As OSX Fitness enters into the fitness world we have made a commitment to our readers that we will bring the very best interviews to you each and every month. Every issue will contain interviews with some of the best athletes and personalities in the world of fitness, professional sports and amateur sports who are on the cutting edge of their respective sport.

This month OSX Fitness is proud to have Muscular Development Magazines Gregg Valentino. Gregg’s column “The Ramblin Freak” has become the most popular monthly column in Muscular Development Magazines history. Like him or hate him, Gregg really knows bodybuilding and he really knows the ins and outs of the bodybuilding industry. Gregg's column has covered such topics as his Steroid use, his arrest for selling steroids, the death of his girlfriend and the darker side of the bodybuilding world. Gregg has also written about his friendships, his current girlfriend and some of the funniest stories you will ever read. Some may find his column vulgar, crude, offensive and sometimes even tasteless. Personally I find his column raw, passionate, filled with true life experiences and very entertaining. Make no mistake about it, Gregg tells it like it is and he doesn’t sugar coat one word. When I contacted Gregg and asked him for an interview Gregg said “yes” without hesitation. You will learn that Gregg is just that type of guy. So follow me as I go one on one with “The Ramblin Freak” himself, Gregg Valentino.

TBM:: Gregg, everyone over there at Muscular Development Online Magazine seems to really be going crazy on the new message boards that you launched this past month.

GV: I really like talking to the people. Steve Blechman(Editor-in-Chief of Muscular Development Magazine) asked me to post on the message boards, but I don’t agree with a lot of what people put on the boards. Freedom of speech is one thing but you can go to jail for saying things about people. There are consequences for saying things that aren’t true. I mean if you say Brittney Spears is a lesbian but you’re gonna get sued for that. That’s slander and that’s not fair. I think that what happens when you get assholes on there (the message boards) they tear everyone else apart and hijack the threads. I know most of the pros and they won’t come to the message boards because of stuff like that.

TBM: On one of the message threads on the boards, a dispute has developed between Derek Anthony and someone callin himself the True Adonis. It seemed to get really heated between the two to the point that Dave Palumbo (editor of Muscular Development Online) has had to step in. Now both are scheduled to duke it out in January in a boxing ring.  

GV: The True Adonis is an asshole, a real joke.

TBM:When Muscular Development Online started I thought wow this is going to be great especially when I read in the magazine that the writers and the pros were going to be hanging out and answering questions.

GV: Right

TBM: I went to the Muscular Development message boards after they were launched and most of you (the MD writers and pro bodybuilders) were actually there. No one was blowing smoke just to get the fans to your boards. I saw Flexx Wheeler, John Ramano, Dave Palumbo and even Steve Blechman (Editor-in-Cheif of Muscular Developmenr Magazine) in there posting on the boards, yet some of the supposed fans are just pouncing on these guys when they really don’t have to be there.

GV: Let me tell you something... a little known fact. Steve Blechman reads every word posted on that board. Every single word. He knows every single thing that people say. He doesn’t miss one thing, not one word that anyone says.  He reads every word on the board and every word in the magazine. You know what I’m saying? You can not write anything without him reading it. You have no idea how fanatical he is about that.

TBM: Is he really?

GV: He reads Every Single Word from the advertisements to every single word in everyone’s columns. He doesn’t sit back and collect articles. He reads them, every single word. He has an editor who edits most of the magazine and then Steve reads everything. He reads everything in my column. Oh my god, my column is cut up…so cut up.

TBM: Your column?

GV: Yeah, people don’t know that but it is.  You can say that. I don’t care. I have said it before. He edits the shit out of it because of possible lawsuits. That's why I have to watch what I say. Laughs

TBM: Laughing….Do you really?

GV: Still Laughing…I used to rip Arnold a new ass all the time and he won’t print it.

TBM: You were published in November of 2002. I actually went back and went through my old magazines and found your first article. I actually re-read your first article about 3 days ago and once again fell in to a fit of hysterical laughter. You column is honest and passionate and if people don’t read your column they won’t know that about you.

GV: The thing is with my column is that Blechman didn’t higher me to talk about scientific articles. He hired me to entertain people. He hired me to bring a new dimension to the magazine. If you don’t know that doing squats will build big legs and if you don’t know by now that doing curls will build big biceps, then you might as well hang it up.

TBM: Exactly

GV: These pros, without getting into their personal shit, these pros do not always write their own column. Some of the pro's will call it in on a telephone and someone like Ron Harris writes it up.

TBM: I didn’t think so. If you read enough of the magazines and enough articles you can read between the lines you begin to notice that a lot of what you are reading sounds the same.

