Synopses & Reviews
"I built my American dream one rep at a time," says Bob Paris in
Gorilla Suit, an unguarded memoir of his rise to the top of the world of professional bodybuilding.
This is the first-ever, honest, behind-the-scenes look into the world of professional bodybuilding and what the actual life of a bodybuilder is like. Paris show us bodies to the limit, and beyond, and discusses the price bodybuilders pay for this perfection, which includes the use of dangerous growth drugs. Paris also looks at the driving forces behind the business of bodybuilding, including the extraordinary story of the Weider brothers.
This is a story about chasing a dream, being willing to do anything to get that dream, and then growing frustrated with the world that dream is lived in. It is the discovery that after years of climbing a mountain and finally reaching the top, perhaps on reconsideration it was the wrong mountain to begin with.
Review
"An apologia for every hard-core bodybuilder who understands that while their pursuit may well destroy their health, it feeds their soul. He's the only writer on bodybuilding who doesn't lie for a living. Bob Paris is the first bodybuilder in history with both biceps and balls." --Sam Fussell, author of
Muscle"Bob Paris has guts to stand up for what he believes-and admirable quality." --Frank Zane, three-time Mr. Olympia title holder
"At once empathetic and scathing, Paris's memoir conveys with equal persuasiveness both why he became a bodybuilder and why he found it impossible to remain one." --Kirkus Reviews
"The perspective Paris brings to this account of his meteoric rise and eventual disenchantment with the world of bodybuilding is, needless to say, fascinating." --City Pages, Minneapolis
About the Author
Bob Paris, who held the titles of Mr. Los Angeles, Mr. Southern California, Mr. America, and
Mr. Universe, is the author of three fitness books and coauthor of the memoir Straight From
The Heart.