Mike Matarazzo

Mike Matarazzo
— Bodybuilder —
Personal info
Nickname "Big Guns"
Born (1965-11-08)November 8, 1965
Died August 16, 2014(2014-08-16) (aged 48)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight (In Season): 250 lbs.
(Off-Season):275 lbs.
Professional career
Active 1991-2001

Michael Richard Matarazzo (November 8, 1966 - August 16, 2014) was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder.

Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Matarazzo moved to Venice, California to further his bodybuilding career. Formerly a boxer, Matarazzo first won the 1989 Gold's Gym Classic in Massachusetts. He competed for the first time in the Mr. Olympia contest in 1991. Known primarily for his massive arms and calves, his best placing (out of seven total appearances) in the Mr. Olympia competition was 9th, in 1998.[1]

Matarazzo's last appearance in a professional bodybuilding event was the 2001 Mr. Olympia, where he placed 21st.[2] He was forced to retire due to having open heart surgery on December 8, 2004 as a result of clogged arteries. At the time of his death he was residing in Modesto, California, and was last reported to be working as a bail bondsman for AJ's Bail Bonds.[3] He was forced to stop working as a bail bondsman due to limitations on physical activity related to his 20% heart function.[4] On November 8, 2007, Matarazzo suffered a heart attack, his second cardiac-related problem since his surgery in December 2004.[5] On August 3rd, 2014, Matarazzo was in the intensive care unit of Stanford hospital in Palo Alto due to heart complications. The information was transmitted by his wife, Lacey Matarazzo (née Porter), via longtime friend Mel Chancey's Facebook page, and reposted on various bodybuilding websites.[6][7] On August 17, 2014, Mel Chancey announced via Facebook that Matarazzo had died in the ICU at Stanford hospital while awaiting a heart transplant. The information was confirmed by Peter McGough, editor at Muscular Development magazine.[8][9]

Contest history

Quotes

Oh, God, where do I begin? I'd have to say that everything that led to my heart problem began the minute I started getting serious about competitive bodybuilding. In order to get bigger, I'd eat five, six, seven pounds of red meat a day, no vegetables. And I'd stay away from fruits because of their sugar.[10]
Worst were the chemicals. I have so many memories of being alone in a hotel room the week, five days or two days before a contest, and doing unspeakable things to my body—steroids, growth hormones, diuretics—anything and everything that we as bodybuilders do to achieve a certain look.
It has affected my whole life, so to all those guys who are on an eternal quest to have 21" arms and 20" calves, and who are so vain about their never-say-die attitude, I say, "Change your attitude." Worry about keeping that body of yours as healthy as possible, because it's going to have to last you not just through your next contest or to the end of your bodybuilding contract, but for a long time. And a long time for a human being is nothing. It goes by real quick, even quicker when your health is gone and you have nothing to stand on.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ BodyBuildingPro.com - Biography & Contest History of Mike Matarazzo
  2. ↑ Bodybuilding.com - Mike Matarazzo Pro Bodybuilding Profile
  3. ↑ Schmidt, Juilan. "Births & Bonds." Flex, April 2006.
  4. ↑ FrankTheTank.http://muscleweek.com/board/index.php?topic=1100.0
  5. ↑ http://www.muscletime.com/news/latest/mike-matarazzo-has-heart-attack/ Archived February 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=544878.25
  7. ↑ http:, //forums.musculardevelopment.com/showthread.php/145945-Mike-Matarazzo-in-ICU
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ http://forums.musculardevelopment.com/showthread.php/146191-MIKE-MATARAZZO-RIP
  10. ↑ Mike Matarazzo talks about his heart condition
  11. ↑ Mike Matarazzo’s second chance: wisdom for those who have a first chance., musclesprod.com, 10 December 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2014.

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