Mike Matarazzo - RIP

[JohnSmeton]

yeah its all over md, and they did a radio broadcast back in 2006, and rebroadcast it- i recommend any fans of his check it out, I can proudly say im a fan of his, and have bbeen a while

I have magazines with him in it when I got started back in 2002

[unique1]

Yep, my friend Mike Sausedo had his blood work done regularly, he was a decent npc competitor & a poster on these boards, dead last october at age 34 from heart attack. Makes you wonder if it`s worth it or not.

The trouble is we only hear about the Professional's, we don't hear about the many more amateurs. Many of my friends and acquaintances, have over the years either died, or gotten very sick. Of course people will say, "they could have died, or got sick even if they didn't take the drugs used in Bodybuilding."

There are people alive today who are 100 years old, and have been chain smokers since they were 13. BUT... smoking absolutely increases your chances of an early demise, and so does the performance enhancing drugs used in Bodybuilding.

The very bottom line is this..... It's simply Russian Roulette, some get out alive, some don't.

I'm deeply sorry this happened to Mike Matarazzo, I met him twice.... RIP

[nturalfreakcy]

RIP Big Mike. One of my inspirations for training my arms like crazy in the gym.

[hugeaiden]

Rip Mike Matarazzo. Remember his pics when I first started reading flex and the other mags.

It seems like the majority of the pro deaths are the "2nd tier" body builders? Do you guys think that has to do with doing more of whatever it takes to reach the top where as the few guys with the most elite genetics don't have to take it as extreme?

Yeh nasser was totally 2nd tier lol

If ifbb wasn't so corrupt he would be at least a 1X mr.olympia winner

[Unbiasedfan]

Yeh nasser was totally 2nd tier lol

If ifbb wasn't so corrupt he would be at least a 1X mr.olympia winner

Majority =/ all

[HOCH]

The trouble is we only hear about the Professional's, we don't hear about the many more amateurs. Many of my friends and acquaintances, have over the years either died, or gotten very sick. Of course people will say, "they could have died, or got sick even if they didn't take the drugs used in Bodybuilding."

There are people alive today who are 100 years old, and have been chain smokers since they were 13. BUT... smoking absolutely increases your chances of an early demise, and so does the performance enhancing drugs used in Bodybuilding.

The very bottom line is this..... It's simply Russian Roulette, some get out alive, some don't.

I'm deeply sorry this happened to Mike Matarazzo, I met him twice.... RIP

The chances of dying from professional bodybuilding skyrocket. That is a fact. Exogenous hormones are simple horrible for your body; combine that with all the other crap and it is practically a certainty... just a matter of time. And no, it isn't worth it to be "jacked". There are way more important things in life.

[Unbiasedfan]

just a matter of time.

Unlike every type of life that ever existed. Not worth it to you.

[gilesmiles1]

is it worth it?

best to ask someone who was insanely jacked, lived the life.. Mike makes it very clear in his interviews, hell no, heart attack at 38, 8 years of poor health and death.

RIP

[Canuck77]

The trouble is we only hear about the Professional's, we don't hear about the many more amateurs. Many of my friends and acquaintances, have over the years either died, or gotten very sick. Of course people will say, "they could have died, or got sick even if they didn't take the drugs used in Bodybuilding."

There are people alive today who are 100 years old, and have been chain smokers since they were 13. BUT... smoking absolutely increases your chances of an early demise, and so does the performance enhancing drugs used in Bodybuilding.

The very bottom line is this..... It's simply Russian Roulette, some get out alive, some don't.

I'm deeply sorry this happened to Mike Matarazzo, I met him twice.... RIP

Solid post.

I am a bit tired of the "We don't know, he likely had a genetic predisposition to heart disease...or a genetic birth defect..." excuse that is immediately thrown out by those who refuse to accept that heavy and prolonged AS use can contribute to, accelerate or cause heart disease/problems.

At the same time, I am also not one who is quick to conclude or state that all and any AS use will ultimately lead to heart disease/problems. My stance is simply this, that like you, I feel, based on the evidence we have today, that heavy and/or prolonged AS use increases ones chances of heart disease/problems. Like you said, it is a roll of the dice, similar to that of smoking, where some develop fatal forms of cancer from second hand smoke where as others smoke well into their 80's or 90's without suffering from any ill forms of cancer.

