12) Mayhem:  When Vince’s name was called for the runner up spot, what was the first thought that entered your mind?

DY:  It’s an amazing feeling.  I experienced it before, when I won the Masters Nationals.   You are completely overcome with emotion for a couple of minutes and then it’s almost an anti-climactic experience.  I felt myself asking the question, “Did this really happen to me?”  I think your brain needs more time to absorb and process what just happened or something. 

13) Mayhem:  After you were announced the winner, did Vince congratulate or say anything to you?  If so, what did he say to you?

DY:  Yes, after the standard posing for the photographers (Myself, Vince and Jan Tana), he turned to me, shook my hand and said “Good job!”  I never saw him after that.

14) Mayhem:  Vince has been very vocal and public regarding his feelings of the outcome of the 2002 Masters Olympia – basically going so far as to say that YOU, as an athlete, should never beat him and that you aren’t in the same league.  How do these comments make you feel and do you have a response to them?

DY:  Well, I hadn’t heard that this year, but I knew he had made statements to that effect after the 2001 Masters Olympia.  I laugh every time I hear something like that.  When he makes statements like that, he makes it so obvious how afraid of me he is.  I guess he must think by lashing out at me that he is going to convince the world that I am not any good, but that hasn’t worked. 

You see, the press coverage of the Masters Olympia has all been positive toward me.  There was controversy in 2001 regarding who should have won he show and most said I should have.  Statements to the effect that “Vince took home the Sandow, but Don won the show” were made quite often.  Obviously the press viewed me as a credible athlete who could give Vince all the competition he wanted and more!  The two judging panels [2001 & 2002],  are the individuals who make the decision as to which athlete has the superior physique in a show, not Vince Taylor or some pencil neck who has never seen anything but photos on the internet. 

Hmmm, so let’s see. . .both judging panels have me kicking his but, and you have the media that was there covering the event in agreeance with the judges.  It just seems to me that Vince can’t handle the fact that someone out there that is older than him and that is also a complete unknown to the body building world, could defeat him.  That’s just more than his inflated ego can take.  Bless his little heart, all he has left is the power to lash out in anger. 

15) Mayhem:  What are your feelings with regard to Vince Taylor prior to competing against him and what are your feelings with regard to Vince Taylor after competing against him?

DY:  Prior to competing against him, to me Vince Taylor was an icon, one of the greatest body builders of all time.  I used to keep posters of him up in my workout area in the garage for inspiration, when I first began body building.  After 2002, however, I had to take him down off his pedestal.  After all, if Don Youngblood (as poor an athlete as I am, according to Vince), is able to beat Vince, Vince is surely over the hill, right?

16) Mayhem:  Winning the 2002 Masters Olympia qualified you for the “Big Show” [The Mr. Olympia].  How did this make you feel; especially to know that a large majority of the pros will never qualify and make it to the Mr. Olympia stage?  And, how did it feel to stand side by side with Mr. Olympia and the best physiques in the world?

DY:  The feeling was simply indescribable.  It was a total fulfillment of my body building aspirations.  It’s like waking up from an incredible dream; only to realize that it wasn’t a dream, but reality.  Competing at the Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas, was the pinnacle of my career.  Just knowing, that I had qualified for and was competing on the big stage, catapults you to the elite, select group of athletes in this sport.  Just walking onstage with the likes of Coleman, Levrone, Wheeler, Priest, etc., was, let’s just say – it was AWESOME!

17) Mayhem:  Prior to the 2002 Mr. Olympia, you participated in a photo shoot for one of the industry magazines.  They talked you into performing a 600 pound bench press and while performing it, you badly injured your elbow, thus hindering your 2002 Mr. Olympia preparation.  How do you feel about the growing and alarming trend of photographers pressuring athletes into lifting extreme amounts of weight in such a depleted state just for the sake of getting a great, realistic shot?

DY:  Yes, I did the shoot and the heavy weight and I have no one to blame but myself.  I should have known better and, in fact, I did know better.  However, it was my first major photo shoot and I just did everything they asked.  I lift those kind of poundages quite frequently in the off season, but now, 10 days after a major competition – that’s a completely different story.  When he asked me to do it, in my mind, I said “NO!”, but yes blurted right out of my mouth (I won’t make that mistake again!).  My joints were just not ready for that – after a major competition.  It’s alarming when I look back at this year, alone, with Jean Pierre Fux’s knee injuries, my elbow almost destroyed, Orville Burke’s triceps injury – all for the sake of an insignificant photo.  My photos would have looked just as good if I had 405 pounds on the bar.  So for anyone reading this, do NOT try anything you aren’t comfortable with or ready for, just for the sake of a photo!

