Nicolas Chemla, author of the new book Mister America, is the guest on the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast for Part Two of his interview. Mister America is a novel about the life of bodybuilder Mike Mentzer. Originally published in France in 2019, Mister America has now been translated to English and is available in the United States. In Part Two of his interview, Nicolas talks about Mike’s trip to see his first Mr. Olympia contest in 1965, Mike’s friendship with Dave Mastorakis, meeting Arthur Jones and Casey Viator at the 1971 AAU Mr. America contest, Mike’s relationship with Joe Weider and the eventual decline of his life. At the end of the interview, host John Hansen reads the article “Mike Mentzer – A Future Superstar” written by Armand Tanny for the January, 1976 issue of Muscle Builder magazine. John also reads an excerpt from the book about when a young Mike Mentzer goes to see the first Mr. Olympia contest in 1965.
Episode aired on September 10, 2024.