GUNTERMANIA – Gunter Schlierkamp

Inspired by Arnold, Gunter moved to America from Germany in 1996 to pursue his dream of winning the title of Mr. Olympia. It has eluded him thus far placing 15th in 2001 and 5th in 2002. With the help of wold class trainer Charles Glass, Gunter hopes to realize his dream. The road to Mr. Olympia is strewn with struggles and sacrifices. Few can understand the extreme training and dieting regimen it takes to win. See how the people’s champion works and plays on his way to the biggest bodybuilding competition in the world!

Pro bodybuilder and Mr. Olympia competitor Gunter Schlierkamp is one of the IFBB’s most well liked and personable pros. This is possibly because he is such an authentically nice and genuine person and extremely fan friendly. Gunter’s DVD shows that and it is quite obvious from viewing it why he is well liked.

The DVD was produced by Palante Productions and directed by Rick Lombardo. Aside from Gunter, his training partner Richard Sears as well as his personal trainer Charles Glass appear in the DVD. The introduction is very cool and Gunter announces that after having improved from the 2001 Mr. Olympia Contest to the 2002 Mr. Olympia Contest that he wanted to take it all the way at the 2003 Mr. Olympia Contest. Unfortunately, this did not pan out as Gunter planned it to, but he still placed fifth in a very tough class.

The DVD shows some brief footage of the pump room as well as Gunter being interviewed by the producer of the 2003 Mr. Olympia DVD. Gunter explains that he always felt he had the qualities necessary to be compared to the top in the sport of bodybuilding but that the judges never gave him a callout in order to prove that and finally in 2002 they did and realized that he should have been at the top of the pack all along. Lots of fans agree with this (probably most), while I see on message boards that the more hardcore fans disagree with this and think Gunter is all hype and is only succeeding because of his looks and his smile. I disagree. Gunter in my humble opinion is world class – plain and simple, and a very worthy competitor in any show and without question top five or top 10 in the world. He could be a complete jerk to the fans and have an ugly mug, and I would still say his physique is deserving of top five or 10. I’m not just saying this because he’s a nice guy.

At that contest, I felt that Gunter should have been in the top 10 – if that had happened, it wouldn’t have been such a shock that he placed fifth in 2002 – it would have (and should have) been expected. Because of his drastic 10 placing increase in a one year period people hailed him as a future Mr. Olympia, and as good as I think Gunter is, that was premature. For Gunter to be the Mr. Olympia, it would take a very rare combination of factors – he would need to enter the show in his 2002 Olympia or GNC form if not better, and the rest of the top five would need to come in off. Then Gunter could win – but this is not likely to happen and in the meantime there are probably five or 10 bodybuilders who – when ON – are very close to Gunter.

All in all, this was a well produced DVD and a must have for anyone who is a fan of bodybuilding DVDs or of Gunter Schlierkamp himself. The sound and picture quality is excellent, and while there is no interactive menu, the DVD is organized in a good way so that it is comfortable to watch. Gunter’s charisma really fills the DVD and I think that even non bodybuilding fans could enjoy it. It’s definitely among my favourite.

Review of GUNTERMANIA by Matt Canning.