Page 147 - Muscle & Fitness (February 2020)

ROAD TO NOWHERE

Born Feb. 2, 1970, Günter
Schlierkamp grew up on a farm
in Germany. When he was 12
Günter. and saw Conan the Barbarian,

he realized there were physically

superior beings among us called
bodybuilders. At 16, he was
finally allowed to join a gym, and
his farm-trained 6'1" frame filled
Turns. out quickly. A few years later, he

won the heavyweight classes
of the German, European, and
World Championships. The
G-man finished a shocking sec-
ond in a show behind only Ronnie
Coleman in 1995, his second pro
year. Soon thereafter, like his
idol, Arnold Schwarzenegger, he
moved to Southern California.
Then came a lot of nothing. In
24 pro shows from 1996–2001,
Schlierkamp finished in the
money only three times, and
even then just barely. Some
years he received a special invite
to compete in the Mr. Olympia.
Other pros grumbled about it,
but in the end it didn’t matter
much because he always left
on a proverbial slab, gored

through the heart. Bodybuild-
ing’s sacrificial lamb was 15th
in the 2001 Olympia. He was
huge but not huge enough. He
had a fitness-model face, but
As Günter HE WON ONLY ONE PRO his blocky physique was likened

Schlierkamp turns show, but what a show it was. In to a Frigidaire. And his detailing

the big 5-0 on Feb. 2, a career that spanned 13 years failed to wow. The genial, giant
German was perpetually smiling,
and 39 contests, Günter Schlier-
we celebrate the kamp made the top three only so we assumed he was content
German giant’s three times. It’s been close to to place low and coast on his
two decades since he last com-
Weider contract. There he was
milestone by peted, and he might have faded again, beaming at us from yet
revisiting his into history if not for the fact that another magazine cover.

preparation for his his victory hit bodybuilding like In fact, Schlierkamp hated the
lone IFBB Pro League a tornado. Somehow, someway, losses. Eight pro years and not
a single title, and all the while
he conquered Ronnie Coleman
win, still considered in the middle of the king’s record he toiled daily in Gold’s Gym in

the greatest upset in run of eight Olympia wins. As Venice, CA, where Flex Wheeler,
Schlierkamp turns 50, we ex-
Chris Cormier, and other Conan-
the sport’s history. plain how Güntermania won’t like conquerors were trained
B Y M & F E D I T O R S be forgotten. by Charles Glass. They were

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