For this blog post, we are remembering the late great first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott with a podcast interview.Larry Dee Scott (October 12, 1938 March 8, 2014), also known as “The Legend” and “The Golden Boy,” was an American IFBBprofessional Bodybuilder. He won the inaugural 1965 Mr. Olympiacompetition and defended the crown at the 1966 Mr. Olympiacontest before retiring.

Larry Dee Scott was born in Pocatello, Idaho, to Thea Scott and machinist Wayne Scott.He began training at age 16 and, by age 20, won the Mr. Idaho competition in 1959. After moving to California, he promptly won Mr. California (1960), Mr. Pacific Coast (1961), Mr. America (1962), and Mr. Universe (1964). When Joe Weider created the IFBB‘s Mr. Olympia title, Scott won the first two contests in 1965 and 1966. Although Scott retired after his 1966 Olympia win, he staged a brief comeback in 1979 before retiring from competition for good in 1980. He studied electronics at the California Air College, and was known to be a devout Mormon.He was married to Rachel Scott (ne Ichikawa).The Scotts had five children: daughter Susan, and sons Erin and Nathan survived Scott. Son Derek died in a motorcycle accident in 1992, and son Michael died in 1993.

Prior to claiming his back-to-back Olympia titles (besting Harold “Damian” Poole on both occasions), Scott took Mr. America in 1962 and Mr. Universe in 1964. He also had a minor role in the 1964 movie Muscle Beach Party. However, Scott is said to have possessed little apparent genetic potential when he started training with weights in 1956, his narrow shoulders having been a particular weak spot. He trained with Vince Gironda, another well-known bodybuilder of the time, and became best known for his arm development, particularly his impressive and unusually long biceps, which allowed for good development and shape. He attributed his football-shaped biceps to an exercise called the “Preacher Curl,” invented by Gironda, which became part of the standard repertoire among many bodybuilders. The Preacher Curl is often called the Scott Curl, due to its association with Scott.

Larry Scott Interview 1995 pt 1 – Copy

Larry Scott Interview 1995 pt 2

Scott was also a popular physique model during the early to mid-1960s, working for such famous photographers as Bruce of Los Angeles and Don Whitman (of the Western Photography Guild). His “posing strap” material for Pat Milo is considered fine art. Milo introduced Scott to a wide, appreciative audience and helped him hone his posing and photographic persona: that of the “boy next door.” Larry regularly appeared in all ofJoe Weider‘s bodybuilding magazines, including Mr. America and Muscle Builder, and he also figured prominently in Demi Gods, Muscleboy,Muscles a Go-Go and The Young Physique.

From 1960 until his first retirement from competition in 1966, Scott was bodybuilding’s top superstar. Bodybuilding magazines soon began capitalizing on his clean-cut, all-American image, but Larryan IFBB athletewrote exclusively for Joe Weider’s publications. Larry’s popularity completely eclipsed all other bodybuilders of his time, including such famous personalities as Freddy Ortiz, Chuck Sipes, Dave Draper, Leo Robert, Harold Poole, and Sergio Oliva. The phenomenon has since become known as “Larry Fever” and reached its apex at the first Mr. Olympia competition in 1965. Scott won against Harold Poole that year. His prize was a “jewel”-encrusted crown. One year later, Scott defended his title and received $1,000 as a prize, but no crown came with the title after 1965.

Scott’s first retirement at the age of 28 sent shock waves throughout the sport. But Scott had other priorities (a second marriage) and, after two Olympia wins, felt he had done all he could do in competitive bodybuilding.

Rod Labbe, a freelance writer and fan, collaborated with Scott on five articles: a two-part interview in Flex magazine, two articles in Ironman, and an article entitled “Poetry in Motion” in MuscleMag International. According to Labbe, “Larry [was] my childhood hero, a true American success story. He came from nothing and reached the top as a Bodybuilder. It’s an honor for me to work with him.” Before Scott’s illness, he and Labbe collaborated on a new article for Scarlet: the Film Magazine about American International‘s Muscle Beach Party (released in 1964), in which Scott played the role of “Rock,” a bodybuilder who was part of “Jack Fanny’s” (Don Rickles) exercise group (Scott’s character name is listed incorrectly on the Internet Movie Database as “Riff”the shirts he wears in the film all read “Rock”).

Scott lived his latter years in Salt Lake City, Utah where he ran his personal training company (Larry Scott Fitness & Nutrition), and manufactured and sold eponymous custom-made gym equipment and health supplements. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999 and was a mentor and role model of the professional bodybuilder and actor Sarmad Mohammad.

On March 8, 2014, Scott died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah.He was 75 years old.

God Bless,

IAAM.