A Conversation with
Jerry Brainum, publisher of Applied Metabolics
By Dr. Michael Dusa
MD: Hey Jerry. Thanks
so much for talking with me. You know, I've been reading your cutting-edge
material in the physique magazines since I was a kid in the 70's. Much of what
I know and practice to this day has been borne from the information you have
disseminated.
JB: Thanks Mike. Yes,
I have over 5,000 published articles in my name or under a pen name in over 35
years of involvement in the industry.
MD: So, as we always
want to know, how did you get your start and what kindled your interest in
bodybuilding, science, and nutrition?
JB: Well, I grew up
in Brooklyn. When I was three, my mother simply threw me in the pool (laughs)
and I started dog paddling. I became a swimmer, and as the years rolled by I
won some AAU swim meets. Of course, the swimming coaches back then said that
using weights would slow you down. One day at the community center where I'd
swim in the Olympic sized pool, there was a throng of people blocking the
hallway. Suddenly, the group parted in the middle and a guy in posing trunks
came walking out. It was Jerry Winick. He had great arms and had placed second
to Larry Scott in the Mr. Universe in either 1962 or 63. I was about 12 years
old at the time, and (laughs) two days later I saw Jerry outside the center
smoking a cigarette. I asked him how he got so big, and, of course, he told me
he did so by lifting weights. He told me to go buy some muscle magazines, so I
did.
MD: So swimming was
not to be pursued?
JB: No. I bought the
magazines...Joe Abbenda was on the cover of one of them...he was Mr. America.
His routine was in the magazine and I started by doing variations of it. Of
course around this time I saw Steve Reeves in Hercules on TV and that was it
for me. I did my research, looked Reeves up and saw that he did breathing
squats and pullovers, so I hit this routine hard. I added 7 inches to my chest
at 13 years old because of this-I have that in common with Mike Katz-a great rib
cage (laughs)!
MD: So where did you
work out at such a young age?
 |
| Jerry Sporting great abs at age 16. |
JB: Well, yes, I was
very young. I ended up taking the train to Sig Klein's gym in the city...very
old school place. Sig himself came up to me and I told him I wanted to join. He
told me that the gym was only opened 3 times per week and then you had to make
an appointment to train. That was not adequate of course so I walked from there
to Tom Minichiello's Mid-City Gym. Here I trained 6 days per week and went
after school. Harold Poole was there and he was a fantastic guy. Freddy Ortiz
was also there, but didn't look very inviting so I didn't approach him. I'd cut
school to train. Tom asked me why I wasn't in class and I gave him some BS
story as to why I wasn't. I swear this will sound crazy but I trained from 1 pm
to 10 pm! I was following the star's routines and this was nuts. Val Vasilef
was doing 70 sets per body part so I did, too. Ultimately, Tom called my
school-I got suspended for that.
MD: Man, talk about
over training!
JB: Yes. So I ended
up at R&J Health Studio owned by Ron Covino, but it was run by Julie
Levine. I trained there with Pete Caputo who was a great bodybuilder. 16 year
old skinny Lou Ferrigno was there with his father Matty, who would bug the hell
out of us for information.
 |
| Jerry at Venice Beach (1974) |
MD: Funny! So you did
gravitate to bodybuilding competition?
JB: Yes. I won the
teenage Junior East Coast contest, and placed high in the teen IFBB Eastern
America. This one was held at the old Brooklyn Academy of Music. I recall
standing backstage and some guy next to me told me I had WAY too much oil on.
So he wiped some off of me and put it oin himself! Oh, the guy was Frank Zane!
MD: Man that's
unreal!
JB: It was crazy. You
know I got the addresses of all the top bodybuilders and wrote to all of them.
I ended up corresponding with Bill Pearl for a couple of years. He'd write me
lengthy letters back. He was very gracious like that. In 1967 Pearl was guest
posing at a Lurie show at Hunter College. I was on my way to see him personally
when Leo Stern blocked my way. I told him my name and he was surprised, saying,
"Oh! Go see him!" I introduced myself to Bill and he was surprised
because by my letters to him he'd thought I'd be much older. He was very nice.
Some years later, just before his victory in the 1971 Mr. Universe, I visited
him at his gym in Pasadena. I did ask him about steroids, and he said he
wouldn't touch them. Now, I do recall that between 1959 and 1961, a prolific
change occurred in Bill's physique. I looked him in the eye and pressed him on
the issue. He did admit to using them but did say that if he admitted that
publically, that kids may start using them.
