Learning From 'The Shadow'

Max Watermeyer Had The Opportunity To Train With The Original Mass Monster Dorian Yates

- Werner Beukes

WHEN MAX WATERMEYER BOUGHT A MUSCLE MAGAZINE IN 1994 THAT HAD A BLOND BODYBUILDER OF BEHEMOTH PROPORTIONS ON THE COVER, HE WOULD NEVER HAVE GUESSED THAT HE WOULD TRAVEL TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD TO MEET THE SAME MAN 23 YEARS LATER.

Upon Max’s return from the United States, Muscle Evolution was eager to find out what he had learned from the world’s first mass monster, six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, a.k.a. The Shadow, who dominated the bodybuilding scene in the ‘90s in a manner similar to how Arnold Schwarzenegger dominated the sport in the ‘70s and Lee Haney did in the ‘80s.

First, tell us more about yourself and your involvement in the gym business?

The year I bought the magazine with Dorian Yates on the cover was the same year I started working as a fitness instructor. Over holidays and weekends I would pack away weights and assist people on the circuits in the gym. In 1998 I got my personal training certificate and later became a personal trainer at the Health & Racquet Club in Krugersdorp. I then worked at Health Connection as service manager before joining Virgin Active as operational manager. It seems as if I have been in and around gyms my whole life!

How would you accurately describe HIT?