When people like that bios3 guy make ridiculous statements like, "Well sure some (professional bodybuilders) have died at an early age but look at all the ones who haven't...they far outweigh the ones who have...", it addresses your other point. That there are likely thousands of people around the world that have suffered the ill effects of said substances that we are simply not aware of. People ranging from all walks of like from teens to athletes, to amateurs to your average gym rat.

Again, I am not for or against use and don't judge but I do think that prolonged and heavy use increases health risks. I know it is also an interesting debate in the medical community, especially now with the increased popularity of TRT, which is in most cases, pharmaceutical grade and used at much lower doses.

[TortureMaster]

It is not so much the drugs, more about the lifestyle and being very heavy. Drugs only make it worse because they raise BP. The heart can take only that much.
In case of Matarazzo quite a lot of people talk about synthol being the main reasons for his problems.

[AniMaLizTik]

I don't think there is any pro bodybuilder that doesn't get regular bloodwork done for obvious reasons. Not even in the 90's...

yeah right.

very interesting posts ITT. Unless you have nothing to live for, there isn't a title or prize in any sport, including bodybuilding, thats worth risking your health or your life.

even if your Phil Heath or Ronnie Coleman. Look at Ronnie now, he's bed ridden with no hip cartilage, who knows the status of his overall health. i wonder if he would change anything if he could go back in time. who knows? maybe it WAS worth it to him.

On the flip side, if you have no family, no friends, hate life, etc...Id see no problem with winning 8 Olympias before dying. Much more exciting than simply chewing on a shot gun...

[jamesyboi]

So many losses in recent times

Mike Matarazzo RIP
Vince Comerford
Greg Kovaks
Nasser
Art Artwood
Luke Wood


I wonder how Mike Quinn and Mike Christian are these days?

[Canuck77]

yeah right.

very interesting posts ITT. Unless you have nothing to live for, there isn't a title or prize in any sport, including bodybuilding, thats worth risking your health or your life.

even if your Phil Heath or Ronnie Coleman. Look at Ronnie now, he's bed ridden with no hip cartilage, who knows the status of his overall health. i wonder if he would change anything if he could go back in time. who knows? maybe it WAS worth it to him.

On the flip side, if you have no family, no friends, hate life, etc...Id see no problem with winning 8 Olympias before dying. Much more exciting than simply chewing on a shot gun...

I know from a video in the last few years Ronnie takes several prescription heart medications, not sure what the status is on his actual heart though.

Sadly, I am sure there are thousands of stories such as this one that get no media attention.

Two heart attacks and Three strokes and dead by age 20. He likely had no idea how to run said substances properly but his story is still tragic and there are teens everywhere doing exactly what he did. It blows my mind how many bloated, water retaining, obvious AS/PH users are at my gym and probably between 16-19.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...E-strokes.html

[SammyJr]

yeah right.

very interesting posts ITT. Unless you have nothing to live for, there isn't a title or prize in any sport, including bodybuilding, thats worth risking your health or your life.

even if your Phil Heath or Ronnie Coleman. Look at Ronnie now, he's bed ridden with no hip cartilage, who knows the status of his overall health. i wonder if he would change anything if he could go back in time. who knows? maybe it WAS worth it to him.

On the flip side, if you have no family, no friends, hate life, etc...Id see no problem with winning 8 Olympias before dying. Much more exciting than simply chewing on a shot gun...

Agreed

[caliguy2010]

wtf

[203mh]

So sad to see so many pros in recent times.
R.I.P. Mike

There was also Luke Wood [35], Art Atwood [37], Daniele Seccarecci [33], Derek Anthony [32], Greg Kovacs [44], as well as others. It's hard for me to believe that bodybuilding played no role in their deaths.

Funny thing is I seen a guy who'll swear up and down cell-tech has NOTHING to do with it and it's all from poor diet or so

So many losses in recent times

Mike Matarazzo RIP
Vince Comerford
Greg Kovaks
Nasser
Art Artwood
Luke Wood


I wonder how Mike Quinn and Mike Christian are these days?

