“That dryness does not exist” - Rich Gaspari continues the Hadi Choopan dispute with latest comment
Veteran bodybuilder Rich Gaspari continued his dispute with Hadi Choopan on Christmas Eve. The American, who sparked controversy by comparing the 2022 Mr. Olympian’s back to Dorian Yates’, came out to state that "dryness and conditioning" have changed over the years. He called on Choopan to ‘bring the old dryness back’ to the sport.
Just a day after clarifying that his comparison of Choopan with Yates was "constructive criticism," Gaspari said that he hopes the Iranian brings a more conditioned package next time he’s on stage. Stating that old “dryness does not exist” anymore, Gaspari said that the modern-day competitors were bigger but not ripped.
Publishing an Instagram post with photos of himself from his prime, Rich Gaspari called on 2022 Mr. Olympia champion Hadi Choopan. He addressed the controversy and wrote:
“The 2022 Olympia is over and I was floored on the controversy of comparing Dorian Yates from 1992 to Hadi Choopin from 2022. What you see is the conditioning is nowhere the same. Bodybuilders today are much bigger but they are far from being dry and ripped like the bodybuilders of the late 80’s and 90’s. I was the first to change the sport in conditioning when I won the Pro World in Columbus Ohio.”
He added:
“Being so dry and ripped I had striations in my glutes. That dryness does not exist. I do believe Hadi was in better conditioning then the others but I still believe he can improve and bring that dryness back to the sport. Here are some pictures of me competing in the Olympia to see my conditioning of that era.”
Furthermore, the American bodybuilding icon went on to ask fans for their opinion as well. Gaspari ended the post by asking if they wanted to see “huge” bodybuilders or ones like Dorian Yates or Ronnie Coleman.
He wrote:
“What do you guys want to see. Huge guys with less conditioning or striated, ripped and dry guys like Dorian or Ronnie Coleman? Let us know.”
Rich Gaspari clears air on his criticism of Hadi Choopan
It is pertinent to note that Rich Gaspari’s latest comments came only a day after he cleared the air around his criticism of Hadi Choopan. Speaking after Choopan asked Gaspari to 'be more professional', the American came out to state that he was making “constructive criticism.” In an attempt to dissolve the controversy, the veteran said that he never slammed the bodybuilder in any manner.
In a video statement released on Instagram, Rich Gaspari said:
“Just want[ed] to talk about a controversial topic I posted — a side by side comparison of Dorian Yates with Hadi Choopan both from the Olympia. You can see Dorian had his Christmas tree shredded and Hadi — it was like his skin was thick in his lower back in comparison to Dorian Yates.
"I got a lot of haters saying I’m comparing old school bodybuilding to new school bodybuilding. Really, I mean, bodybuilding is bodybuilding. It’s about being in the best shape, the best aesthetics, the best symmetry, all these things — and what I have to say is Hadi is a deserving champion.”
Now, Gaspari seemingly ticked off the conversation again by calling on Hadi Choopan to “bring back the dryness.” It’ll be interesting to see if the 2022 Mr. Olympia champion replies this time around.