Craig Monson Part 2 – Bodybuilding Legends Podcast With John Hansen [S7E6]

In Part Two of his interview with the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast, Craig Monson talks about training at Muscle Beach in the 1980’s. Craig also talks about when he started competing in bodybuilding contests including traveling to Europe with John Brown to compete in the Mr. World contest. Craig also talks about meeting his idols Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva.

John Hansen:

Season seven, episode six of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor Old School Labs. All right, welcome everybody to another episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast and today we’re going to be talking again about old school bodybuilding. And our guest is part two of our interview with Craig Monson. If you heard our show last week, Craig was a real mass monster who trained in the Venice Beach, California scene in the early ’80s. And everybody who’s seen him remembered who Craig was because he was a monster. 23-inch arms, 6’2″, 270 pounds. He didn’t compete that much and he never became a pro bodybuilder, but he definitely was a legend in the Muscle Beach scene.

John Hansen:

We talked to Craig last week and we got his story about how he spent some time in San Quentin Prison, and then when he got out, he was training over at Bill Pearl’s Gym, and then he went over to Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, California. And he also trained at Venice Beach on Muscle Beach every Sunday.

John Hansen:

So, this part of the interview in part two today, we’re going to talk to Craig about when he actually did start competing. He started competing in California, and then he became friends with John Brown. And John Brown brought him over to Europe, and he competed in the Mr. World over there. So, he’s got some great stories to tell us about that, as well as meeting Sergio Oliva and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

John Hansen:

All right, so here is our interview with Craig Monson, Big Craig Monson. This is part two of our interview where Craig talks about when he started competing in the bodybuilding world. You’re really going to love it. Here you go.

Craig Monson Talks Gyms and Training Schedule

John Hansen:

Were people freaking out about you Craig, when you were training in the ’80s at Gold’s Gym? Were people just like, “Who the hell is this guy?”

Craig Monson:

Look at Venice Beach, and I know people out there have videos because they would… When I would start working out, I would wait for the crowd to get good before I start doing my thing. They would be from the fence at Venice all the way back to the restaurant, the buildings there. All the way back, all the way back to the office. I’d pack them in, pack them in, they were packed in watching me. And then I would take pictures holding babies and everything. I took so many pictures back in the day.

John Hansen:

You were like the star.

Craig Monson:

Yes. Yes, it was fantastic. Just Venice on the weekend, Venice Beach was mine. We had all these attractions out there; you would walk the pier and there was all kind of stuff going on. Even now today there’s all kind of stuff going on, all kind of… But there’s nobody in the pits playing around with 500. Back arming 300 and working out like that with no shirt on.

Craig Monson:

The good guys, “No,” they said, “because you’re supposed to stay in the gym. You ain’t supposed to show off out here like that.” They wouldn’t come out. The pros, no, no. They’d stand outside the pit and watch, “No, come on in here. Play with us.”

John Hansen:

Yeah. We used to have a picture of you and Arnold out there on Venice Beach. I was looking at-

Craig Monson:

Yes. Arnold and I, we did benchings and inclines a couple of times out there.

John Hansen:

Oh, really? No kidding.

Craig Monson:

Yes, yes, yes. And I think that was Ken Waller with him…

John Hansen:

Was Arnold still competing then, or was he retired?

Craig Monson:

Yes. Well, he may have been semi-retired. I’m talking-

John Hansen:

Late ’70s.

Craig Monson:

Yeah, ’79-

John Hansen:

Early ’80s.

Craig Monson:

Yeah, early… Yes, yes. And he would come in the morning, and I would always go early to get a good parking, and then I would carb up waiting on my guys to get there because I had a team that would show up. Danny Trejo the movie star, he was…

John Hansen:

Yeah, I saw a picture of you with him. Yeah, uh-huh (affirmative).

Craig Monson:

And look, Danny, he wasn’t no movie star back then. Danny came to my apartment and picked me up-

John Hansen:

Oh really?

