My Influencers Hi, this is Frank Zane, and I'd like to talk about the influencers in my life who motivated me to start bodybuilding and continue with it. At the top of the list would be Steve Reeves. I saw him in Hercules movies when I was a senior in high school, and I really liked his look. That got me started seriously in bodybuilding, and I continued with it afterward. Next would probably be Sergio Oliva, who was just amazing. They called him "The Myth" because nobody believed what he looked like. He was a very personable guy, and I got to know him a little bit. He had an incredible physique and was probably one of the greatest of all time. It was debatable whether Arnold should have beaten him for the Olympia, but Arnold had a lot of strong points too. Arnold was a great bodybuilder and very motivated. He always showed up on time, came over to my house for pre-workout motivation sessions, and trained very hard at the gym. His motivation was if he looked outside and saw it was sunny, it motivated him even more to get out there and get some sunshine. Other motivators included Reg Park from South Africa. He was a great guy, and I spent some time training with him in South Africa around 1976-77. I was really impressed by Reg's family life and the respect people had for him in South Africa. Another influencer was Bill Pearl, who was ultra-famous around the world for everything he did. He performed strongman stunts and was a great bodybuilder. I had the pleasure of competing against him in the 1972 Mr. Universe in London. My main complaint was that they never compared us as far as who the class winners were. I won my class, and he won his, but I guess the judges saw enough that they didn't need to do that, so I happily accepted the second-place trophy. These were the influences I had in my life. They were all very strong influencers. Did I mention Larry Scott? If I forgot, he was one of my favorite bodybuilders with a great body, great posing, and great presentation. I remember his presentation when I was back in New York City watching a show in the late 1960s. Larry came out and stole the house; he was just so popular back then.
I'm still being influenced by people who are up-and-coming bodybuilders. One of the top ones is Michael O'Hearn, who I think could be a great champion. He's huge and very strong too. Let's see what happens with his career. I'm honestly looking forward to all of it, so I'll be watching, and I hope you are too. Thanks very much.
