Reg park, speech and posing, Toronto 1988

[Tom K]

I hope you enjoy this, I thought the last posing he did was in 1980 Mr Olympia.

Fantastic shape but a even better speech from the great man.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/AFmtpZPX20Q

[raynobile]

thanks tom. reg gave a nice tribute to grimek in his speech.also displayed quiete a physique for someone of 60.came accross as a very level headed and intelligent man. with a good work ethic. says its not about winning on the stage. its about the training leading up to the contest.meaning the enjoyment you get from your workouts. wise words indeed.

[David Gentle]

Reg was a great bloke, did you know, like Grimek, despite the huge volume of mail, he (and JCG) answered personally all mail, in Regs case in long hand. letters to treasure. I asked both Reg and Grimek how did they manage to cope with it, and both said they appreciated the fans and often just wrote a few lines on the back of the correspondents own letter and signed it, It seems everyone was happy as to get a genuine signed note from your idol is amazing. I have all of Regs letters, some i have copied and are on the site along with a lot of other mail. Reg was a great communicator didnt charge for his autograph and thereby never lost his fans . Where Reg went wrong in later life in contests was he slimmed down too much, lost a lot of size/bulk as he thought the views of the judges were in favour of lighter blokes like Gironda, it was a mistake and cost Reg a couple of wins. Last time i saw him was a few weeks before he died at the OHF Awards in London, he came up and gave me a man hug, thanked me for all the articles i had written about him. His legacy lives on with Jon Jon. David Gentle

[Harrisal]

Those two guys were class acts. No one does that nowadays. Everyone seems to take fans for granted.

[Handson]

I have an example of contrasting personalities -this time regarding boxers.
Just over thirty years ago I was heading for the station after some business in London when coming towards me was a very large chap in a white tracksuit with an attractive blonde on his arm. “You’re George Foreman aren’t you ?” I said and with an affable grin he shook my hand. We spoke at some length about the boxing game and he said why don’t you come to the Hotel and meet Smokin’ Joe and Muhammad?
If the ‘brick’ mobile phone I was carrying had had a camera -the latter were still 10 years in the future - I wouldn’t have hesitated but thanked this very personable man and reluctantly went on my way with his autograph on the bus timetable I was carrying.
Several years later one of my nephews returned from the USA and showed me a photo of him taken with Mike Tyson, costing $100. “Where’s his autograph ?” I asked.
My nephew replied “he wanted another $100 for that which I didn’t have on me and was too much anyway.”
Regards
Handson

[peter yates]

I hope you enjoy this, I thought the last posing he did was in 1980 Mr Olympia.

Fantastic shape but a even better speech from the great man.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/AFmtpZPX20Q

Thanks Tom,
just got around to seeing this.Terrific,what an authentic and humble man he was. So different than the puffed up egos that strut around on the stage today.
Regards,Peter.

[peter yates]

I have an example of contrasting personalities -this time regarding boxers.
Just over thirty years ago I was heading for the station after some business in London when coming towards me was a very large chap in a white tracksuit with an attractive blonde on his arm. “You’re George Foreman aren’t you ?” I said and with an affable grin he shook my hand. We spoke at some length about the boxing game and he said why don’t you come to the Hotel and meet Smokin’ Joe and Muhammad?
If the ‘brick’ mobile phone I was carrying had had a camera -the latter were still 10 years in the future - I wouldn’t have hesitated but thanked this very personable man and reluctantly went on my way with his autograph on the bus timetable I was carrying.
Several years later one of my nephews returned from the USA and showed me a photo of him taken with Mike Tyson, costing $100. “Where’s his autograph ?” I asked.
My nephew replied “he wanted another $100 for that which I didn’t have on me and was too much anyway.”
Regards
Handson

Hi Handson, thanks for sharing this with us. I have heard from others over here what a decent,down to earth guy Foreman was. I remember meeting Louis Martin as a 12 year old kid, and how kind and gracious he was to me,asking about my training and giving tips and encouragement.A real gent as many were in days gone by.Like Tyson most of the Bodybuilding 'stars' of today charge to have photos taken and for autographs. People seems to forget there are no 'stars' without the fans.
Regards,Peter.

[Kazza61]

I remember seeing Reg with my father in the mid 1980's when he undertook a tour of the UK giving a very interesting evening of anecdotes, questions and answers and finishing off with a posing display. Despite his age he was still in excellent shape and came across as a very charming, gracious and wise man. I knew a family member of the organiser and asked him if he might be able to get me an autograph. Later on I was presented with a Reg Park T shirt with a dedication on it to me from Reg! I still have it and it is in as good shape today as it was that night! A great evening for both my father and I.

[peter yates]

That is a great story and confirms what i have always heard about Reg from those who knew him or had contact with him,a class act to the end.Would you mind posting a photo of the shirt? Certainly one that could never be worn.Probably worth a fortune on Ebay, but i bet you would never part with it.
Regards,Peter.

[Kazza61]

Here is the photo Peter. I guess it is only worth something to Reg fans called Tony!
I have never considered selling it or any of the thousands of magazines, books, videos and other memorabilia I have amassed over the years. I told my older daughter that one day the collection would become hers. Her very dry reply was 'how much does a skip cost theses days Dad?'. So maybe one day it will be time to start passing things along.

Apologies - all my attempts to add the photo result in a yellow triangle (the same colour as the T shirt funnily enough). I have reduced the file size several times with the same result. Maybe someone could advise me what I am doing wrong? Thanks in advance.