Mike Quinn is very active on ******** and has a book to be released any time now.
I do know he was planning to get on stage one last time but being diabetic and such put a stop to that, he still trains obviously.

[tom11]

I don't think the supps are what exactly kill them but the amounts of food. It's scientifically proven that the more calories you consume on average each day, the less you live. Kind of like mileage in a car. That's also why most of the people who live beyond 100 years old are some asians who are skin and bones eating probably less than 1000 kcals a day. When you eat upwards of 6k calories each day with huge amounts of red meat and no veggies as mentioned before, it's definitely going to take a toll on your system. Sad because apparently the guy was nice too...

[jeffb1977]

too much steroids in the 80's and 90's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Matarazzo

[Caesar164]

This is so sad. It is simply not worth it. Bodybuilding at the pro level or even top amateur level is not something you can do for a very long time. If you look at the career of Lee Haney, he was done with body building at the young age of 32. I believe he could have continued getting bigger and won many more Olympia sandows. He was smart to give it up when he did. He won his first Olympia at 24!
If a person has the genetics to become a pro, you should know in your teens if you can, or not, and be successful. Bodybuilders in today era are pushing their bodies to the limit with extreme drug regimen that goes on as long as it takes until they turn pro. When I was a young teen, I was friends with two guys who became pros, one of them retired young, the other is a top tier pro today. The reason I'm mentioning them I's because you could see that they were genetically gifted at 16 years of age. It was clear that it would be a matter of time before they turned pro. My point is, if its not obvious that you have what it takes to make it to this level, why bother with the extreme drug use, if its just going to lead to an early grave. And even if you do have what it takes, it doesn't guarantee that you won't succumb to the extremes of bodybuilding.
Mike Matarazzo was a great guy, I remember reading about him when I was in high school. He, along with guys like Paul Demayo, Mike Christian, where among many that were all my favorites; these were the guys that inspired me to lift when I was a kid. Seeing a bunch of them die now, is very heart breaking Rest in peace Mike Matarrazzo.

[Canuck77]

I don't think the supps are what exactly kill them but the amounts of food. It's scientifically proven that the more calories you consume on average each day, the less you live. Kind of like mileage in a car. That's also why most of the people who live beyond 100 years old are some asians who are skin and bones eating probably less than 1000 kcals a day. When you eat upwards of 6k calories each day with huge amounts of red meat and no veggies as mentioned before, it's definitely going to take a toll on your system. Sad because apparently the guy was nice too...

Valid point but straight from Mike's mouth...in his opinion of course...

Oh, god, where do I begin? I'd have to say that everything that led to my heart problem began the minute I started getting serious about competitive bodybuilding. In order to get bigger, I'd eat five, six, seven pounds of red meat a day, no vegetables. And I'd stay away from fruits because of their sugar.

Worst were the chemicals. I have so many memories of being alone in a hotel room the week, five days or two days before a contest, and doing unspeakable things to my body—steroids, growth hormones, diuretics—anything and everything that we as bodybuilders do to achieve a certain look.

It has affected my whole life, so to all those guys who are on an eternal quest to have 21" arms and 20" calves, and who are so vain about their never-say-die attitude, I say, "Change your attitude." Worry about keeping that body of yours as healthy as possible, because it's going to have to last you not just through your next contest or to the end of your bodybuilding contract, but for a long time. And a long time for a human being is nothing. It goes by real quick, even quicker when your health is gone and you have nothing to stand live for.

[Canuck77]

This is so sad. It is simply not worth it. Bodybuilding at the pro level or even top amateur level is not something you can do for a very long time. If you look at the career of Lee Haney, he was done with body building at the young age of 32. I believe he could have continued getting bigger and won many more Olympia sandows. He was smart to give it up when he did. He won his first Olympia at 24!
If a person has the genetics to become a pro, you should know in your teens if you can, or not, and be successful. Bodybuilders in today era are pushing their bodies to the limit with extreme drug regimen that goes on as long as it takes until they turn pro. When I was a young teen, I was friends with two guys who became pros, one of them retired young, the other is a top tier pro today. The reason I'm mentioning them I's because you could see that they were genetically gifted at 16 years of age. It was clear that it would be a matter of time before they turned pro. My point is, if its not obvious that you have what it takes to make it to this level, why bother with the extreme drug use, if its just going to lead to an early grave. And even if you do have what it takes, it doesn't guarantee that you won't succumb to the extremes of bodybuilding.
Mike Matarazzo was a great guy, I remember reading about him when I was in high school. He, along with guys like Paul Demayo, Mike Christian, where among many that were all my favorites; these were the guys that inspired me to lift when I was a kid. Seeing a bunch of them die now, is very heart breaking Rest in peace Mike Matarrazzo.

