Who is Dorian Yates? Where did he come from? We will try to give answers to these and other questions.
Dorian Andrew Menges Yates was born on April 19, 1962 in a remote English village in Staffordshire, the name of which will tell you absolutely nothing. There he happily twisted cows' tails until he was 13 years old. Then - hop! – family drama: father died. A mother with two children (Dorian has a sister) was unable to manage the household. She decides to leave this whole village to hell and move to the city. This is how Dorian Yates first found himself in a big city - Birmingham (from there he got the nickname “The Lion of Birmingham”). After the tedium of the countryside, he liked the city. However, exactly a year later, the mother decided to return to the village.
Dorian Yates and his new life
The fact is that then, as now, income was tight in England. There are a lot of unemployed people, and everyone dreams of somehow settling down in the city. It is clear that without a specialty, Yates’ mother had little prospect of success, so she had to return to a place where she at least had her own roof over her head. And then Dorian rebelled: I don’t want to go! I don’t really know what happened between them, but here’s a fact: at the age of 14 he was left alone in Birmingham. It is clear that from the point of view of his local peers, Dorian Yates was an ordinary rural blockhead. Such “authority” promised little good for Yatsu, so he had to go through the inevitable school of survival. From which he was not the last student, judging by the numerous reports to the police.
Body-building? This is a special world where many things are upside down from the point of view of ordinary people. They say: “What a boar!” These words are just pleasant to me.
Dorian Yates
Birmingham is a purely proletarian city with its own established way of life. In essence, it comes down to one thing - massacre. While drunk, but often without it. That's why Yates's first acquaintance with the number one English sport took place quite naturally. On the second day of walking around the city, someone, right in the middle of the street, for no apparent reason, stuck a well-placed uppercut in his eye. It is known that England is the birthplace of boxing, but Dorian Yates decided to defend himself with something more powerful. It is unknown how he earned money and enrolled in a contact karate school. That's when he started buying bodybuilding magazines to get heavier. Street fights revealed to him a simple truth: in a fight you don’t need sophisticated technique, 3-4 practiced blows multiplied by a solid “mass” are enough. So gradually the proportion of Yates’s sports activities began to shift towards bodybuilding.
Biography of Dorian Yates
Yates was born on April 19, 1962 in Sutton, England. His mother was an equestrian instructor, he lost his father at the age of 13, he died of a heart attack. After which he and his mother and sister moved to Birmingham. As a teenager, Dorian got into a bad situation.At the age of 19, while not sober, he broke a store window with friends and stole a suit worth £1,000. After which the police detained them and Yates was sent to prison (correctional colony) for half a year. There he started lifting weights.
After leaving prison, Dorian decided to give up his past; he went to work first at a dry cleaner, then as a builder. At the same time, Yates became interested in the sport of bodybuilding and began training, he collected a lot of literature, studied it and trained, his wife was not very happy with his hobby. In 1985, Dorian placed seventh among amateurs at the World Games, and in 1991, he placed second at Mr. Olympia, the same year he got married. First place was then taken by the famous bodybuilder Lee Haney, who won this title 8 times since 1984.
In 1997, Dorian Yates was injured (tore his triceps muscle) and left this sport (bodybuilding).
In one interview, Yates said his opinion about the drug synthol - that he does not respect those athletes who take it, because this is not the kind of bodybuilding that actually exists, this drug can be compared to silicone implants for women.
Yates currently lives in England - Womley, Sutton Coldfield, with his wife and two children.
Yates' victories:
Mr. Olympia, Long Beach, California 1997, 1st place English Grand Prix, Nottingham 1996, 1st place German Grand Prix, Darmstadt 1996, 1st place Spanish Grand Prix, Madrid 1996, 1st place Mr. Olympia, Chicago, Illinois 1996, 1st place Mr. Olympia, Atlanta, Georgia 1995, 1st place English Grand Prix, Nottingham 1994, 1st place German Grand Prix, Duisburg 1994, 1st place Spanish Grand Prix, Madrid 1994, 1st place Mr. Olympia, Atlanta, Georgia 1994, 1st place Mr. Olympia, Atlanta, Georgia 1993, 1st place English Grand Prix, Nottingham 1992, 1st place Mr. Olympia, Helsinki, Finland 1992, 1st place English Grand Prix, Nottingham 1991, 1st place Mr. Olympia, Orlando, Florida 1991, 2nd place Night Of The Champions, New York 1991, 1st place Night Of The Champions, New York 1990, 2nd place
Biographies of other bodybuilders :
- Biography of Dexter Jackson
- Biography of Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Biography of Jay Cutler
- Biography of Ronnie Coleman
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Yates system
From all sorts of sophisticated textbooks, Yates gained the fair confidence that the basis of any business is the System. And if so, then you need to start mastering bodybuilding by mastering its system, i.e. from studying the methodology. So first Dorian decided to dig up information. And only after he had a clear idea in his head, or rather, a promising training plan, did he move to the gym. Well, then Yates’s famous life rule “Follow any System systematically!” From the outside, Dorian Yates the Bodybuilder appears to be something of a tightly programmed robot. He does everything amazingly systematically: he trains according to plan, rests according to plan, eats according to plan. However, this is not his real secret. The main thing is that Dorian Yates does nothing mindlessly.
