Dorian Yates

Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates was born on 19 April 1962 in Hurley, Warwickshire, and grew up in rural Staffordshire. His father died of a heart attack when Yates was 13.[5] He and his mother then moved to Birmingham.[6]

Yates started working out in 1983. His professional record consists of 15 major contest wins and two second-place finishes; from 1992 to his retirement in 1997 he won every single contest he entered. His career ended in large part due to chronic acute injuries, including torn biceps and triceps, the latter just three weeks prior to his final contest, the 1997 Mr. Olympia, which he won in spite of the injury; his win generated controversy among fellow athletes, critics, and amateurs, who thought the runner-up Nasser El Sonbaty deserved to win.

Yates was a proponent of Arthur Jones' and Mike Mentzer's high-intensity training (HIT) style of bodybuilding, which poses that maximum muscle stimulation can be reached through short and intense workout sessions instead of long and slow ones.[7][8] He earned the nickname "The Shadow" coined by Peter McGough for his tendency to unexpectedly appear at major bodybuilding contests and steal the win, having neither confirmed nor denied whether he would compete beforehand, and for spending most of his time between contests avoiding the public eye. In order to maintain privacy and full commitment to his training, he was reported to have turned down several large supplement endorsement contracts and avoided publicity opportunities such as interviews.

Yates is considered to be the first of the "mass monsters" in bodybuilding. He combined his enormous muscle mass along with peak conditioning, quoted as being "granite hardness". He was criticised for being among the first prominent bodybuilders to exhibit an inflated stomach, a common side effect of insulin or HGH use which is still seen in professional bodybuilding today. He believes that his injuries are due to his habit of maintaining an extreme level of training intensity all year long, even when approaching contests, while being on a severely restricted "cutting" diet which weakens the body overall.[9] Regarding the use of PEDs, he referenced the documentary Super Size Me and stated that eating three McDonald's meals a day is more harmful for the metabolism than his 12 years of regular steroid use.[10]

Inside Temple Gym at Birmingham

In 1987, Yates purchased Temple Gym, located on Temple Street in Birmingham.[11] In 2006, he franchised four additional Temple Gym locations, three of which are in the UK. As of 2020, only the original Birmingham gym is still in operation.

Yates formed the California-based company Heavy Duty Inc. in 1994 with Mike Mentzer and Ray Mentzer.[12] The company marketed athletic apparel and bodybuilding-related books.

In 1998, Yates partnered with Kerry Kayes to form the bodybuilding supplement company CNP Professional, which marketed a Dorian Yates Approved product line in the U.S.[13] He left the company in 2006 to form his own company, Dorian Yates Ultimate Formulas, which offers a line of protein and weight-gain supplements. He started a second company in 2010, EU Peptides, which sells peptide hormones and other pro-hormone supplements. He left EU Peptides in 2012. In 2011, Yates founded a third company, DY Nutrition, which specializes in pre-workout formulas and has released several training DVDs.[14]

Yates and a partner took over the gym in 1987 and eventually became the sole owner of the gym. It has franchises in California, Las Vegas, and the UK.[15] It's spread across 3000 square feet and Blue is a new workout to 220 lbs.[16]

DY Nutrition is a line of supplements that consists of whey protein supplements, pre-workout, and post-workout supplements owned and endorsed by Yates.[17]

Yates is married to Brazilian fitness model Glauce "Gal" Ferreira,[18] who won the IFBB South American Bodyfitness event and was also the 2007 IFBB World Bodyfitness Champion.[19] They had met at the 2008 Arnold Classic,[20] and live in Marbella. Yates' son from a prior relationship, Lewis, has also taken up bodybuilding and works closely with his father.[21]

Yates has advocated for alternative treatments for cancer, including the use of cannabis oil. He has also made statements in interviews concerning the negative health effects of sodium fluoride additives in tap water and claimed that there are cancer viruses and sterilants in some vaccines. He has endorsed the use of some psychedelic entheogens for religious and spiritual purposes, including ayahuasca.[22]

In 1993, Yates published an autobiography titled Blood and Guts (ISBN 978-0-9636163-0-2).[23]

In 1996, Yates released a workout video (VHS) of the same title, which features his weekly weight training routines.

In 1998, Yates coauthored A Warrior's Story (ISBN 978-0-9534764-0-4),[24] in which he chronicles his path to success in bodybuilding.

In 2012, Yates released a mass gain video trainer in collaboration with bodybuilding.com called Blood and Guts, based on the HIT theory.[25]

In 2017, Yates attended the worldwide premiere of the London Real feature film, Dorian Yates: Inside The Shadow, held at BAFTA in London.[26]

• Height: 5 ft 10.5 in (179.1 cm)[1]
• Off Season Weight: 310 pounds (141 kg)[1]
• Competition Weight: 275 pounds (125 kg)[1]
• Upper Arm Size: 54 cm (21 in)
• Thigh Size: 79 cm (31 in)
• Waist Size: 86 cm (34 in)
• Calf Size: 56 cm (22 in)
• Chest size: 148 cm (58 in)

• 1985 World Games, 7th Heavyweights
• 1986 British Championships, 1st Heavyweight
• 1988 British Championships, 1st Heavyweight and overall
• 1990 Night of Champions, 2nd
• 1991 Night of Champions, 1st
• 1991 Mr. Olympia, 2nd
• 1991 English Grand Prix, 1st
• 1992 Mr. Olympia, 1st
• 1992 English Grand Prix, 1st
• 1993 Mr. Olympia, 1st
• 1994 Mr. Olympia, 1st
• 1994 Spanish Grand Prix, 1st
• 1994 German Grand Prix, 1st
• 1994 English Grand Prix, 1st
• 1995 Mr. Olympia, 1st
• 1996 Mr. Olympia, 1st
• 1996 Spanish Grand Prix, 1st
• 1996 German Grand Prix, 1st
• 1996 English Grand Prix, 1st
• 1997 Mr. Olympia, 1st

• List of male professional bodybuilders

• DorianYates.net
• Dorian Yates on Facebook
• Dorian Yates on Twitter
• 2011 Q & A with Dorian Yates
• Dorian Yates – The Making of the Super Bodybuilder
• Dorian Yates Nutrition