Craig Monson:

… in 1977 to go and join special type casting for the movies. Danny and I joined the same special typecasting back in the day, way back when. And then, Danny used to bring his kids in the little red wagon because Danny lived right down the street. And he said, “Craig I’ve got to go take care of some business. Can you watch them for me?” And he’d leave the kids in the red wagon. I’d say, “Park them right there in the sand,” and I’d have to babysit the kids. That was before Danny became famous, and we’re still friends right now today. Yes, we’re still friends.

John Hansen:

Did you ever get any movie roles with that casting?

Craig Monson:

I was on Arnold’s special typecasting on his calling list. They called me for this, called me for that. I’d go in they’d say, “Shit man, you’re too big.”

John Hansen:

Yeah, and they thought Arnold was small.

Craig Monson:

They said, “We’re going to have to cover you up too much.” Yes, some of the time. “Yeah, we’re going to have to cover you up.” I’m like, “What’s the use of having all these yokes and I can’t show them.” No, so I wouldn’t go back. I wouldn’t go back to the cast calling. One time-

Craig Monson Talks Competing

John Hansen:

When did you start competing Craig?

Craig Monson:

Okay, I did a Nautilus show. I want to say ’79. I did a Nautilus show out in Ocean Side, and I did the Mr. LA ’79. That’s when Rory Leidelmeyer won.

John Hansen:

Oh yeah?

Craig Monson:

I’m backstage with Leidelmeyer and my workout partner, Big Aaron Jones. Aaron stood 6’5″, big boy, big boy, and the prejudging is in the morning. Now, this is at the same auditorium where I saw Frank Zane win. So, it’s like this is me coming to full terms. I am going to stand on the stage while I watch the boys for my first show. Okay, backstage we’re pumping up, and I had dieted to get cut up and all that, but I got small. Remember I’m natural, I was all natural, and I’m going up against these-

John Hansen:

Really?

Craig Monson:

Yes, I didn’t see any drugs, steroids, until ’82, at least 1982. So, anyhow I’m backstage and I’m like, “These guys are full and I’m depleted.” But then we had a predigested protein you could buy in Ralph’s market-

John Hansen:

Yeah, I remember that.

Craig Monson:

You remember, with the little red strawberries on it? The red cherries? That stuff would cut you up, but they said it was eating the lining of the stomach so they took it off the market. Took it off the shelves. But I used to drink that with my tuna, packed in spring water and eat a lot of strawberries all the time. This is how they were telling me to cut up, and pineapple. Pineapple, strawberries, predigested protein, and I would open a couple of cans of tuna packed in spring water. I would pour the water off, put the tuna in the blender, put a half a cup of warm water in the blender, squeeze some lemon juice and blend it so I could drink it. I’d have to hold my nose to get it down.

Craig Monson:

I would do that a couple of times a day, that was my meal, but my body… I got cut, my muscles look good. But at the Mr. Los Angeles when I’m backstage with Rory Leidelmeyer, and I asked, “Man, how you guys stayed so big?” And Leidelmeyer asked me, this is my first time ever meeting him. He said, “Well, big man, when you changed your cycle what did you change? What did you use to get cut?” I said, “My cycle,” I’m not understanding the lingo. I’m like, “I’m doing the tuna, and I’m doing the predigested.” I’m telling him what I’m doing.

Craig Monson:

He said, “No, no. What did you change? What drugs did you change?” “I don’t know no drugs; I’m not taking no drugs.” He said, “You look like that and you ain’t taking no drugs.” I had 20 years on him training. When I met John Brown, I met John Brown and Tony Pearson. I met them at Venice Beach one year. We’ll say I met him in ’79, and they were just teenagers, kids like. And then I come back and I knew John Brown because he had this long neck. And then the next year these guys come back and they’re all buffed up, and I’ve been training all my life. And I’m like, “Wait a minute..”

John Hansen:

What’s going on?

