Who is bodybuilder Rich Gaspari?

RICH GASPARI made his name as a professional bodybuilder during an illustrious 11-year career.

But despite retiring, Gaspari has remained in and out of the spotlight – and not always for good reasons.

Rich Gaspari during his peak years as a professional bodybuilderInstagram

Who is bodybuilder Rich Gaspari?

Gaspari is an American former professional bodybuilder and IFBB Hall of Fame inductee.

Born on May 16, 1963, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rich grew up idolizing comic-book superheroes and became fascinated with their muscular physiques from an early age.

Gaspari, who also became known as The Itch and The Dragon Slayer, went on to win nine bodybuilding titles during his 11-year career between 1985 and 1996.

Gaspari told in an interview in 2021 that he knew it as time to retire when he started placing lower at competitions.

He placed 12th in the 1996 IFBB Florida Pro Invitational, and decided it was time to quit at the age of 33.

Following his retirement, Gaspari was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004.

In 2011, he was awarded with the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award, while he was featured on the cover of the October 2011 issue of Iron Man – 23 years after he last appeared on the cover of the magazine.

In 2013, Gaspari was presented with the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award.

He resides in the township of Toms River in New Jersey.

When did Rich Gaspari start bodybuilding?

Gaspari started bodybuilding as a teenager when he would sneak into the Rutgers University weight room to take advantage of the exercise equipment.

After his first year of training, in which he trained six days a week, Gaspari gained an impressive 60lbs and dedicated his life to fitness.

He competed in numerous Junior Nationals competitions between 1983-1984, winning both the HeavyWeight and Light-HeavyWeight titles, before turning professional later that year.

At 21, Gaspari entered the 1985 IFBB Night of Champions and placed 2nd in his first professional competition.

He also won the IFBB Los Angeles Pro Championships and the IFBB World Pro Championships in 1986, before claiming several secondary IFBB Grand Prix competitions during the same period.

Gaspari was particularly praised for his level of conditioning and definition, becoming the first athlete to exhibit striations on the gluteal muscles.

He won his final bodybuilding title at the 1989 IFBB Arnold Classic, despite going on to compete in another 13 competitions in the 1990s.

His final appearance came at the 1996 IFBB San Jose Pro Invitational, where he placed 16th.

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IFBB Hall of Fame inductee Rich Gaspari was awarded with the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award in 2011[/caption]

What is Rich Gaspari’s net worth?

Gaspari’s net worth is estimated to be around $90million, according to muscleandbrawn.com‘s list of Top 20 Richest Bodybuilders In The World.

He made much of his money after retiring from professional bodybuilding – most notably through his famous Gaspari Nutrition brand.

Gaspari started the supplement company in 1997, although plenty of controversy would follow.

In 2005, following a client’s investigation, Gaspari Nutrition was accused of covertly spiking some of their products with a variety of steroids and derivatives while deceptively mislabelling their ingredients.

According to court papers, annual sales for muscle-building formulas like “Aminolast,” “Super Pump,” and “MyoFusion Advanced” had fallen from a peak of $78 million in 2011 as a result of the reports.

A lawsuit was upheld in 2017 but shortly after, Gaspari filed for bankruptcy and sold the company for $10.1 million.

Has Rich Gaspari competed at Mr Olympia?

Throughout his professional career, Gaspari was arguably best known for finishing as runner-up at the IFBB Mr Olympia three times in a row between 1986-1988.

In 1985, he placed 3rd for his first participation at Mr. Olympia before securing a trio of consecutive second-place finishes during the long reign of Lee Haney at the top.

In 1989, Gaspari finished 4th, before finishing in 5th the following year at the 1990 IFBB Mr Olympia.

Gaspari’s final time competing at Mr Olympia came in 1991 when he finished 10th – his lowest ranking in the competition.