Far From Routine: Acceptable in the 80s

Reader Request

PHYLLIS PADUR
1987 NPC Extravaganza (?)

Poor quality, and not really a spectacular routine, admits the reader who nominated this old school gem, but the first bodybuilder I was interested in way back in the day.



A slightly shorter, but slightly better quality version of Phyllis' routine is also available - here. Unlike the above clip there is accompanying sound, but the downside is that some genius has added possibly the most annoying soundtrack imaginable to it.

"The first bodybuilder I was interested in" was a common theme among our readers' selections, and judging by when those women were around, we're all getting on a bit!

Today, we go back to the 80s...


Reader Request

CLAUDIA PROFANTER
1987 WABBA Worlds (?)

Despite the dodgy quality of this clip, it should please our fan of the "take it slow" routine. Every pose she hits seems to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. If only the ladies were allowed as much time for their routines now as they were back then. Thankfully, Claudia's heyday coincided with that of the three-minute routine.



More Claudia previously on FMS.


Reader Request

SUSAN MYERS
1988 NPC Jr Nationals

From the YouTube channel Vintage Amazonia where "old school" is the only school, Sue Myers shows off her spectacular body to sensational effect in the kind of posing suit that this fan prays will one day make a comeback. She makes me wish I could go back to the 80s, confesses the reader who nominated the clip. But I'd go back with an HD camera! The final, triumphant double biceps pose will slay you, but if you stick around after the end of the routine there's a fresh-off-stage Sue being interviewed.




Reader Request

KATHY UNGER
1988 NPC Nationals

And also from Vintage Amazonia, not so much a routine as a series of power poses. And bless the cameraman, a lot of the clip has Kathy's droolworthy, rippling upper body in close-up. Big, defined, and pretty much defining the term "hard flexing".




Swell Pick

JANET TECH
1988 Ms Olympia

Not so much one of my favourites (although I would be lying if I said I haven't spent some quality time with this routine while compiling this post) as a treat for an old friend whose blog has gone a bit quiet recently. Hopefully the sight of Janet in her pomp will inspire him back into action. 1988, it seems, was a very good year...



Ultimate Muscle has more routines from the 1988 Olympia, all fantastic quality. Anja Langer, Bev Francis, Dona Oliveira (another of our old friend's faves), Tonya Knight, Joy Nichols and her memorable most musculars, and many many more.

Enjoy!

A New Golden Age? Part II

PumpItUp: My next pairing is the WPW cover of Lisa Lorio and one of my all-time faves Janet Tech with modern media savvy model-look gym-goddesses Larissa Reis and Oksana Grishina.



FMS: Janet and Lisa wouldn't look out of place in Physique either. In Lisa's case, Figure even. Gorgeous women, utterly exotic and other-worldly at the time I came across them.

PIU: I suppose for me, with Janet especially, it was the facial looks, the lean beauty, the particularly friendly smile. Yes, Lisa is definitely more figure in that cover.

I also remember seeing that issue in my local newsagent (a rarity for the then bi-monthly WPW) and plotting how I could get it discreetly into my sweaty hand and out of the shop. I guess it was always more exciting to see two women on a cover than the woman hanging off the arm of some huge guy.

FMS: Lisa Lorio I remember for one picture where she was wearing nothing but braces on top. And I think that is an example of what is the biggest difference then and now. A single image living long in the memory. In 20 years will anybody recall individual (iconic?) images of Larissa? I doubt it, but given there is so much of her out there it kind of guarantees she will live forever as it were. Lisa, Janet and the other women of that era, I'm not so sure.

Interested why you called Larissa and Oksana "Media savvy", how so?

PIU: I was probably thinking of their product endorsements and affiliations. Like Larissa, she has more than one sponsor and a store linked on her site and some pretty impressive photo shoots and videos around.

FMS: Larissa is certainly a canny businesswoman, out of necessity I imagine given her past.

My next two: (young) Juliette Bergmann & sexy Sophie Arvebrink.



PIU: Juliette is one of the coolest Europeans to grace the Olympia Stage, her Olympia routine to Janet Jackson's "Control" one of the most memorable.



Sophie is one of the new self-promoters with an emphasis on gym workout shots. Has she ever done a shoot for one of the paysites? Would we have ever seen her like in the pre- internet/Instagram age?

FMS: Definitely not. Sophie is totally self-promoting as far as I know. She would have had to compete in the past. You're quite right, we'd have never heard of her.

Juliette was one of the few Europeans who remained based in Europe but made a splash in the States - even in her early days. Incredibly beautiful woman quite apart from the body. Those eyes!

The conversation continues tomorrow...