Craig Monson:

And I’m telling Donnie boy, “Donnie you remember that guy over there with the long neck?” He said, “Yeah, that’s John Brown.” I said, “How’d he change? How’d he get so big in one year?” From one summer to the next. Tony Pearson too, because they were just youngsters sitting in the bleachers watching us in the pit. So, I’m like, “Uh-uh (negative).” See, Donnie and I had made a pact that we would never do any steroids. Up to this point I had never done no steroids. Didn’t even know where to get them.

Craig Monson:

The same with the underground drugs, cocaine and all… I never seen no cocaine until I was 33 years, 34 years old. But the public would have had me on it or seen it or something. Never saw it. Up to this day, I’m 67 years old, up to this day I’ve never seen no heroin. Never ever seen it. Now, and the way that I got involved with steroids, I started training at Iron Man’s Gym. It was on Adams and Hill, downtown LA. I was in the transformation looking for a good gym.

Craig Monson:

This gym was upstairs, and a guy named Julio from Belize, he would work at the counter. When you come in Julio’s sitting at the desk, and he had befriended me. When I’d come in, you know, I’m the big man in the gym. I’d come in and I have to go dress up because I’m driving from Hollywood, I’m doing hair, I’m a hair stylist. I’m doing hair in Hollywood; I’ve got to drive all the way down to downtown to go to the gym. When I get there Julio says, “Here Big Craig, here are your vitamins.” He’d tear open those little packages you used to buy at 711. He’d tear open a package of vitamins, give me a protein drink, and he would add two or three pills to it.

Craig Monson:

I think I saw him, but I saw him. He would give me a couple of blue ones and a little white one. Well, come to find out he was giving me three Dianabols and a Anadrol-50, okay?

John Hansen:

Oh yeah. Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Craig Monson:

Now, I’m in the bench pressers in the back of the gym. They had a mirror up on the ceiling, the ceilings were low, where you could watch your chest work. And then as you raised up off the bench, the mirror’s right in front of you, and you could see yourself there. I got two work out partners, this is where I met Big Will, the guy who ended up holding my legs down for the 300-pound back arm.

Craig Monson:

So..I hit 400 a couple times real good, easy. I said, “Man, give me another quarter. Make it 450 the next set,” right? They don’t give me a quarter, they give me a plate, and I was new, I’m all keyed up. I’m not paying attention. And so, I said, “Okay, at this gym I could get the weight myself, and I started repping it, and I repped that sucker 10 times.” First time in my life doing 500, and I rep it 10 times. And they’re just laughing, and I’m like, “What you all laughing about?” They said, “Craig, look what you got on there.” And I look in the mirror and I got five 45s on each side.

Craig Monson:

But then when I look at myself in the mirror, I have a vein in my forehead coming from under my hairline all the way down to my eyebrow as big as my baby finger. What the heck is that? And I’m rubbing and massaging it, it’s this big old vein in my forehead. And I’m massaging it, and it’s going down, and I, “Julio, Julio, what are you giving me?”

Craig Monson:

He goes, “What is it Monson? Monson, what is it Monson?” “What are you giving me?” He said, “What happened?” I said, “I just pressed 500 pounds with 10 reps.” He said, “Monson, let me talk to you,” and he told me what he was giving me, and wanted me to go with him to his next doctor’s appointment at Cedars-Sinai where he was seeing Walter J. Cox. You remember that name, right?

John Hansen:

Yup.

Craig Monson:

Yeah, it’s J. Cox and another one. It was two sports doctors back then.

John Hansen:

Yeah, I do remember those names.

Craig Monson:

Anyhow, I go with him for his next consultation because he thought the doctor was just taking his money because it wasn’t working for him. I go in, and I sit in the examining room, and Julio’s telling J. Cox, “This is not working for me,” because he was seeing him twice a week, and I was … He says, “And my friend here he only took a couple of pills,” and Walter said… He looked over and me and he said, “How much you weigh now?” I said, “Oh, about 255.” He said, “I could take you to 300.” I said, “What?”

Craig Monson:

Look, he quit talking to Julio and direct his stuff to me. Julio gets pissed. He gets pissed because this is-

John Hansen:

It’s his doctor.

Craig Monson:

He’s paying to see the doctor.

