Tom Platz - The Most Popular Bodybuilder Ever!
Tom Platz
The Most Popular Bodybuilder Ever!
I was recently asked, based on my decades long immersio in this sport, who I thought was the most popular bodybuilder ever. Well, of course Arnold (no last name necessary) is obviously the top choice in terms of being one of the most famous people in the world. But there is another bodybuilder who in my humble opinion inspired and touched the hearts of bodybuilders like no other. I speak of Tom Platz. There were two main factors to his unique effect on the muscled masses. One, his personalty; Two, those friggin’ legs.
Now, arguments might rage about who had the best ever arms, the best ever back etc. but when it comes to discussions of best ever legs – and even though it is now over 27 years since he last competed – there is only one candidate: Thomas Steven Platz, born June 26, 1955, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, has the best legs ever … period …. Fuggedaboutit! And by legs, we’re talking the whole enchilada: humungous quads, hanging hams and calves, which in Tom’s case are best described as bulls. It wasn’t just that he had a volume of muscle that we hadn’t seen before or since, it was that the show stopping mass carried oodles of freaky cross striations and detail. One of the most stupid questions I ever asked (and there ‘s been a few) was one I fired at Tom: “Where you born with legs like that?” An enquiry that instantly prompted thoughts of pity for his poor mother.
One of the most dreaded phrases in bodybuiding is “Leg day”, and everyone who saw Platz, and moreover had seen photos that as an adolescent he had been blessed with great legs, could appreciate the gut busting – maybe unprecedented in intensity – workouts that made his underpinining come out tops. They could see – and maybe feel -- the years, months, sets and ball busting reps that had gone into building the best legs ever.
And then there was his the basic good character of the man, who many thought should have been crowned Mr. Olympia in 1981, totally reflected in his Golden Eagle (complete with golden locks) persona. There was just something about Tom that was so special, so engaging to an audience – the word charisma coud have been invented with Tom in mind. All could see that he was a real regular guy, immensely likeable, and that despite his superstardom, he was still one of us gym rats. The man, the body, the charisma, all combined to make his impact unforgettable. The muscle community admired, respected and in the end adored and loved him with a depth I have not seen bequeathed on any other bodybuilder.
In the ‘80s his annual seminar tours of England attracted unprecedented crowd numbers, and he would be found signing autographs and magazine covers (without charging) until maybe two hours after a seminar had finished. He was the most popular bodybuilder in the world and had a unique empathy that connected and recruited fierce loyalty from the muscled masses. He did a tour most years in the UK because the audience couldn’t get enough of him.
INCITING AN AUDIENCE
And no-one, no-one, ever galvanized and incited audiences like the man they called The Golden Eagle. His signature posing music was Ride Like The Wind by Christopher Cross, and when the opening chords of that tune would drift into a packed auditorium the assembled throng would go nuts, knowing the appearance of the sport’s favorite son was imminent. And then there he was before them. He would smile and wink at the audience and the decibel meter woud threaten to go off the charts. Then he would run his right hand through his blond hair while flicking a quad with his left hand before “Boom!” that quad would blast into life with more cross staitions than one could count. Then the decibel meter would go off the charts. You’d seen it countless times, knew it was coming but it never got old. Never, ever, got bloody old I tell you. I never heard audiences create such noise as they did when Tom posed.
Only once did he abandon that music. The occasion was his last Olympia appearance in Columbus, Ohio, in 1986 when adopted Twist and Shout by The Beatles. It was an entirely apt choice because he caused uproar among the audience eliciting memories of Beatlemania (yes, I am that old) at its most fervent. Here’s what I wrote at the time.
During the pre-judging every Platz movement threatened the foundations of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. And when it came to the evening posing round, sheer hysteria took over. Coming out to the familiar refrain of Ride like the Wind, Tom, after a minute went into his kneeling thinker’s pose. Whereupon the music changed to the gutsy thump of the Beatles’ Twist and Shout. Jumping to his feet and facing the audience bodybuilding’s number one draw made a play of dusting off his right thigh before flexing it to resemble a roadmap of New York, sending the assembled throng into pure bedlam.
“With the guttural tones of John Lennon screeching away, Eaglemania took over from Beatlemania as Tom jumped from the podium right to the edge of the stage, hitting the audience with every pose in the book- and a few that weren't. After three encores (this wasn't a guest spot, remember – it was a contest) the Eagle glided off leaving a satiated audience gasping for breath. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it.”
Despite getting by far the most riotous recption of the night Tom eventually finished 11th, and at that point we were unaware it would be his last Mr. Olympia contest.
ALL THINGS MUST PASS
I first met Tom in 1983 in Nottingham, England, when he agreed to a 30-minute interview, which lasted for about four hours. In the process we struck up quite a friendship and I have interviewed him many times over the years, both back in the UK and this side of the pond after I moved here in 1992. He once told me he found it easy to open up to me because I listened. I told him I listened because he always had something interesting to say.
In May 1987 he was undertaking another tour of the UK and after one of his appearances we settled into a rather swishy restaurant and I flipped my tape recorder on to commence another interview. In two months time Tom would attempt to gain a top three berth at the Detroit Pro Championships and so qualify for that year’s Olympia. His brow became furrowed as he told me, “I’m more content about my place in bodybuilding than I’ve ever been. I’ve done all I can, with every ounce of resolve to get where I am. I feel as if I’ve made my statements. I’m 32 been training 20 years now I feel as if I’m ready for ‘What’s next?’”
I then asked a question that two minutes previously would have been as unthinkable as asking the Pope to do a cameo twerk with Miley Cyrus: “Tom, have you reached a point in your life where you can move on without an Olympia win?” This to a man who had always insisted his life would be incomplete without an Olympia win, and he would die trying to achieve that goal.
He took a sharp intake of breath and almost in a whisper said, “Yeah. No way did I ever think I could say that. Now I know if I tried for another 40 years winning an Olympia wouldn’t provide an answer to my needs.” I could see emotion was welling up inside him as he continued with a wistful smile, “That’s the first time I’ve admitted it. I’ve got goose bumps thinking about what I just said.”
An air of sadness emanated from him. He confirmed the observation, “Whenever you leave a major part of your life behind, even if you know it’s for better things, it’s a sad, sad feeling.”
In Detroit he finished sixth in a contest won by Mike Ashley and the career of one of the most intense and charismatic bodybuilders ever was over. But his legend and impact will live as long as weights are lifted. Believe me, we’ll never see his like again. Tom Platz was, is, a force of nature with an immovably enduring effect on the senses of all who saw him back in the day. Which explains why every time I hear the opening bars of Ride Like The Wind, I flick a hand through my hair and twitch a quad.
Today Tom lives in great contentment with his lovely wife Cha (they were married in September 2000) in Los Angeles.