TEEN BODYBUILDING

Lunch With Dorian Yates

From the time I became interested in bodybuilding up to now, the one person I always believed best personified bodybuilding, from his hardcore attitude to his Blood and Guts intensity was and always will be the Shadow, Dorian Yates.

Early this summer, I had the privilege of being a part of the Toronto Pro Super Show and participate in the expo at the Muscle Insider booth. Now, let me just begin by saying that just to be a part of something like this was crazy, but to be a part of it and have 6 time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates there too, and in the same booth, was unbelievable. As a long time follower of his career, having the opportunity to hang out with Dorian in the Muscle Insider booth while he met with fans was just incredible. I didn’t think it could possibly get any better than that, then it did!

I was on my way out the door to get some food when I ran into Muscle Insider Owner Scott Welch as he made his way through the maze of booths. I told him I was just stepping out to grab some food when he said,

“Well just hold on, we’re taking Dorian out for lunch so why don’t you just come with us”.

To say that I was shocked at what Scott had just said to me would be an understatement. So, I headed back to the Muscle Insider booth, Scott and Domenic rounded up those who would be joining us and we made our way to a restaurant across the street from the convention centre.

As you can imagine, walking down the side walk with a bodybuilding god such as Dorian to get to our destination took some time. People wanted to take pictures with him, have a quick chat and Dorian obliged each time. I walked in the back to just take it all in and at the same time pinch myself to make sure this was really happening. We got to the restaurant and found that there were no booths available for the number we had, but Dorian quickly noticed another magazine crew had a table that would be suitable for us and let us know that we would have that table once they were finished.

Once we were seated the real treat began. Dorian talked with us about not only training and nutrition, which by the way I soaked up like a sponge, but also about life in general, politics, his adventures along his career, shared with us some real funny stories and talked about anything anyone at the table brought up. It was a real pleasure sitting across the table from Dorian and even though he may be 14 years removed from the stage you can still see why he was the king of intensity, as he is as hardcore today as I’m sure he has always been. There is a real sense of “no fear” that surrounds him and I can see why the competitors of his era never looked forward to seeing him once a year.

I don’t think I can express in words just how awesome it was to have lunch with Dorian and the Muscle Insider crew. Never would I have imagined I’d actually get to talk with Dorian let alone have lunch at the same table as him. All I can say is that I’ll remember it for many years to come and if I never get the opportunity again at least I can tell the tale of the time I spent with a true bodybuilding warrior, a legend and my bodybuilding hero, Dorian Yates. Thank you Dorian for creating a memory I won’t soon forget.