John Hansen:

Yeah, right.

Craig Monson:

Yes. Well, after Julio got his prescription though, J. Cox said, “I need to talk with you.” So, I go into his office, he gives me a deal I couldn’t refuse. “I’m going to use you as my publicity, you be my foot soldier, and I’m going to give you everything you need.” I’m like, “What you mean?” He said, “I’m going to take you to 300 or more.” Man, I got so powerful and so big. That was Dr. Jekyll, Dr. Jekyll he was. Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein.

Craig Monson:

But in that lobby when I would go to see him in the waiting room, all the top 10 bodybuilders would be sitting there. And I’m not going to call names, but they would all be sitting. It was like a reunion every week when I would go. He had two bodybuilders working behind the desk in the lab with him, and two girls, and everybody had on these white smocks, the medical jackets. And the guys had 20-inch arms. They were huge. But when you go in there you know you’re in good hands, you know what I mean? Yup, you know you’re in good hands. And they would do goodwork-

Traveling And Mr. World

John Hansen:

What year was this Craig?

Craig Monson:

This was in ’82, ’83.

John Hansen:

’82, okay. Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Craig Monson:

Yes. Okay, then I went to Mr. World, right? And created havoc over there. Big John Brown, he was already established over there, right? 

John Hansen:

Was this in Europe?

Craig Monson:

Yeah, in Europe.

John Hansen:

This is Europe, okay.

Craig Monson:

This is in Geneva, Switzerland. I go for the Amateur World; John Brown is going for the Pro World. We’re all in the same hotel together, and I’m very… This is my first time in Europe, it’s my first big show, and the only reason I’m going, I went because a man named Paco Arcie. He was on the WABBA NABBA committee. WABBA and NABBA had merged to make a stronger alliance, to make a stronger bodybuilding show. So, they had merged, and Paco Arcie, he had something to do with it. He was the vice president of Elizabeth Cosmetics, Elizabeth Norton Cosmetics.

Craig Monson:

When he saw me at Venice Beach one Sunday, he said, “Man, the world got to see you.” He sent me an itinerary of where I was going to go to compete in this Mr. World show. I’m like, “Man, I have to qualify.” He said, “Nope, you qualified already. I see you, you qualified.” He was Serge Nubret’s godfather. So, we’re in the hotel, I’m skipping to make it faster. We’re in the hotel and I’m telling Big John Brown, “Man, I am so nervous, I’ve got butterflies and dah dah dah.” John Brown said, “What?”

Craig Monson:

He stopped the elevator in between floors. The elevators have a wraparound mirror all the way around except from where the doors open. He said, “Big Craig, take off that jacket.” He said, “Let me see what you look like.” I take off my jacket. John Brown said, “Now look.” He took off his jacket, we in the elevator. He said, “Big Craig, you going in the amateurs, I’m going in the pros. Look how you make me look.” That’s John Brown’s words, okay? He said, “Look how you make me look.” I made him look small. John Brown weighed maybe 215. At that show I weighed 272.

John Hansen:

Damn, 272.

Craig Monson:

I was a big boy, okay? Now, everybody, even in the pros, Kawak, he won that night, Big Kawak. Kawak was about 225, 230. When I walked out on the stage, the stage was hardwood floors and they had 2,800 people in the Poly Expo, that’s like the convention center. It was packed, but I walked hard enough where you could hear my footsteps on the hardwood floor. I started posing doing my… I brought that audience… I drove them nuts.

Craig Monson:

Then they gave me fifth place, and then fifth, fourth, all the way down to first place. And the guy who they gave first place to, he and I shared the same hotel room. And I had whooped him already in the hotel. We posed down in the hotel, and I shut him down. He was like, “Man, I am not going to stand next to you.” But I said…we are both tall. We both were tall, but I made him look bad. I was too big; I was just a monster. But he won, they gave him first place.

