The year is 1969, the place is Vince's gym in Studio City, California. A recently arrived immigrant to the United States is training in Vince's small gym when he looks up and spots one of his bodybuilding idols. Coming through the front door of Vince's is Larry Scott, the premier professional bodybuilder at the time by virtue of his winning the first two Mr.Olympia titles in 1965 and 1966. Scott is retired now, but looks no less impressive as he struts into the gym wearing a tank-top that highlights his still extraordinary arm and shoulder development. The 21-year-old newcomer is clearly in awe of Scott, yet seems hesitant to go up to him. It's the same effect that often happens when people encounter a movie star they have watched for years. The fact that they are now standing a few feet in front of you is both exciting, yet vaguely alarming. You want them to fit the fantasy image that you've harbored for years, but are afraid the fiction in your mind may clash with reality. This was how the young immigrant recently arrived from Europe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, looked at Larry Scott. You could see that Arnold was just itching to ask Scott some questions, so he was encouraged to do so. "Larry is a great guy, he'll be happy to speak with you," Arnold is told. Arnold himself wasn't just another guy heaving iron in the gym. He had arrived with an international phenom reputation, having already won two Mr.Universe titles. Arnold hesitantly approached Scott, who had begun training himself.
"Larry, can I ask you a question?" said Arnold.
Scott looked at the huge presence before him, who dwarfed Scott in both height and muscular size. "Sure, go ahead," Scott replied.
"I heard that you use choline and inositol to help burn body fat. Can you tell me how much you use?" asked Arnold.
"I use two entire bottles every day," was Scott's terse reply.
Upon hearing this, Arnold was aghast. He turned to the guy standing beside him (it was me) and voiced his consternation about what Scott said."Can you believe this? Larry ingests two entire bottles a day of choline and inositol!" To onlookers of this brief conversation, it was obvious what had actually transpired. Larry, being a practical joker and a bit sarcastic, had led the young, clearly unsophisticated Arnold astray. Arnold was then told that while Larry probably did use choline and inositol, he certainly didn't ingest two entire bottles a day, since doing so would mean sitting on a toilet about 18 hours a day, not to mention that the irascible owner of the gym, Vince Gironda, would not take kindly to the effects of extreme nausea that would result from such extensive ingestion of choline and inositol.
At the . . .
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