Gorilla Suit: My Adventures in Bodybuilding

by Bob Paris

Related along two timelines, this revealing look into the world of professional bodybuilding explores both the author's present comeback efforts sans drug abuse, and his past, shattering common myths about the men in the sport. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

Genres: Fitness, Sports, Biography, Memoir, Nonfiction, Health

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Bob Paris and his rise in the bodybuilding world. The book starts from his earliest days as a child in Indiana coming across muscle magazines and tinkering with weights. The book then takes us later to California where Bob struggles and hits upon some VERY difficult times. Right when you think he can't go anymore he manages to start winning some bodybuilding shows and enjoying a certain level of success. Unfortunately, things are never as pretty as they seem. The Weiders (Joe and Ben) have controlled bodybuilding for years and did so at the writing of this book. Since they owned most of the major magazines in the sport that offered any kind of publicity and also ran the IFBB federation it was best to stay on their good side. There are many stories of them keeping an athlete's money, taking back certain promises, and basically running a monopoly of the sport. Bob had difficulties with Joe Weider from the start, which probably were only worsened by the fact that Bob was gay. At the time most publications (whether they admitted it or not) did not want an openly gay man in their magazines. Nevertheless Bob grew disillusioned with the sport partly because of the Weider's and also partly because of ethical issues such as drug use within the sport. It's a shame because even though he did manage to win some big amateur contests he never really fully achieved his potential as a pro.
Therefore, he eventually decided to walk away but did leave us with details of his career in the form of this book.
The one problem I had with the book is that I would have liked for it to be a little more developed. I also didn't really care for the style that bounces back and forth from the present to the past but I still thought it was a good read.
It's a very eye-opening book about the bodybuilding world that is sure to touch your emotions in one way or another.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

update: i recently wrote about this book for the paris review: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...


useful insights abound, but the pacing is weird as hell: what's the point of flashing back and forth to 1995 if Paris decides against returning to competition? yeezus. and there's so much stuff about his sad, slow childhood...you can almost feel it unfolding in real time there in southern Indiana. but you get only 80 pages about his actual professional career and surprisingly little personal details about his sex life, how he perceives masculinity (or even what kinda guys he finds attractive), etc. in fact, paris' whole life seems kinda tragic, sorta like how at the end of elmer gantry, gantry is stopped in his blabbing about all his evangelical efforts and asked if he believes in god; here i'd ask paris if he ever liked bodybuilding at all (or anything, really--he leaves you with this sense he always wanted to be something else).

[Darla Ebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This revelatory memoir had its peaks. I was just not committed to shouldering the burden of this man's journey. I DID feel for him, for the horrors of his growing up years but there was just too much melancholy for me. The author IS to be respected and admired for painting a very real picture of his life.

[Adam Gentile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read and insight to the life of a pro bodybuilder. Paris had one of the best physics out there, along the likes of Frank Zane. He is 100% correct when he said he could of gone further in his career, but with the roadblocks he had to face didn't allow that.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read for those interested in bodybuilders of the 80s/ gay icons who were athletes. You gain an insight into Bob’s world and his challenge to be true to himself in an industry that is clearly commercial and was exploitative.

[Migs Fiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Paris did a great job telling us about how he became Bob Paris (it was a difficult journey for him) and exposing the corruption in the bodybuilding industry (the truths are ugly). I got hooked, because he was relatable even as he took me through the heights of his career.

This is a very honest work. If I have to nitpick, there were some melodramatic bits in the beginning, but the writing cleared up towards the middle. I think everyone who's interested in bodybuilding should read this. Be ready, though, because Bob did not exactly intend for this text to be motivational. It was written to expose.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. A bit irritating at times because he starts a thread on something and then doesn't follow up on it. For example, he writes about how and when he met his first husband but only mentions the divorce in passing when he writes about selling their house. If you weren't paying attention you could easily miss it.

But if you are interested in body building or even if you just work out, this is a worthwhile read. For those who are not familiar with Bob Paris, he is generally considered to have had the most artistically beautiful body in the sport. Unfortunately, he didn't get the recognition he should have gotten because the big, freaky look was becoming popular with judges when he was in his peak period.