HeavyDutyDadup asks Bill Mortimer a.k.a. Baldiewonkanobi!

[Curt James]

HeavyDutyDadup recently stated,

"Baldie's old school training stories are legendary, I enjoy hearing all of the stuff he has experienced in his years of training and life... I think alot of us younger guys could definitely learn something from him..."

Bill Mortimer a.k.a. Baldiewonkanobi agreed to answer a few questions and so without further ado I bring you an interview with HDD and Baldiewonkanobi!

1. What is the biggest difference that you see in bodybuilding between your prime and now? Pros and Cons.

Mainly it’s how the media and public perceive us. When I was a kid right up through the 90s, when a little kid, high schooler or older athlete wanted to show off his body he flexed his arms. Now he pulls up his shirt to show you his six-pack.

In yesteryear one had to workout with weights to pop a good bicep peak or horseshoe tri. Chest back and shoulders, a ‘sometimes’ legs came into play. Thus we had the Arnolds and Stallones as our manly action-heroes. Nowadays metrosexual men can expose their skinny ass body in print or on screen and as long as they have a good six-pack they are MANLY men.

They are pulling up their shirt fronts all over the freakin place. Horse shit!! With the exception of the Rock and very few others the media, young men and women swoon over these ‘fit’ girly men. The WWE and NFL big men are viewed as real life freaks not to emulate. Our gorilla belly Bodybuilding champions are mocked outside our tent.

We few in the Bodybuilding world hang on by the threads. Magazines are folding, Bodybuilding shows survive on Bikini and Physique. Even RX swoons over Bikini and Physique. I don’t blame them. Survival. I would do the same.

2. Who was the hardest trainer you have ever seen?

Joe Antouri. Mr. Everything in the 1980s. If he competed today he would have his pro card several times. He won Mr. L.A., Mr. So Calif., Mr. Calif., Mr. USA, Mr. Physique, and NABBA World. And, I forgot a few. Joe currently runs the PTA, Private Trainers Assoc., a Weider endorsed company. He hires retired IFBB champs as teachers.

I first met Joe when he was a 128 pound 5’6” teen. He blossomed to 190 on stage, 230 offseason. He hit the DNA jackpot with Arabic/Italian blood. Joe would train for hours. He was one of the pioneers of the way our champions train/eat today. I swear he measured every gram and noted when he consumed it.

Joe loved to sweat and would wear several layers while training. He looked like a drowned rat when he was done. I trained with Joe for several years and it required that I take a nap right after for recovery. Once he was near fainting doing high rep (LIKE 20) squats with 315 and asked me to slap him across the face. “Are you kidding?” “SLAP ME!!!” He would train until he lost his voice. I could only hear a whisper. We often did twice-a-days. He believed there was no such thing as over training, just under rest and under nutrition. I had the privilege of training him for his USA and World wins.

3. Name your top 5 fav physiques of all time (yes, you can include Troy Alves)[/B]

1. Serge Nubret. Classic perfectly proportioned physique. Carved and polished ebony. In my opinion he won the Pumping Iron South African show vs. Arnold, Franco, Lou and Katz. I knew going in he could not win. Joe Weider needed Arnold to sell magazines and supplements. Arnold had the “It factor” and the personality. Serge had grace, flow and humility on and off stage unequaled in the modern day until Troy Alves.
2. Tom Platz. My leg and squat hero. He was so freaking gifted that his legs ‘almost’ carried his excellent upper body. No matter where he placed he came away with class. A great example for me during my competitive career. His interviews were classic.
3. Ronnie Coleman. What else can I say? Long live the king. He took on quality challengers time after time and blew them off stage. His training videos were the very best.
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Thanks Arnold, you brought Bodybuilding into the mainstream like no one else. You made what I did acceptable in so many arenas. Your humor and playfulness was/is unequaled. Your bicep peaks and upper chest amazed me then and still do.
5. Steve Reeves. The man who started it all for me. I had a hetero teenage man crush on Steve. ‘Hercules’ was my trainer from day one at age 14 when I lied to Bert Goodrich and told him I was 16 in order to join his gym. My classmates did not believe me.

4. If you could have lunch with one person in the sport, who would it be?

I have mulled this over for days. First I went thru the current top pros, then the current top amateurs, then the current top hierarchy, coaches and gurus. No one I can really relate to. Yes, I admire them however we have so little in common. One name keeps coming up from the past. Dave Draper. Yes, it would be Dave.

Besides the ravages of time on his body he still trains on, pain and all. He has a great online site and stays relevant. We have loads of mutual friends living and dead. I could never figure why our paths never crossed. We often communicate by mail/media but never in depth.