GV: See I write my own shit. That’s why I write in capitals. I type with one finger.
They came to me I didn’t go to them. They saw an interview I did in another magazine and he(Steve Blechman) liked what he read. He came to me and said that he liked hearing me talk. When I wrote the sample column I told him I couldn’t type. I type with one finger. He said just type it up and I will have somebody else convert it. When he had it in his hand he said, “You know what, I like it. It’s functional. It’s gritty. Keep the caps. I like it the way it is. I like the way some things are misspelled”.
You know I have fat fingers and when you go to hit one key you hit two at the same time.

TBM: Honest to God I love it. That's no BS. When I get my monthly Muscular Development Magazine in the mail, the first thing I read is your column. You column is raw, it’s passionate, you talk about your life, you’re straight up with your fans. By the time I’m done reading your column I am usually on the ground laughing. Your column is the real deal.

GV: Thank You. You know I am proud to say that 2 years ago Ronnie Coleman(Former Mr. Olympia) and his girlfriend, I have been friends with her for years; I knew her way before him. She is a great girl and she is definitely the boss in that relationship. She’ll tell Ronnie “ok it’s time to go” and Ronnie gets up and follows.
Anyway, Ronnie was telling Steve Blechman that his favorite column is my column. I have heard that from a number of people.
Triple H (WWE Superstar) had me doing this movie with his friend called “Muscle Bound USA”.  Triple H was talking with Blechman and said “That Ramblin Freak shit I love it. Everybody can relate to that.”

TBM: That is what’s great about your column. You hold nothing back.

GV: Well, I have been doing this a long time. I started lifting in 1972 when nobody else was doing it. There were no gyms around. I had to go to a YMCA to workout. I have been around a very long time. I’m no new comer. I competed for years. I competed in the AAU long before the NPC was around. I remember back in the day taking protein syrup and protein pills.

TBM: That was some pretty nasty stuff back in those days.

GV: I remember when they came out with amino acids and carbo plex and shit like that. It really has been along time. I am no new comer to this shit.

TBM: Ok let’s get started I’m gonna ask you some questions and we will see where it takes is.

GV: You can ask me anything. I will answer anything. I don’t get offended.

TBM: For those of you that are not familiar with Gregg’s work, he currently has the most popular column in Muscular Development Magazine entitled The Ramblin Freak. How long have you been writing you column?

GV: I think it has been 5 years.

TBM: Now Steve Blechman approached you about writing the column.

GV: What happened was this. I was all ready in the magazines a few times. I had also done a number of online interviews for the internet and MuscleMag (A Bodybuilding magazine) used to put me in their magazine quite frequently. Blechman saw this and he said to Josh Brown, who used to write for Muscular Development. They used to call him the Sandwich, they told him get an interview with Valentino. So this guy calls me up and says “Listen I want to interview you for Muscular Development Magazine.”
I said “Ok” and he started asking me questions. The first thing he asked me was “How big is your dick?”

TBM: Laughing

GV: I went “Yo, dude you’re not from Muscular Development Magazine: He said “I swear to God. I write for them. I want to get you going. To see what you’ll say. Look if you don’t believe me I’ll call Steve Blechman and you can talk to him. I swear I’m Josh Brown, they call me the Sandwich and I write for Muscular Development.”
So I said “F*** it. Ask me anything you want. Go ahead. If this is a prank…I’ll ..aww…. Who gives a shit? Go ahead and let’s do this?”

TBM: No way

GV: Yeah and that’s how we started. He would ask questions like “What do you think of Brittany Spears?”
And I would answer something like” I would wait in line all weak just to smell one of her farts.”
He liked all that crazy shit you know, and before you know it we went back to Blechman.  They called me later on. They said listen we got something and Blechman wants to talk to you. Blechman said “I want to meet with you I think you would be phenomenal writing for us.”
They wanted more than just bodybuilding. They wanted things from a different dimension. They wanted people to come there and laugh. Get some truth. Get a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A potpourri of things and they wanted someone who could deliver that on a regular basis.
So I said “I’ll do it. I‘ll write you a sample column and if you don’t want it F*** me.”
I wrote it he loved it. I will never forget the first thing he said to me “How does your mind think of shit to write each month.”
I said “I don’t know. I just write about shit that’s happened to me.”
That’s how I got the gig. He wanted stuff like my girlfriend beating me with a shoe or something like that. My readers go hey that has happened to me or I know a guy just like that. That gives my readers a connection with me. You know what I’m saying?

TBM: Exactly

GV: And that’s why my column works.

