The Winner Is . . .
From what I observed that night, I was sure Viator would defeat Ken Waller and win the Mr. America title. Interestingly, two days later, Waller was disqualified from the Amateur Athletic Union for appearing in a non-sanctioned, exercise-related magazine advertisement several months earlier. Thus, the Viator/Waller confrontation never occurred. But Casey competed against 32 other men on June 12th and easily won the 1971 AAU Mr. America.
Said one of the judges: "Viator was simply overpowering!" I was thinking to myself, "Was it Viator – or Jones – who was overpowering? Or, was it their combined talents working together?*
After the 1971 Mr. America, Viator had plans to enter the NABBA Mr. Universe, which was scheduled for early September in London, England. Unfortunately, he had a disagreement with Jones and took a leave of absence from training for several months and he did not go to the Mr. Universe event.
Furthermore, after that June 10, 1971, supervised workout, Jones never again trained Viator seriously. No, I take that back. He did train Viator 14 times in May of 1973 during the Colorado Experiment. But that was a part of a research project, and not for a bodybuilding championship.
1978 NABBA Mr. Universe
In February of 1978, after another lengthy leave of absence as well being out-of-training for almost a year, Viator returned to Jones and the Nautilus headquarters. He declared that he wanted to enter the NABBA Mr. Universe in September. Thus, it became part of Jim Flanagan's and my job to train Casey for this contest.
Flanagan, who was 6-foot 5-inches tall and weighed 265 pounds, and I trained him three times per week on whole-body routines, some of which I chronicle in my new book. Over the next five months, Viator's body weight increased from 194 to 220 pounds – which was 2 pounds more than he weighed at his Mr. America win seven years earlier.
I took hundreds of photos of Casey in the summer of 1978 and some of the best ones are in The New Bodybuilding for Old-School Results, including the cover shot that I mentioned previously.
At the Mr. Universe, Viator placed a controversial second to Dave Johns. Many in the audience thought Viator should have won.
Crossing that Line
Jim Flanagan and I pushed Casey as hard as we could during our six months' tenure with him in 1978. But it wasn't quite the same as having Arthur Jones at his shoulder and . . . in his face.
Jones was the ultimate do-it-my-way, hands-on, kick-ass coach.
During a workout, Jones had a way of quickly finding and hitting a person's "hot" buttons. That style certainly worked with Viator – and it worked with many other lifters.
Some bodybuilders can be pushed, some can't. Those who can be pushed are usually the high achievers.*
Working with bodybuilders for more than four decades, I've discovered that there's a thin line between those who can and those who can't. Crossing that line and accepting proactive pushing can make a significant difference toward getting the best-possible gains.
If you're interested in making the most of your potential for muscular size and strength, you've got to determine which side of the line you're on.
If you're teetering on the can't-be-pushed side, do something about it. Get involved with a coach or training partner who knows how to hit your hot buttons.