Mike and Ray Mentzer were first class bodybuilders.  Not only was their high intensity training method highly effective (“workouts should be brief, intense and infrequent”) but their physiques, photogenic good looks and almost twin-like appearance with porn staches made for great iconic imagery. 

Ray was the younger brother, with fewer bodybuilding titles and wins, but was a legit contender in the field. 1979 Mr. America was just one of his titles 

Mike Mentzer has a much more publicized and interesting public profile.  He has a couple of great books espousing not only his approach to bodybuilding and nutrition (heavy on carbs), but also his keen overarching life philosophies.  I highly recommend “The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer” 

Additionally, Mike Mentzer was nobody’s fool, not afraid of anybody and was part of the backstage drama of the controversial 1980 Mr. Olympia – which all but a select few (Arnold & Franco) – feel that Arnold Schwarzenegger should NOT have won.   

There are countless articles, videos, sections of books and memoirs that really dig into the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest.  But it was Mike Mentzer, backstage, who confronted Arnold for being a douchebag, insulting Samir Bannout and Boyer Coe and being the only one of 16 contestants who was pushing for two different weight classes.  There’s a famous shot of Mike standing and confronting a seemingly dismissive Arnold and apparently it was Joe Weider (as per usual) who defused the aggressive situation towards Arnold.   

Mentzer: “He was wild. Arnold was on cocaine the day contest was fixed. The only people who saw Arnold as a winner was the 7 judges and his friends.  None of the audience saw him as winner.  He DIDN’T deserve to win”   

Check out this YouTube video on the topic:

I’ve had in-person discussions with Frank Zane (when I trained with him for my 50th birthday) and with Chris Dickerson about this topic.  And I’ve got answers via mail from Robby Robertson, Samir Bannout, Boyer Coe and Danny Padilla giving their opinion.  They all said the same thing in varying degrees of diplomacy (or not), that Arnold should NOT have won.  If you just watch the footage or look at photos of the men on stage that day of the 1980 Mr. Olympia, even a layperson can see that Arnold does not have the winning physique.  But he did have the judges in his back pocket.  We’ll talk about The Terminator in greater detail later. 

All-in-all, Mike Mentzer is one of top 3 favorite bodybuilders due to his aesthetics, his symmetry and his approach to the sport and life in general.  It is very unfortunate and sad that he died of heart failure at age 49.  And even more unfortunate that his brother Ray found his body and then died 2 days later at age 47 of Berger’s disease. Needless to say, both of their autographs are pretty rare; I’m lucky to have them. 

Buff brothers in their prime, walking into the light and entering the afterlife together, is the way I choose to look at their early departures.