AAU Bodybuilding Competitions

[heady muscle]

Does the AAU still have bodybuilding competitions? I remember going to their shows in Northern Cal in the mid to late eighties and seeing Ed Corney there and their star amateur was Will Willis. You had Mike Dayton hanging himself. For a teenager, it was a blast. I never competed in the AAU, always NPC but those shows were fun.

Anybody remember those days?

 

[MrSF89]

Does the AAU still have bodybuilding competitions? I remember going to their shows in Northern Cal in the mid to late eighties and seeing Ed Corney there and their star amateur was Will Willis. You had Mike Dayton hanging himself. For a teenager, it was a blast. I never competed in the AAU, always NPC but those shows were fun.

Anybody remember those days?

Hi there, this is James Cappello. I actually stumbled across this site doing a Google search for Mike Dayton and AAU Bodybuilding. Those were indeed the days. Not only was it great to see Ed Corney at the shows- but it was an honor being judged by him and getting to know him. There was a camaraderie among Nor Cal AAU bodybuilding community- athletes and judges alike. I remember Will Willis as well and his double bi doing the splits. Very flexible and agile. I didn't do my first AAU show until 1988- the Mr. Fremont show, so never got a chance to see Mike Dayton and some of his feats of strength- but he was a very good guy and was always very nice to me and treated me very fairly. I remember offering to guest pose at the Mr. San Mateo in 1989 after winning the show in 1988. I really wanted to guest pose just to stay sharp before some up 'n' coming bigger shows and practice a new posing routine. I had a pretty cool routine -posing as the "American" Ivan Drago with an American flag, boxing gloves, robe and tear off "Apollo Creed" shorts. After the routine, Mike cut me a check- a nice sum for a 22 year old full time student and bodybuilder- and thanked me for providing some entertainment. You're right, those shows were fun.

 

[heady muscle]

Hi there, this is James Cappello. I actually stumbled across this site doing a Google search for Mike Dayton and AAU Bodybuilding. Those were indeed the days. Not only was it great to see Ed Corney at the shows- but it was an honor being judged by him and getting to know him. There was a camaraderie among Nor Cal AAU bodybuilding community- athletes and judges alike. I remember Will Willis as well and his double bi doing the splits. Very flexible and agile. I didn't do my first AAU show until 1988- the Mr. Fremont show, so never got a chance to see Mike Dayton and some of his feats of strength- but he was a very good guy and was always very nice to me and treated me very fairly. I remember offering to guest pose at the Mr. San Mateo in 1989 after winning the show in 1988. I really wanted to guest pose just to stay sharp before some up 'n' coming bigger shows and practice a new posing routine. I had a pretty cool routine -posing as the "American" Ivan Drago with an American flag, boxing gloves, robe and tear off "Apollo Creed" shorts. After the routine, Mike cut me a check- a nice sum for a 22 year old full time student and bodybuilder- and thanked me for providing some entertainment. You're right, those shows were fun.

We must have crossed paths. By 88' I was competing NPC shows. I would often speak to WIll Willis back then for pointers. He was kind of a mentor. In 84, those guys all really took me under the wings. Corney, Draper, Willis and Dayton. Man, we had some fun. For a young kid, I couldn't ask for a better group to be around. There was another guy, a big heavy set black guy. I am blanking on his name. Something Grizzly Brown. He would do some crazy feats of strength. I am glad you found this thread. Welcome!

 

[heady muscle]

Here it is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_"Grizzly"_Brown

This guy was a gentle giant for sure. I have a picture with him somewhere. I will ask my Mother if she has it. Bummer to find out he passed so young.