robert was known throughout the bodybuilding world he never won a major contest before. Well, he did win Mr Adonis which was a contest between 3 gyms. Tony's, Coogee, and West Ryde.
I had heard that Robert had won before the evening show. So when I saw the lineup I thought how in the heck did he beat big Hans Meyer? The only thing that made sense is that Hans had won plenty of local contests and it was Robert's turn to win. Robert had very small calves compared to his arms. So when the results were announced several of us spontaneously booed from the back of the hall. Robert frowned and tried to see who was booing but the spot lights were too bright. I was rather disgusted by that contest and didn't stay around to talk to Arnold or the competitors. Paul Graham always put on a spead for the competitors, judges and officials.
Robert blamed Andrew Shigelski from my gym for booing. He told them that I started the booing. Well, right there and then Arnold and Paul said they would get me in Melbourne.
At a couple of previous contests in Sydney I placed others over Paul Graham. Paul must have found out and was going to get even with me. I knew this and told Frank Burwash in Melbourne to watch out for Paul. We had a judges and competitors meeting in Melbourne and I stood up and said it wasn't fair that Roger Walker was competing. He should step aside like John Grimek did and give someone else the chance to be Mr Australia. Not one person there supported me. Arnold stood up and said if they allowed that then Lou would have voted against Arnold being allowed to compete. That was irrelevant because there was no limit on the Mr Olympia. Anyway, after Arnold finished that was the end of the matter. The fact that I had spoken out made me someone to punish. Looking back I should have withdrawn and done a guest pose. I put a lot of time and effort into preparing for that contest.
Well, the judging arrived and we were put into 3 classes. I was in the tall class and Robert was in the shorter class. So we were not compared. At the evening show they were running late and halfway though my routine Frank said, "Thanks, Vince." Heck, no one was going to stop me so I completed my routine. Posing was one trophy I felt only Robert Nailon could take from me. When the trophies were awarded I received nothing at all and placed last in my class of 7. That was a very bitter experience for me. Back stage at the evening show I asked Robert, who at that time was working for me in one of my gyms, if I needed more or less oil on me. His reply, "You don't talk to anyone at contests!" Well, that didn't sit well with me at all.
I thought I had a chance at winning best legs and definitely best poser. I won nothing at all. They forgot to award the best poser so Frank ran around to the judges getting opinions and then said it was a tie between Roger Walker and Robert Nailon. Boy did that piss me off. I mean, Roger was a very ordinary poser in those days. He came to my gym later and I tried to help him pose but he had no idea at all.
I had to drive with my wife all the way back to Sydney which took about 10 hours. During that time it was clear that Robert was going to be fired. No one needs to be treated like he treated me. Later he said he was just copying what Arnold said to Franco. I was livid that the contest was fixed. How could I come last? Ian Perrott who came second to Roger came up to me afterwards and said he should have said something. I told him he should have been Mr Australia. He said he would win another year. He never did and he committed suicide months later. I doubt he would have done that had he won that title.
I got Roz to write to Frank Burwash about the judging. He wrote back that Paul Graham had given me the ridiculous score of 25 out of 100. He said Arnold wasn't as low but he put me down too. I have that in writing. The governor of California fixed a contest! I never respected Arnold again after that. The guy seemed to think rules and laws didn't apply to him. When I saw him in Pumping Iron telling that kid to scream when he posed it shows what an ass Arnold really is. Things are funny as long as it is not about him.
In 1980 Arnold won the Olympia under suspicious circumstances. I will write about that contest here for posterity. Not in this thread, though. The day after the Olympia, Franco Columbo put on a seminar at my gym. I mean, have any of these guys ever been to university? They call answering questions a seminar? That was the worst seminar any bodybuilder has put on at my gym. Larry Scott's was the best, followed by Ray Mentzer. Lance Dreher's was pretty much useless, too. Anyway, I had a big picture of Sergio that was taken by Inge Cook, later Arthur Jone's wife, in Florida in 1972. The double biceps. Arnold was showing someone else that photo and I yelled out, "Arnold is looking at the real king there!" He gave me a dirty look for that.
Outside I asked Arnold how his million dollar house was in Malibu. He asked me how I knew that? Well, I met others at the contest and someone told me. Maybe it was Joe Gold. So Arnold was a millionaire before making it big as a movie star. Joe Gold told him you can make only 30 grand a year in the gym business and if he was smart he would invest his money in real estate. Arnold took Joe's advice and it made him rich.
That Mr Australia contest was my last contest. A couple of years later I tore my right biceps doing a 509 pound deadlift without too much warming up. It should have been easy. To this day I don't like seeing anyone doing deadlifts. Quite a dangerous exercise.
I think Arnold was a man's man. Some people, like Roz, didn't think much of him at all. He had the manners of a boor. I guess he has been reinvented by marrying into a classy family. That guy lived the life that many people only read in books.
