Welcome! You are reading Books & Biceps #294.

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BREAKING NEWS:

As I was writing this newsletter, John Cena posted his personal endorsement of Macho Man on Twitter to his 14 MILLION fans and it’s awesome.

As you can imagine, having one of the top wrestling stars of all-time praise your book on a wrestling icon is as good as it gets.

If you were on the fence about buying Macho, what can I say? Simply listen to the 16x WWE Champion and Fast & Furious star and grab your copy.

As he states, “now is the perfect time to dive into the life of one of the most impactful WWE stars of all time!”

BOOKS

A few years ago one of my fellow authors put out a book with what I believe to be a Top 10 All-Time book cover:

Look at that cover! Turning a 1986 pack of Topps baseball cards into a book about a road trip looking for the players in a pack of cards is genius. Bonus: the book, The Wax Pack, written by Brad Balukjian, is an excellent read.

I interviewed Brad about Wax Pack when it came out and we’ve stayed in touch through the years… And then, last year, we both announced different wrestling books that would be released on THE SAME DAY: April 2nd, 2024.

Like the Wax Pack, Brad’s new book, The Six Pack: On the Open Road in Search of WrestleMania, is another road trip/memoir, only this time, instead of looking for players in a random pack of Topps cards, he goes in search of his heroes from WrestleMania I, beginning with the Iron Sheik.

For the past three weeks, Brad and I have been crisscrossing each other’s paths on the book promotion tour, often doing the same shows and even recording several podcasts one after the other - which has worked perfectly from a wrestling fan and book fan standpoint because our books cover completely different ground.

Macho Man barely appears in The Six Pack and WrestleMania I isn’t in my Macho Man biography because Savage’s first WrestleMania was WrestleMania III.

I personally loved Brad’s book, but what many of the interviewers have said is that the books really complement each other, with Six Pack telling the tale of WrestleMania I and Macho Man following his rise after WrestleMania III bringing us into the Attitude Era.

I agree with this take and after reading The Six Pack, I sent Brad a bunch of questions that he was kind enough to answer for an exclusive Books & Biceps Q&A - perfectly timed for the 40th Anniversary of WrestleMania.

You’re really going to enjoy this one. Interview below and buy The Six Pack here! Brad’s also giving away a ton of freebies and extras from the book on his site right here.

Enjoy this Six Pack of Questions with Brad Balukjian on The Six Pack:

FINKEL: In an early scene from The Six Pack, you’re sitting in a diner in Elko, Nevada with an old Iron Sheik action figure. We’re near the same age and like you, I had tons of action figures as a kid, but there was something transcendent about those rubber wrestling action figures.

When researching Macho Man, I found that someone even left two of them at the base of the tree in Tampa where his car hit after his heart attack. What do you think it is about those action figures in particular that spoke to our generation? It’s like we put all of our fandom into 8” of bouncy plastic? And why was it important that you brought yours with you on the journey to write this book?

Balukjian: Yeah man, those LJN action figures were like the baseball cards or Starting Lineups of our youth, little avatars of our fandom. I think something about the material those figures were made of, that rubbery texture that allowed you to bend them a little versus the smaller, harder plastic ones that came later, made them especially conducive to staging your own matches. I spent so many hours as the promoter of my own little wrestling show on my bedroom floor, putting on matches inside the toy plastic ring that I also had. The fact that they were big for action figures, 8 inches like you said, made them more impressive too.

With all of my books, I like to have some kind of MacGuffin, like in the Indiana Jones series, some object that serves as a symbol for the road trip and quest I'm on. With The Wax Pack, it was obviously the pack of cards. Here, having the original Iron Sheik action figure I had as a child riding shotgun for all 12,525 miles was a reminder of the whole point of the trip, which was to celebrate nostalgia.

I loved your description of the behind-the-scenes conversation between Vince McMahon, Bob Backlund and the Iron Sheik about how Sheik would win the title back in 1983: The Camel Clutch. The Manager stopping the match. It’s pure drama and pure wrestling. Did it surprise you how much these guys become attached to titles and belts when they were all decided in a back room beforehand anyway?

