Unrealized Potential

FK86 · Apr 29, 2019

I saw an old thread over at Tmuscle discussing bodybuilders who would've/could've been the next big thing, but either suffered a setback or never fulfilled their promise. Francois comes to mind: won his first four pro shows including the '95 ASC. I always wondered how he would've done against Yates or Coleman had he kept competing and making improvements. I just wanted to see PM members give their input.

I'll start things off with Dennis Newman. Here he is with Levrone shoulders, Sarcev quads, and Hanshaw triceps.

LK3 · Apr 29, 2019

thought this was something i could relate too.. lol

alfresco · Apr 29, 2019

FYI

Reminds me of a good interview (same) I listened to with Mike Francois.
Very humble and soft spoken. Worth listening to regarding his time in
bodybuilding. My opinion, he could have been one of the best. Same with
Dennis Newman. But we will never know . . .

https://bodybuildinglegendsshow.com/podcast/ (scroll down ~2/3)

**broken link removed**

lookslikesausage · Apr 30, 2019

so many come to mind (in no particular order:

Matt Mendenhall

Vic Richards

Renel Janvier

one could even argue that Charles Clairmonte never fulfilled his potential although he won many shows in NABBA and was not exactly a youngster by the time he entered the IFBB, he still managed to win an IFBB show or two but i thought if he could've added a little more size without getting a GH gut he had the structure to win an O

Phil Hill

Orville Burke

Dennis Wolf

Jeff King

there were a lot of NABBA guys from the UK who were monsters who never crossed over into the IFBB who could have done very well i think (Rob Wall is one of them, they had some beasts in the 90's). JD Dawadu is one who made the jump and did fairly well but he didn't stick around for too long.

Dillet

JP Fux

Paul Demayo

Mustafa Muhammed

FK86 · Apr 30, 2019

lookslikesausage said:
so many come to mind (in no particular order:

Matt Mendenhall

Vic Richards

Renel Janvier

one could even argue that Charles Clairmonte never fulfilled his potential although he won many shows in NABBA and was not exactly a youngster by the time he entered the IFBB, he still managed to win an IFBB show or two but i thought if he could've added a little more size without getting a GH gut he had the structure to win an O

Phil Hill

Orville Burke

Dennis Wolf

Jeff King

there were a lot of NABBA guys from the UK who were monsters who never crossed over into the IFBB who could have done very well i think (Rob Wall is one of them, they had some beasts in the 90's). JD Dawadu is one who made the jump and did fairly well but he didn't stick around for too long.

Dillet

JP Fux

Paul Demayo

Mustafa Muhammed

Richard Jones, Capriese Murray.

I remember when FLEX ranked the best legs ever they showed Phil Hill's workout and it was a lot of sets for 20-30 reps. I wonder if he trained other body parts like that. Nimrod King was a high rep man too.

FLEX also made a huge deal about Alex Fedorov. That was back in '05 and they were trying to market bodybuilding like football and then like UFC.

maldorf · Apr 30, 2019

Shane Dimora

Shane Dimora. I think he was the youngest man to turn pro, at the age of 19.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jl7CrTKNWc"]A Legendary Teen Bodybuilder - YouTube[/ame]

I remember seeing him in the magazines when I was 16 and thinking maybe I too could look like that in 3 years if I used cybergenics!

need4tren · Apr 30, 2019

Orville Burke would have gave Ronnie a run for his money if he had more time. Shame he got sick and was forced to stop competing.

lookslikesausage · Apr 30, 2019

FK86 said:
Richard Jones, Capriese Murray.

I remember when FLEX ranked the best legs ever they showed Phil Hill's workout and it was a lot of sets for 20-30 reps. I wonder if he trained other body parts like that. Nimrod King was a high rep man too.

FLEX also made a huge deal about Alex Fedorov. That was back in '05 and they were trying to market bodybuilding like football and then like UFC.

