Bill Seno who won Best Chest in this meet was the only man ever to win NATIONAL titles in ALL THREE facets of our iron sport. He took FIRST PLACE in the AAU Powerlifting contest, FIRST PLACE in the AAU Jr. NATIONAL OLYMPIC CONTEST, AND FIRST PLACE in the AAU Most Muscular Mr. America.... all were done in the mid sixties.... AND ALL WERE WON WITH ZERO DRUGS AND ZERO SUPPLEMENTS. He was the GOAT.
Great video John, and so thoroughly researched. Steve trained me from age 15 and I worked for him at his incredible gym, Mr. America's. I noticed Julie Levine, who was the owner of R&J gym in Brooklyn (seen in Pumping Iron) in two of the pictures (just after the jidges picture, amd then later with Jim Morris and Steve). Julie trained Steve, Lou Ferrigno, and NFL player Lyle Alzado together). Julie also was the promoter of the NY IFBB contests, along with Wayne and Karen Demillia. In 1980, Steve placed ahead of Mohamed Makkaway, Samir Bannout, Boyer Coe and others but for some reason did not go to the Olympia. John, can you do a video on the 1993 and 1994 AAU Mr.America sometime? Two competitors from Steve's gym won those contests (Billy Nothaft in 93 and Andy Sivert in 1994). Andy bought Mr. America's from Steve in the late 80's.
Don Ross was the manager of my gym, The Clancy Ross Mr America Club (no relation) in 1979, and he was looking fantastic back then. Because Don mainly competed in Dan Lurie's World Body Building Guild (WBBG) Weider didn't like him, and as a result the IFBB was reluctant to let him compete in IFBB shows. One fact many people don't know is that Don trained Tom Platz in Michigan (where they're both from and both won Mr Michigan), and Tom credits Don with his intense training style.
Two interesting factoid related to this contest. I trained with Paul Hill at Vince's gym, although not for this contest, and we were close friends. Another bodybuilding luminary who placed low in this contest was Jim Manion, who went on to head the NPC. I also knew Steve Michalik well. Steve had a lot of psychological problems, but was a nice guy. Sadly, he wound up killing himself. He once listed a document signed by a notary public saying he didn't use anabolic drugs that was published in Ironman magazine around the time of his Mr.A win. This got a chuckle from those who knew the truth, which was that Steve was one of the most massive users of anabolic steroids in bodybuilding.
Steve like Sergio Oliva had an incredible 27 inch waist! I remember watching him in a documentary back in the 70's on Channel 2 N.Y CBS - They show him training doing a Nautilus Machine pullover and posing, He looked out of this world with incredible abdominals! I also saw him on the Mike Douglas show. If it wasn't for that accident that he had he would have been as great as Arnold or Lou Ferrigno. He trained like and animal with Don Modzelewski at Futureman Gym in NY. He actually trained way harder than Arnold! - Thanks for the video!
@AngelOliva302 I think he trained harder than just about anybody! According to Steve, he ran into Arnold during his Olympia preparation during the late '70s. Arnold looked him over and told him that he would be the man to beat at that year's Olympia. That was right before "The Phantom" totaled his Corvette, which curtailed his plans.
@AngelOliva302 I remember he did a half-an-hour infomercial on late night selling this piece of junk, spring loaded exercise gadget to women. He claimed he used it to build his herculean body! Well, I guess it was the only paycheck he could get at the time. 😔
Totally agree. He was on his way to California to train at Golds to prepare for the 1976 Mr Olympia. His VW got destroyed by a dump truck. He was never the same. He was lucky to survive. He did make a successful comeback which in itself was a miracle
@@naturalolympiaI trained at his gym a few times in the 80s. He was extremely eccentric...zany! His training was trying to do as much volume in limited time frame. He'd sometimes put police tape around his training area ...it was a very intense gym
@PinnaclePete yea. Steve would put up tape and threatened to beat the crap out of anyone who crossed. It was that kind of club. There was also a sign on the front desk that said "if it's not working, up the dosage" with a syringe. It had a lot if champion bodybuilders in there like Steve who owned the place, John Defendis and Jerry Scalese
@wildmanz8233 I remember the syringe on the wall and the "up the dosage" motto. 😆 Was John Defendis the bodybuilder that had his beloved dog stuffed and dragged him around the gym as he worked out?
Nice look into 1972. Weightlifting was huge that year with Ken Patera and Russias Alexeyev at the Olympics. The amateur bodybuilding ranks looked to be well stocke 9:59 d with great talent. John is looking lean and mean these days. He looked awesome at the Olympia. Have been using Old School Labs products for a full 10 years now.
John, see if you can find any photos on Robert Klez, he placed 3rd a few times in the Mr. A. around the mid 70's. He ran a GNC in Methuen MA in the later 70's, i think he told me he placed 3rd 3 times. I remember seeing Steve in the magazines, reading some of his articles, etc.
@@naturalolympia Oh, i have seen the movie many times but next time i will have to take a closer look. Unfortunately the internet shows he passed at age 55.