I have had the fortune to have dined, shared a beer or joint with some amazing people. By happenstance I was married to a Beverly Hills socialite and then later to the daughter of a Hollywood producer, studio owner. As a kid I went to an exclusive military school in L.A. and later worked for Paramount Studios.

I have dined with Presidents Nixon and Reagan. Senators Murphy and Goldwater (1960s). Actors Jim Mitchum, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Desi Arnaz, James Cagney, Colonel Parker (Elvis' manager), Chevy Chase, Arsenio Hall, Jill St. John, Dyan Cannon, Ron Ely and others. Stuntman Evel Knievel.

I have shared beers with Burt Reynolds and Martinis with Fred Astaire. I have argued nose to nose with Jerry Lewis and toked with the cast of Star Trek.

In the body building world I have dined with so many men. I will name my favorites....Steve Reeves, Larry Scott, Bill Pearl, Ric Drasin, Bob Kennedy (MuscleMag), Dan Mackey, Samir, Dave Johns, and Rory Leidelmeyer.

I was stuck sitting with/next to Lou Ferrigno on first class from Chicago to L.A. Boring! I shared a waiting room at Warner Bros. Studios for 15 minutes with Arnold. Very friendly.

5. What is your best training memory?

Spring of 1986. I remember the year because about 60 days later I won the Mr. Muscle Beach. For Mr. 2nd place everything this was a big deal.

My training partner Bryan Knapp, RIP, 25 years my junior and I headed to the Mecca, our weekend home gym. I had just read that the Over 40 chin up record was held by Jack La Lanne at 27 reps. Now Jack was Natural, I was not. Bryan scored some Primo Acetate from East Germany and gave me a healthy jolt the night before. Not fair you say…well the way I saw it at the time was that Jack had short fuckin little arms and I was stuck with a 73” NBA reach. Looking back, yeah it was not fair. I had been training chins for months and worked up to 11 sets of 11 reps. I was ready. I hit 22 reps then about peed as I wiggled, kicked and pulled myself up for 3 more. Jack’s record was safe.

Bryan and I then hit his favorite upper body exercise…behind the neck militaries. There were two stations side by side. One was occupied with Mike Christian doing the same. Big Mike had two partners yelling at him and doing all the loading of the plates. I started at one wheel per side and painfully got about 8 reps. Bryan cranked out over 15. Mike looked over. His brow wrinkled. I went to a wheel plus a quarter and got out 6. Bryan hit 15 again. Big Mike was repping 2 wheels a side. I added a 10 and got 4 reps. Bryan went to 2 a side and got 10. There was no conversation with the Christian crew except brotherly nods.

Mike jumped to 3 a side and got 3 reps with spotter assistance. I went to 2 a side and got 2 with assistance. Bryan went to 3 per side and hit 6 without help and crashed the bar onto the stops. This got a high 5 from Mike. “I’m impressed”, said Mike.

From there Bryan and I did dumbbell side flies starting at 25s and non-stop ran the rack up to the 50s. Here I could hang in with Bryan. I was finished and near vomiting looking favorably at a nearby wastebasket. We packed our bags and walked one block to the Rose Café, Gold’s after-training hangout. (Now replaced by the Firehouse). We had a pot of coffee, their special oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar and a side of 2 each hamburger patties.

After a quiet hour of people watching we went back into the gym for workout number two…..squats.

Here I was at a disadvantage. Ecto legs and 3 meniscus surgeries. Bryan could rep 15 with 405. I could get 3 if lucky with heavy leg wrapping, rubber sweat belt, PLUS a weight belt that took two to tighten.

Next to us was Lyle Alzado, retired Oakland Raider. Never met a nicer guy. He kept loading our side nearest his squat rack for us. Once a plate dropped and went rolling 10 feet away, Lyle chased it down and brought it back.

The Barbarian Brothers were also squatting and making a hell of a racket. They wore plaid long sleeve shirts, crazy clown pants, Army boots and headscarves.
Legs were finished with dumbbell lunges and donkey calf raises. We always did 100 crunches at the end.

On the way home we stopped at Foster’s Freeze and got root beer floats.

6. What was the hardest workout you've ever done?

That’s easy….Elliott Darden’s “Bigger Muscles in 42 days”. This was a super slow protocol. It also included a HUGE increase in caloric intake. The book came out in 1991 and a friend at Doug Brignoli’s Pasadena Gym was looking for the ‘required’ training partner. He was 20 years my junior and swole with gear. I bit. I was looking towards the Natural Universe Masters. Our own John Hansen won that show. I took 2nd Masters. This was the perfect bulk before my conditioning taper….so I thought.

