“Didn’t Want People Around Me”: 26 Years After Retirement, Mass Monster Dorian Yates Reveals His Secret to Succeeding in Bodybuilding

6X Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates has been accepting of the fact that he is a genetic elite throughout his career. But what makes a bigger difference as per Yates, is the determination of an athlete. Despite facing a lot of traumas throughout his life, Yates never got demotivated and in fact, used his criticism to thrive even more in his professional journey. As it appears, Yate preaches the old saying, “Good leaders don’t surround themselves with a bunch of yes-men.” Over the years, Yates has disclosed several secrets that helped him win the Sandow trophy multiple times. In his recent Instagram post, Dorian Yates revealed another mantra for success.

He posted an image of himself from back in the day and wrote about the importance of having “a strong circle.” He also emphasized the importance of “honest feedback” in a bodybuilder’s life. Let’s dive deeper into what the legend had to say.

Yates enlightens his fans about the importance of a small circle

Yates uploaded a picture of himself from back in 1990, just weeks before his professional debut. “3 weeks out from my professional debut, with my regular training partner Kenny Brown looking on,” wrote Yates in the caption. Continuing further, he mentioned the importance of having honest people around you. He explained this by saying that a person surrounded by ‘Yes men’ can never grow. “I didn’t want people around me who would consistently tell me that I looked great, I needed people who would tell me the truth and where I needed to improve,” said Yates.

He explained that the honest feedback about his weak points enabled him to work on them and become a champion. Yates disclosed, “Honest feedback was absolutely critical to my success. If you don’t know where to improve, how can you possibly become the best version of yourself?” 

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One can say that an additional benefit of having a small group of people around is that it enables an athlete to stay focused on his journey. A short while ago, Yates revealed the exact reason why he opted for bodybuilding as a career. Let’s take a look at what led ‘The Shadow’ to the Olympian stage. 

Yates reveals the stimulus behind his success

During a podcast with Rob Lipsett, Yates revealed that after his father’s death, angry and sad Yates relied on the iron to act as a therapy for him. It was the sport of bodybuilding that kept Yates sane throughout his teenage years. He disclosed that he used all these emotions as fuel in the gym and kept working towards his goal of becoming a professional bodybuilder. He soon realized that “I [he] was made for bodybuilding.”

“Because of what happened to me, I don’t really trust anybody. So, I wanted to be in total control of everything…No outside factors, because people have been making stupid decisions as far as I can see,” said Yates. One skill Yates had acquired over the years of living on the streets and in the detention center was to stay tough and determined toward his goals. All these factors combined acted as a driving force toward the success of ‘The Shadow.’

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