Yes and no. On the surface, sure, how can you get so emotionally attached to a staged outcome? But when you dig deeper, you come to appreciate and respect that emotional connection because of just how real these characters were in their lives. In the Kayfabe era, guys were Method actors as Eric Bischoff likes to say, inhabiting their characters 24/7. Your man the Macho Man is a perfect example of that. And while the matches are pre-determined, what is very real is the competition for the top spot. If you were the champion, you made more money plain and simple. Although wrestling wasn't athletic competition in the traditional sense of the word, there was serious competition for who was over with the audience, which translated into dollars. That's part of why these guys got so attached to titles.

Let’s talk about Gino “Mr. Italy” Caruso, a wrestling trainer at ECPW and your foray into what it’s like to train to be a wrestler (one of my favorite parts of the book). Specifically, this passage:

“I imagine legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel’s booming voice announcing my entrance: Coming down the aisle . . . hail- ing from Greenville, Rhode Island . . . weighing 170 pounds—Exciting Balukjian!”

Every kid who grows up wrestling imagines this moment. What is your entrance music? Who is your dream opponent? And which belt would Exciting Balukjian hold?

I'm actually working on a soundtrack/playlist for The Six Pack, something readers could put on in the background while they read. The problem is, music is my pop culture Achilles heel. When I start dating a lady, the question I fear the most is "what kind of music do you like?" because while I have my tastes, they are so mainstream that I don't think I'm going to have much interesting to say. So I'd like to crowd-source suggestions for my playlist. Right now I'm starting with Alice in Chains' "Man in the Box" and Tears for Fears' "Head Over Heels."

My dream opponent would be The Iron Sheik, and I would tap out to the camel clutch. I would be a reliable mid-carder and never win a belt.

I’m thrilled that you profiled Tony Atlas in this book - a guy who as you mention had a 500 pound bench press in high school. The man was a beast; a physical specimen. And at nearly 70 years old, he’s STILL A BEAST! You got to watch him train in the gym, a true meathead moment our Books & Biceps readers will appreciate… AND, he forced you into a 1 rep max on your bench press through sheer motivation and intimidation. Tell us what that was like!

Brother, how the hell did my 170-lb ass bench press 205? That's a testament to what a good trainer Tony is. Of all the people in the Pack, he was the most fun to hang out with. Just a joyful dude despite all the shit he has lived through, which I document thoroughly in that chapter.

Tito Santana was one of many 80s WWF guys who had a similar background as you mention: star high school football player, muscled up, played in college, sniffed the NFL, got hurt then found their way to wrestling. We went from the goliaths of the ring like Hogan, Andre the Giant and Big John Studd, to Tito, Macho, Steamboat and more athletic guys. How do you think their athletic style affected the golden years of the late 80s and early 90s? From a drawing standpoint and match appeal standpoint?

Tito was a pioneer, along with guys like Bret Hart and Macho. Although there were always great workers, especially in other territories, the WWF was known as a big man's territory with a plodding, brawling work-style. Guys like Tito, Macho, and Bret forced the hand of Vince McMahon, who always loved the big meathead types. WrestleMania 3 is the prime example of this--Hogan and Andre drew the house, but Macho and Steamboat stole the show. Perhaps that match convinced Vince that Macho could carry the belt, and he ended up as world champ the following year.

I’m a sucker for reading book acknowledgements because I know how much time I put into mine. Who was the most surprising person you interviewed that you ended up thanking who was not on your radar at all before the book started? And what stories were so important to include from them in the book?

Definitely the front-office WWF guys in the mid-80s, many of whom had never spoken publicly about this stuff before. Bob McMullan, the WWF's CFO starting in 1983 was a delight with all kinds of insider info that I had no idea about. His insight is worth the price of the book alone.

Thanks for making time for me Jon, you're the best! Ooooohhhh yeaaaahhhh!

BICEPS

My son asked me a simple question when we were working out the other day:

“Dad, can anyone bench 1,000 pounds?”

