Star Profile!
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John Romano is most known for the most controversial articles
written in Muscular Development magazine.
To me his name represents the true core of our sport…
I mean this guy is as honest and straightforward as anyone can ever be!
Personally I just love his
“I don't give a fuck what you think I write it as I see it” attitude!
And his writing skills are great and always put a big smile on my face!
Fact is that Mr. Romano is a guy that I always wanted to meet in person…
I can see us two sittin` on his veranda down in Mexico trading war stories
while smoking a couple of my very finest cigars like two mafia bosses
from two different cultures sharing the same passion…
...hardcore bodybuilding!
(The cool thing was that when doing this interview
I found out that Romano and I share the same passion of expensive cigars!)
I guess doing this interview by mail has to be the next best thing.
Let`s find out who this guy really is!
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Full name:
John Romano
Age:
46
Training since:
1973
Weight:
198
Currant residence:
Fort Lauderdale, Florida/Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Occupation:
Artist
Senior Editor, MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT Magazine
Contributor, Fitness RX for Women Magazine
Contributor, Fitness RX for Men magazine
Publisher, MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT EN ESPANOL Magazine
Marital status:
Divorced of course
Listens to:
Old School Funk, Jazz and Hip-Hop.
Though usually I just enjoy the sound of the motor.
Motto in life:
"Even a jackass can lift up a weight."
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ZONE: Tell us a bit about yourself…who`s John Romano?
JOHN: I'm just a regular guy trying to hack his way through life
and leave a little something behind that says I was here and
that I stood for something good that some people will remember.
I'm no different from any of you except for maybe the fact that
my mouth is bigger and I'm not afraid to us it.
I've studied Martial Arts since age 12, but I don't like to fight.
I lift and live like a bodybuilder, but I don't compete.
I have trained and lived a healthy life style from a very young age
but have never ignored my vices - Cuban cigars (a Zone Capone fave),
fine red wine, a great meal once in a while without holding
the butter or the sauce, and of course I can't create without
the help of a stinky bag of weed.
I will say that John Romano has been very fortunate in life.
Not just because I landed a dream job with the best bodybuilding magazine
in the world and have held my position there since 1989,
but because I am healthy and enjoy the love of three very special children.
Especially my little buddy, Max, who, at seven years of age,
has his daddy's calves, can crack off 20 REAL pushups and 100 sit-ups,
and whines like a Banshee if he can't come ride shotgun
when it's time to hit the gym.
My two daughters are grown and live far away, but I can always feel them.
Of all the things I have accomplished in life,
being a good father is my proudest achievement.
ZONE: How and when did you get bit by the iron bug?
JOHN: That's easy. I was 12. I was fat, sloppy and out of shape.
My dad called me into the family room one evening and said,
"John, you have to see this!" It was the 1972 Mr. Olympia contest.
I can't remember the bodybuilder, but he hit a crab shot
and his traps nearly eclipsed his ears! Holy shit! That's what I want!
Then it was a matter of figuring out how to do it.
There were not that many gyms in New York in 1972
and no one I knew trained in one.
I ordered the Charles Atlas program, I sent away for all the other programs
in the back of Boy's Life magazine and eventually ended up fucking around
with a beat up old weight stack off to the corner of a
boxing gym I used to spar in on Saturdays.
One of the guys who regularly trained there saw me trying to bench press
and caught me before the weight crushed my Adam's apple.
He taught me how to lift it right and then told me to come back on Monday.
That was it, I've trained ever since.
ZONE: Judging by the pics I`ve seen you seems to have a good physique…
and rumors on the net says that you're a hard trainer...tell us about it.
JOHN: Hahaha... That depends on who's doing the talking!
I have stayed in shape since I shed all that boyhood fat.
I have been as big as 230 (I'm 5'9") and very shredded.
Today I stay between 195 and 205 and keep up the cardio.
I like being a bit lighter and leaner - it comes in handy when it's time to
peel off at the beach, or when a hot-ass stripper is grinding all over me.
I prefer Dorian's method of training, although I don't ever think
I could muster the same intensity.
I believe training is about how hard you can concentrate.
Finding "failure" as Mike Mentzer once told me,
"is not in your muscles, it is in your brain."
Many people mistake fatigue for failure when they train.
On my work set, I don't put the weight down until my brain cannot make
the part I'm training move, even Christina Agulara
whispered in my ear what she'd do to me if I got one more rep.
ZONE: Lol! When did you start to write articles
and when and how did you first hook up with the guys at MD?
JOHN: I have always written as one of the artistic mediums I enjoy.
When I was locked up from 1987 - 1989, I met Dan Duchaine.
We both had about a year left on or bits and we fell in because we knew
of each other from training at Golds in Venice.
