Muscle Wars

by Rick Wayne

Muscle Wars is an insider’s account of the sport, the business, and the stars of competitive bodybuilding. In the last twenty-five years bodybuilding has become America’s fastest-growing sport with over 5 million hard-core fans. Now Rick
Wayne, himself a bodybuilding champion and longtime journalist for Joe Weider’s Flex and Muscle & Fitness, tells the inside story of the fights, feuds, and friendships that have shaped the sport.

Muscle Wars is crammed with fascinating stories, such as how Arnold Schwarzenegger psyched defending titlist Sergio Oliva into walking off the stage during their dramatic confrontation for the 1970 Mr. Olympia crown. Here are riveting sketches of the sport’s dominating personalities from Larry Scott and the legendary Oliva to Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, and Schwarzenegger, and - backstage - Ben and Joe Weider.

Included is the real story behind the blistering controversy of the 1990 Mr. Olympia held in Sydney, Australia, and the contest held the following year in Columbus, Ohio, called by Wayne “The Greatest Booing Contest of All Time.” Muscle Wars provides wickedly entertaining backstage gossip as well as inside accounts of the controversies that have marked and occasionally almost wrecked the International Federation of Bodybuilding.

Already hailed (and assailed) as the Rex Reed of bodybuilding,Wayne writes with bite and panache. Not since Pumping Iron has there been such a revealing look at the world of bodybuilding and the remarkable, temperamental characters who are its stars.

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

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Rick Wayne - Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery


Rick Wayne first began writing while competing as an IFBB professional bodybuilder in the late 1960s.

By 1987, he had not only won all the major bodybuilding titles but also acquired a reputation as a controversial writer.

He had also authored four bodybuilding books published by St Martin s Press in New York.

In 2007 he was awarded Her Majesty s Officer of the British Empire medal for his contributions to journalism.

Reviews

[Shawn Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Wayne provides a lucid fly on the wall account of his foray into the world of pro bodybuilding during the Golden Era. As one of the sport’s premier journalists and competitors of the time, Wayne’s backstage access to athletes made him privy to the major antics and scandals that didn’t make it to the pages of the Weider dominated muscle mags.

Providing detailed contest coverage of the Mr Olympia events from the late 70s to mid 80s, fans of some of the big names like Arnold, Sergio, Franco, Larry Scot and Haney won’t be disappointed by this highly entertaining and fascinating retrospective.

Many of the stories and accompanying photographs I’ve never read or seen before despite reading most of the books and magazines covering that time. Highly recommended if you love delving into the history and backstory of physical culture at its preeminent peak.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As former bodybuilders go, Wayne's among the better writers. The opening to this piece is great, but this is hardly a sustained narrative. Rather, it appears to be a mishmash of magazine pieces Wayne wrote about specific bodybuilding events. Some good material here, particularly for researchers, but it's clear that Wayne is pulling some punches. His own obvious steroid use, for example, isn't discussed at all.

[Kenn Staub · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a behind the scenes look at bodybuilding from the late 60s through the early 80s. It focuses not only on the personalities of the sport (especially Oliva and Arnold) but also the politics which sometimes played a role in choosing contest winners (see the 1980 Mr. Olympia). A very enjoyable trip down memory lane. I would have rated it higher except this book is in badly need of a good editor...way too many style and semantic errors.

[S.L. Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Wayne was a successful bodybuilder in the golden era of bodybuilding before becoming a writer for the Weider co. so he knows all the big guys like Arnold and Zane and Oliva, etc. He gives us the inside scoop on what those guys were really like and the politics, the racism, the culture. Good read if you like this kind of thing.

[Randy Ades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it