Chris Aceto: Meet the Technician
Information and electrici
ty are passed in a similar manner. Both require a conductor or conduit to pass on their information, or energy, for use by the masses. For nearly three decades Chris Aceto has been one of the bodybuilding industry’s primary conduits of information, passing on his revolutionary ideas on training and nutrition helping to create some of the most awe inspiring physiques the world has ever seen.
The man that has been dubbed “The Technician” is a true part of bodybuilding history and has rubbed shoulders with the men and women who were responsible for helping to shape the industry as we know it today. Despite his thousands of published articles, several bestselling books, and weekly appearances as co-host of Heavy Muscle Radio many fans haven’t had the pleasure of getting to know the witty, unique spirit that is Chris Aceto.
Recently Chris and I were able to catch up and discuss how he got his start in the industry, stories about his time spent working with Joe Weider, and how his experiences in life and bodybuilding have helped shape the man he’s become today – and you can read it all right here, in this Rx Muscle Exclusive Interview!
Q.) When did you first discover bodybuilding? Who was the first bodybuilder you saw that inspired you?
A.) I discovered bodybuilding by accident. I was fat growing up, not Evan Centopani fat lol, but fat and my sister was really heavy and I had several uncles and aunts who were also fat. My brother was a tremendous swimmer and worked out with some weights to help him in that sport. So the fear of looking like my uncles and the motivation of seeing my brother who looked really really muscular for his age got me interested into trying to get in shape.
My sister did a zero carb diet one summer and dropped a ton of fat and that not only made me really proud of her, but also got me interested in diets. I must have been thirteen or so. I started running a lot to get lean, and was running 3 to 6 miles a day after school. I was getting lean and happy with the way I was looking until a friend of mine invited me to a gym to workout. It was there where I got to see bodybuilders for the first time. You know how it is, these guys where probably puny looking back on it, but for a fourteen year old, they looked crazy huge. I was hooked.
The problem was that you had to be eighteen to join that gym and I was probably fourteen at the time, so I met up with a bodybuilder who said he could get me in at 5 a.m. I told him, okay, great I’ll see you then tomorrow. The next day and every day before school I got up at 3 a.m., ate, walked a mile and half to the gym, trained, and took the bus home and headed off to school. The buses didn’t start running until 5: 30 a.m. and my parents laughed when I asked for a ride, so I did what I had to do.
Q.) When you first began bodybuilding, how much information about training and n
utrition was available to you?
A.) None. I asked the biggest roided up monster in the gym, “Show me how to train and eat.” He was surprised about the eat part because no one really would ask about that (as much) in those days. But I realized “Okay, diet is big here because if my sister can drop 60 pounds from just changing her diet, then imagine what the possibilities must be if someone wants to add weight.” I fashioned myself as a thinker even then.
Q.) In your opinion, do you think that now there is too much information and too many opinions available for young bodybuilders to weed through?
A.) YES, there is. There is too much information on every subject matter. Take stocks for example. There are multiple opinions coming from multiple smart people with regard to a stock like Apple. Some say it’s undervalued and you should buy it, and some say it’s over valued and you should sell it. One of my favorite economists, Marc Faber, said recently, “It can go to zero.” While he is outlandish, he backed that up by saying, “Look at Polaroid, they were the biggest sort of technology company and that stock went to zero.” Carl Icahn, who is smart as hell, loves Apple. I just used that example to mention opinions, but the same is somewhat true in bodybuilding. There are just so many opinions because there is so much information available. I just keep things very simple. Troy Alves asked me, “What stock is a good stock?” I told him, “Toilet paper, because so far I think it’s a safe bet it may be around for another 200 years.” I said it to be outrageous, but I said it as a way to show that in many things, including in bodybuilding, you should keep things simple and fairly basic.
A bodybuilder I know has a weak back, and asked me what he should do. I told him, one – no machines. Just do four sets of bent rows, four sets of t-bar rows, four sets of chins, and four sets of one arm dumbbell rows. In short, keep the shit basic.