MD: What about your
mother-how did she feel about you dropping swimming for the most unpopular
pursuit at that time of bodybuilding?
JB: Well, she wasn't
to worried about the swimming but my diet did bother her. You see, for the
first 8 years of my life, I had what is now termed ADHD...back then they called
it "Mental problems." I had a donut and coffee for breakfast and that
was it-it wasn't a healthy diet at all. No vitamins. Omega 3's help prevent
ADHD and of course I was consuming none of that. I wasn't stupid-I was reading
by the age of three. But I did start eating huge steaks because that's what I
heard you had to do. There was the awful Hoffman's "Protein of the
Sea." My mother opened a can of dessicated liver, sniffed it and threw it
out! Ultimately, she saw that I had lost weight and started doing better in
school, and that is what she cared most about. School became very, very easy
for me. I didn't even have to study to do well. I was bored.
MD: Amazing how
things change with the understanding of nutrition and nutrients. So you were
doing well in competition and graduated from high school. What came next?
JB: I moved to
California and trained my first year at Vince Gironda's gym. I learned a lot
from him, as irascible as he was! If you got on his bad side you'd be done. It
was a trial by fire as he'd start off by insulting you. He came up to me on my
first day and sniffed me. I told him I'd traveled there by bus. He said I
smelled so bad I'd likely had no problem getting a seat. I laughed and rolled
with it so he liked me.
MD: Were you there
when Weider sent Arnold to train at Vince's?
JB: Oh yes. Earlier I
had told Vince that the massive German was coming to train. Vince just said,
"We will see." So, about an hour later, Arnold walks in, approaches
Vince, and now I am standing right there, and Arnold announces his name and
that he is Mr. Universe. Now, Vince is chomping on a ruddy old cigar, looks
Arnold up and down, and simply stated, "Well, you look like a big, fat
F--k to me." Vince always called Arnold "Cement Head," because
he thought he was stupid. Of course, he was not. Now, Arnold was not used to this,
and I swear he looked like he would cry. Vince walked off and I told Arnold
that I thought he looked great. We were fast friends right there. Four days
later I went with him to his small apartment that Weider had gotten for him,
and there's some guy running all about wearing only boxer shorts. It was Paul
Graham, the guy from Australia who promoted the 1980 Olympia-Arnold's friend of
many years. After that I didn't go back there!
 |
| Arnold and Joe Weider at the 1968 IFBB Universe |
MD: So you basically
met Arnold right after his loss to Zane in the 68 Universe in Florida.
JB: Yes. Arnold told
me he was cheated, ripped off. He showed me the program from the show...Zane is
on the cover of the program! He shows me the medallion that all the competitors
in the show were given and wore on stage...there's an image of Zane on the
medallion! Well, I did see the magazine coverage of the show, and Arnold looked
like a big, white donut (laughs). Arnold called me with some nutrition
questions a while back and we discussed this. Arnold allowed that Zane was
superior to him at the time and he deserved the win.
MD: Man, that's
fantastic stuff, Jerry. So you did end up at the original Gold's?
JB: Oh yes. Pete
Caputo and I started getting there by bus in 1969. The gym was first, then the
beach! I've been a member ever since.
MD: So you were
around all the greats of the golden age. Must have been like the very pages of
Muscle Builder came alive for you.
 |
| Jerry with Chris Dickerson and Doug Brignole |
JB: Great times. Yes,
there was comraderie...but that is all just a bit exaggerated. It wasn't always quite as close as you'd like to think. There was Serge Nubret, I remember he'd
come to town with a guy named Paco, who would bring suitcases full of steroids
and give it to the guys like he was giving candy to kids! Now, Serge, he had
just a beautiful physique. You know he'd say he'd eat 12 pounds of horse meat
per day. This wasn't true. Serge Nubret lied a lot. You'd see him using 8 pound
dumb bells, and he'd be asked how the hell he'd gotten so big doing that. He'd
just say he'd used heavy weights years earlier...now he'd just
"refine." He'd lie in hopes of others doing this and getting small.
There was a drug called Triacana, which was a form of T3, and he was telling
guys at Gold's to do 15 per day! Waller and Bill Grant did it, but not Arnold.
Well, they all lost a shitload of muscle. Serge was not a nice guy to those he
saw as competitors.
 |
| Jerry never went bald. Picture with Lenda Murray |
MD: So now that you
were at the Mecca, how did things progress for you?
