Anthropometrics
- Height: 168 cm
- Off-Season Weight: 120 kg
- Chest: 147 cm
- Waist: 76 cm
- Biceps: 69 cm
As with any sport, bodybuilding has its share of flamboyant stars. Greg Valentino is one of the rarest bodybuilders, known for his incredibly large arms (measuring 69 cm in circumference). Greg Valentino was married and has children. Regarding his athletic career, Greg never tried to become a professional bodybuilder. Moreover, he never aimed to compete in the “Mr. Olympia” contest or other significant competitions.
Biography
Flamboyant personalities are mostly found in show business, but it’s hard to imagine that bodybuilding is no exception, and Greg Valentino is a prime example of this. He doesn’t just have arms; he has enormous limbs, which are recognized as the largest in the history of bodybuilding, as evidenced by a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. His biceps measure 71 cm in circumference. It’s more accurate to compare his arms to legs, given their size.
This extraordinary individual was born in the Bronx, New York, on August 5, 1960. He was reluctant to attend school, and his physical development lagged during his youth. Calling him a talented young man would be a stretch. Greg is also distinguished by having eyes of different colors, a rare anomaly. In 1972, he decided to take up bodybuilding. He likely had some issues at school and wanted to show everyone what he was capable of. Little did he know that this sport would become the foundation of his future life.
Greg, being a true man, served in the U.S. Army. He experienced war firsthand, witnessing the deaths of fellow soldiers and having to kill himself, which significantly affected his psychological state. After returning from the battlefield, he met Julissa Rivera, a beautiful young woman. In due course, they became husband and wife.
Some time later, they had a son named Paul and a daughter named Gina. During this period, Greg was involved in buying and promoting gyms. Before that, he worked as a school bus driver, transporting children with disabilities. Reflecting on his time in combat, Greg began using drugs, unable to escape his past. Naturally, he quickly found many “friends,” and before long, he started dealing drugs himself. This marked the beginning of a turbulent period in his life. He frequently got involved in gang confrontations and miraculously survived them. After one police raid, Greg was sentenced to a year in prison. During this time, he lost his wife and children, his beloved occupation, and, most importantly, his freedom. After serving a year behind bars, Greg returned to bodybuilding. He needed something to distract himself; otherwise, he might have fallen back into his old, destructive habits.
Life’s Passion
If you look at photos of a young Greg Valentino and compare them to today’s Greg Valentino, they seem like completely different people, with only his differently colored eyes reminding us that he is the same famous athlete.
His life can be divided into several stages:
- Gregg was never an athlete who dreamed of great sporting achievements. For him, bodybuilding was a way to shed his teenage ambitions and a means of escaping reality. This sport captivated him so much that he would spend entire days in the gym, building his muscles. By the age of 16, he already had powerful arms with biceps measuring 49 cm, despite weighing only 65 kilograms.
- Over 10 years of consistent, daily training, he managed to increase his bicep size to 53 cm. He achieved this result without using any chemical enhancements, relying solely on proper nutrition and the right exercise regimen. Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without his incredible genetics.
- The athlete wanted more, as such results no longer inspired him. From that point on, Valentino began using “chemicals” to increase muscle mass. Initially, he injected himself with B12 vitamins, and then he moved on to steroids. His muscles grew larger, but he simply couldn’t stop.
There’s a saying that “there’s no such thing as a former addict,” but Greg chose a different path of dependency—steroids. He injected them into his shoulders in such large quantities that his shoulders would swell immensely. He was turning into a monster, with arms nearly a meter in circumference. In reality, Valentino was a handsome and attractive man, but he couldn’t realize himself in that way. He consumed practically every chemical component available, and it would be easier to list what he didn’t use.
A Cautionary Tale
Gregg’s addiction to “chemicals” can rightfully be called a drug dependency. He often mentioned that he had to use used needles. He injected himself so frequently that he simply ran out of clean needles.
This careless approach led to a terrible abscess on one of his biceps. In retrospect, he regretted ignoring the advice of doctors who urged him to stop injecting synthol.
When the pain became unbearable and he developed a fever, he would mix Tylenol with Advil and add the antibiotic Dura-Cef to create a concoction that could rightfully be called “explosive.”
But that wasn’t the worst of it. Instead of seeking professional medical help, Greg decided to perform a “surgery” on himself, filming every moment to later post on Instagram.
This self-surgery led to a catastrophic outcome. The synthol-filled muscles literally “exploded,” and a mixture of serum and pus flowed from the wound, covering both the athlete and the floor. After this, he was bedridden in the hospital for a long time. Doctors had to urgently remove the affected muscle tissue. As a result of these ordeals, his arms were left covered in a network of scars, and the massive muscle size he once had was lost for good.
After this incident, the victim of synthol and steroids began participating in radio shows, internet blogs, and appearing on talk shows and videos.
For a long time, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronnie Coleman were his true idols. However, during the period of his “synthol frenzy,” Greg Valentino changed his perspective, believing that he himself had become an idol for these athletes. He seriously thought that they envied him and that he had left these competitors far behind.
Nowadays, he is working on a cautionary autobiography. In this work, Greg seriously and candidly discusses the price he paid in his pursuit of a body resembling an iron monster.
One can only hope that this book will serve as a lesson for those who consider going all-in with synthol and other “chemicals,” so they don’t end up as victims like Greg Valentino.