Good post.

I hear you and others but these statements always make me think. A lot of people, Pro's included will say, unless you are going to be a top tier Pro and make good money, the risks of high doses of chemicals are simply not worth it. Fair enough but in order for one to reach their potential to see whether or not they have the genetics and possibility to achieve such status they must experiment heavily with said chemicals.

So isn't it really a catch 22? I mean, say you are 18, naturally carry lean muscle mass, respond very well to natural training...stand at 5'9 and 185 lbs at 10% bf...there is no way you could possibly tell whether or not you have the genetic structure and potential to be a top 10 Olympia competitor. You would need to experiment with chemicals to see your response as your response to chemicals has a huge impact on where your physique can go. Say you respond favourably to said chemicals, well, it is going to take at least 3-5 years of heavy use to see how far you can take your physique and if you have serious potential to compete with the big boys. We all know that it is not like you can run a single cycle and conclude whether or not you will be the next Jay Cutler.

So really, I think in all fairness, if you really have your heart set on being a top Pro bodybuilder, have favourable genetics from a natty standpoint, you are going to need to max out as a natty and take the next step and run a cycle. If you respond favourably to that cycle, you are going to need to take the next step and run heavier cycles in addition to other chemicals. If you respond favourably to that, you are going to need to run these for 3-5 years until you are in your mid to late 20's...only then will you have a true idea as to whether or not you have the potential.

But even then, look at Ronnie for example, he was a heavy user for years and didn't blow up until later in his career.

I guess my point is that unfortunately, in order to see if you really have what it takes, potential wise, you are going to have to take the above steps and by that time, if you come to the realization that you don't have what it takes, well, it may be too late in terms of damage to your body.

Just my opinion of course but I am sure some know what I'm getting at.

I have read the odd story of "What ever happened to?..." and they have indeed stopped at an early age, ie. Trey Brewer, and some others who have gone on record saying the risks are not worth the dream once they got into it and realized they were not what they thought they would be...like I said though, you just hope they have not suffered any long term damage while chasing that dream.

[AniMaLizTik]

Good post.

I hear you and others but these statements always make me think. A lot of people, Pro's included will say, unless you are going to be a top tier Pro and make good money, the risks of high doses of chemicals are simply not worth it. Fair enough but in order for one to reach their potential to see whether or not they have the genetics and possibility to achieve such status they must experiment heavily with said chemicals.

So isn't it really a catch 22? I mean, say you are 18, naturally carry lean muscle mass, respond very well to natural training...stand at 5'9 and 185 lbs at 10% bf...there is no way you could possibly tell whether or not you have the genetic structure and potential to be a top 10 Olympia competitor. You would need to experiment with chemicals to see your response as your response to chemicals has a huge impact on where your physique can go. Say you respond favourably to said chemicals, well, it is going to take at least 3-5 years of heavy use to see how far you can take your physique and if you have serious potential to compete with the big boys. We all know that it is not like you can run a single cycle and conclude whether or not you will be the next Jay Cutler.

So really, I think in all fairness, if you really have your heart set on being a top Pro bodybuilder, have favourable genetics from a natty standpoint, you are going to need to max out as a natty and take the next step and run a cycle. If you respond favourably to that cycle, you are going to need to take the next step and run heavier cycles in addition to other chemicals. If you respond favourably to that, you are going to need to run these for 3-5 years until you are in your mid to late 20's...only then will you have a true idea as to whether or not you have the potential.

But even then, look at Ronnie for example, he was a heavy user for years and didn't blow up until later in his career.

