Being the trendsetter of his time, Dorian Yates had managed to set new standards for bodybuilders to look upon. With a monstrous physique and conditioning to the smallest detail, he was the undefeated champion of the Olympia for six consecutive years. Being a popular bodybuilder back then meant constant photo ops and magazine cover features, and he was hell-bent on bringing out his true form in them.
In a conversation at the True Geordie podcast, he once recalled some of his iconic photoshoots and how he preferred adding his touch to them. At the time, he wanted these photos to reflect his real side, which was a strong-willed, powerful athlete.
That’s how his cover shot for the Flex Magazine in 1990 saw a raw version of him that was true to his personality. He remembered working with popular bodybuilding photographer Chris Lund, who wanted to experiment around.
At that time, magazine cover photos were a big deal in assigning a persona to bodybuilding legends to make them more appetizing for the masses. Naturally, Yates did not want to play around, especially when Lund suggested a prop to make him look fun.
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“Chris Lund the photographer encouraged me to wear sunglasses as that was the norm back then to make me “look cool.”
There was no way that was gonna happen.”
Fans knew Yates’ backstory of getting arrested, training in the jail, winning his first Olympia, and having sought-after Mike Mentzer for his workout style. He was passionate and full of grit and machismo to wear sunglasses and pretend to be someone he wasn’t.
“I believed that the more raw, the grittier, the passionate the pictures, the more it would capture how I trained and would resonate with my audience.”
Eventually, he picked up a 200 lbs dumbbell and started rowing it with all the aggression and strength he had at the time. Lund ended up clicking one of the most iconic photos of Yates that stayed in the hearts of many.
Dorian Yates went through ‘some of the most brutal workouts’ during his prime
The English bodybuilder came to contest at the Mr. Olympia championship with a physique that had already put several to shame. Yet, he knew he would need more than what he was used to to get ahead in the race. That’s when he found Mentzer and leaned into his teachings and advice.
He once recalled how his uniquely wild training session had soon become a spectacle amongst gym-goers. HIT was not as popular, but Mentzer firmly believed in increasing Yates’ strength to achieve hypertrophy. Eventually, the strategy worked well for him, and he went on to shine with five more titles throughout his career.