Q.) How old were you 
when you first competed? After that first competition, did you imagine yourself having a career in the bodybuilding industry?
A.) When I as fifteen I did the teenage Mr. Maine, and was third in a big class. I was ripped because I knew if you eat a lot less, something’s got to give – and it did. I never envisioned a “career” in bodybuilding because I never knew there were “careers in bodybuilding”. My father told me, “You can’t eat the weights.” He said, “Do you want me to explain that to you?” I said, “You mean I can’t pay for a house, a car and health insurance with my third place trophy?” He laughed, and was not much of a laughing type of guy and said, “Okay, good, I don’t have to worry.”
Q.) When did you first meet bodybuilding legend Bob Gruskin? What role did he play in helping shape your competitive career?
A.) Bob Gruskin wasn’t teaching me, so to speak. He was coaching me, and I was, although I didn’t realize it, copying and storing everything he did in my head. Bob Gruskin is a genius. Some people can play a piano with no lessons. Many people can paint and sing naturally. For some reason, he knew bodybuilding. In addition, I learned to be a better person having spent a lot of time with him. He is generous, lovable and really served as a father figure to me for several years. I love to say, “Everything I know, Bob, I Stole from you!”
Q.) You attended Springfield College and graduated with a degree in Applied Exercise Science. If a career in the bodybuilding industry never developed, what did you plan to do following graduation?
A.) Real estate. I have a Muscle Up article from 1984 which I only dug out recently. I am quoted as saying I want to be involved in real estate. When I was in college I did an internship in Hawaii. At that time I got my license to sell real estate and planned to return to Hawaii after I spent the summer in California. I never got to Hawaii as I got sidetracked in Los Angeles with bodybuilding.
Q.) As luck would have it, before graduation, you earned the internship of a lifetime in 1987 when you were offered a job at the Los Angeles Pro Muscle Camp. What was your immediate reaction after learning you got the job? What did you learn from your experience there?
A.) It never hit me. It was sort of crazy. I saw an ad in a magazine that this bodybuilding camp in Los Angeles was looking for 8 to 10 bodybuilders to work there. A prerequisite was you needed a degree, and I was still in college. I sent in a résumé anyway, and one day got a call from David Zelon. He ran the camp (He went on to produce movies). He called me up and said, “Chris, David Zelon. I am going to make this quick. I am going out on 
a limb to hire you. I want you to work your ass off for me and if you don’t or you fuck up, I am shipping you back to Maine. How do you feel about coming to LA to work for me?” I remember my reply to this day. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.”
I went out there and worked really hard. David took notice and a few weeks later he really shocked me. He came to a gathering and said, “I need to speak with you!” I was worried he was going to ship me home. Instead he said, “I have been watching you and want to let you know I have huge plans for this company and you are going to be part of them.” I was crazy thrilled as David was a big deal in the sport at the time. The camps were going gang busters. They were immensely professional, and I wanted to remain a part of them. Unfortunately, he went on to much bigger things and I had a falling out with a co-owner. So that was that on the camps with Chris Aceto.
Q.) Following your graduation you were offered an office at Gold's Venice by the legendary Ed Connors. What was it like to have an office as a new college graduate in the Mecca of bodybuilding?
A.) These opportunities were just falling at me. For example, I figured what the hell; I will throw my résumé into the hat with regards to the bodybuilding camp. The next thing I know I am eating with Lee Haney, and training with Tom Platz, and spending a lot of fun time with Samir. I was training at Gold’s and stressing because I was running out of money when I ran into some guy in the parking lot. It was Ed Connors. Ed asked me if I could help a few guys with their diets. He said he would swap free office space in Gold’s near his office. The next thing I know I am at Gold’s with a free office setting up shop. I had a million (it seemed) clients who wanted diet help, and I made a ton of money in two years. I had made enough that, on a whim, when I went back to Maine, I had a large pile of cash to put down on a luxury condo on the beach.
