“Depending on Drugs”: Bodybuilding Legend Rich Gaspari Makes a Bold Statement on New Age Practices

Rich Gaspari is a bodybuilding legend. After turning pro in 1984, Gaspari competed with all-time greats like Lee Haney and Samir Bannout. Even decades after retiring, the Arnold Classic winner has remained a voice in the bodybuilding community. However, recently his opinions have met with some backlash. Gaspari got into a war of words with current 2022 Mr. Olympia winner Hadi Choopan. Fans also lashed out after Gaspari compared Choopan’s back with Dorian Yates’s and said Yates had the superior back. Now, Gaspri has given another opinion on Men’s Open bodybuilders.

The 1989 Arnold Classic winner uploaded a video on his YouTube channel, Dragon Slayer Media. In the video, the retired bodybuilder stood by his comments on Choopan’s back. However, he also suggested that modern bodybuilders do not prioritize training as they did in the 90s.

Do modern bodybuilders train less?

While talking about Nick Walker, Gaspari spoke about how The Mutant trains in the gym with host John Romano. “I’ve seen videos of Nick Walker training, he’s a freaking maniac with really heavy weights that guy is using, it’s tremendous.”, the three-time Mr. Olympia runner-up said. However, he also had some opinions about the training intensity of modern bodybuilders.

According to the former Arnold Classic champion, modern bodybuilders rely on drugs more than those in the 80s and 90s. “I think there is something to say how guys are training and depending on drugs more than the quality of training. That needs to come back. It seems like training is lost,” said the bodybuilding legend.

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Gaspari also said bodybuilders are taking, “a lot more drugs and other things… to get that big,”. Besides admiring Nick Walker for training hard with heavy weights, the retired bodybuilder also believes Walker will win Mr. Olympia 2023. However, according to Gaspari, Walker would have to achieve the muscle hardness, he currently lacks, to win the title.

The bodybuilding legend made some clarifications

Rich Gaspari also made some clarifications about his previous comments on Hadi Choopan. The former bodybuilder clarified he never claimed that Choopan’s back wasn’t good. He believes the current Mr. Olympia has a massive back but lacked refinement.

He also compared the champion’s back with Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, and Lee Haney. Gaspari said the previous Mr. Olympia winners had thicker backs than the Iranian bodybuilder. However, Gaspari also praised Choopan. “from the front Hadi had the most amazing physique,” said the bodybuilding legend.

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What do you think about Rich Gaspari’s opinions? Do you think they are justified?