Craig Monson:

So, the crowd didn’t like that. The crowd started booing and stomping their feet in unison. Now, we’re in Switzerland, and they start to chant my name, “Monson, Monson.” It was rhythmatic, and I jumped off that platform because the top five is on a platform. I jumped off the platform onto the stage and started posing. I walked to the edge of the stage, and I did a most muscular and I growled. And I did it, they said they could feel my breath four rows back. I growled and I posed, then the judges says, they revoted and gave me first place people’s choice, with the-

John Hansen:

They revoted? The judges revoted?

Craig Monson:

Yeah, they revoted. Yeah. Gave me first place people’s choice, fifth place judges choice. They went over to the guy who they gave the first-place trophy to who I shared the hotel. They took the trophy back from him and gave it to me.

John Hansen:

Damn, unbelievable.

Craig Monson:

Gave me the trophy, gave me a fifth-place trophy, and gave me a box of candy. It was so crazy; it was like a…I had to go out in the lobby like at the Frank Zane and Leroy Colbert thing, selling your pictures. I sold all my pictures. I sold everything I took.

John Hansen:

Wow, yeah. You were the crowd favorite, yeah.

Craig Monson:

And then, one kid he took my feet, and he raised my foot up like a horse, stood behind me, and he wiped my feet with my towel, and put my feet in… I had ballet slippers. And put my feet in my slippers and had me endorse the towel to him. This kid kept my towel because I didn’t have no more pictures to sell, you understand?

John Hansen:

Yeah.

Craig Monson:

Yes, I made so much cash and I was putting it in my pockets. I was unorganized. The cash was falling out of my pockets. The fans were picking up my money giving it to me back to me. The maintenance people for the Poly Expo, for the center started blinking the lights on and off, telling us, it’s time to go. The fans wouldn’t let me out of there. And Big John Brown was standing with me, he’s cracking, he’s having a ball. He’s enjoying the excitement with me.

Craig Monson:

He’s telling me, “Craig, you turn them out Craig, you turn them out. Craig Monsons come to Switzerland and turn them out.” They’re blinking the lights off and on, it’s time to go, it’s time to go. I have a multitude of people. I can’t go, we can’t get out of here. When we finally get outside to the parking lot, they have about 10 to 15 chartered buses with all these kids on it. They came to see the show on the buses. They hanging out the windows and they chanting my name, “Monson, Monson.” There was no better feeling than this.

John Hansen:

Oh yeah, one of the highlights of your life.

Craig Monson:

Yeah, but when I tell the story I remembered so vividly. I had people come to the hotel room who wanted me to go to Germany and open a gym with them, sponsor this, sponsor that. They went crazy over it. Paco had already set up the itinerary. From Geneva, Switzerland I had to go to Madrid, Spain, and from Spain I had to go to North Africa. All this was already planned and paid for, you know what I mean?

John Hansen:

Yeah, he had it all set up.

Craig Monson:

He had it all set up, and look, because he had already wanted to show me off to the world, and this man took me places, boy I tell you, when I was in the Canary Islands, he took me… That’s North Africa, Canary Islands. They have no duty where you have to pay the taxes on stuff, duty-free. So, I had bought up all these gifts to take to the family and friends, and I had bought another suitcase, and when zipping it up the zipper broke on the suitcase.

Craig Monson:

So, Paco had assigned me two bodyguards to be with me because this is North Africa and most of the Spaniards are there for their holiday or what. But you have Spanish people, blue-eyed blonde hair. Not like the Spanish Mexicans here in America, no. These are Castilian Spanish.

Craig Monson:

Anyhow, so I snuck away from the bodyguards. I’d be in a restaurant, I told them I was going to the bathroom and I went out the backdoor. I didn’t want them hanging around me. Didn’t need no bodyguard, I want to walk by myself. I’m 272, I’m a giant. And again, I started carbing up, so after a show when you start eating you would swole up. You blew up real big.

Craig Monson:

I have this suitcase, and I have to go find somebody to sew it, like a shoe store, a cobbler, somebody to fix the zipper. And I’m walking down like downtown with short pants with no shirt and I’m swole. It’s like I’m in the Twilight Zone. I kid you not, it’s like time had stopped but me. Everybody stopped and stared, and I’m walking and smiling. Next thing, I know, now we’re in North Africa. People start coming out of their shops, the shopkeepers with honeydew melons and lemonade and, “Come, come, come.” And they’re giving me soft drinks because it’s hot. It’s really blazing and humid.

