The Menace Podcast has had a lot of great guests over the years, but none may be bigger than Dennis James’ latest guest, three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane. Zane joined James, Chris Cormier, and Milos Sarcev for a special interview, and he was glad to share many stories from over his legendary career and life, including how he was able to be one of only three men to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger. Zane also talked about the state of the sport today, including his thoughts on the Classic Physique division.
“It’s a good thing that they’re paying attention to that, and it gives (Chris) Bumstead a chance to win something,” he answered. “With these guys competing today, there’s the aesthetic class and there’s the monster class. I think it’s a good thing.”
Many people associate that division as an unofficial tribute to Zane because of how his physique represented the era he competed in. He was asked whose physique may be the closest to his.
“For me, I think it was Bob Paris,” Zane told James, who agreed with him because of the shape and poses they had. Cormier referenced Danny Padilla, and Sarcev gave the nod to another legend, Lee Labrada.
“When you look at Frank’s posing and Lee’s posing, I’m sure Lee got some poses, moves, and sequences of poses (from Zane.) because Frank was way above everyone else in conditioning, way above everyone in aesthetics, and in presentation.”
Zane ended his competitive career in 1983, but he still continues to train people from his home in California. So, his fingerprint is still on the sport four decades after he hung up his posing trunks.
“I figured my best years were behind me, and I decided to do more teaching other people how to do it than continue to bang away at it myself.”
Zane covered a lot of ground in this episode, including beating Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1968, fun stories with other legends, and more. Subscribe to the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel to see this episode, and check back for new episodes every Sunday at 3 PM Eastern time.
