Mike Mentzer started competing in local physique contests when he was eighteen. His first contest was in 1969. In 1971 he suffered his worst defeat, placing 10th at the AAU Mr. America, which was won by Casey Viator. Mentzer considered his presence at this contest important later on as it was here that he met Viator who gave Mentzer the contact information for his trainer Arthur Jones. (Mentzer would contact Jones in later years to learn the latter's theories which he would then incorporate into his own training system.) After a layoff of a few years, he returned to competition in 1975 at the Mr. America placing third behind Robby Robinson and Roger Callard. Mentzer went on to win that competition in 1976. He won the 1977 North America championships in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1977 and competed a week later at the 1977 Mr. Universe | in Nimes, France placing second to Kal Szkalak.In 1978, Mentzer won the Mr. Universe in Acapulco, Mexico with the first and (thus far) only perfect score. He became a professional bodybuilder after the 1978 Universe win. In late 1979, Mentzer won the heavyweight class of the Mr. Olympia but lost in the overall to Frank Zane who was awarded the title for a third time that year. Some in the bodybuilding community believe that Mentzer should have won the 1980 Mr. Olympia even though he placed fourth (in a tie with Boyer Coe) behind Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Dickerson and Frank Zane. The title went to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made a one-off return to competition after a 4 year hiatus from the sport. Many felt Arnold was not in shape for the contest. Mentzer quit competitive bodybuilding after the show at the age of 29. |