TBM: When you handed Steve Blechmna your first article did he know what he had? Did he go “Wow this is going to be popular?” Did he know this was something special?

GV: He said to me”I see something in you:” He said “John Ramano told me not to hire you. Ramono said this f***ing guys a joke.”
Dave Palumbo was all pissed off. That’s been resolved now but he was pissed. I was making more money than him.

TBM: No way

GV: I stepped into Muscular Development making very good money. I was getting over $$$ per article. I am making way more than that now. Someone like MuscleMag way back when only paid $200-400 per article. Now, I make way over that per article. You see what I’m saying

TBM: Yes, absolutely.

GV: So, I make good money writing. I make enough to make a living off the column alone.

TBM: That’s great.

GV: Let me just say something else. The first column I ever wrote ….ah…. those guys and Romano were totally against me. They said get rid of him. Get rid of him. And now they want to make me part of the radio show. Believe it or not Blechman may have a television show coming.

TBM: Really? Television?

GV: Yeah, and he wants me as the host.  They want me to be the main host of the show.

TBM: Are they talking about it being national syndication?

GV: I don’t even know. He won’t say what the show is about. I don’t even know what networks he has contacted yet. So Blechman does things big. Believe me. He starts small.

TBM: Yeah, he seems to take his time to make sure things are done right and to make sure it’s done correctly.

GV: He’s got the money and the desire. He is involved in every aspect of the business. Like I said before, there isn’t a word printed on our website or in the magazine that Steve hasn’t read. He edits everything. He does everything. He is the man.

TBM: I will usually read Steve’s articles after I have read your column. You know the little snippets in the front of the magazine.

GV: Yep.

TBM: Now you have mentioned earlier that you get a lot of positive feedback from professional athletes in bodybuilding and professional athletes not involved with bodybuilding. What type of feedback does Muscular Development get from it’s readers about your column?

GV: The feedback from the moment I started was positive. There was more positive than negative. Now you’re always going to have that F*** him…he’s just bags of oil or whatever they were saying. He’s no Mr. Olympia. These guys will find faults with anybody. I never understood the Synthol accusations. They say you injected it into your arms. Some magazines even circle your pictures pointing to spots that they claim have Synthol injected.
I did site injections with steroids. I always admitted to doing that. Anybody that knows me from years of training knows the truth. You can ask Dr.Coaker, he has my blood test and he can tell you. Now I did 23 years of natural training and when I took steroids the first time my body responded like a monster. I stuck the steroids right into the muscle. Yes, I did local shots. Yes, I used oil based steroids. So when you stick oil based steroids into the muscle, you are also getting oil into the muscle. So I was getting the one two punch. Now let me tell you oil is oil. Synthol dissipates. If that wasn’t the case then everybody would just inject Synthol and walk around with big arms. You know what I’m saying?

TBM: Exactly

GV: Like the show on the TLC. I had gotten hit in the arm with a baseball bat and had an abscess.

TBM: That was gross.

GV: Listen if you ever saw the video I me draining my own arm. Kevin Levrone stood over a garbage pail going “Gregg I’m gonna throw up”. The video is 45 minutes long.

TBM: Oh my god. 

GV: The f****n needle was bent in my arm like a fish hook

TBM: The video on TLC was pretty nasty.

GV: Nah. You ain’t seen nothing. Listen here’s the spin. I was hit with a bat. That was in the 1990’s. I was hit in the left arm with a baseball bat by my son. I wish I could tell you a story like 30 Crips and Bloods were chasing me and I fought them off and got hit in the arm with a bat. But I can’t. So to tell you the truth I was at my son’s father and Son baseball game and he was the batter. My son swung the bat. The catcher was still bent over so the bat hit me. It hit me hard.

TBM: Ouch

GV: Did you ever see the movie Rocky?

TBM: Of course.

GV: When Rocky went over to his corner and his eye was the size of an apple. And he said “Mick, cut me”. You relieve the area of the blood and that’s what happened. That was all in my video because it was before my girlfriend passed away. My girlfriend passed away September 10th 2000.
Now, I used to drain the area and it would come back. There was a broken blood vessel. And what I had to do was eventually have that broken blood vessel fixed. So they filleted my bicep to fix the blood vessel. I did almost died 20 minutes after that. They were draining my arm of blood. Now I didn’t have to be rushed to the hospital like TLC alluded to. That was a nice little spin that TLC put on there. As a mater of fact later that night I went out to the movies. That was a long time ago.

TBM: Right

GV: I don’t look like that anymore.

Gregg with 28" Biceps

Email me at TheBaldMan@osxfitness.com