The Worst Genetics in Bodybuilding 

Rich Gaspari should definitely be in the video as well. The guy had terrible muscle insertions and structure for bodybuilding but still managed to place 2nd place at the Olympia.

This dude really said Franco Columbo had bad genetics

One thing I love about bodybuilding is seeing all the different genetics and what guys are able to do with what they were given. Discussing what looks 'good' or 'bad' almost always turns into an argument on subjectivity rather than objectivity, making the sport of bodybuilding quite strange sometimes.

In his later competitions, Franco looked like he had 2 chests, one over the other. His abs and obliques were also well defined. And of course, the "cobra head" back.

I saw Franco in the 70s, and his arms weren't bad when you saw him in person. Dickerson never impressed me when I saw him compete, and I stood next to Zane when he handed me my trophy, and he was small. This was in 1978.

Another awesome video thank you for sharing ❤️

Marx Max I love your videos and your unique sense of humour. You are a natural by any stretch. Thank you for sharing and Keep up your great work. Lots love from Australia 🇦🇺 ❤️ Down Under the 🍺

Don't get it twisted, these "bad" genetics pros have much better genetics than the average guy in the gym.

Never thought Franco had bad genetics

It was those short muscle bellies and long tendons that made Franco the strong man he was to become. Fred Hatfield, Dr Squat, had the same development, especially in his legs.

Bloody hell, I watched this and thought I wish I had genetics that bad.

Yo my man great great analysis . Im really seeing what you guys are seeing as a body builder.

cool video- loved it! thanks Mark!!!!!!!

The thing about Franco is..his torso was one of the best ever!! But legs and arms lacking. But his legs in 76 has decent separations..but he never flexed them!

i love videos about genetics please make way more videos on this topic

Mike Katz should be on this list

Day 394 of saying hi to Marx!

Great video topic!

Not sure what to think about this one MMM. I thought it would have the Atwoods, Gasparis, Jim Quinns, Pacos, Dickersons, Flavios, Kevin Englishs, and things of that nature. Porter actually had rounded, pretty delts and at one point superb ab separation. Weak triceps and calves of course but he had a good structure in my eyes. When he was still amateur they’d paint him as a Steve Reeves or Bob Paris.

Hey Marx you think you could do a video on John Hnatyschak and tell us what you think.

I would say you're wrong bout Franco chest. Columbo had by far the best upper chest in the history of bodybuilding.... that to me counts for something

6:30 The guy you're comparing 'Paco' Bautista with is Jaroslav Horvath (from Slovakia just like Krizo) who placed 4th at Mr.O 2011 in 202-212 category. A quite aesthetic bodybuilder - reminds me of a smaller Milos Sarcev.

Franco Columbu was Sardinian, in there the average has always been shorter than the rest 😅 i'm Sardinian as well..his genetics were huge, he was a freak of pure strenght even before doing bodybuilding...he was just short 😂

Franco Columbu is not a great example of bad genetics, you have to reevaluate your sight of view, cause say that a Mr.Olympia has bad genetics... Is not being in his right mind

Dude, Franco Columbu had the best built chest in bodybuilding history. He had a split that separated the upper pecs from the lower pecs that even today you don’t really see in modern bodybuilders. Plus he had wide thick pecs and benched around 500. It was his height that was the main factor.

Did you just say Franko doesn't have a chest what?...

Robbie Robinson , Samir Bannout, Lee Priest, Phil Heath, Flex Wheeler, Kai Green. These are gifted bodies!

Good point because dont like Nick Walker's physique flow, but I do appreciate the muscle dryness, separation and ability to enhance what he has.

Great video.👍👍👍👍

I would also place Jim Quinn in this list. His obliques made his waist look very wide. His calves weren't too great either.

Just work with whatever you got. Embrace the grind, because in the end that's all there is.

When you say on the wheels what are you referring to?

The late great legend and first Mr.Olympia Larry Scott was another. He himself admitted he had "wide hips, narrow shoulders,short and just a scrawny spud picker from Idaho."....(How can you not love Larry?) That is why he went all out on developing his delts, to give the illusion of width. Of course those famous guns helped draw attention but he also claimed Vince Gironda teaching him how to pose, greatly helped showing off his strong points and hiding his flaws. ...(very important) If you notice, even in picture's most of Larry's camera angles come from down to up and he is constantly tilting, turning or twisting his waist while drawing attention to his arms. Note, how much Arnold did this as well. A well selected posing routine can do wonders.

While I agree Franco doesn’t have the best genetics for a Mr. O, it’s for different reasons. Franco’s chest was a strength, not a weakness. He did have short biceps, but as long as you have heart-shaped split peaks, you can get away with it. He was stockier with his wide waste for his height … that is true. But his glaring weakness was lack of separation in his thighs. Very genetic. Surprised Dorian was not on the list. He openly talks about his genetic short comings. Chest and arms specifically.

Paco had one of the best arms and legs ever, he reminds me a bit of Nick walker

franco getting the mr o win in 1981 was a travesty

Dave Palumbo is a bodybuilding guru because he achieved mass monster status with long distance runner genetics. That's why he is a successful trainer and supps retailer. Bodybuilders be like, "If that wimp can make it, I can only do better using his know how". Watch the waist line and his force feeding regiment though..

Most guys when asked always respond that they would love to have Zane's physique

I have bad genetics but still tanned up and competed and stepped on stage, 2nd place in my first competition. The discipline and art of dieting is what appealed to me. Strength sports was my forte, I was built for strength but aspired for aesthetics....

Thanks for this video. Never really noticed Paco but now that I see him...that's what my frame looks like. Argh. We are like meso endomorphs if u believe in that sorta thing. We can get big and strong without taking anything but we'll never be thin and slim.

Frank Zane should be on this list, great structure, but I consider him to be a hard-gainer, an ectomorph. He was just unable to pack on enormous muscles like most other bodybuilding legends. Richard Gaspari also.

tbh I like Franco's physique waaay better than Frank Zane's. He looks thicker and more powerful. In terms of raw athleticism, Franco could have a pretty good argument for best of his era. I'm a big Franco fan so I'm probs a bit bias.

Big Lenny has the best genetics I've ever seen. For this list.

I'd like to see amongst the natural body builders who is actually genetically gifted and who is not. You can't really see that well with heavy steroids users, because it's a kind of leveller. With natural ones you either have it, or you haven't. Simple.

Porter Cottrell had bad aesthetics? That's actually kind of shocking to me. I thought he had fantastic lines.

Did you find out if krizo is hurt and if he's coming back 🤔

Best genetics ever was Shawn Ray, then Flex Wheeler, then weirdly Andrew Jacked. Those tie-ins are perfect. The way the lines all meet up

2nd from the left mogs them all in all levels, name of the guy?

Umm Franco's chest was ridiculous tho

@5:20 I know its unrelated to the video. And however you may feel about him, Shawn Ray looked incredible in that front relaxed pose. That mid section is chiseled.

who was the guy at the beginning?

Would Flex wheeler vs Chris bumstead be a good match up? Would love to hear ur “food for thought “ on it*

Paco's legs were phenomenal

I always thought Franco had great genetics besides his height

Great vid Mark!!!!!! Yep you can have great genetics in one area and not in other areas. When someone has multiple genetic advantages in numerous areas they rise to the top. Like Ronnie, great ability to put on head to toe mass, great ability for conditioning, and imo great aesthetics all together, the Quan

Best Genetics of all time = Danny Padilla. Zero weaknesses when he was peaked. He looks like Arnold with the long legs sawed off and his legs were more fully developed. Next would be Lee Priest. But in the tall men's cat. Arnold is the best.

Franko Columbo owns everything to Arnold and joe weider fixing the contests.Franko was 5 ft. 5 inches tall with bebe biceps

Don't mean to be heretical here but Arnold did have some genetic/structural disadvantages that he had to overcome. One was his somewhat narrow and droopy shoulders. If you look at him standing relaxed in a line up that becomes apparent. Of course his other features more than made up for that deficit.

Oliva either didn't flex properly or he had to diet more

Sorry Marx, I'm disliking this video. You've worked hard making it and packed in masses of detail, and I'm taking nothing away from that. The great work and sculpting done over years to achieve perfect or near perfect proportions and symmetry eg Arnold, Zane, Oliva, Serge Nubret and others, is totally undermined by the sweeping generalisation 'Oh they had great genetics'. By the same token, looking at guys who didn't make the top tier, and concluding that "they had bad genetics" is an easy cop out. The whole point of proper bodybuilding for each individual, is too not just take advantage of the parts which develop easily, but to also identify those parts which naturally lag behind, and work harder on those areas to avoid imbalance. Basically, if genetic shortcomings are still evident in the finished article, that shows the effort put in, in the gym, was not allocated to the best effect.

Arnold looks closer to 6 ft . Maybe 6 ft 1 inches tall. Why is everyone saying he is 6ft 2, I've even heard 6 3

Patrick Moore and Hubert Mentz are built very similar, Patrick has ridiculously long limbs

This video makes me feel better about my genetics 😂

Tom platz said : I will not be a victim of my genetics

Is jerry smith narrating?

6:50 That double gyno

What about Greg Kovacs?

Him calling the gyno a “fig newton” had me in tears 😂😂😂😂

Arnold had long legs and short torso but he had great genetics

I never really thought of Porter having bad genetics. Unfortunately his competition was unworldly.

If Hubert had gotten a haircut his shoulders would have looked about 4 inches wider.

It seems harsh on Porter especially when you give Warren a pass. Porter had a pretty good aesthetic physique by comparison. Even Arnold commented on Francos seemingly lack of potential ("bow legged") but in his best form, he didn't have a lot of weak points. Funny thing about genetics, you never know how good or bad they are unless you try.

I think bodybuilders success is determined by, in order of importance; 1. Hard work in gym 2. Steroids 3. Genetics

Larry Scott had a narrow shoulder width, wide waist, short legs with so-so calves.

This vid just proves biased not overcoming

Porter Cottrell is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

First dude looks like Steven segal if he tries bodybuilding

Franko Columbu not only had an incredible strong, indeed he was an international powerlifter and bodybuilder, he also had an incredible chest splitted in 4 parts during his posing, he nickname was "THE BAT" cause is back was broad as the wings of a bat. This man lift cars, he inflated and exploded hot water bottles. I think you don't know anything about Franko, and you judge him by his height. No offense but ridiculous video.

Franco Columbo 👊😉 My favorite. Its just which picture you take.

I knew Branch would be on here . Dude looked like Crazy Frog on juice .

I don't know how you can possibly say that Franco columbo had bad genetics. The guy was a freak, so what if he was 5 foot three he was extremely strong, and when he was in shape, he looked as good as any man's just that standing next to him, he didn't look that great, but bad genetics. I wish I had such a bad genetics.

Hubert Metz German Legend✌🏼

5:23 Look at Shawn's mid section .... Just ridiculous . Looks like a Fitness competitor , while still packing mass .

the rooster deserves an honourable mention

Dave Palumbo should be on this list. He had freaky size, conditioning and vascularity but not the best structure.

8:49, "Iron" Mike Kefalianos, from Greece! He won Mr. Europe 2012, competed at the Olympia a handful of times, as well the Arnold, and the European renditions of both these 2 major shows. Competed a lot alongside Johnnie Jackson (who is shown right after Mike). He also competed at the Masters Olympia, the year that Dexter won (2012). I think he took 6th right behind Ronny Rockel who took 5th, but he did manage to beat Darrem Charles, Troy Alves and Bill Willmore. Really solid physique, during his prime he was known for coming in shredded with some awesome cuts, and he also had great shoulders, and was above average overall (at least in my opinion, which is probably a bit biased). Not bad genetics at all, he was just a shorter/smaller guy, and also he reached his competitve peak (not in terms of physique but placings and showings) around 40+, and age had already starting to show, although I think he did a good job managing that while still competing well until his late 40's, in 2018 when he decided to retire.

BB youtubers be like: "No disrespect to athleates but...." Also BB youtubers: " *Worst genetics ever* !!!!!"

Off the top. Boyer Coe ,Mike Mentzer, Danny Tinerino (?). I think these guys had to work twice as hard just to place. Franco was just short. Danny Padilla too. They had all the hallmark attributes except height.

Love your accent, Newfoundland?

All this video does for me it's prove how empty a statement "bad genetics" is. You see any of these "bad genetics" people on the street or in your gym and they're the best looking/strongest dude around/in there. Average Joes will be saying all these dudes have GREAT genetics and have 1000 questions for them on how to hopefully one day look as GOOD as them. IMO... the whole "genetics" excuse is just that. Any fucking dude or chick will look like a million bucks if they just eat properly and workout consistently/religiously... fact. I'd say the only "bad genetics" people in this video was the dude intro Pic and then the dude with oddly proportioned body with comically long legs compared to how short his torso was. And that's only "bad" because he looks like he was pieced together with spare parts by God. But with that spare parts body...... he still packed on muscle, ate properly and got lean (and had "pharmaceutical" help) to look like a million bucks. As for that intro guy - I'm hoping that's photshop. If not it looks like that's what happens when you rely entirely on drugs for too long to maintain your physique. If that is a real Pic I'm willing to bet he looked normal and insanely better pre steroids it at least early on in his steroids taking life. That's got to be photoshop though.

Phil Heath had freakishly long legs and a short torso too. Great 3D effect, but his muscles looked soft like he was a filled up water balloon sculpture

I don’t understand the “this is before they had GH’s”?? Like guys now don’t have all the same issues as 1970’s era? Makes no sense that comment. CBuM has a Billion$ & has been working on Arms for nearly a decade. There’s no magic, never was.😮for some inexperienced guys.

Look at the fig Newton's on Paco 😂

I think there’s a difference between bad genetics and those who are not working toward symmetry.

Mark, please compare Nick Walker and Mike Francois.

Johnie Jackson had some good legs when he was younger. So probably some injuries.

Back then Franco there was tall and short classes!

Franco Columbu Actually Had Better Genetics Then Arnold More Muscle Separation,Smaller Waist,More Proportionate. He Didn't Have A Wide Waist IDK WTF You've Been Smoking And Drinking 😂. His Arms Peaked Up High Like Arnold's His Arms Weren't Long Insertions Like Sergio Olivas Arms. His Only Disadvantage Was His Height Structure Was Good.

I have to say that Dave Palumbo had horrible genetics but he trained hard and has a ton of knowledge about diet, training and using gear and how it affects the body.

Dave Freakin' Palumbo!