I was there for both prejudging and the night show. It was completely evident that Grymkowski was by far the superior physique. This contest proved the AAU was as corrupt as the Mafia.
Although the outcome of the 1971 AAU Mr. America was a fair one with Casey Viator as the overall winner, I thought that the following year would be Pete Grymkowski's turn. As it turned out, Michalik took the overall title. Grymkowski came back for a third time in '73 but Jim Morris took the overall title. From that time on I always felt that the AAU wasn't giving Grymkowski a fair shake.
Pete was very thick but wide waisted. Steve had that small waist and broad shoulders plus a more aesthetic look that was in vogue back then. A different set of judges and the outcome could have been different.
That's so cool to see the results sheets you're reading off with the name of club and some contestants are unattached. Those are exactly like what they still had in 1989 when I was amateur boxing in Chicago. So I can kind of see how weightlifting and then bodybuilding at the amateur level in the 70s and 80s was a thing. If you are not a competitor or relative of a competitor at amateur level, you don't get exposed to this stuff. I wonder if it's still like this even though I competed in masters boxing 2016-2020. DO THE BODYBUILDING COMPETITORS HAVE A BOOKLET THAT THEY BRING SHOWING THEY ARE LICENSED OR REGISTERED WITH ABA (NPC?) THAT RECORDS THEIR CONTESTS AND RESULTS LIKE A PASSPORT?
Hi John, I'm a big fan of your natural BB career. Just curious, have you started TRT in these recent years?? I'm a lifetime natty in my 50's and wanted to know if you have needed it to stay so fit?
You definitely don’t need it to stay fit. If your levels are low and below normal, it can help feel better and have more energy like when you were younger and your levels were normal.
So many of us have spent half our lives in the gym grinding out macho reps.... or hours on cardio machines... suffering like on the TV series, The Biggest Loser. I think it's WAY WAY PAST DUE that we substitute THIS SHUFFLE DANCING for all the 'heavy duty', pedal to the medal training... ergo: ruclips.net/user/shortsgP4YUF5nexw?si=tgCFE_PnytK8UarD
Bill Seno who won Best Chest in this meet was the only man ever to win NATIONAL titles in ALL THREE facets of our iron sport. He took FIRST PLACE in the AAU Powerlifting contest, FIRST PLACE in the AAU Jr. NATIONAL OLYMPIC CONTEST, AND FIRST PLACE in the AAU Most Muscular Mr. America.... all were done in the mid sixties.... AND ALL WERE WON WITH ZERO DRUGS AND ZERO SUPPLEMENTS. He was the GOAT.
Great video John, and so thoroughly researched. Steve trained me from age 15 and I worked for him at his incredible gym, Mr. America's. I noticed Julie Levine, who was the owner of R&J gym in Brooklyn (seen in Pumping Iron) in two of the pictures (just after the jidges picture, amd then later with Jim Morris and Steve). Julie trained Steve, Lou Ferrigno, and NFL player Lyle Alzado together). Julie also was the promoter of the NY IFBB contests, along with Wayne and Karen Demillia. In 1980, Steve placed ahead of Mohamed Makkaway, Samir Bannout, Boyer Coe and others but for some reason did not go to the Olympia. John, can you do a video on the 1993 and 1994 AAU Mr.America sometime? Two competitors from Steve's gym won those contests (Billy Nothaft in 93 and Andy Sivert in 1994). Andy bought Mr. America's from Steve in the late 80's.
Great Video...Steve Michalik looked REALLY good...
Don Ross was the manager of my gym, The Clancy Ross Mr America Club (no relation) in 1979, and he was looking fantastic back then. Because Don mainly competed in Dan Lurie's World Body Building Guild (WBBG) Weider didn't like him, and as a result the IFBB was reluctant to let him compete in IFBB shows. One fact many people don't know is that Don trained Tom Platz in Michigan (where they're both from and both won Mr Michigan), and Tom credits Don with his intense training style.
Two interesting factoid related to this contest. I trained with Paul Hill at Vince's gym, although not for this contest, and we were close friends. Another bodybuilding luminary who placed low in this contest was Jim Manion, who went on to head the NPC. I also knew Steve Michalik well. Steve had a lot of psychological problems, but was a nice guy. Sadly, he wound up killing himself. He once listed a document signed by a notary public saying he didn't use anabolic drugs that was published in Ironman magazine around the time of his Mr.A win. This got a chuckle from those who knew the truth, which was that Steve was one of the most massive users of anabolic steroids in bodybuilding.
Steve like Sergio Oliva had an incredible 27 inch waist! I remember watching him in a documentary back in the 70's on Channel 2 N.Y CBS - They show him training doing a Nautilus Machine pullover and posing, He looked out of this world with incredible abdominals! I also saw him on the Mike Douglas show. If it wasn't for that accident that he had he would have been as great as Arnold or Lou Ferrigno. He trained like and animal with Don Modzelewski at Futureman Gym in NY. He actually trained way harder than Arnold! - Thanks for the video!
