To succeed in the sport of bodybuilding, it’s best to have a coach or a trainer to help you in the gym. Even if you know your way around a weight room, an extra pair of eyes or someone with different expertise can be a great advantage. That’s where Chris “Psycho” Lewis can step in. The California native is very familiar with what it takes to succeed on the big stages because he saw it first hand at the legendary Gold’s Gym Venice, also known as the Mecca of Bodybuilding.
“Chris Cormier, Flex Wheeler, and Charles Glass, those guys were there before me, but I came soon after in the early 90’s,” he told Dennis James on a recent episode of The Menace Podcast. While most gyms have high energy and include motivated athletes, Lewis explained that the vibe was just different in the legendary Gold’s Gym back then.
“That was what created the atmosphere in Gold’s Gym. You never know what to expect,” Lewis said. “People would get in shape just to come to Gold’s Gym and work out.”
Like Charles Glass, Lewis went on to train several top competitors, including the 2018 Mr. Olympia, Shawn Rhoden. Lewis credited sneaking away from his construction job to sit under the learning tree of some of bodybuilding’s all-time best.
“I would sneak away to go train with Cormier and Wheeler, assist Charles, and do whatever I could do…I would take ‘three-hour’ lunch breaks to go train at Gold’s. That’s how exciting it was back then.”
Nowadays, Lewis runs his own training company, Psycho Fitness, and his gym, Psycho’s Body Shop. His focus is on helping people make big improvements for the stage or life in a setting that makes them comfortable enough to put in the work.
“It can be a lawyer that needs to lose 80 pounds or a housewife that wants to get into Bikini (division), but it could also be an Olympian getting ready for the biggest show of his life.”
Lewis and James dive more into the Gold’s Gym days, the bodybuilding scene now versus in the 90’s, and even DJ’s appearances in Gold’s with the Hot Skins outfits. Watch every episode of TMP by subscribing to the M&F YouTube channel.