When I say super slow I mean Super Slow. Squats were done in the power rack with a spotter on you at all times. I was wrapped like a dummy. With 225 on my back I went down, thousand and one, thousand and two, thousand and three, thousand and four then thousand and five. With 3 deep breaths I rose at the same Super Slow pace. I trembled and sweat poured out of me. Goal was 10 reps at the same pace. 4 sets. Every body part was done this way. This took over and hour for the two of us. We brought a gallon of whole milk as our fluid. It was to be consumed in total. My calories were something like 5,000 per day. My LDL cholesterol must have been off the chart. Gear would have been cheaper than all the food and Charmin.

At this point I had decided to go natural and was over one year clean. I gained 20 pounds in the 42 days. We were in adrenal exhaustion and both smoother than a baby’s butt at the conclusion. Looking back I would be curious as to my cortisol levels.

Thank you, Bill, for sharing your answers with HeavyDutyDadup and Rx Muscle Forums!

For more from Baldiewonkanobi visit Last Man Posing trois en nombre and Rx Muscle Daily Trivia!

For more from HeavyDutyDadup visit HDD's First Show Prep Log! Europa Dallas 2013.

Thought I'd join HeavyDutyDadup and add a few questions regarding Baldiewonkanobi's family.

In a recent thread, Bill wrote,

"I have 3 highly successful grandkids 22, 22 and 25 who could give a ratz ass about history."

lol I'm sure they care about your history, Bill. How many children do you have?

I have 3 adult children and 5 grandchildren.

What do some of your children and grandchildren do?

Son, 52 owns a Beverly Hills summer camp and is Athletic Director for a private school. Two daughters both 49. One is Human Resources Director for a So California bank chain and the other an Attorney and Real Estate Broker in the Silicone Valley. Grandson 25 is putting on the 2nd annual Firefly 3 day Concert next week in Dover, Delaware. Two 22 year old granddaughters going into teaching. 11 year old grandson and 8 year old granddaughter.

Have any of them shared your interest in physical culture or exercise?

All were athletic as kids up to and including college. Only my daughter in Silicone Valley is a committed exercise nut.

Thanks again, Bill!

Bill spends his summer days with his wife Jennifer and Labrodoodle Aidan at their home in the White Mountains, Arizona. They have collaborated on a cinematic novel which has been through the editing process with a New York Times best selling editor/author and awaits representation.

[RichDC2]

Awesome story and work guys! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Baldie's input on everything is priceless!
Thank You

[hifrommike65]

Baldie rockz!

[sassy69]

As always, loved every minute of it and wish I was born on the West Coast instead of the Frozen Coast (Lake Superior). And I just go to my happy place when I get to see a sequence of all my favorite beefcake pictures just by scrolling! Thanks so much for the memories, the story, the viewpoint and history!

[GREENMACHINE23]

[Dadup]

INCREDIBLE job Curt and Baldie! Baldie your answers were so well thought out and thorough, thanks for that! Pretty awesome to hear all of your answers... I can vouch for the Darden squats, only time I've ever thought I was going to pass out haha... Thanks again Baldie, I hope everyone enjoys this half as much as I did!

[GDavis]

Baldie is best poster on RX

[ob205]

Great Stuff, Baldie any Mentzer stories? Either of them. Thanks

[Dadup]

Great Stuff, Baldie any Mentzer stories? Either of them. Thanks

x2!!!

[cook]

Great job guys,I started lifting in the late 70s in Texas and every now and then someone would pull some new technique out of his ass and say this is how they do it in California.I always wanted to go out there and see for myself but after all these years I still havent got around to it.Through the words of guys like our Baldie and Ric Drasin and Dave Draper I have a real good picture of how it was then.

[cdoussett]

That was great. Glad I clicked this thread. Thanks

[Baldiewonkanobi]

Great Stuff, Baldie any Mentzer stories? Either of them. Thanks

I've been asked before. Never ran into them at the gym, on stage, parties, guest posing or seminars. Hard to believe all the hours I trained in Venice; they must have trained different hours at the Mecca.

BTW thanx HDD and Curt for setting up this thread. I enjoyed it and happy to see your comments. I have had a lifetime love affair with all things Bodybuilding. I never got the Golden Rings (Masters Mr. America and NPC Masters Pro Card....2nds both) but the effort was well worth it. I have been truly blessed.

Baldie

[ebfitness]

Good stuff, guys!

[HeavyDutyGuy]

Awesome read! Thanks all!

[Dadup]

I've been asked before. Never ran into them at the gym, on stage, parties, guest posing or seminars. Hard to believe all the hours I trained in Venice; they must have trained different hours at the Mecca.

BTW thanx HDD and Curt for setting up this thread. I enjoyed it and happy to see your comments. I have had a lifetime love affair with all things Bodybuilding. I never got the Golden Rings (Masters Mr. America and NPC Masters Pro Card....2nds both) but the effort was well worth it. I have been truly blessed.

Baldie

Thanks for answering all of our questions Baldie, you're the man!!!