I think Capriese got sick because he turned pro and then just up and disappeared. Would have been interesting to see how his career would have turned out. Nimrod King; there's a name i haven't heard in awhile. He got into promoting i believe. Federov had a great overall package but came, went, came back again and then disappeared. I think he even won a pro show during Ronnie's reign and was supposed to be in the mix against Ronnie and Gunter during that year or two when Gunther beat Ronnie at that GNC show. I think Fedorov tore something too so that might've had something to do with it.

Phil Hill looked incredible. Kind of ahead of his time in terms of size. He's mentioned in the book Muscle by Sam Fussel. I got the impression that he got burned out by the lifestyle and requirements of a pro. There's an entertaining interview with Ron Love about a fight he got into with Phil Hill. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NmDsrYCFGE"]IFBB Pro RON LOVE - "The Phil Hill Incident" - YouTube[/ame]

Here's a good one; let's see if anyone remembers this guy...Josef Grolmus

danieltx · Apr 30, 2019

Dallas McCarver - I would've loved to see what he'd have ended up as by his mid-30s with another 10 years of hard training.

Victor Martinez - His physique and the fact he still competes now at 45 is impressive, but imagine if he'd never had the torn patella tendon, broken arm, prison stint, etc.

Beti ona · Apr 30, 2019

Capriese Murray competed recently in mens physique.

Chris Cook had everything.

Ruhl, went too far with his freak, if he had stayed more rational and had worked on the condition...

lookslikesausage · Apr 30, 2019

Beti ona said:
Capriese Murray competed recently in mens physique.

Chris Cook had everything.

Ruhl, went too far with his freak, if he had stayed more rational and had worked on the condition...

Chris Cook's back was never up to par in order to win a pro show. I'm sure he could've brought it up though, as he was pretty young. He definitely had one extremely marketable look though as far as pro bodybuilding.

Beti ona · Apr 30, 2019

lookslikesausage said:
Chris Cook's back was never up to par in order to win a pro show. I'm sure he could've brought it up though, as he was pretty young. He definitely had one extremely marketable look though as far as pro bodybuilding.

Yes, totally agree!

alfresco · May 1, 2019

people mentioned . . .

Matt Mendenhall . . . never realized, most potential, amazing
Dennis Newman . . . close
Mike Francois . . . close
Vic Richards . . . who cares
Renel Janvier . . .?
Charles Clairmonte . . .?
Phil Hill . . . close
Orville Burke . . . close
Dennis Wolf . . . realized
Jeff King . . . realized
Dillet . . . realized
JP Fux . . . realized
Paul Demayo . . . realized
Mustafa Muhammed . . . realized
Josef Grolmus . . . who cares
Shane Dimora . . . not in the same league
Rob Wall . . . not in the same league
Alex Fedorov . . . realized
Richard Jones . . . maybe
Capriese Murray . . . realized
Nimrod King . . . never realized
Dallas McCarver . . . never realized
Victor Martinez . . . ?
JD Dawadu . . . close
Justin Compton . . . never realized

Like they say . . . opinions are like assholes,
everybody has one

Elvia1023 · May 1, 2019

There are many big names and also thousands of unknown names as well. The recent one that stands out to me is Dallas McCarver. He was such a freak and I think with the way everyone else has gone he would have been fighting for top spot for the next few Olympias.

maldorf · May 1, 2019

Matt Mendenhall really should have been pro.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pBqxuz4--c"]Matt Mendenhall - 1991 Nationals - YouTube[/ame]

Good bio on him. I remember reading about the bad car accident he was in. I think he flew through the windshield. Doctors felt like his big size might have really saved him from bad injury.