Craig Monson:

And I’m saying, “I’m trying to fix this, do you know where?” And they’re very helpful. Two girls walked with me, took me right to a cobbler, went in. Oh yes, they fixed it while I stood there and ate watermelon and honeydew melon. Yes, yes, and I took pictures with people, it was crazy.

John Hansen:

Wow.

Craig Monson:

Yes, man. 

Personal Bodybuilding Regimen and Sports Doctor

John Hansen:

One of the first times I ever heard about you Craig was when you won in the 1984 AAU Mr. America, because I was living in Chicago at that time, and there was a lot of guys from Chicago that went in that show. And I remember a couple of them came back and they go, “Man, this guy that should have won the whole show. Big dude, Craig Monson was his name.” I’m like, “I never heard of him.” And then when I saw the pictures I was like, “Wow.”

Craig Monson:

Now look, that show there Walter J. Cox, that was my sports doctor, right?

John Hansen:

Right.

Craig Monson:

The prejudging was in the morning; the show was in Pasadena. Walter J. Cox comes back stage. He said, “Big Craig.” Now, he’s a judge on the platform. He said, “Big Craig, I got bad news.” I said, “What do you mean?” He says, “You’re not going to win this”. I said, “Who’s here to beat me? Who’s going to beat me?” He says, “Look, you’ve got a lot of guys from back East, and they brought judges from back East. We’ve got more judges from back East than we do here.” He says, “So, you’re not going to win.” I said, “That’s bull.” Well, I didn’t win.

John Hansen:

Yeah, you got second or something. Second in your class?

Craig Monson:

The guy who won, I came in second, his name was Arthur Prince. Arthur Prince won, but after the show I’m in the lobby with my entourage leaving, the people who had brought me and my trophy, and Arthur’s sitting across the lobby. Now, backstage while we were getting ready to go out, I stood beside him and sized him up. See, I got that from Arnold’s movie Pumping Iron. Remember how he did to guys backstage? Well, I brainwashed them, I got them backstage. I defeated them already backstage.

Craig Monson:

I went stood beside him and hit a couple shots, he said, “Man, I ain’t standing beside you.” On the stage when it was time for the posedown I walked over to him, he walked away from me. He didn’t want to stand beside me because I had already compared with him backstage.

Craig Monson:

Anyhow, in the lobby a man came up to me and he stood right in front of me, I was sitting down. He stood in front of me and he put both his hands on each side of my shoulder. One hand on this side, one hand on the other side, and I had to look up to him, I’m sitting down. And he’s a older gentleman, he says, he said, “This was a farce tonight. You could have won the Olympia.”

John Hansen:

Wow, really?

Craig Monson:

I said, “Why, thank you sir. Thank you.” And he said, “Yes, bad bad. This was your show.” I said, “Thank you, thank you.” And then he patted me and then he walked away. He had three or four guys with him. And then I looked around, “Who was that man? Who was that?” And another white guy said, “Craig, you don’t know who that was?” I said, “No.” He said, “That was John Grimek.”

John Hansen:

Oh wow, really?

Craig Monson:

Yes, and I said, “John Grimek? I didn’t know.” He said like you just said, “Man, that was the first Mr. Universe, Mr. World or something.”

John Hansen:

Mr. America.

Craig Monson:

Yes. He said, “Man, coming from him that says a lot.” I said, “John Grimek, huh?” Haven’t seen nothing or heard nothing from him since, but I had to remember that name. By him saying that to me it meant something. It took the hurt out of it because I was… The crowd booed and booed and booed, but they did let… See, in Europe the people would not settle down. On my video, because I do have a video of that show, and the people saying, “Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute.” Then they started booing, but Americans, we take stuff. We’ll take a butt whooping. So, Americans settled down and they took it.

