#989 - Dorian Yates

Joe Rogan (0:00)

Push the sucker right up close.

Three, two, one, and we're live. What's happening, man? How are you?

Dorian Yates (0:10)

I'm cool, man. I'm here in LA.

Joe Rogan (0:13)

It's nice to meet you in person. I've seen you in magazines. I've seen you since, man, when did you first burst onto the bodybuilding scene? What year was that?

Dorian Yates (0:21)

I was reminiscing today. First time I came out here was 1990 to Gold's Gym.

So I came from UK to do my first professional bodybuilding contest. It was called Knight of Champions in New York. And I got second place there and made a real big impact. And the Weeder Company that used to be based out here with the Flex magazine and Muscle and Fitness.

Joe Rogan (0:41)

They're right down the street.

Dorian Yates (0:42)

They used to be. I don't think they are anymore.

Joe Rogan (0:44)

No, it's all closed down. There was a fence around it and everything. But that's less than a mile away from here.

Dorian Yates (0:48)

Yeah, the Weeder offices are out there. And, you know, Weeder was a big name in bodybuilding, the magazines and everything. So they flew me out here, did my first photo shoot at Gold's Gym, 1990 So, yeah, 27 years ago.

Joe Rogan (1:02)

Man, I remember watching you in those magazines. You were the first guy, well, you know what I mean, the first guy, but you were one of the first guys that I ever saw in a magazine that I was like, jeez, how the fuck is that a person?

You were so big, man. Jesus Christ, you were big.

Dorian Yates (1:18)

That's funny because I look back at some of the pictures now of me and I say, what the fuck?

Joe Rogan (1:26)

You know, you're going for it.

Dorian Yates (1:26)

It's extreme, and I came into the sport and I wanted to see what I could do. I wanted to like take it as far as I could take it, you know?

Joe Rogan (1:35)

Well, you represented to me as an outsider looking in this insane determination. You know, I felt like all the best guys, whether it was Arnold or you or Lee Haney, all the top guys, they always represented, not just like the biggest and the most profoundly, ridiculously muscular bodybuilders, but also this extreme dedication that was required to reach that level.

Dorian Yates (1:57)

Well, you know, you've been around, man, you were with martial arts and everything. Any kind of sport is the same thing. What separates the guy that's first from second, from third or whatever?

You know, you all got certain physical characteristics that help you in your sport and so on.

So you're all gifted up there. So what can separate the guy from first and second and third? It's all up there. That's the key.

Joe Rogan (2:21)

How did you develop your mindset? Was that something that you always had? Or was it something that you developed as you were training?

Dorian Yates (2:27)

I think it's something I already had. And I kind of left home when I was 16 So I was out on my own on the street. And, you know, you're either going to get smart and, you know, look after yourself or you're going to fall down. There's nobody there to catch me. So that was there from an early age, I think.

And I was just very determined to do this thing that I felt I could be good at in order to change my life and change, you know, the projection of my life, the people around me. I was grew up on a housing estate in UK. I had no education. I was in a jail when I was 18

So I had all that. That was, you know, the people around me, I was like, I didn't want part of that future. I wanted to do something else. And I got this thing that I was good at. So I'm going to take it and run with it, you know.

Joe Rogan (3:12)

It's crazy how many people have similar stories like that, where they were in just a terrible environment and they realized that they had to toughen up, they had to smarten up, and they had to get out of there. And if not for those terrible situations, who knows if they would have ever reached the levels of greatness that they did.

Dorian Yates (3:27)

I can tell you from my point of view, I don't think I would have done, because I would be too comfortable.

If you're comfortable, you're not going to put yourself through that extreme kind of pressure and pain. And, you know, I wanted to improve my life, change my life. And through the sport, here I am, sitting, talking to you on this show. People are listening to me. I've been all around the world, thanks to my sport. So it's been great for me, you know?