“Dad, That’s What I’m Gonna Do”: 68-Y.O. Bodybuilding Legend Reminiscences on Why He Decided to Become a Bodybuilder at Just 9

After mostly vanishing from the bodybuilding scene once his competitive bodybuilding career ended, Dorian Yates is back with a bang. While the six-time Mr. Olympia remained active on social media, he was a rare sight at bodybuilding circuits. However, that seems to be changing after he started the Shadow Talk podcast. And who else would be a better first guest on the inaugural episode than the bodybuilding legend Tom Platz?

Bringing such a renowned 80s icon from the sport sure had fans excited. However, those who tuned in as the podcast went live were immediately surprised to learn that Platz fell in love with bodybuilding at just nine. When Yates enquired how that happened, the 68-year-old uncrowned Mr. Olympia gave an interesting answer.

The age when magazines inspired bodybuilding icons

You might be inclined to think that Platz grew up seeing bodybuilders to get inspired at such a young age. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, Tom Platz fell in love with the art of bodybuilding inside an inconspicuous drugstore. The Quadfather recalled visiting it with his father and browsing through the magazines on the rack.

While magazines in a drugstore might sound odd today, in the 60s, newspapers and magazines were everywhere. “I opened a magazine up and there’s a picture of Draper and the girls,” Platz told Yates. Tom Platz laid his eyes on the legendary Dave Draper. Nicknamed the Blonde Bomber by IFBB co-founder Joe Weider himself, Draper was among the best bodybuilders in the 60s.

The bodybuilding icon also noticed that Draper and the models were standing on the beach, with surfboards and the sea in the background. Platz remembered thinking to himself, “What a great job!” He then turned to his father, who was buying medicines, and said, “Dad that’s what I’m gonna do.” However, this wasn’t a nine-year-old’s whim, as Platz followed through with his promise. Years later, he found himself on the same beach.

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From flipping magazine pages to training with legends

That moment inside the drugstore changed Quadfather’s life. Platz worked hard to make his dream a reality, and soon enough, people were talking about his physique. Tom Platz became one of the rising stars, and found himself on a beach in California, at the Mecca of bodybuilding. Draper and several other bodybuilding icons, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, trained at Gold’s Gym.

Muscle Beach was their second home. Tom Platz started training at where the best of the best trained. Soon, he came under the radar of legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mike Mentzer, and many others. Platz got to live the dream and in 1981, nearly defeated seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger’s friend Franco Columbu on the Olympia stage.

Very few people follow through with a promise they made when they were nine. However, the Quadfather was among the few who did and rightfully found his place among bodybuilding icons.

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