I guess my point is that unfortunately, in order to see if you really have what it takes, potential wise, you are going to have to take the above steps and by that time, if you come to the realization that you don't have what it takes, well, it may be too late in terms of damage to your body.

Just my opinion of course but I am sure some know what I'm getting at.

I have read the odd story of "What ever happened to?..." and they have indeed stopped at an early age, ie. Trey Brewer, and some others who have gone on record saying the risks are not worth the dream once they got into it and realized they were not what they thought they would be...like I said though, you just hope they have not suffered any long term damage while chasing that dream.

My guess is that Ronnie BEGAN using GH in 1997 after the Olympia. he showed up 40lbs heavier after one year in 1998.

Ronnie 1997

Ronnie 1998

[FAN0FdaSport]

lol wut

coleman was 248 in 98 at the O

and you believe he's 208 in those pics????

[Canuck77]

My guess is that Ronnie BEGAN using GH in 1997 after the Olympia. he showed up 40lbs heavier after one year in 1998.

Ronnie 1997

Ronnie 1998

Yeah...all we know is that the story goes...Levtone and Flex felt bad for Ronnie always finishing last so they gave him some "secrets" and it wasn't just Levrone's 'Vodka & Coffee' Formula. Don't know, maybe they introduced him to GH and Insulin but Levrone stayed that he only dabbled with these substances and dropped them quickly from his protocol.

Maybe some day RC will be more candid about what it was that allowed him to make such strong and quick gains that far into his career.

[RoroCwalker]

Yeah...all we know is that the story goes...Levtone and Flex felt bad for Ronnie always finishing last so they gave him some "secrets" and it wasn't just Levrone's 'Vodka & Coffee' Formula. Don't know, maybe they introduced him to GH and Insulin but Levrone stayed that he only dabbled with these substances and dropped them quickly from his protocol.

Maybe some day RC will be more candid about what it was that allowed him to make such strong and quick gains that far into his career.

1:28 and onwards.

[RockyTheKid]

Ronnie left Met-Rx and joined Weider after his '98 win, I believe.

OBVIOUSLY all that Mega Mass 5000 along with Dynamic Musclebuilder worked great for him.

[Caesar164]

Another aspect of bodybuilding that is the norm nowadays, is bulking up to this extremely high weight and dieting down for a contest. This process is repeated over and over. In the golden era of bodybuilding, 50s, 60s, and 70s. The bodybuilders would stay lean or as close to contest shape as possible. They would cycle AAS in order to grow into a show and fine tune their physiques. The approach then was a lot healthier then what we do today. We bulk up in the winter in order to add extra mass, with the hopes that when summer comes around, well be heavier with the same low body fat percentage. Of course the criteria was a bit more forgiving in that era,now its just to extreme, what is expected of ifbb pros is ridiculous.
Maybe its great when your at the top of the ifbb ranks, winning shows, getting endorsement deals; how great is it when your in your 50s and realize you may not be there to see your kids get married or watch your grand kids grow?

[HovhannesB]

It is not so much the drugs, more about the lifestyle and being very heavy. Drugs only make it worse because they raise BP. The heart can take only that much.
In case of Matarazzo quite a lot of people talk about synthol being the main reasons for his problems.

That's a very interesting argument. I heard the same thing about professional wrestling a few years ago; is the human body designed to be so big? Are our hearts designed to pump blood through a ginormous jacked frame? Because if you think about it, the heart is not getting bigger but the real estate around it is.

[SammyJr]

That's a very interesting argument. I heard the same thing about professional wrestling a few years ago; is the human body designed to be so big? Are our hearts designed to pump blood through a ginormous jacked frame? Because if you think about it, the heart is not getting bigger but the real estate around it is.

I heard the heart did get bigger thru certain drugs... but that's not a good thing lol

[TropicalSunset]

You DEFINITELY do not want to be huge. Not healthy to be carrying all that extra weight. Think of the strain on the joints and your internal organs.

Pros have trouble functioning like normal people, regardless of the superman imagine they try to portray. Trouble sleeping, high blood pressure, constant sweating, gas. Really not worth it in the long run unless you are just crazy about the lifestyle.