He once thought this way: muscle stress causes muscles to grow. But where there is stress, there is overstrain. Well, where there is overexertion, there is overtraining and stagnation of performance. It turns out that you need to train in such a way as to prevent muscle overstrain under stress! This simple logic led Yates to a completely innovative method of infrequent and short-term training that remains super-intense through the use of super-heavy weights.
Yates's success
However, I digress. The Yates system is a topic for a separate discussion. After a couple of years of serious training, Dorian Yates took part in his first competition. It was there in England, in 1985. When he walked on stage, the audience roared and jumped out of their seats. The fans screamed and whistled, and this simple reaction almost deprived Yates of victory. At first he didn’t understand what was going on and began to look around himself in dismay. He decided that in the confusion he went on stage without swimming trunks! Behind the scenes, bigwigs from the English National Bodybuilding Federation immediately jumped up to him and began to find out who he was and where he was from.
Dorian Yates replied that he was a beginner and had been training for only two years. They clapped him on the shoulders with laughter: they say, don’t fool us, guy, this doesn’t happen! Immediately, behind the scenes, there was an invitation to join the English team at the World Games, which were to take place in London exactly a week later. Out of 13 opponents, he beat six and took 7th place. In 1986, Dorian Yates won first place in his category at the annual English Championships.
Then he was seriously injured and missed 1987. In 1988, he won the title of absolute champion of Great Britain, a professional card according to IFBB rules, and immediately took aim at the professional tournament “Night of Champions-90”. Preparation took Yates no less than a year and a half. And every day was subordinated to one goal - to win! But Yatsu’s victory was not given here. He finished second behind Mohammed Benaziz. Disappointment? To tell the truth, yes. But it only added fuel to the fire. For another year, Dorian Yates trains fanatically and again reaches the same podium. This time he is the winner!
Dorian Yates
In the history of bodybuilding there is a truly outstanding personality who proved that perseverance and strong-willed character will allow one to achieve impressive heights. We are talking about the English bodybuilder Dorian Andrew Menges Yates.
Dorian was born on April 19, 1962 near the city of Birmingham in the village of Staffordshire. Until the age of thirteen, he lived with his parents and sister in his hometown, until his father died of a heart attack. A year after his death, he, his sister and mother moved to Birmingham, where another tragedy occurred. The man who wanted to start a family with Yats's mother died before their wedding. This incident caused his mother to return back to Staffordshire, but Dorian decided to stay in the city. It is there that the future champion will spend the next 16 years.
This period of life was difficult for Dorian. He became a skinhead, took part in fights, and led a corresponding lifestyle. To pay all the bills, he worked hard in different areas. There was a period when he even worked part-time at a slaughterhouse.
At the age of 19, Yates was arrested because he participated in riots. The court sentenced him to six months in the UK's Wotton Correctional Centre. Young people under the age of 21 were detained there. At that time, many prisoners trained in the gym at the center. And Yates was no exception, which greatly influenced his entire future fate.
In a short time, Dorian, thanks to his strength and adaptability, was able to earn a good reputation and the respect of others. While imprisoned, Dorian seriously thought about the future. The prospect of being imprisoned for the rest of his life was unlikely to attract the young guy, so he decided that he would be done with crime once and for all. He made a promise to himself to never go to prison again, which he kept.
After his release, Yates continued his training in a local basement gym. I compiled the courses myself. And at the age of 21 he became a competitor for the first time.
Already in 1986, Dorian took first place in the 100+ category at the British Championships. This is truly impressive, since at such a young age not many people managed to have muscle mass of more than one hundred kilograms. His success at the age of 21 in competitions is no less significant.
Gradually, bodybuilding fascinated Yates as much as possible. In addition to hard training, he began to study all available information on this sport. He studied many books and magazines. Thanks to new knowledge, training became more effective, he began to approach the issue of nutrition more carefully, choosing the most suitable diet for his body. As a result, muscle mass gain was even faster.
