V-139 George Palmiero, Pat Hayes, Barry Clother, Norbert Albrecht. Click here for more info or to order this now on DVD at $34.95
Wayne Gallasch's work is a treasure trove of the best BBs of their era, but gets its depth from the vast array of guys who never broke into major prominence, yet still had knockout physiques. It's exciting to see these other guys, many of whom would be unknown today had Gallasch not caught them in their prime.
Case in point: this video. Gallasch filmed the first three men on Venice Beach, California, on his fateful trip in early September 1980, when he committed so many great BBs to film. The last part covers a young German whose potential was apparent. This video is typical of Gallasch, but "typical" doesn't mean "routine." The work here is simply characteristic of his film style. The beach films, with their framing of the poser against an abstract sky and sea, are among the best Gallasch ever did. Only an occasional sailboat, plane or bird, with a rare pier or marina in the background, suggests anything else exists. The BBs seem to be guarding their own ocean as they pump and pose in a private world.
The first two film sequences, showcasing Palmiero and Hayes, run a half hour altogether. Both briefly appear in each other's sequence (with towel pulling), then pose in tandem. Palmiero gets 15 minutes, Hayes 12 minutes, and the dual posing gets three.
George Palmiero, who goes first, is introduced in a voice-over by Gallasch as "the man with the 20-inch arms." He has them all right. The scene is a hazy day in front of the surf. The first part has him bending a crusher grip into horseshoe shapes, then improvising curls with a chest expander he stands on one end of, pulling the other end up with two hands, then one. His blue bathing suit matches the sky and waves. Palmiero is dark, swarthy, Italian-looking. He maintains an impassive expression as he hits one arm shot after another in movements so regular that his arms look like the blades of a windmill. The camera rivets on Palmiero's arms for much of the time, and the closeups of the upper arm (both inside and outside) are striking. Palmiero also has solid abs, traps and lats, shown off when Hayes comes in and pulls a towel with him (back and forth, then over the back of his head for a tricep pump). In Palmiero we get the best of size, symmetry, and posing.
Pat Hayes goes next. Other than red posing trunks, the film is much like Palmiero's: first pumping with hand-held devices, then posing against sky and waves. Hayes has blond hair, veiny arms, nice cuts and tan. He's not as big as Palmiero but more aesthetic in build, with a pleasant expression. He has good arm shots, but his best pose is the most muscular, with freaky striation crisscrossing his upper pecs. Good quads and abs as well. The towel pulling with Palmiero includes up/down movements (one pulling up as the other pulls down) for a simulated barbell curl. Shifting to free posing, Hayes really shows his stuff. He's gotten more pumped as he goes, and tirelessly displays the best he's got.
Now comes dual posing with Hayes and Palmiero on the beach. Watching them attempt to top each other is fun. Hayes takes his cues from Palmiero, who never once glances at his partner. The shift from a dual double biceps to crab shots is incredible stuff. Both BBs are excellent at this, and well worth seeing together or separately.
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Barry Clothier follows, in a 12-minute sequence on a clear day at the beach. He's a scaled down 'builder, one of the best middleweights I've seen. (He took 4th in his class at the Junior Nationals in 1982, and in 1997 placed 9th in the middles at the Junior USA.) Clothier has a concentrated scowl as he hits his best poses. He's got a tight, cut build with a tiny waist and fine lines. Close-ups of his pec pressing into a flexing bicep are startling. Clothier loves doing the double biceps pose, both front and back, as the camera catches muscle striations moving under paper-thin skin. He has the hypnotic focus of a compact Zane as he ties one pose into another. Working out stops being a means to an end and becomes an end in itself when it's done by as accomplished a BB as Clothier, who deserves to be better known.
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The film turns to a different subject and time now, a young West German BB from 1975 named Norbert Albrecht (not Achim, the BB who came to America and went into pro wrestling). Albrecht has a supple build, solid abs and a nice torso; he was a Mr. Germany class winner, and placed in the talls at the NABBA Universe that year. Several minutes in the scene shifts to a lake in a city park in Essen, Germany; here Albrecht looks more relaxed doing free posing. In the last minute, Junior Mr. Germany Jurgen Brand comes in for tandem posing. Brand is off-season but has some nice size, with a crab shot showing off his great arms at the end.
Review by Mike Emery.
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