Matt Mendenhall: a Short Biography

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIVdq0CLIS0"]Matt Mendenhall at 1985 USA Championships - YouTube[/ame]

Good one.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByEQQojFzS4"]ESPN's American Muscle Magazine [Matt Mendenhall] - YouTube[/ame]

lookslikesausage · May 1, 2019

alfresco said:
Matt Mendenhall . . . never realized, most potential, amazing
Dennis Newman . . . close
Mike Francois . . . close
Vic Richards . . . who cares
Renel Janvier . . .?
Charles Clairmonte . . .?
Phil Hill . . . close
Orville Burke . . . close
Dennis Wolf . . . realized
Jeff King . . . realized
Dillet . . . realized
JP Fux . . . realized
Paul Demayo . . . realized
Mustafa Muhammed . . . realized
Josef Grolmus . . . who cares
Shane Dimora . . . not in the same league
Rob Wall . . . not in the same league
Alex Fedorov . . . realized
Richard Jones . . . maybe
Capriese Murray . . . realized
Nimrod King . . . never realized
Dallas McCarver . . . never realized
Victor Martinez . . . ?
JD Dawadu . . . close
Justin Compton . . . never realized

Like they say . . . opinions are like assholes,
everybody has one

i don't agree with a lot of your opinions but i'll say this; IMO anything less than an Olympia for Dillet was unrealized potential. Structurally and with his size he should have been battling Ronnie and Flex for the top spot. Yes, it's true that his back, chest, and posing needed work but i can't think of too many bodybuilders with more favorable genetics or who had a better structure. I thought he could have been one of the greatest bodybuilders ever for sure.

b-boy · May 1, 2019

Top 3
1. Dennis Newman
2. Mike Francois
3. Edgar Fletcher - blows my freaking mind he never turned pro.

Edgar Fletcher

Elvia1023 · May 1, 2019

lookslikesausage said:
i don't agree with a lot of your opinions but i'll say this; IMO anything less than an Olympia for Dillet was unrealized potential. Structurally and with his size he should have been battling Ronnie and Flex for the top spot. Yes, it's true that his back, chest, and posing needed work but i can't think of too many bodybuilders with more favorable genetics or who had a better structure. I thought he could have been one of the greatest bodybuilders ever for sure.

Everything you state is true but I also agree with Alfresco in that his potential was realized. Bodybuilding is just as much mental as it is physical. Physically he had some of the best genetics of all time so for him to not win an Olympia it is unrealized potential. However mentally he simply didn't have it. He couldn't go to places others could with training and diet from everything I have heard about him over the years. If he attacked his training like Dorian did and put 100% effort in being the best poser possible I am sure his placings would have been consistently higher.

There are many bodybuilders who don't have it mentally. You hear about them cheating on their diets constantly. So yes in a sense unrealized potential. When I think of that term I usually go with guys who suffered major injuries, were in bad accidents or even died too young. Dillet done great and placed well but if you gave him another 10 years he probably would have been the same year after year because that was simply him. Whereas the likes of Dallas if he had 10 more years I am sure you would agree his placings probably would have improved and he may have been champion. Granted he abused (so did Dillet) and contributed to his death but I do think it's different to someone like Dillet who had plenty of chances in his prime years.

lookslikesausage · May 1, 2019

Elvia1023 said:
Everything you state is true but I also agree with Alfresco in that his potential was realized. Bodybuilding is just as much mental as it is physical. Physically he had some of the best genetics of all time so for him to not win an Olympia it is unrealized potential. However mentally he simply didn't have it. He couldn't go to places others could with training and diet from everything I have heard about him over the years. If he attacked his training like Dorian did and put 100% effort in being the best poser possible I am sure his placings would have been consistently higher.

There are many bodybuilders who don't have it mentally. You hear about them cheating on their diets constantly. So yes in a sense unrealized potential. When I think of that term I usually go with guys who suffered major injuries, were in bad accidents or even died too young. Dillet done great and placed well but if you gave him another 10 years he probably would have been the same year after year because that was simply him. Whereas the likes of Dallas if he had 10 more years I am sure you would agree his placings probably would have improved and he may have been champion. Granted he abused (so did Dillet) and contributed to his death but I do think it's different to someone like Dillet who had plenty of chances in his prime years.

absolutely agree with you in regards to the mental. i too have heard and read that he didn't push very hard in the gym and that he was bit lax in his approach to competition. I think Dorian put it best when he said that for him competition was "personal". So in one sense, Dillet never went as far as he should have (physically speaking with his gifts) but on the flip side, he might have simply been unable to push himself any further (mental).