A Call From "The Master": Tom Venuto's Bodybuilding Secrets Blog

A Call From “The Master”

Tom Venuto

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005. 1:45 p.m. Just got great news! I got a call from “The Master.” Who, pray tell, might that be, and what was this call all about? Read on to find out, because this quest for the next bodybuilding title is going to start getting really interesting now…

His name is Richie Smyth. On his business card, he goes by “The Training Machine,” but to his hardcore bodybuilding clients like me, he’s known as “The Master (Of Pain).” I added the “of pain” part myself, heh heh… he doesn’t mind, except that he says it might be bad for business… Hmmm… I wonder why? :-)

I first met Richie when he started training people at our club, (Empire Fitness in Hoboken, New Jersey), about 10 years ago. I’ve seen a hundred trainers come and go over the years, but this guy stood out like a neon sign on a pitch black night.

For one thing, I’ve never seen him out of shape. He’s a humble guy, not cocky, not a show off, so he was almost always covered up in long pants and sweatshirts. Some people say “If you got it, flaunt it,” and I think that’s fine. On the other hand, when you’ve REALLY got it, and you KNOW it, there is no need to flaunt it… and when the shirt finally does come off, then it’s all the more impressive.

But you can’t cover up a physique like Richie’s. His upper body was thicker than two normal human beings put together, and no matter how many sweatshirts he wore, his hulking lats, traps, delts, arms and pecs (which could bench press 450+ lbs), could not be hidden. If he were wearing short sleeves, you’d always see a ripped forearm with bulging veins that looked like a roadmap of the greater Los Angeles Freeway system.

There’s nothing I despise more than so called “fitness professionals” who don’t walk the walk. Trainers don’t need to look like bodybuilders, or even have extremely ripped bodies, but trainers who are completely out of shape or overweight make me sick. Be a role model or get another freaking career! If you wanna teach and coach, then you’d better remember that students and clients pay more attention to what you DO and to what you ARE than to what you say. (Something parents ought to remember more often too!)

Conversely, there’s nothing I admire more than someone who walks the walk and lives the lifestyle. Richie is one of the few that do.

The fact that Richie trained movie stars like Joe Pantoliano (Matrix), Tony Goldwyn (Ghost), and Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck) probably impressed a lot of people. But the thing that got my attention the most was the results his “ordinary” clients were getting. I watched him guide his clients to one transformation after another. From housewives to fitness competitors, from executives to bodybuilders - didn’t matter - he was incredibly versatile in his style and consistent in results.

Another thing I noticed is that when Richie left his old gym to come train people at our gym (which was new in town and just opening), virtually his entire clientele followed him like the pied piper to the new club, even if it wasn’t as convenient for them. The loyalty in his clients was remarkable, and I would later find out why.

It wasn’t long before we struck up a friendship. When one of his clients would fail to show up for an appointment and I was working the front desk, Richie and I would often spend the hour talking about bodybuilding, bodybuilding, and more bodybuilding… and … about all the hot girls who just joined the club, heh heh… of course, that was after he got finished kvetching about his slacker clients! (If you sign up with Richie, you’d better show up ON TIME!).

From conversation alone, I knew he knew his craft well, but I never realized just how well, until the day he offered to take me through a workout and I accepted. He put a beating on me like you wouldn’t believe. But I had it coming to me. I went into that first workout with an, “Okay bring it on hot shot, let’s see what you’ve got” attitude. I was eating my words afterwards, along with a big slice of “humble pie.” The day after? Oh my God, the soreness… and I never knew a muscle could grow so much from a single workout… and without using really heavy weights either! That’s when I said, “Dude, you’re hired! When can we train again?”

I’ve been training with Richie on and off ever since, including for my last contest win in 2001. Usually it was only one session a week, and then I’d take the rest of the workouts on my own. Sometimes, like this year, I also have a training partner. Even though I’m training with Mike now, I had been hoping to hit at least one session a week with Richie for this year’s contest prep, but I wasn’t sure if it would happen. Richie’s mother has been very ill, so it’s been a busy, difficult, and stressful time for him. That’s why, when I got a phone call from him today and he said, “When do you want to train?”, I was ecstatic and infinitely grateful that he was making the time for me, given the circumstances.

There’s nothing that beats having a “Master Mind” group and a great support system, whether that’s your trainer, your family, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your business colleagues, your friends or all of the above. SEEK OUT friends and mentors that support your endeavors, and once you have them, be grateful and nourish those relationships. I’m telling you, the people you hang out with will have a greater impact on your life than you can ever imagine. You will either become motivated to greatness or dragged down into mediocrity, depending on the type of company you keep. SO GET AROUND THE RIGHT KIND OF PEOPLE!

Well, tomorrow is back and calves with Mike, and Friday, July 1st is Chest and Biceps with … “THE MASTER OF PAIN!” Be sure to log in for Friday’s blog… It’s gonna be interesting!

Until then, train hard and get away from negative people like you’d get out of a burning house! If you want to be a winner, hang out with winners!

Published on 29 June, 2005

Comments

John Bartlett said:

This site kicks ass! I live in a small town in Arizona with a very small gym that barely has a flat bench, an incline bench and a rack of dumbbells. Finding a training partner is virtually impossible. I need all the motivation I can get and that's exactly what this site gives me. Before I go to the gym, I read an article about your most recent workout and it gives me the mental pump I need to go all-out in the gym.

My comment is simply "Thanks".

Posted on Jul 01, 2005 09:29 PM

Corey said:

I'm a homemaker with two kids and a husband that's at work most of the time. I have been all over the web trying to find a site that gives it to me straight! That way, I can take what fits into my lifestyle and make the best, most informed decisions for me. Your emails have been part of the inspiration for quitting smoking and now with this new website (and your Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book), I know I'll be in shape in 6-12 months! Thanks for being here for me.

Posted on Jul 02, 2005 08:02 PM

Jeremy Markum said:

Hey Tom,

Just a quick note to say: "your blog is awesome."

I've always enjoyed your writing.

Best of luck, and don't hesitate to get in touch!

Be Profoundly Fit,

Jeremy Markum
"The Fitness Sage"

Posted on Jul 20, 2005 08:40 PM