The Warrior and the Thinker - Dorian Yates' Latest Project

Prologue

No bodybuilding journalist was ever closer to a Mr. Olympia than Peter McGough was to Dorian Yates. They both started out along their particular bodybuilding paths at the same time and from the same Central England launching pad. McGough witnessed Yates’ first contest in 1985 and immediately spotted his potential and gave him the nickname The Shadow. Within a short time they became fast friends and confidants and each would sound out the other about subsequent career moves. They rose at a similar rate: Yates from an intermediate bodybuilder into being the best in the world and McGough climbing to the top of his ladder of choice as he advanced to becoming the Editor in Chief of industry leaders Muscle & Fitness and FLEX. At all Yates’ contests McGough was a key member of Team Dorian and had unique access to how his friend prepared for battle. They’ve now been close friends for nearly 32 years and Dorian has been a great support – in terms of practical help and lifting morale –as Peter deals with his current cancer issues. In this feature McGough again takes us into the unique world of The Shadow.

-- Ron Harris

A fascinating documentary featuring six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates (1992-’97) was released in February. Entitled Inside The Shadow it was was made superbly by the LondonReal production company. It is a compelling account of Dorian’s career and character as it charts his rise to be the best bodybuilder in the world and how he has transitioned over the past near 20 years since he competed into the man he has become today. You really have to see the documentary and get a deep insight into the heart and soul of a lion. To check it out click on https://londonreal.tv/dorian-yates-inside-the-shadow-full-movie/

The portrait painted of Dorian is truly one of a man I have known now for nearly 32 years. A deep thinking warrior who looked upon sculpting his physique like it was “a project”. He didn’t do what he did for fame or financial success – although they came in time – he did it because he was driven to test where the boundaries of his limits were. Chris Duffy, 1992 NPC Heavyweight Champ, summed up the Yates psyche well when in response to me showing him those famous black and white besocked 1993 photos before publication he said, “This is beyond reality. He’s so much better than he needs to be to win. This isn’t about competition; this is personal with this guy.”

An example of Dorian’s slow-burn keep-it-under-wraps personality was a scene I witnessed in 1991.He had just won his second pro contest, the 1991 Night of Champions in New York, and impressed all who saw him. I flew back from the Big Apple and visited Dorian at his Temple Gym in Birmingham a few days later and we went to a baked potato place he liked. The owner obviously knew Dorian from his frequent visits. He asked, “How did you do at that contest you were entering?”

Dorian replied, “Quite well.”

The owner said, “What was the contest – the Mr. Birmingham?”

Dorian responded, “Something like that.”

That’s quintessential Dorian.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

It was July 20 1985 and I was on my way to England’s West Coast Championships being staged in the seaside town of Morecambe. I worked for the British magazine Muscle & Co at the time and for months I’d heard that a bodybuilder from Birmingham was making quite an impression on those observing his progress. His name was Dorian Yates (which I always thought sounded like a character from Wuthering Heights) and he was making his debut in the intermediate class at the aforementioned West Coast soiree. (Remember in those days there was no Internet or I-phones so there were no images of this newcomer flying around Cyberspace.) Unfortunately thanks to a horrendous traffic jam I was hours late in reaching the town’s Central Pier, the venue for the contest.

As I entered the hall I asked someone if the intermediates had been on and was told they were just about ready to start the posing round for that class. I spotted Frank Richards on the far side of the hall who had recently finished fifth at New York’s Night of Champions in his first contest for14 years. I went to congratulate him on his Olympia qualifying performance and we moved to the side of the hall: he facing the stage and me with my back to it. I asked him, on the basis of such a great result, how long would he go on competing? A couple of years was his reply. I was surprised and asked why so? As I finished the question I heard the opening techno riff of The Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) throbbing from the sound system. Frank looked over my shoulder and nodding at the competitor just appearing, said, “Because of fuckers like that coming through.” I turned and to the background of the purring tones of Annie Lennox had my first sight of Dorian Yates.

What hit me immediately was his rock-hard chiseled muscularity. He resembled a walking statue and his 210-pound blend of mass, shaper and hardness had quality written all over it. But in recalling that first Yates sighting the other main aspect that stands out in my mind was his purposeful walk toward center stage. He strode like an athlete sans the traditional exaggerated “Whoops! Mistook superglue for the underarm deodorant again” lat spread or the ponderous gait to hopefully indicate legs that made Tom Platz’s look like Olive Oyl’s. Throughout his career, that’s how he would walk out: all business, ready to take on all-comers. That no-nonsense man-at-work walk just summed him up as a bodybuilder and as a man. I also noticed a slight stoop to his neck and when I (some months later) asked, why the stoop, he replied, “You’d have a stoop too if you had traps like mine.”

He easily took first place and made a somewhat rapid exit from the hall. I followed him and his fiancée Debbie onto the windswept pier, and told them that I wanted to do an interview and photo shoot with him. I’ll never forget the look of astonishment on his face. He was incredulous that his physique was worthy of such treatment. We were then joined by Ron Davies EFBB (English Federation of Bodybuilders) President who told Dorian he’d like him to be part of the English team for the following weekend’s World Games in London. It was such a Star is Born Hollywood type moment that all that was needed now was for Ron, Dorian, Debbie and I to hold hands and skip down the pier singing, We’re off to see the Wizard ….

All who witnessed Dorian Yates stepping onto the first rung of bodybuilding’s ladder of success on that July day 32 years ago wondered how high up that ladder this 23 year old would ascend. As it turned out, with me in tow (or despite me being in tow) he would climb to the very top.

THE CORE OF DORIAN

Bodybuilding fans rave about the physique of Dorian Yates, but it isn't Yates' physique that makes him a great bodybuilder. His most potent "muscle" as Inside The Shadow fully illustrated is the one stored behind his forehead. Suffice to say that as far as bodybuilding is concerned Yates seems to have mastered the art of turning cerebral visions into physical reality.

It's not unknown for a bodybuilder to proclaim they were born to bodybuild, but Dorian Yates is the first I've met for whom there seems no other explanation or choice. He's so ideally suited to the sport, physically and mentally, that if bodybuilding didn't exist it's a good bet he'd have invented it!

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