John Hansen:

Yeah, you met Sergio Oliva too, right? He was-

Craig Monson:

Oh, I had Sergio’s phone number.

John Hansen:

Oh really?

Craig Monson:

Look I had Sergio’s number, I could call him and pick his brain. I did a show the night of the bodybuilders, night of the… something. It was in La Cañada, LA, California. I did that show just because Sergio Oliva was guest posing, and the posters were up in the gym, Sergio’s going to be guest posing. I’m like, “Shoot, I’m going to go to that show. I’m going to compete in that.” Because I wanted to be on the same stage as Oliva because he was my idol.

Craig Monson:

And so, Serge came and he was pulling… They brought him in a limousine. He was pulling his luggage on wheels and he was on swole, and this was my idol, you know what I mean? And to be standing outside of the auditorium here Big Serge comes. But he looked kind of down, something was wrong. He wasn’t at his best. Come to find out later, he told me that he had just got over pneumonia, and he wasn’t still in his best. I’m like, “You’re not feeling this. Oh, okay, and dah dah dah, dah dah dah.” But I had met him one time before, but it was just a meeting at a show and we talked.

Craig Monson:

And then this time I’m in this stage with Serge, and so backstage we’re pumping up, and I had on a robe like the grim reaper that dragged the ground with a hoodie, you know what I mean? And it was made out of that terrycloth, big robe. And man started to do pushups. I’m pushuping with my idol, okay. We’re backstage pumping up together, and he says, “Okay, let me see what you look like.” Now, I don’t know if you ever met Serge, he was Cuban, so he spoke differently, and I’ve always been attracted to the Latin community.

Craig Monson:

He says, “Oh, let me see what you look like Big Craig.” And so, I peeled that robe. He says, “Oh, you’re going to kill them tonight.” He said, “Oh, you’re going to kill them tonight,” just like that, and I did it. To tell the truth I looked better than Serge because Serge had lost weight because of the pneumonia, and he just came to get his $3,000. Came to get his money, but he had no veins showing. He was so smooth, and I have that picture on my Flickr account. He had one of Serge is posing with the blue trunks on. He and I, I’m in that same show with him.

Craig Monson:

And whoever … when he was doing his back shot, and the back didn’t jump out. Nothing happened, and I’m standing there peeking behind the curtains, and my heart is dying for Big Serge. And then I do speak a little Spanish, the audience was saying, “Dale Dale Dale.” Telling him to move. Wasn’t nothing happening, move. “Dale Dale Dale.”

Craig Monson:

Yeah, certain things just stand out in my mind from back in the day, but Sergio was great. One show I went to three different things to see him, and I gave him a picture that he and I had took together. Signed it and framed it, and I gave him one of those acey-deucey hats that he loved to wear. He always wore those caps, I presented him with a acey-deucey cap, and he gave me his number that night. And so, I was able to call him and I’d pick his brain.

Craig Monson:

And he’s the one that told me about them Superman curls. Five, 10, 15, 20. You take a bar and load it up on dimes, and the first set it’s real, real heavy, and you only could do five reps, and then you pull a dime. And then you do 10 reps, then you pull another dime. Then you do 20 reps then you pull another dime. And then you flip it over and do reverse curls. Okay, you do 5, 10, now you do reverse curl 15 times. Then you pull another dime, then you flip your back over and you go close grip. Close as you could go and you do it 20 times. That’s five, 10, 15, 20. Big Serge told me to do that one, yes. Yes, yes.

Craig Monson:

And look, look, you try to do that for four sets. And you cannot set the bar down, you’ve got to hold that bar until the set is complete. People go to their knees, me but my… We go to our knees when you’ve got to hang on to the bar. Breathe, go to your knees, breathe, breathe. Stand back up, finish it off.

John Hansen:

So, you do regular barbell curls, then reverse curls, and then close-grip barbell curls.

Craig Monson:

Yes, yes. That’s right, that’s right. And the first set, it had to be heavy enough where all you could do is five reps.

John Hansen:

Right, then you call a timeout.

