Paul 'Freak-einstein' Dillett was a giant in 90s bodybuilding, but the 300-pound athlete hid one key detail.

During a podcast at “The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner”, Paul Dillett discussed his experience where Gary Strydom assumed he was a bodybuilder because of his size.

“I’m tall, dude. A lot of those bodybuilders are teeny. I used to lie about my height. I’d say I was 6’1, but I’m more like 6’3. You used to tower over everybody... I always thought if they know how tall I am, they’re going to think I’m not that big”.

During the golden era of bodybuilding, the sport was defined by the likes of tall stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger (6’2″), and Lou Ferrigno (6’5″). And while it wasn't a criteria for choosing a winner, it still became one way of one-upping rivals.

Dillett carried that belief ever since he had his breakthrough in a Pro competition in 1993, finishing 4th at the Arnold Classic. In the same year, Paul Dillett debuted in Mr. Olympia and finished in 6th position. He participated in 29 competitions from 1996 to 2006. His last competition was the Montreal Pro in 2006, and he retired from professional bodybuilding in 2012.

Now, see how Paul Dillett showed elite consistency in bodybuilding with his massive height and size.

But Does Height Matter As Much In Bodybuilding?

Well, two years ago, Mr. Olympia winner Derek Lunsford talked about why he didn't believe it was important.

"This is a bodybuilding show, and look, I don’t want to say it is a tall versus short competition. It is a bodybuilding competition and the most complete guy, the guy that comes out and wows the crowd, wows those judges, and brings something special to the stage, that’s Mr. Olympia to me."

As the second shortest bodybuilder to win the title, only behind Frank Columbu, Lunsford knows he doesn't need his height to intimidate an opponent.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar