JG: Do you think there's any possibility of a bodybuilders' union being formed?

VR: I don't think that's ever going to happen because unlike any other athletes, a lot of these people are very selfish, have low self-esteem and are self-centered. As soon as one person tries to organize a union or strike, you're going to have at least 99 others that are going to oppose it because they only think for themselves. Let's say that all the top athletes were to go on strike during the Mr. Olympia competition, which would put the establishment out of business. You would see the lower end that would find that as an opportunity to overtake the title.

JG: So they wouldn't stand united in that cause, anyway?

VR: No. These people have what I call a “crab mentality.” What that basically means when fisherman catch the fish they put the fish in the bucket and cover it with a lid otherwise they would jump back out into the water. The crabs however, you don’t have to cover up with a lid because if one crab tries to crawl out the others try pulls it back down. The establishments would turn the bodybuilders against each other creating walking zombies. We all know that zombies are mindless that's why the condition of bodybuilding is hopeless. (Vic says jokingly.) And it’s not unusual for bodybuilders to make up vicious lies against each other like a bunch of women gossiping in a hair salon or powder room.

JG: Do you feel that the problem lies more with the individual bodybuilders or with the establishment?

VR: The individual, because if you allow yourself to be used as a doormat, your are going to be stepped on by everyone. You have to understand that no one has the right to make you feel inferior without your consent. What we have right now are people that have low self-esteem, that stand for nothing, and don't question anything. They are constantly smiling and licking the feet of the establishment. They are spoon-fed, they are spoken for, and to be seen and not to be heard from. We have champs that act more like chimps and contenders that are actually pretenders. The whole thing becomes like a circus show where the only person the benefits is the ringmaster.

JG: Let me pose a hypothetical situation to you. Let's say that you were able to attain a position of power within the establishment. What would you do to reform the sport so that it can more closely resemble what you think the sport should be?

VR: I want bodybuilders to be portrayed as human beings not as muscle heads or zoo animals. I want bodybuilders to be presented with the opportunity to display their individual talent and unique personalities. Just like Vince McMahon did with professional wrestling. What we have right now are dysfunctional people that are desperate, insecure, suppressed, and willing to do anything and everything to feed their ego. People can't tell the apples from the oranges anymore, because they are cut from the same cookie cutter. I would give the bodybuilders a forum to introduce themselves to the mainstream as an individual not an object.

You cannot confuse Lennox Lewis with Mike Tyson, or confuse Dennis Rodman with Magic Johnson just because they participate in the same sport. What we have today are generic people, you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. There's no way the sport is ever going to grow. The more that you are able to sell or promote some kind of personality; the better this sport is going to grow. People cannot show their personality [right now]. We have an establishment that has the slave driver mentality where the body is worth more than the soul. People can’t state their opinion without being penalized when competing. When these people have low self-esteem, all they want to do in their lives is build muscle and be an exhibitionist at any cost in order to feed their insecurity. That's not good for the sport. No society will ever accept any cult or sect that compromises the soul and the spirit for the body.

JG: Do you think that bodybuilding can ever achieve the popularity of other professional sports, such as football and basketball? What do you think the sport needs to do to get to that level, if it can?

VR: First of all, I don't think it will equal those sports because of the mentality of the people we're dealing with. We're dealing with the mentality of the slave and the slave master. No slave master is going to release or give up his greatest assets without a fight, and no slave is ever going to be liberated without an uprising. So, what we have today are people in bondage, people that are enslaved even if they don't think they are in enslavement. People that drink vinegar thinking it's wine--this is a very pitiful condition. Some of them will wake up when their time is past and be 50 or 60 years old, and they're still competing. Arnold Schwarzenegger was smart enough to know that the sport didn't have much to offer him, that he had to move to another level, so he stopped competing at a very young age to be who he is today, unlike the rest of the morons that keep competing even when they are 40 or 50 years old waiting for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Arnold was smart enough to know, like a good gambler, when to stay in the game and when to get out.

JG: What do you feel has contributed to your success and longevity in the sport?

VR: First of all I’m doing it for self-improvement not for accolades or been in it for the trophy. It has become a lifestyle, and true bodybuilding is all about lifestyle. It's all about having fun. It's not about the stress it’s about living, and not having strangers look at you in your Speedos. It's about spirituality, stress relief, and ultimate balance toward life in general. I practice what I call “modern bodybuilding,” which I also call “holistic bodybuilding.” I’m not an imitator I’m an innovator. Any herder knows that when you strike the shepherd the sheep will be killed.

JG: Do you feel that the competitive element of bodybuilding is focused on too much? Are you suggesting it should be eradicated completely, or just that it should not be emphasized so much?

VR: It should be eradicated. Bodybuilding as it is now is about death; it has nothing to do with health. Bodybuilding is about life. Bodybuilding is about living in tune with self and life, because if the art of bodybuilding is well applied, the aging process could be slowed down. We could pretty much prevent a lot of diseases, mental and physical. With competitive bodybuilding, a lot of stuff goes on where they have to dehydrate themselves to the point where people collapse, and even lose their life. People have to hook themselves up to an intravenous drug just to achieve maximum muscularity in order to look good for five seconds, or maybe a minute. Their heart has stopped beating and people end up dying. They flush all the minerals out of their body, and they use diuretics for the show. I’ve seen a lot of these bodybuilders look like a muscular Santa Claus with distended stomachs. Gone are the days when small tapered waist were once associated with bodybuilding. We have pretenders that are shooting oil inside their muscle in order to make it appear larger. You can’t tell the real from the fake anymore. I call them the David Copperfield of bodybuilding. Where have all the real bodybuilders gone? Where are all the Franco Columbo’s the Sergio Oliva’s, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, Lee Haney’s, Bertix Fox’s, and Samir Bannout’s? Today’s bodybuilding is not about life it’s about death.

JG: So you feel that a lot of people go into the sport and achieve something completely contrary to the goal of the sport?

VR: Yes. Thank you.

JG: What motivated you to get started in the sport of bodybuilding in the first place?

VR: Actually, I never really wanted to be a bodybuilder when I started. I had the genetics. I had a few friends at the age of fifteen with whom I went to Venice Beach. One of the guys there asked me how long I had been training, and I said I never trained. I've always been a fan of the Incredible Hulk, and I asked in which gym does he train? They told me, "It's only two blocks away at Gold's Gym Venice." I went there looking for the Incredible Hulk, but I actually saw people that were just as big or bigger like Barbarian brothers, Peter and David Paul. That was how I started training. From there, I was given a free membership on the spot.

JG: Are there any commonly asked questions that you would like to answer?

VR: The top two most commonly asked questions are why I do not compete and what are my measurements.

JG: Why don't you compete? I know you tell the famous story of how you won a trophy in a competition, only to have it fall apart on you shortly after.

VR: At the time, when I won the trophy, I said, "Wow. This is not the same feeling I get from true bodybuilding." Competing in shows helped me realize the difference between being a competitive bodybuilder and being a true bodybuilder. Being onstage didn't seem conducive to my spirituality. It felt superficial to me. I felt like a performing animal in a circus with all those eyes on me.

JG: Vic it has been a pleasure to do an interview with you and to get to know you better, and I’m sure your fans will benefit from this interview. Keep up the great work!

VR: Thank you it’s been a pleasure.