JB: I won the Teen
Southern Cal in 1969, and beat Rod Koontz. In 70-71 I was blown away by guys
like Clint Beyerle and Dale Adrian in the Mr. California. I picked up Jeff
Smith as a partner and we had great, very heavy workouts. I never touched drugs
but still could do 315 behind the neck and 475 on incline barbell press. I went
in the Mr. Venice Beach that was won by Roger Callard. In 74 I went in the Mr.
Western America at the Embassy Auditorium and this was promoted by Arnold
Schwarzenegger. I took third, but what stands out to me is that only me and
another blond guy were the only clean guys in the show. I had a decision to
make. With drugs, I could go national. But, with both grandparents being bald,
and being bald not being in vogue like it is today,I felt I'd go bald on the
drugs. So at this point I retired. I will say this, though: If I had known then
what I know now about steroids and ergogenic aids, I would have done them. They
are not really so harmful if done properly.
MD: Well, I've been
around the game for 39 years, since I was 12, and I know a good deal. However,
every time I read your newsletter, I learn many new things. It's really
amazing.
JB: Well, to me,
reputation is everything. My Applied Metabolics Newsletter is 100% truth-no
bullshit is included whatsoever. There is NO advertising. Part of the problem
in the magazines now is that they are all driven by the advertising dollar.
This disallows writers from basically writing whole truths. I can't do that.
You are insane not to read my newsletter. You will save so much time and money.
I'll say this-if I were around thirty years ago-I'd go to me for information.
MD: I love it and I
love to learn, as I know you do, too. I've already made some fine tuning and
even a few drastic changes in my nutrient intake based on your research. Jerry,
what kind of training have you had, if any?
JB: I have 53 years
of study as well as practical and empirical experience. This alone gives the
reader a huge head start and greatly reduces the learning curve. In college at
Cal State Long Beach, I wanted to be an M.D. I just wasn't passionate enough for
this, but ended up getting my B.S. in biochemistry. I was bored in school. I am
a passionate learner, but I like to learn on my own. In class, I'd sit in back,
wear sunglasses and fall asleep. You know, I love writing and research. I HATE
the business end, though. Writers are treated like crap no matter what your
talent level is. Except if you are Steven King!
MD: How did you get
the writing career started?
 |
| One among the 1000s of articles written by Jerry |
JB: I wrote Bill
Grant's first courses in 1982. Flex asked me to write two articles, and Joe
Weider welcomed me aboard. I wrote for Muscle & Fitness and Flex, and
always hand delivered articles to the Woodland Hills office. A guy named Ben
Pesta approached me one day and said they were no longer accepting my articles.
I was like, "What?" Well, Fred Hatfield, who was right down the hall
and was the editor of "Sports Fitness," overheard this uncerimonious
discharge and bought my four articles I had in hand on the spot. He hired me to
write for him. A while later, Joe bumped into me in the hall and asked why I
stopped writing for him. When I told him what happened he called Ben Pesta into
his office along with me, and tore Pesta a new one. Joe hired me back right
there. In the end, it wasn't personal between Pesta and I-just a business
decision.
MD: Sounds like
things were going great. Of course, changes started to creep in...
JB: Yes. AMI Group
came in in the late 90's, and Joe was starting to slip health wise. He told me
he was getting pushed out and didn't have the energy to deal with the new guys
and help me at the same time. He did tell me that he loved me and that I was
"In my will...you will be wealthy," which I know he said to about 50
people and that I'd get nothing. At his memorial we all laughed about this. I
really liked Joe. He gave me a job when I didn't have one.
MD: What about
McMahon and the WBF?
JB: Joe gave me a
raise and health insurance with the spectre of the rise of the WBF. Granted, I
had to pay for my own insurance, but it was health insurance, nonetheless. The
WBF wanted me to come to Connecticut to write for their magazine. I was wary. I
told them basically if they were around for three years, I'd come. But I was
loyal to Joe. He always appreciated that. I will tell you for the 15 or so guys
who crossed over, he never truly forgot or forgave them.
MD: Talk more about
Applied Metabolics.
JB: Well, it is
science based, but in an understandable, layman terms-like way that can be
understood by most. I go over so much material...I write 35-40 pages for each
monthly edition. I focus on health, longevity, how to continue to look young
well into your years,nutrition, supplements, exercise science, ergogenic aids,
fat-loss, hormonal therapy, and other topics.. You know, I did try to write on
the anti-ageing tip for the magazines. John Balik of Iron Man told me his
readership was 15-21 years of age-they wouldn't care to read such information.