Of all the things I missed in jail - even more than pussy -
I missed intellectual stimulation.
That is what Dan and I gave each other and Dan encouraged me to write.
Not because someone would pay me, but because he thought I was good at it.
"Just write," He said. "The money will come."
And it did!
About a week after I got out I got a call from Steve Blechman.
He had just bought Muscular Development from York Barbell
and wanted a column on cooking for bodybuilders.
I wrote my first Muscle Meals column by hand for $300.
After I handed it in Steve's secretary called me and told me Steve said he'd pay me
$500 if I typed the next one. Now look at me!
ZONE: Oooh I was a huge fan of Dan Duchaine
and can remember reading EVERYTHING that I could find of his work.
We all know he was most getting credits for his views about drugs,
but really he did ALOT for the supplement industry and he
must have been the first guy to promote more fat in the diet back in the
"fat is a no no" days... Anything more you can tell us about Mr. Duchaine?
JOHN: Dan was an amazing man.
Far deeper than bodybuilding.
I have written several articles about him.
Would you like to reprint them?
ZONE: Damned bro...We have to look into that...that would be someting!
John Im also a writer...I had my own column in a mag over here for a while
and I also write some pieces for BODY (the biggest mag over here)
I would love to take my writing to the next levell...any tips?
JOHN: That's a good question. Just keep writing.
The more you write the better you get.
ZONE: What is the best part of this crazy sport?
JOHN: The best part of this sport, especially back in the day,
is that we are all brothers.
This is unlike any other aspect of life I can think of.
Whenever you pass another guy on the street, who obviously throws down,
you always exchange a knowing nod.
You instantly share what it takes to build such a recognizable body
and no one can deny that is unique in all the world.
Bikers and bodybuilders are the only true brotherhoods left in this world.
I can go to any city, in any country, in any gym,
and come fact to face with a tatt-down, bulked up dude and say "what's up, bro,"
because we share what few others on this earth can even imagine.
ZONE: Yeah I know that your also into bikes...tell us more!
JOHN: I never met a bike I didn't like.
Too bad I can't say that about humans. I love to build them.
I usually have one bike project going in the garage.
Right now I'm customizing my car (2002 Porsche C2)
so I have to finish that first.
I'm almost done and will start another bike probably in the fall.
To me there is no greater sense of freedom than riding.
ZONE: Cool! And whats the worst part of our sport?
JOHN: The fucking pussies who try to vilify what we do by falsely label
bodybuilding as something it is not.
ZONE: You’re been in this game for a long time and must have seen a lot!
What's the craziest thing you have seen so far?
JOHN: Oh, yeah. I've seen a lot of shit.
Enough to write a book (hint hint), especially over the 20 years I trained at Golds, Venice.
I think the craziest shit though is the guys who died.
I'm about as extreme a guy as you'll ever meet,
but tossing your life down the drain for a 21 inch arm is just off the fucking wall, man.
All through this journey I have lost friends who thought they were fighting
a war when no one fired a single shot.
Perhaps their war was internal and I never could imagine
the demons that chased them, but I still can't get why they would have gone
as far as they did and never come back.
That shit is just nuts.
ZONE: What magazines do you read?
JOHN: Not too many actually.
Other then the requisite BB mags I have to read,
I subscribe to Excellence magazine (all about Porsche),
Automobile, and Hot Bike.
I also pick up from time to time, Road and Track, Maxim, and the Dupont Registry
ZONE: Any favorite websites?
JOHN: Musculardevelopment.com!!
ZONE: Future plans?
JOHN: First I'd like to create some free time
so I can do some traveling not related to work.
I want to go back to Cuba in the worst way.
There was nothing like strolling the streets of Havana, puffing on a stogie.
I want to go back to the La Boguedita del Medio and sit in
Ernest Hemmingway's chair again and drink another mijito.
That was inspiration!
I do have a plan to travel to Cambodia later this year.
Just to see it.
And, now that you tell me I have fans in Europe I'd like to drop by and see some of them!
Especially the hot one's with big tits.
I own the rights to MD en Espanol and have been working on
making that better and more available throughout Latin America.
And, I'm working on a tour to bring some pro bodybuilders to Iraq
to do some training and nutrition seminars for our troops over there.
Other than that, I'd just like to be able to find a way to relax a little
and enjoy some peace and quiet.
ZONE: A big thanx for take the time to do this interview!
I`m a big fan of your work and I`m REALLY happy to be able to have you at my site!
A big honor!
So really remeber that if you ever in Sweden ya know ya got a friend here!
JOHN: The honor is all mine, brother.
Anything I can do to help keep it real!
Zone is da man!
If you need anything else, just let me know
- and, you have a friend in South Florida!
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