18) Mayhem:  Have you reached all your body building goals, since winning the 2002 Masters Mr. Olympia and competing in the 2002 Mr. Olympia, or is there anything else you would like to achieve?  And, how much longer do you wish to compete?

DY:  I have reached all of my body building goals in such a short period of time that it has left me wondering what’s next?  I am a goal setter and set both long term and a path of short term goals, that lead me up to the long term goal.  I am trying at this point to figure out what that next path of goals will be.  In terms of how much longer will I compete, I think several more years for sure.  Albert Beckles was competitive until the age of 60 or so. 

19) Mayhem:  Can you fill our readers in on your plans for the 20003 season?

DY:  Of course, I plan to defend my title in August.  I am having surgery the week before Christmas to repair my elbow.  Depending on the recovery time will dictate whether or not I can do anything prior to the Masters Olympia.  I would like to do the NOC or the Southwest Pro Show next year.

20) Mayhem:  If you could change only one (1) thing in the sport, anything at all, what would that one thing be?

DY:  If I could change anything, it would be to somehow bring the sport into the mainstream.  Body builders are the greatest, hardest working, most dedicated and genetically gifted athletes on the face of the earth, and the most poorly compensated.  We train year round – not just for some training camp prior to the regular season.  We train whether it be for off season mass building or contest training.  Diet is a continual part of our program; we are either trying to force feed calories to get a bigger body or deny ourselves all of life’s pleasures for contest prep. 

It’s a non-stop, relentless cycle. 

So, every day, 365 days a year, our lives are centered around some aspect of the sport whether it be training, meals, cardio, posing, tanning, etc.  The dedication it takes to be a professional body builder is mind boggling, and yet the rewards are ridiculous in comparison to other professional sports.  I’m not sure that you could fault anyone in particular for the dilemma that professional body building faces on this issue, but the answer is to make the sport more captivating to the mainstream.  We need corporate money to sponsor the sport:  for example, NASCAR wasn’t anything until millions of dollars of corporate money poured in.  The money that they spend on a race team for one year is huge.  Just your average pay for athletes in football, baseball and basketball is more than Ronnie Coleman makes in a year and he is the Mr. Olympia – the greatest body builder in the world!  He should be paid in Tiger Woods’ category as far as I am concerned. 

This is an issue that we are all aware of as pros, and what can be done to better the situation is beyond me.  However, if it is ever going to change, we will have to be the ones to do it.  It’s our sport; we all love it, and maybe one day we will receive the respect as athletes that we deserve.  Only then, can we reap the monetary benefits that are long overdue.  That would be a good topic for this forum:  have everyone submit their idea on how to get corporate America to take an interest in our sport.

21) Mayhem:  Body builders are looked upon, by many, as having the comic book “super hero” body.  So, if you had any superhuman/super hero ability, what would it be?

DY:  I think my superhuman/superhero ability would be to fly like superman, however, it wouldn’t be just to fly, but to fly like he did in the movie when Lois Lane died.  He had the ability to fly in reverse of the Earth’s rotation to the point that it took him back in time to Lois’ death, thus, he was able to prevent that tragedy from happening.  With that power, when something like the tragedy of 911 happened, I could’ve had the power to go back in time and prevent it. 

            For those of you who may or may not know (it was touched on a bit in this piece), Don Youngblood suffered an injury to his elbow and triceps during a photo shoot, while he was getting ready for the 2002 Mr. Olympia competition.  Although Don kept going and made it to the show, he was unable to train upper body for approximately six (6) weeks prior to the show, and didn’t come into the shape or make the showing he would’ve liked to at the Mr. Olympia. 

            Recently, on Christmas Eve, Don underwent surgery to repair the damage to his elbow and triceps tendon.  The surgery was a success; doctors repaired and cleaned up his elbow and re-attached the torn triceps tendon.  He is recovering just fine and looking forward to getting back to training. 

            Don is planning on competing in the 2003 Masters Mr. Olympia competition.  He has one of the most disciplined work ethics in the sport and diets and sacrifices as hard as any athlete I have ever worked with.  I can guarantee you he will be in the shape of his life at the ’03 Masters Mr. Olympia and by qualifying for the Mr. Olympia once again, he will make the appearance of his life come next October in Las Vegas.

Update:
May Don Rest in Peace and all our best to the Youngblood family.