He finally let me focus one issue on this...it was a best seller.It was the
"Over 40 Issue." I've been collecting information on longevity for
years and years. Much earlier than when it became a popular movement.
I could also say, for
those who want to "Maximize Their Vitality," this publication is for
you, and at a very reasonable cost. It's only $10 per month, and you can opt
out at any time. You know, I'd say 99% of people over 40 years of age want this
type of information. I am aware that there are loads of free stuff on the
internet, and much of it is misinformation. Sure, there is some good
stuff...but where I differ, and this, I feel, is my biggest selling point, I am
giving you "Jerry Brainum." You know, Frank Zane said, when I was
still writing for the magazines, that my column was the only one he'd read. I
think this speaks volumes. I put my personal reputation of 53 years on the line
to help anyone avoid mistakes. With the 6 months of newsletter material I have
already provided...read it and you will be an expert. I request studies
regularly, from Australia, China, all over the world. I love it. I love
learning and research.
MD: Jerry, I gotta tell
ya...as you know...there is a proliferation of a most nefarious syndrome out
and about today...it's known as "Bro Science."
JB: Well, everything
has gone back to shit, if you really want to know the truth. These folks have
little if any writing experience. Some try to be overly technical to prove
their imaginary superiority or intellect, and you can honestly not tell what
the hell they are saying. I make complex processes and information simple to
grasp. I mean, there is no way sometimes to avoid a technical word, but if I
use one, I'll explain it.
MD: The eternal
elephant in the room-steroids.
JB: Yes.
Bodybuilder's and athletes-they either can't get them, can't afford them, or
are afraid of them. So they want supplement companies to produce "HGH Replacement"
supplements. And they do. In 2014 Obama passed a new steroid act that bans
designer steroids. In 2004 the bill passed outlawing the prohormones. With
designer steroids, there was a manipulation of an old drug from 1962 called
Superdrol-there was a slight change in its structure that increased its
absorbtion but also led to liver problems. No more slapping of wrists by big
brother. A company gets busted on this and the fine is 2.5 million bucks and
many years in jail. That's enough to shut nearly any company down.
So, in reaction to
this, what comes next is something I'll be writing about in Applied Metabolics
very soon-Herbal Plant Based Testosterone Boosters. This is coming, you'll see.
Much of the time, the problem is testing is only done on mice or rats. So, we don't
know what these compounds will do once they find their way into the human form.
There is "Zero" relaiblity/evidence in these studies. They will
charge you $70 a bottle...and yes, rip you off. I'll be writing about this, of
course.
MD: I'm currently taking,
in addition to other supplements, DHEA, and my pre-workout combo of Beet Juice,
L-Citrulline and Creatine monohydrate. Your thoughts here?
JB: Yes. The DHEA
should be taken every day. Its wise to have your levels tested via blood draw
prior to use and during. You get a drop in testosterone after the age of 30, so
this can help if you have Low-T.
That pre-workout
combination is a good one. In bodybuilding there is really no need to load the
creatine. Its a good back up for ATP production. The L-Citrulline is converted
to Arginine in the kidneys, and Arginine is a precursor to Nitrous Oxide, so
this increases blood flow. The beet juice increases plasma levels of nitrous
oxide.
MD: Refreshing that I
am not throwing money away. As I write now full time I understand money comes
at a premium! You have worked with and helped some famous folks, Jerry.
JB: Yes. Oscar
DeLahoya...I did his nutrition programs for several years; Mayweather as well,
many others. Anybody can read about these exploits on the Applied Metabolics
home page under my bio.
MD: I laugh now
because I told you I'd read up on the newsletters before talking. A daunting
yet enrichening task...there is SO much information! What are your goals with
all of this , Jerry?
JB: Well, I want to
educate people, I want to discern for them fact from fiction. I want to save
them time and money which are precious and easy to waste and fritter away. I
want to give them something to improve their life, people do not want to be
decrepit...anti- ageing information is key. Understand...this information is
NOT available anywhere else. I am not duplicating the magazines. I churn out
35-40 pages...every month.
I don't care who you
are, I guarantee you will learn something every issue. I myself do.
MD: Jerry, It's been
a pleasure and an honor. I look forward to working with you and learning from
you. Please visit www.appliedmetabolics.com to learn more about Jerry and to
sign up for his monthly newsletter.
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