In 1987, Dorian purchased a small training room. At this time he received a serious injury - the femoral muscle was torn. Because of this, training had to be stopped for a long time, but this did not stop Yates. After a full recovery, he began training with even greater persistence in order to catch up and gain back the kilograms that were lost during the break.
Already in 1990, Dorian performed in New York. There, at the Night of Champions tournament, he took second place. Thanks to this, the athlete got the opportunity to compete in professional tournaments, receiving a PRO card. A year later he performed at Olympia. Here he also took second place. But this did not stop him and added motivation for intense training. The goal he set for himself was to win the same tournament a year later and he successfully achieved it.
It was in 1992 that Yates won the Olympia for the first time. This shocked many athletes and fans of the sport. But a year later, an even greater shock occurred in the world of bodybuilding. The judges watching the decisive round were extremely surprised, and the audience was simply numb when Dorian appeared on stage along with everyone else. At that time, the athlete’s muscles reached a weight of 124 kilograms. Combined with his height of more than 180 centimeters, he gave the impression of a real giant. Everyone immediately realized that he was the winner, and the rest of the participants would only fight for second place.
The next two years became difficult, as they brought a number of serious injuries. First there was a rupture in the right biceps. Then in 1995 there was a tear in the quadriceps. But Dorian did not stop training. During classes, Yates' partners tied him to a bench and placed huge weights on his hands. At these moments the pain was simply terrifying. But success was much more important. Thanks to perseverance and long training, Yates was always confident of his victory.
For the next five years, Dorian did not give his opponents a single chance. Some of them were driven to hysterics. Others talked about stopping their activities. But as Yates himself said, his activities were not limited to winning the Olympia. He considered his achievements the result of a professional approach, constant development and improvement. With the same success, he could have reached the top in any other field.
Olympia, which Yates took part in for the last time, was the most memorable. Literally three months before the competition, he tore a small ligament in his right thigh. Because of this, leg training stopped for more than a month. And three weeks before the competition, the left triceps ligament was torn. The doctor said that the ligament was held on almost by a thin thread, since it was torn off three-quarters from the bone. The athlete's hand was incapacitated. In addition to the injury, there was a huge bruise that extended to the wrist. Yates could not grasp the bar or even just clench his hand into a fist.
Due to current circumstances, Dorian had to miss the upcoming Olympia. He could not afford this, because he believed that at that time there were no worthy opponents who could receive his title. That is why he did not become an observer in the hall, but decided to fight to the end.
The resulting injuries caused severe pain, which could not be relieved by painkillers alone. As Yates himself recalled, even trying to simply bend his arm, he felt terrible pain.
During the tournament, he posed, mainly turning his right side towards the audience, since all the injuries were on the left. But despite all the difficulties and pain, he received the highest title score, which appreciated his strong-willed character.
Dorian Yates at Olympia
In September of the same 1991, the time for Olympia came. The very one on which Lee Hannay hoped to crown himself with an unprecedented eighth victory. Dorian was confident that he could defeat the winner, Schwarzenegger! After the comparative round, Dorian's forecast, it would seem. confirmed. Believe it or not, the judges rated Yates's musculature higher than Lee Hannay's! But when the free posing began... Of course, Hannay was an unsurpassed master. Experience is experience – with a sigh, Yatsu had to admit this old truth.
Now Yates has lost a little weight
Each new Olympia makes me nervous. It is one thing to become the best at any other IFBB tournament and quite another to win at Olympia. This is not what is meant here at all - you need to become the best of the best, in other words, the best on the entire planet. Every time I ask myself: “Dorian, are you sure that you are the best bodybuilder on earth?” I think and answer myself: “Someone must be the best. Well, if so, then let me be the best..."
Dorian Yates
In short, he came second. Also a kind of sensation, right? However, Dorian became depressed. After all, at Olympia there is only one place - first, and all the rest are listed as losers. He would not be himself if he remained in melancholy for a long time. A couple of days later we saw him again in his gym, where, as if nothing had happened, he cheerfully lifted a heavy barbell. The following year, in Helsinki, he won his first Olympic title.
Dorian Yates
Date of birth - April 19, 1962 Citizenship - Great Britain Official website - dynutrition.com
Name spelling options - Dorian Yates Nicknames - Shadow, Birmingham Lion
Anthropometric data
: Height - 178 cm. Competition weight - 121 kg. Off-season weight: 131 kg. Biceps - 54 cm. Chest - 148 cm. Waist - 86 cm. Thigh - 81 cm. Shin - 56 cm.
