Casey Viator – A Genetic Phenomenon
Bodybuilding is a sport in which success, in large part, is dependent on the genetics that are inherited from your ancestors. When Mr. Universe Mike Mentzer was asked the secret to building his incredible physique, he answered “I picked the right parents.”
Casey Viator, who passed away from a heart attack on his birthday on September 4th, 2013 at 62 years old, was someone who was obviously blessed with rare genetics for building muscle. At the tender age of 19, Casey became the youngest winner of the AAU Mr. America title in 1971. This is a record that stands to this day.
Born in Louisiana, Casey began weight training in his early teens. His genetics were so good for bodybuilding that he developed big legs and arms just from participating in sports like baseball and track and field.
When Casey began competing in bodybuilding contests, he showed great promise immediately. He placed third in the highly competitive Mr. Louisiana contest in 1968 while only a teen. The following year, he entered the Teenage Mr. America contest but only placed sixth. However, his genetic potential was clearly evident when he won trophies for Best Arms, Best Abs and Most Muscular that night.
In 1970, at only 18 years old, Casey easily won the Teenage Mr. America contest as well as the coveted Most Muscular trophy. After his impressive Teenage Mr. America win, Casey competed in the AAU Mr. America and took a very strong third place behind winner Chris Dickerson and runner up Ken Waller. Casey shocked the crowd with his amazing muscle mass and received the most applause of any competitor that night. Viator finished up the year by winning the overall at the AAU Mr. USA contest, beating some of the best bodybuilders in the country.
It was at the 1970 Mr. America contest that he caught the eye of entrepreneur Arthur Jones. Jones was creating a new line of fitness equipment called Nautilus and he thought Casey showed incredible potential, placing third in the biggest amateur bodybuilding contest in the country at only 18 years of age. He hired Casey to move to Florida and work for the Nautilus Corporation.
Jones devised a new training protocol for using the Nautilus equipment. It was based on brief but intense training sessions using a very limited number of sets. His students would train their whole body in one workout in less than an hour by training to failure each set.
For ten months prior to the Mr. America contest, Casey trained under the guidance of Arthur Jones in preparation for the event. At the age of only 19, Casey won the overall titles at both the 1971 AAU Jr. Mr. America and the AAU Mr. America. He was the new sensation in the bodybuilding world, winning the biggest amateur title in the country while still a teenager!
Casey made a big impression on a future bodybuilding star by winning the Mr. America contest. Mike Mentzer, who was also only 19 years old, placed 10th that night and he was very impressed by this huge kid who won the overall title and made bodybuilding history. Learning that Viator trained with Arthur Jones, Mentzer began changing his training style to mimic Casey’s success.
After his victory in the 1971 Mr. America, Casey and his family had a disagreement about his contract with Arthur and they parted ways temporarily. They reunited a few years later for the famous Colorado Experiment. Arthur Jones, a marketing genius who was ahead of his time in the fitness industry, came up with the idea of a 28-day experiment using high intensity training.
Working with Dr. Elliot Plese of Colorado State University, Jones would work under the supervision of Plese at the Colorado State University’s Exercise Physiology Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado to accurately record the results.
Jones recognized the value in before and after pictures that would become such a big marketing tool in the fitness industry in the future. Using himself and Casey as test subjects, he wanted Viator to look as bad as possible at the beginning of the experiment.
Casey had unfortunately lost part of his finger in an industrial accident followed by a near fatal reaction to a tetanus shot in January of 1973, causing his bodyweight to drop from 200 pounds to 184 pounds. However, Jones placed Casey on a strict 800 calorie a day diet with no physical exercise for 6 more weeks in order to ensure that his weight would drop even lower. By the time the Colorado Experiment began, Casey was down to a skinny 167 pounds.
Within 28 days of using high intensity training (with less than 6 total hours of training during the entire month), Casey Viator gained an amazing 63 pounds of muscle! His actual weight increased by 45.28 pounds but he simultaneously lost 17.93 pounds of fat during the experiment.Arthur Jones claimed that the remarkable transformation was due solely to very intense but brief training sessions exclusively using the Nautilus machines. However, much of Casey’s remarkable gains can also be attributed to muscle memory, great genetics and the rebound effect of following a starvation diet for six weeks.
Casey finally returned to competition in 1978 when he entered the NABBA Mr. Universe contest in London. Unfortunately, he placed second to 1977 Mr. America winner, Dave Johns. Regardless of that loss, Viator’s comeback to the bodybuilding scene caused plenty of excitement for his fans who were waiting 7 years for this genetic prodigy to return to the stage.
In 1979, Casey decided to join the IFBB and made his debut in the Canada Pro Cup where he placed fifth behind such superstars as Chris Dickerson, Mike Mentzer, Boyer Coe and Robby Robinson. The following year, he engaged in a great rivalry with Dickerson during the Grand Prix tour. Both bodybuilders were at their best and Casey came out ahead in three of the competitions, winning the Louisiana Grand Prix, the Pennsylvania Grand Prix and the Pittsburgh Pro Invitational. However, by the time the Night of the Champions arrived, Casey was burned out and dropped to fifth place.
Viator competed in the 1980 Mr. Olympia but only placed 14th as he was way off peak condition. He seemed to drop out of the contest scene until he came into the 1982 Mr. Olympia in the best shape of his life. Casey was thick, big and ripped onstage in London that day and many believed he deserved to win the coveted Sandow trophy. Unfortunately, he was placed third behind Chris Dickerson and favorite Frank Zane.
Casey returned to competition one last time in 1995 when he competed in the Masters Olympia. However, he was woefully out of shape and didn’t place in the top five.
Casey Viator stayed involved in the bodybuilding industry as an online trainer and nutrition consultant for clients all over the world. He also began producing his own DVDs and books, having just recently released Casey Viator’s Articles of Mass Construction. The bodybuilding world has lost another great champion in 62-year-old Casey Viator. Rest in Peace to the youngest Mr. America winner as well as a competitor who triumphed over some of the best athletes the IFBB had to offer in 1980, including Chris Dickerson, Roy Callendar, Robby Robinson, Boyer Coe, Ed Corney, Samir Bannout, Ken Waller, Bill Grant, Tony Emmott, Anibal Lopez, and Tom Platz.
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