Craig Monson:

Oh yeah. Oh, I had some good times with the weights man, you know. But look, look John, by you working out you already know. It’s a part of our life, it’s embedded in us. When we can’t train, I should be in the gym, but I’m sitting here talking with you. I should be in the gym, yes, yes, because this is my time. But it’s okay because it’s been so hot here. I’m afraid to get out in the heat. Like I said, I can’t drive the jeep so I have to take the Caddie, but the air conditioner and all that, but it burns the gas.

Craig Monson:

And then I’m getting up in age, so I have a ’78 Anniversary Corvette all souped up, and it hasn’t been driven for six months. I just restored it, and I’m about to sell it because I can’t drive it. My reflexes are not fast enough, you know what I mean? It can get away from me. It’s a muscle car, I enjoyed it when I was young. Right, yeah. And I’ve had it for 20 years I guess, or better. But no, I can’t drive it anymore. It’s not fun getting older, as long as we could grow older gracefully.

John Hansen:

Yeah, as long as we keep training.

Craig Monson:

If we could do it gracefully, yeah. But along with all that heavy weight I used to do, along with all my stacks and all, 500-pound 500-and-something-pound bench press, 300-pound back arm, leg press up to 1600 pounds on the sled laying back, with two guys sitting up on top of it. Well, what goes along with that is arthritis in the knees, arthritis in the tailbone. Nobody never told me that maximum poundage, they always said maximum poundage builds mass that will last. They didn’t tell me maximum poundage is going to get you in the long run.

Craig Monson:

John, you know already that Arthur gone get you. Arthritis, man oh man. And the warmer climates do help the muscles or the body, but then we can’t stand the heat. The body need it, but the blood pressure don’t. No, when it’s real, real hot, I’m lubricated, I feel good, but I get a little dizzy, and I don’t want to be walking side to side. And big honesty, you’ve got to stand straight up. You don’t like to see you leaning over. So, when you’re carrying all that heavy weight father time pull you down. So, yes, yes.

John Hansen:

Yeah. Well, Craig, I appreciate your time talking to us, and you have some great stories. And you were really a fantastic bodybuilder, so it was great hearing all these stories. I’m glad you had the time to talk to us today.

Craig Monson:

Thank you sir. Thank you, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed reminiscing, and like you say, I was up under the radar for a long time, but those who saw me, they witnessed what I was doing. Big Bill Pettis out on the beach back in the ’70s.

John Hansen:

Yeah, I remember him.

Craig Monson:

That was a great man. He and I would stand in front of each other with 200 and something odd pound bars, curling back and forth. I’d do 10, give it back to him, he’d do 10. He’d send it back to me, I’d do nine. 200-something pound.

John Hansen:

Jeez, unbelievable.

Craig Monson:

He was the only one that could stand with me, was Big Bill Pettis. He would stand up. I’d do 300 and something, 315 laying down, he could stand up like he’s going… in the pits. They had the racks like you could almost squat, use it as a squat rack. He would get up on it, put the weight on his shoulders, and then start back arming. He didn’t go up to three plates, but he was close to it.

John Hansen:

Wow. Yeah, I heard about him.

Craig Monson:

Massive, massive, and just a humble and nicest guy. I watched him go down. It really hurt my heart to watch him not grow old gracefully. But like you said, I’ve enjoyed talking with you sir. It was my pleasure.

John Hansen:

All right Craig, it was my pleasure too. Thanks for taking the time.

Craig Monson:

Okay, now.

John Hansen:

Take care, now.

Craig Monson:

Bye bye.

John Hansen:

All right, thank you for listening to another episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast brought to you by our sponsor Old School Labs. And also, thanks to Big Craig Monson for joining us for this interview. It was very, very interesting. All right, next week we should be joined by Chris Aceto himself. I talked to Chris last weekend and he said he will join me and talk about his memories of old school bodybuilding. So, keep your fingers crossed, and hopefully we’ll have Chris on next week on the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast. All right, have a great weekend everybody. See you next week, take care.