Achievements
: six-time Mr. Olympia
The story of Dorian Yates is the story of how a difficult teenager, a skinhead and a criminal, through the right thoughts and sports, became one of the greatest bodybuilders in history.
And got rich, oh yeah. An Englishman, a native of the village of Heli near Birmingham, Dorian is left without a father at the age of 13. A boy with a strong character lost a man’s hand in his upbringing, which affected his future path. Yates's mother, an equestrian instructor, tried to rectify the situation, but she had catastrophic luck with men. Shortly before the wedding, her new chosen one died. Not finding her happiness in Birmingham, after the tragedy she experienced, the woman returns to her native Heli, leaving her son in the city. It was his decision, the city dragged the teenager into a gang of skinheads. At that time, Dorian’s portrait looked appropriate: shaved head, worn jeans with suspenders, boots - all the informal attributes of the subculture were present. However, Dorian worked and paid the bills himself. One of his places of work, for example, was a slaughterhouse.
That was until Yates was taken to the police station for a brawl in one of the riots. Fortunately, he was not yet twenty-one years old (the age of majority in England), so Dorian ended up in the Wotton Correctional Youth Center, as they say, “as a juvenile.” 6 months - and that's lucky, no joke. In the colony, Yates became hooked on sports and immediately earned himself a certain reputation among the other 300 male prisoners.
"Sitting" on the bunks
, the young criminal began to think about life and where the crooked path would lead next time. Hanging around prisons did not “smile” at all for him. Once he made his decision, Yates never stumbled again.
This is how one of the best fighters who fought under the IFBB flag began his journey
.
Dorian Yates: first steps in bodybuilding. World fame. 6 Sandovs
After being released from custody, Dorian turned seriously to sports - he found a small basement gym with exercise equipment within his means, and began training. And already at 21 (two years after his arrest) he took part in the first competitions in his life. In 1986, Yates won the British Heavyweight Championship. In 1987, he already had his own gym, bought with sports and prize money.
In the same year, a misfortune befalls the athlete - a rupture of the femoral muscle and inevitable surgery. But this “trifle” only slowed down the progress of the “machine”. Having recovered, Yates leaves for the USA, to New York, to take part in the “Night of Champions” 1990. Having received prof. status, the giant begins the assault on Olympia and immediately leaves the stage second, losing only to the legendary Haney. The following year was victorious for him, the first of six Sandow statuettes was received.
From 1991 to 1997, the era of Dorian Yates began on the Olympia stage
“The Lion of Birmingham,” as he was called, was the largest bodybuilder of his time, making his opponents look small next to Yatz.
Yates's career ended due to injury: the athlete tore his triceps brachii muscle. This happened just three weeks before the competition, but did not stop the athlete - he did not cancel his participation in the tournament, took first place, but was still forced to stop competitive activities in the future. The six-time Mr. Olympia now lives in Spain, married for the second time (to fellow sports bodybuilder Gal Ferreira). From his first marriage, Dorian has two sons, one of whom, Lewis, followed in his father’s footsteps and took up bodybuilding. He has every chance to succeed, because Lewis Sr. is trained by Yates Sr. himself.
Co-authored with Peter Mac Goach (editor of Flex
) Dorian Yates wrote the book “The Story of a Fighter,” in which he shared with readers in detail all the key moments of his formation as a world bodybuilding star. In the Russian version, the book was called “Stunning Arbitrators.” Like many winning athletes, “Shadow” produces a line of sports nutrition under its own name - “DY nutrition”.
Dorian Yates: performance history
| Competition | Place |
| Mr. Olympia 1997 | 1 |
| Grand Prix England 1996 | 1 |
| Grand Prix Germany 1996 | 1 |
| Grand Prix Spain 1996 | 1 |
| Mr. Olympia 1996 | 1 |
| Mr Olympia 1995 | 1 |
| Grand Prix England 1994 | 1 |
| Grand Prix Germany 1994 | 1 |
| Grand Prix Spain 1994 | 1 |
| Mr Olympia 1994 | 1 |
| Mr. Olympia 1993 | 1 |
| Mr. Olympia 1992 | 1 |
| Grand Prix England 1992 | 1 |
| Grand Prix England 1991 | 1 |
| Mr. Olympia 1991 | 2 |
| Night of Champions 1991 | 1 |
| Night of Champions 1990 | 2 |
Autobiography of Dorian Yates
| Portrait of Dorian Yates. The story of a fighter. | Look |