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Vince Basile
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There is a funny thing about Robert Nailon. Well, he had all these photos of himself with the various champions who visited Australia. I guess I thought why bother getting all those shots just to identify about being with Dave Draper and others. So I never got many photos of here I am with Arnold and Sergio and so on. That is amusing because who would have known that Arnold the musclehead would become famous outside of bodybuilding. I remember telling him in my place in 1974, "Look, Arnold, Steve Reeves was better looking and he never made that much money out of acting. You aren't going to be an actor Arnold." He said, "Keep telling me that because it motivates me!" Ah, the guy had more motivation that any 3 people. I wonder what was driving him to do all those things? Why try to be one of the most famous people who ever lived? I am sure that is one of his goals.
We have a movie producer/director at our gym. His name is Sandy Harbutt who was famous in Australia for the movie about bikies called "Stoned". I related this story to him about Arnold and he said, "He never did make a good actor but he was a good entertainer."
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oldtimer1
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Great memories. Please keep them coming. It's great to hear from someone that was there first hand. I really enjoyed hearing your accounts of the old days. Thanks!
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Vince Basile
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My last name, Basile, is Italian so probably is pronounced Bah si ley as you suggest. However, my mum preferred Bah seal so that is how we say it. Translates into King. Now imagine my name being Vince King!
I see Robert from time to time or we talk on the phone. A few years ago he inherited his parent's home then got a good price when he sold it. He bought a big house so he could house his motion picture projectors. He has these huge machines lined up just off the kitchen. Another room plus his garage is filled with projectors and parts. That is Robert's hobby and passion at the moment. He restores those machines then shows 35 mm shows in his lounge room. He still keeps his size by going to the gym now and then. I think he does some personal training if the money suits him. Robert never got married but he does have a son, Scott. Someone who knows him did a great cartoon of Robert getting married to one of his projectors! I have a copy of that cartoon but I am not allowed to post it! 
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Vince Basile
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Frank Zane
« Reply #12 on: July 01, 2005, 07:06:14 pm » |
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Robert N liked to bring bodybuilders to my penthouse when I owned it in the 1970s. One day he called and said Frank Zane wanted to come over. I wanted to meet Frank as I had heard how intelligent he was. He had a beard when he was here in 1978. They were sitting in my lounge and Frank said to me, "Vince you will never have to visit Disneyland!" I asked him why not? "Because you have been living in Fantasyland all your life!" That was in reference to what I said in the article I wrote about the Mr Canada contest. I said my ambition was to beat Frank Zane. Somehow I didn't think he was that funny. I didn't find Frank particularly intelligent or pleasant. Who knows what I would have achieved had I gone to live in LA? I thrive on competition.
At the 1980 Mr Olympia, Robert thought Frank was going to retain his title. Frank came third after Arnold and Chris Dickerson. Very few people knew that Arnold was competing. Paul Graham did and he told me. I told some of the competitors in the hotel at Bondi on the morning of the contest. No one believed me. Anyway, Arnold was staying at the Hilton in downtown Sydney. Frank refused to stay at the Bondi hotel because of cockroaches or something. The ones in Australia are huge. So he stayed at the Hilton, too. Frank, Mike, Roger, Boyer and Chris did not go on the harbour cruise after the contest. That was disappointing to those of us who were on that cruise. I met Casey Viator. He was in the magazines when I won my title. He said, "Jesus, kid, has it been 10 years already?" I mean, who was the kid here?
Robert took photos of some of the competitors at the various gyms they worked out in before the competition. You wouldn't have believed how primitive the gyms were in Sydney back then. Especially the ones at Randwick and Bondi. They both had lat machines that ran up and down the walls on wheels! Australian engineering.
I took 360 photos at the prejudging. It was apparent to me when examining the images that any of the top 6 guys could have been Mr Olympia. Like I said I will write in detail about that contest and post it here on this board in a separate thread. After looking at all the 'evidence' I concluded that Arnold was the best. If we forgot about reputations then Arnold still dwarfed everyone in arms and chest. His legs weren't the best but his calves were still big. By comparison Frank and Chris looked small. When it is all said and done size still counts in bodybuilding because that is the essence of the sport. Casey didn't impress on stage but looked good in those photos Robert took of him in the gym. The one competitor who was completely overlooked was Danny Padilla. He was never called out for a comparison but if you put all the photos to the same scale then Danny was the biggest and best bodybuilder there that day.
Robert didn't come on the cruise, either, which was strange. Apparently he went to the Hilton to see Frank. If you know Robert you know he is pretty cluey about people. Anyway, he knocked on the door and Christine opened it. Robert said he thought he could hear someone crying in the background. She said Frank didn't want to see anyone then. So Robert wasted that night on the hope he could spend some time with his mate Frank.
Robert and I had a contest about who could take the best photos of the Olympia. There was a contest in 1979 with the top guys in the Opera house. I noticed which row was in the middle of the hall so that a photographer would be at waist height to the guys posing. I think it was row 0. So I ordered 200 tickets from Paul from those rows. I had a tripod and a telephoto lens and captured the best shots from the prejudging. Would you believe my camera locked up just before Arnold came on to pose in the evening. I got John Balik a seat beside me and his 180 mm lens captured those images for his magazines. My 200 mm lens was superior to his. Robert, in the meantime, was running around at the back of the stage hoping to get some good photos. In the end he had to buy my photos from me.