At first my knee-jerk reaction was “yes” because I’ve seen the videos that go around every time someone benches 1,000 for 5 reps or puts up an obscene number like 1,200 pounds…. BUT, then we did some digging.

Every bench press that we saw near 1,000 pounds or more used those goofy ass bench shirts (where the person looks like a T-rex) and shoulder straps and hand straps and then they barely move the bar six inches. I mean, look at what this guy is wearing to attempt 1,200 pounds???

So, I decided to negate any bench press record with contraptions and nonsense attached to it and I found this below.

I think this is the true blue raw natural bench press record by Julius Maddox, where he puts up 782.6 pounds the same way we’d bench 300. Look at all those plates. This is nuts:

QUICK FLEXES

BIG NEWS: I’m going to be in Philadelphia this weekend for WrestleMania and I’m doing a book signing at WrestleCon at the downtown Sheraton on Sunday, April 7th from 9AM to 1PM.

There are going to be dozens of big time wrestlers there and they list them all on the site, but I gotta say, alphabetically at least, the Js hit hard:

If you’re in Philly, stop by and say “ooohhh yeahh!”

Art of Fatherhood

We passed 100+ interviews for the Macho Man book this week. From national podcasts, live streams and radio shows to niche pods, local radio, blogs and YouTube shows, it’s been a fun, wild ride.

One of my favorite conversations was with my buddy Art Eddy on his Art of Fatherhood podcast because we not only talked about the book, but about being dads.

I’ll have fond memories of writing Macho Man for a lot of reasons, but up top will be that I got to share so many moments with my son watching old Macho videos and with my daughter, who came on my big research trip with me, which I talked about with Art on his show. Check it out:

REMEMBER: If you buy Macho Man today, I will PERSONALLY send you a signed book plate and sweet hologram sticker of the cover. Just reply to this email with a screen shot of your order and type in your full address. Thanks!

How to Honor Our Meathead Agreement

In the gym there is an unspoken agreement that if a fellow dude needs a spot you jump in and help, one meathead to another.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter every week, let’s spot each other.

Let’s consider my writing and sending each issue of Books & Biceps my spotting you the best books, interviews and meathead content around.

Your spot to me is that you share this issue with ONE person who you think would like it.

That’s the deal. I spot you. You spot me. Just like the gym. Thanks!

Here’s your personal sharing link to get free stuff for every share:

STRONG LINKS:

1) I only run twice a week. I run a 5k every Sunday and run sprints or a short 1-2 mile jog during the week. But I’ve become interested in learning about the mechanics of running, prepping for races and more. This newsletter, The Rundown shares unique stories as well as stretches, nutrition tips and even cool upcoming races you might be interested in. You can join here.

2) Have you always wanted to learn how to write for your favorite publications, blogs or magazines? My Freelance Fortune Course has you covered. Everything I’ve learned in 20 years of writing for the world’s biggest publications like: The New York Times, GQ, Men’s Health, Yahoo! Sports and more.

3) I know squats, not stocks. I know the QB option, not trading options. I could make more bad analogies, but I won’t. What I will do is share the link to the Bullseye Trades email written every week by world-famous 20-year trading veteran Jeff Bishop. If you’re into getting daily hot stock ideas and learning options trading strategies, this email is for you. Subscribe here.

4) Readers always ask me what supplements I take or what pre-workouts and protein powder I use. I’ve been using the same brand since they launched about a decade ago: Jym Supplements. I’ve known the owner and founder for fifteen years and it’s the best tasting, highest quality stuff around. Try my favorite pre-workout (Blue Arctic Freeze) and protein powder (S’mores) here.

Thank you all for reading and have a phenomenal weekend!

And don’t forget to buy Macho Man! - Jon

PS: Want to Sponsor this newsletter in MAY?

If you’d like to reach our awesome sophisticated meathead community of over 13,000 readers, respond to this e-mail today!

PPS: You still reading Gus and Mallory? Thanks for getting through the whole thing! No skimming!

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