25 Facts About Dorian Yates

Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates was born on 19 April 1962 and is an English retired professional bodybuilder.

Dorian Yates won the Mr Olympia title six consecutive times from 1992 to 1997.

Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates was born on 19 April 1962, in Solihull, then in Warwickshire, England.

Dorian Yates grew up on a farm in Hurley, rural Warwickshire.

When Dorian Yates was 18, he and his friends were arrested for indecent exposure while crossing Birmingham to get to a party.

Each of them received 6 months at Whatton Youth Detention Centre, where Dorian Yates would take up weight training.

Dorian Yates started working out in 1983 at Martin's Gym in Temple Row, Birmingham.

Dorian Yates's 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.

Dorian Yates is one of only four men to retire as Mr Olympia.

Dorian Yates was a proponent of Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer's high-intensity training style of bodybuilding, which posits that maximum muscle stimulation can be reached through short and intense workout sessions instead of long and slow ones.

Dorian Yates 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.

Dorian Yates is considered to be the first of the "mass monsters" in bodybuilding.

Dorian Yates combined his enormous muscle mass along with peak conditioning, quoted as being "granite hardness".

Dorian Yates 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.

In 1987, Dorian Yates purchased Temple Gym, located on Temple Street in Birmingham.

Dorian Yates formed the California-based company Heavy Duty Inc in 1994 with Mike Mentzer and Ray Mentzer.

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 US 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.

Dorian Yates started a second company in 2010, EU Peptides, which sells peptide hormones and other pro-hormone supplements.

In 2011, Dorian Yates founded a third company, DY Nutrition, which specializes in pre-workout formulas and has released several training DVDs.

Dorian Yates is married to Brazilian fitness model Glauce "Gal" Ferreira, who won the IFBB South American Bodyfitness event and was the 2007 IFBB World Bodyfitness Champion.

Dorian Yates's son from his ex-wife Deb is a bodybuilder and works closely with his father.

Dorian Yates has described yoga and meditation as life-altering experiences and practices yoga on a daily basis.

Dorian Yates has endorsed the use of some psychedelic entheogens, including ayahuasca, for religious and spiritual purposes.

Dorian Yates is open about his use of cannabis, which predates his bodybuilding career; he has been an advocate for cannabis legalisation since the late 2000s due to its relaxing properties, temporary increases in respiratory capacity, and claimed anti-cancer properties.

Dorian Yates believes the death toll of the holocaust is exaggerated and stated in an interview that "two forensic studies" prove that no gas was ever used in Auschwitz.