Kaspa Hazelwood - Dorian Yates: From the Shadow: Official Biography

Table of Contents

Photo: Chris Lund

DORIAN YATES

FROM THE SHADOW

Kaspa Hazlewood

Originally published in 2018 by Dorian Yates
This e-book edition published 2020 by Dorian Yates

Copyright 2018 Kaspa Hazlewood & Dorian Yates

The right of Kaspa Hazlewood & Dorian Yates to be identified as co-authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved: Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Any unauthorized or restricted act in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and / or criminal prosecution.

This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without prior consent of both the copyright owners and the publishers. The views expressed in this publication should be taken as those of the authors alone.

Every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material reproduced herein and secure permissions. We will be pleased to incorporate any missing acknowledgements in any future editions of this book. In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all of the photographers that have helped make this Work a reality by granting the use of their images gratis.

E-book design and layout: Matthew Wayne Selznick, adapting a paperback design from Rachel Burgess, Quickbane Limited
Editor and proofreader: Caroline Curtis

ISBN for the paperback edition: 978-1-9998284-2-4

For his part, Kaspa dedicates this book to his daughter Zo that she may soar through life as if carried by what she called: Dorians wings

For my sister Tanya, who passed on so early.
I will always remember you and feel you by my side,
born into a body that was broken but with a spirit so pure
I dedicate this book to you.
You were never forgotten and I hold you in my heart forever.

And to my children Lewis and Tahnee,
life would feel empty without you...

Photo: Roger Shelley

Acknowledgments

For your help and support:
Debbie Yates; Janet Chin; Peter McGough; Mike Haig; Dave McInerney; Tommy Briscoe; Martin Tierney; Steve Weinberger; Bev Francis; Tony Tan Man; Gal Yates; and all the fans.

And to those warriors who shared the sweat, pain, and iron in the Temple:
Ray Gobourne; Matt Nicholson; Vince; Kenny Brown; Big Rad; Pete Mumford; Rich Oxley; Billy Payne; Steve Weinberger; Leroy Davis and Dean Horton.

FOREWORD

W ith his six Olympia wins Dorian Yates dominated the sport in the 1990s during a period when the muscularity of all top pros seemed to take a quantum leap forward. In a 17-contest pro career he won 15 and was second in the other two. But Dorian Yates greatest legacy will be his training philosophy. His physique was the result of a detailed and scientific approach of a depth that had been previously been unknown. Prior to his emergence the most popular training system had been those along the lines of twice daily workouts, six days a week, wherein each bodypart was trained twice a week with up to 20 sets per muscle group. He set new standards with short and intense workouts comprising one all-out set for each exercise. Furthermore he trained only once a day four times a week. With this philosophy he avoided committing bodybuildings number one sin: overtraining. Which was an extension of him understanding that the most important component of the muscle building process is allowing adequate recuperation time for growth between workouts.

He was also a forerunner in partnering cardio work with bodybuilding. By doing cardio year-round he raised his metabolism and became a more efficient fat-burning machine. By doing so he was able to eat more calories in the pre- contest period. So for him there was no kamikaze crash-dieting route followed by some pros. Thirteen weeks out or so from a contest he would begin his diet and lose no more than two pounds a week as he glided in to hit his required bodyweight two weeks before flexing hostilities began.

Bodybuilding fans rave about the physique of Dorian Yates, but it isnt Yates physique that makes him a great bodybuilder. His most potent muscle was the one stored behind his forehead. Suffice to say that as far as bodybuilding is concerned Yates seems to have mastered the art of turning cerebral visions into physical reality.

1993 Mr. Olympia, photo Chris Lund

Its not unknown for a bodybuilder to proclaim they were born to bodybuild, but Dorian Yates is the first Ive met for whom there seems no other explanation or choice. Hes so ideally suited to the sport, physically and mentally, that if bodybuilding didnt exist its a good bet hed have invented it!

Peter McGough 2016

Dorian's most powerful resource was his iron will. Photograph Chris Lund

INTRODUCTION

I t is the first day of August 2011 and I arrive in Sohos Old Compton Street, notable for its gay community and the eclectic range of bohemian shops and cafs that spill out onto narrow pavements. After over a year of courtship I am here, sweltering in the afternoon sun, meeting the man some people call the UKs answer to Arnold Schwarzenegger: six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates. For a straight bodybuilder, the venuehis choiceis a strange one. However, as I am reminded for the thousandth time in my life, never judge a book by its cover.

What do I know about Dorian? What has brought me to this point? During my early twenties I used bodybuilding to sculpt my previously overweight physique towards that abstract destination, the perfect body. After a few months in the gym environment, I succumbed to the lure of protein shakes and muscle mags, my first glimpse of Englands rising star arriving via publications such as Muscle & Fitness and Flex around 1991. It was Dorians entire demeanor that made him so charismatic. He looked like a man on a mission, someone for whom lifting weights was more a calling than a career. It was in the eyes as much as in the huge, granite-like muscles: This guy wasnt posing for the camera, he was waiting for it to get the hell out of his way so he could get back to the business of getting bigger and better.

Within a year Dorian would go on to become the UKs first ever winner and only winner to dateof the worlds premier bodybuilding competition. His combination of huge size and incredible muscular detail would set the standard for a generation and beyond. I, like all the other guys I trained with, had never seen anything like Dorianthe coupling of a powerlifters outrageous mass with defined rock-hard muscle, including his midsection, was utterly new.