Rich Gaspari Takes Aim at Open Bodybuilders: They Are 'Depending on Drugs More Than Training'

Bodybuilder Rich Gaspari, who competed during the 1980s and 1990s, is back with another hot take following his recent podcast. Speaking with John Romano, Gaspari suggested that athletes in the Men’s Open division take excessive amounts of PEDs instead of utilizing quality training.

In 2021, the sport of bodybuilding was rocked after Shawn Rhoden and George Peterson passed away. The concerning trend didn’t change in 2022, as Cedric McMillan died at just 44 years old. A few days ago, Women’s Physique competitor Amy Richardson tragically passed away weeks after visiting Las Vegas last month for Olympia Weekend.

Veterans of the sport have called for safer practices, especially when it comes to using steroids. Prominent names like Seth Feroce and Kali Muscle have continued to voice their disapproval of where the Men’s Open division is headed. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has labeled the sport as the most dangerous in the world.

In a recent video, Gaspari took aim at bodybuilders abusing gear instead of taxing themselves with quality training. In addition, he discussed the backlash that followed his Hadi Choopan/Dorian Yates comparison post that went viral.

Rich Gaspari Says Hadi Choopan’s Back Wasn’t As ‘Refined’ As Other Athletes During His Time Competing

After taking part in a war of words with Hadi Choopan, Gaspari stands by his initial statement. He believes competitors lack the same dryness that was displayed during the 90s.

“I normally have a really good response from my followers but since I made that post — and I’m going to say by far… I’m not hating on Hadi Choopan. I think he’s a great champion. I thought he looked phenomenal. I’m going to be a critic as a bodybuilder who has been doing this for four decades.

I’m being a critic to say, from the front Hadi had the most amazing physique, very dense, reminiscent to the older days. I still feel they are not as refined as today. But when you look at him from the front, dense as hell. From the back, he had a wide back; I’m not going to say he didn’t have a great back, he had a great back, but I don’t think the density was there compared to a Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, or a Lee Haney,” says Rich Gaspari.

Gaspari also took issue with Choopan claiming that camera lighting affected the comparison with Yates.

“The cameras were not better back in the day,” laughs Gaspari. “It’s the angle, oh he wasn’t hitting this shot… I don’t care, if you’re in a relaxed position, you can see when somebody is hard. Even if they aren’t hitting the shot totally. I didn’t want to sit there and bash Hadi and piss on his parade because I think he’s a great champion.”

Gaspari Names Nick Walker as Future Mr. Olympia, Says Athletes Are ‘Depending on Drugs More Than Training’ Nowadays

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A post shared by Nick "the Mutant" Walker (@nick_walker39)

According to Gaspari, Nick Walker is a future Mr. Olympia winner. ‘The Mutant’ threw his name into the 2023 Arnold Classic after securing third place and the Olympia People’s Champ Award at 2022 Mr. Olympia. While he believes most competitors no longer train hard, he left Walker out of that stereotype.

“Nick Walker — I believe he could also be a threat to win the show [2023 Mr. Olympia]. He’s still not to that point of being super super hard. He needs to be super hard.

I’ve seen videos of Nick Walker training — he’s a freaking maniac with really heavy weights that guy is using, it’s tremendous. 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,” Rich Gaspari shared.

Before ending the conversation, Gaspari mentioned that he used to pop the blood vessels in his eyes from training too hard. However, he acknowledged that ‘a lot’ of the current champions today train with intensity.

“When I was in my 20s training for the Olympia, I trained so hard that I would pop blood vessels in my eyes. I was doing legs. That’s how hard I trained. Again, I don’t want to sit here on this show and bash people and say they’re not training hard because I do believe there are a lot of current champions that do train hard.

“What the Open is doing to get that much more massive — it’s probably a lot more eating. I don’t want to say this on the show, but a lot more drugs and other things to take to get that big,” says Gaspari.

Samir Bannout won his lone Mr. Olympia title in 1983, and also warned competitors about using drugs. He advised older IFBB pros to steer clear of using PEDs to acquire extra muscle mass. He’s also gone after active competitors for the alleged use of site enhancement oils like Synthol.

Given that two former 212 competitors took first and second place at 2022 Olympia, perhaps the judging criteria will now favor conditioning and balance instead of size moving forward. Gaspari appreciates how the sport has evolved but hopes athletes start prioritizing training instead of using more steroids.

You can watch the full video here