Interview with Mike Mentzer author John Little

Mike Mentzer remains one of the most fascinating characters in the history of bodybuilding. A deep thinker and proud contrarian, Mike is one of the few men in bodybuilding to achieve a perfect score in a competition—and do it on more than one occasion! His training style was defined by the high-intensity training first proposed by Nautilus creator Arthur Jones, and Mentzer’s forthrightness about the ‘business’ of bodybuilding always set him apart from his contemporaries.

As a historian and fan of bodybuilding, Mentzer has always fascinated me. His Heavy Duty books introduced me to the idea that bodybuilding could be about mind and body, while his writings on intensity showed me what failure in an exercise means. I have, however, often been troubled by how Mike and his training philosophies have been portrayed within the industry. This is especially the case in an online age where social media is full of enthusiastic influencers promising dramatic results with a HIT workout (and truthfully if you’ve read anything by Mike, Jones or later Dorian Yates on HIT you’ll know how loosely many apply that term).

I was overjoyed then to learn that John Little had written the definitive biography of Mentzer. As an author, John has published extensively on Bruce Lee, bodybuilding and philosophy. He was also a close friend of Mentzer’s which gives us unparraleled access to the man himself. As a historian I cannot stress the depth of John’s research and as a bodybuilding fan I cannot stress the enjoyment I found in his writing. John was generous enough to give me over an hour of his time in an interview which you’ll find below. This marks the first time in the site’s ten-year history that I have used video. So I’m slowly modernising I guess?

John’s book looks at Mentzer, not through rose-tinted glasses but as a human being. Mentzer struggled with his mental health throughout his career and found himself in a constant battle between his demons and his quest for self-knowledge. He competed at a high point in bodybuilding during the 1970s and 1980s, but also during a time of great disruption as several Mr. Olympia controversies threatened to de-legitimise the sport entirely. John deals with all of this and, having read the book, I came away with a much greater appreciation for Mentzer – free from all the noise created by his rivals and also his zealous fans. A good book is a rare thing in bodybuilding so please do check out the link below to purchase it.

You can purchase the book here.