@AngelOliva302 I think he trained harder than just about anybody!
According to Steve, he ran into Arnold during his Olympia preparation during the late '70s. Arnold looked him over and told him that he would be the man to beat at that year's Olympia. That was right before "The Phantom" totaled his Corvette, which curtailed his plans.
@AngelOliva302 I remember he did a half-an-hour infomercial on late night selling this piece of junk, spring loaded exercise gadget to women. He claimed he used it to build his herculean body! Well, I guess it was the only paycheck he could get at the time. 😔
Totally agree. He was on his way to California to train at Golds to prepare for the 1976 Mr Olympia. His VW got destroyed by a dump truck. He was never the same. He was lucky to survive. He did make a successful comeback which in itself was a miracle
Amazing research and history!!!!
Thank you!
@@naturalolympiaI trained at his gym a few times in the 80s. He was extremely eccentric...zany! His training was trying to do as much volume in limited time frame. He'd sometimes put police tape around his training area ...it was a very intense gym
@wildmanz8233 Police tape around his training area? That's funny!
@PinnaclePete yea. Steve would put up tape and threatened to beat the crap out of anyone who crossed. It was that kind of club. There was also a sign on the front desk that said "if it's not working, up the dosage" with a syringe. It had a lot if champion bodybuilders in there like Steve who owned the place, John Defendis and Jerry Scalese
@wildmanz8233 I remember the syringe on the wall and the "up the dosage" motto. 😆
Was John Defendis the bodybuilder that had his beloved dog stuffed and dragged him around the gym as he worked out?
Nice look into 1972. Weightlifting was huge that year with Ken Patera and Russias Alexeyev at the Olympics. The amateur bodybuilding ranks looked to be well stocke 9:59 d with great talent. John is looking lean and mean these days. He looked awesome at the Olympia. Have been using Old School Labs products for a full 10 years now.
Thank you!
Some legends in that show and a lifetime of stories and gear use!🤯
John, see if you can find any photos on Robert Klez, he placed 3rd a few times in the Mr. A. around the mid 70's. He ran a GNC in Methuen MA in the later 70's, i think he told me he placed 3rd 3 times. I remember seeing Steve in the magazines, reading some of his articles, etc.
There’s a few photos of Robert in the original Pumping Iron book
@@naturalolympia Oh, i have seen the movie many times but next time i will have to take a closer look. Unfortunately the internet shows he passed at age 55.
I was there for both prejudging and the night show. It was completely evident that Grymkowski was by far the superior physique. This contest proved the AAU was as corrupt as the Mafia.
Although the outcome of the 1971 AAU Mr. America was a fair one with Casey Viator as the overall winner, I thought that the following year would be Pete Grymkowski's turn. As it turned out, Michalik took the overall title. Grymkowski came back for a third time in '73 but Jim Morris took the overall title. From that time on I always felt that the AAU wasn't giving Grymkowski a fair shake.
Pete was very thick but wide waisted. Steve had that small waist and broad shoulders plus a more aesthetic look that was in vogue back then. A different set of judges and the outcome could have been different.
@@PinnaclePete Every one of these competitors onstage was a chemical creation... boring.
@@terrystrandwhat’s exciting to you sir?
Pete had terrible arms. Something you just could have in the 1970's and expect to win.
Ive never seen anyone change his body so quick as Steve. He'd weight 180 on April and by the end of summer hed be 250 n ripped.
Dude was taking a 5 grams of steroids a week it better change ...he was known to push crazi drugs
That's so cool to see the results sheets you're reading off with the name of club and some contestants are unattached. Those are exactly like what they still had in 1989 when I was amateur boxing in Chicago. So I can kind of see how weightlifting and then bodybuilding at the amateur level in the 70s and 80s was a thing. If you are not a competitor or relative of a competitor at amateur level, you don't get exposed to this stuff. I wonder if it's still like this even though I competed in masters boxing 2016-2020. DO THE BODYBUILDING COMPETITORS HAVE A BOOKLET THAT THEY BRING SHOWING THEY ARE LICENSED OR REGISTERED WITH ABA (NPC?) THAT RECORDS THEIR CONTESTS AND RESULTS LIKE A PASSPORT?
Hi John, I'm a big fan of your natural BB career. Just curious, have you started TRT in these recent years?? I'm a lifetime natty in my 50's and wanted to know if you have needed it to stay so fit?
You definitely don’t need it to stay fit. If your levels are low and below normal, it can help feel better and have more energy like when you were younger and your levels were normal.
Is he still alive?
He died in 2012
@@naturalolympia RIP
Stece never looked better than he did in 72
All the competitors looked great
Prefer this era of bodybuilding
👍
So many of us have spent half our lives in the gym grinding out macho reps.... or hours on cardio machines... suffering like on the TV series, The Biggest Loser. I think it's WAY WAY PAST DUE that we substitute THIS SHUFFLE DANCING for all the 'heavy duty', pedal to the medal training... ergo: ruclips.net/user/shortsgP4YUF5nexw?si=tgCFE_PnytK8UarD