Q.) You earned a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry and became a contributor to multiple magazines which allowed you to develop a relationship with Joe Weider in the process. Could you share with us one lesson you learned in your experiences with Joe?
A.) I met Joe through the camps. I was a roommate of both Vincent Scalisi and Tom Deters. Both went on to play very big roles working at Weider. One day Tom Deters called and said, “Joe asked me if you can write an article.” I said, “Joe who?” He said, “Joe Weider!” I told Tom, “I can give it a shot.” I blew out some mass gaining article very quickly hoping they would like it. A few days later Tom asked me if I wanted to write more articles. That’s how that thing got rolling.
I would go visit Joe at the office with my then wife Laura Creavalle. These were social visits mainly. Joe really liked us. I didn’t know at the time, but bodybuilders would go up to his office to shake him down for money lol. We just went up to visit. He apparently picked up on that and liked us. Down the road he put us both under contract. I wrote a ton of articles for him over a fifteen-year period. I guess what I learned from Joe is that you don’t need to be a rocket scientist or brilliant to make a buck. You just need to work very hard, be willing to put in long hours, and like what you are doing.
Q.) I'd like to jump ahead a bit and talk about the sabbatical that you took from the sport. As many now know, you were diagnosed with cancer. What type of cancer were you diagnosed with? What do you remember feeling immediately after your diagnosis?
A.) I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, stage 3 in 2001. It's essentially skin cancer that's out to kill. I remember feeling confused, very confused. But I didn’t worry. I figured, “Okay, one, I had zero, nothing, no participation in terms of coming INTO this life, so why would I have the ability to choose how I would die?” In a way, I tried to look at the bigger picture and if the doctors said, “Okay, three months,” at a minimum it gave me time to say goodbye to people. I would often think, “Okay, if you suddenly died in a car crash, that would rob you of the ability to say goodbye.” That being said, it was a battle that I was hoping and praying I would come out of.
Q.) During our toughest times we lean on those closest to us for support. Did you lean on your family for support throughout your treatment?
A.) No, I did not. I am not close to my family. I am not at odds with them either, it’s just that looking back, we were not a close-knit group. I had only one person I depended on which was my wife. We were newlyweds. I recall sitting in a hot tub during my darker days in an enormous amount of pain. I worked up the courage to tell her, “You should think about leaving and starting a real life so you are not bogged down with all this.” She just looked at me point blank and said, “Til death do us part. You are stuck with me.” I never worried at all going forward and realized you only need one person to get you from point A to Z.
Q.) Fortunately, you 
were able to overcome the disease, and your cancer is now in remission. How would you say that entire experience changed you as a person?
A.) I do what I want when I want. I take risks. I am not arrogant. I always try to put myself in someone else’s shoes. Those are the summative points that are forever a part of me.
Q.) When you look back of the course of your career, and all of the experiences you've had, what moment would you say has been your most memorable?
A.) There have been many memorable moments. It all started with meeting Bob Gruskin. That was big for me. As I got older and matured, I realized that although it’s not a “memorable moment,” but I get a lot of satisfaction in seeing people I work with do well.
Q.) What would you say is the most important thing that bodybuilding has taught you?
A.) Discipline. Repetition. If you are disciplined and do things right and do them over and over in whatever field you get into, you can’t fail, or it’s difficult to fail.
Q.) If there is one lesson, or one piece of advice you could give to the Rx Muscle community, what would it be?
A.) It’s the same advice I give to myself. Try to listen more. I like to talk and blabber on the radio, but if someone asks me something or has a concern, I try to listen, to really hear what they are saying. It just makes navigating through things so much easier.
Success doesn’t come easy, regardless of what opportunity may present itself to us. No matter what we choose to do we will always encounter resistance from non-believers, enemies, and people who wish nothing more than to see us fail because all they’ve known is failure themselves. The best way to defeat all those who oppose us is to do exactly what Chris did – set out to accomplish something and do it. As author Sean Patrick once said, “Ambition shows you the path to success, but drive is what takes you to it.”
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