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Vince Basile
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Vince Basile
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Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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Hi Shawn, and others, thank you for the reception I am getting here. It is refreshing.
I have been involved in the Irongame in just about every aspect you can imagine except publishing magazines. One of the first things that we learn about contests is that they are always controversial. In the old days whoever put on a show invited the gym owners to judge. That way they would turn up with their members and families. Another trick was to stage junior, novice, women's and aged competitions to swell the audience. It was a sort of balance to have judges from the various gyms and most of the time this worked quite well.
I knew that bodybuilding was subjective. I have seen some guys get overlooked in contests. That helped me come up with a process and criterion for judging contests. After the Olympia I clearly saw that our contests could be judged afterwards from photos and videos as well as live judging. It was possible to have all the competitors at the same scale in images and this would guarantee complete fairness in the process. This is where Danny Padilla stood out. Oh, he was a crowd favourite and had a couple of things he did that got a lot of applause. Like when he shook his hands to emphasize how hot he was. If the contest was judged using objective processes as well as live judging then maybe guys like Danny would have won. Those of us who have been around know that the old AAU Mr America was political. Matter of fact that was the driving force that saw the IFBB gain momentum. Those Californian bodybuilders like Larry Scott preferred to enter pure bodybuilding contests. Also, Sergio lost to Bob Gajda and he followed suit. Eventually the IFBB had the top contest when Heidenstamn and Hoffman disappeared. The end of an era, really.
The IFBB is a mess at the moment. No real direction and they have lost the plot. The whole sport has been dragged down to a chemical competition that makes us all losers. If you look at the sport it is clear the intelligent thinkers are ostrasized and omitted from contributing. What remains is a business run by a family of despots. Soon that era will end, too.
Danny was way better than Franco in 1981. I mean, Franco wasn't in what I would call his best condition. Even Tom Platz was better. But Danny was cut to ribbons and still didn't get what he deserved. I guess someone up high didn't want him to win. Ditto for Casey Viator who was great one of those years. The whole saga of the judging of the Olympia is one that should be written but most are afraid to speak out.
I am writing here as one person's opinion. I do speak the truth and that is one legacy that Vince Gironda, John Grimek and Joe Gold have inspired me to do.
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Vince Basile
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In 1970 they had an arm wrestling contest with the show. They also had a bench press contest but I had lost too much strength from dieting.
Anyway, there were about 6 guys who showed up to compete. I was working out at Western Gym and used to arm wrestle James Forsythe down at the little Ukrainian restaurant a couple of doors away. We were quite equal but a month before I was consistently beating Jim. I have to confess that Roz got some dianabol tablets from the hospital for me and I was taking two a day for a couple of months. I saw my strength go up in the bench quite noticably. I was stronger arm wrestling, too. Well, I went off the tablets about 3 weeks before the contest as I hated the idea I was using drugs. It was like cheating. However, Ken Rivard was way bigger than me and there was no way I could compete against that guy naturally. About two weeks before the show I saw I was losing too much size so used tablets again. I went from 210 pounds to 190 pounds in two weeks. Heck, no way I can diet and lose weight and fat that quickly any more.
So on the day of the contest I came up against Neil's son. The kid was a teenager and tall and lanky. I didn't think I would have any trouble against him. Gosh, he wore me out and almost won. The kid was strong. Jim beat his opponents really quickly. So we ended up in the finals. It was a close battle and he somehow got the table to shift which gave him a leverage advantage. I had to be content with the trophy for second place. I saw Jim last summer in Vancouver and he still has his trophy. We argued about how he "cheated". I told him my brother John was yelling that the table had shifted. Jim said he has a bad ear and didn't hear any such thing. The guy is a card. We took some photos and I will see if I can post one or two here.
After the contest Jim said, "Where were all the lumberjacks and Canadian backwoods strongmen?" Yes, no one showed up. Jim knew that but he is still the Canadian champion for that year in armwrestling. Who did he beat? Good question. I have a few stories about Jim but I don't think I should post them here. That guy was one funny man. Last year he played a tape of him singing Jim Reeves tunes. The guy can sing, too!
I was given one of those tables for endorsing the machine. I left it with Jim but he said he sold it years ago. They had two 50 pound plates on that machine in my photo. I couldn't budge it but could move one of those plates. I think I even pulled something in my arm trying to shift that impossible weight. What was Neil thinking?
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Vince Basile
Olympia Level
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Posts: 840
Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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The condition that saw me place last in my class in the Mr Australia contest thanks to Arnold and Paul Graham.
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Vince Basile
Olympia Level
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 840
Everyone is an expert in the Irongame!
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Hans Gensow was one of the guys who got me bodybuilding in 1959. Shortly after this photo was taken he took his shirt off! Jimmy said, why did he have to do that? The sun had gone down and it was late. Hans is 69, I think and still was in better condition than we were. You know we were bulky, not fat. There is a difference! It took us more than an hour to get enough nerve to remove our shirts and do some posing for the ladies there. Not sure I have enough nerve to post one of those here![img][/img]
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The age of consent for American women is 45. 
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