Richard Gaspari (born May 16, 1963) is an American retired professional bodybuilder, and a former member of the IFBB. He came in second place at the 1986, 1987, and 1988 Mr. Olympia competitions.[1]
Gaspari grew up in Edison, New Jersey; as a teenager he would sneak into Rutgers University weight room to take advantage of the exercise equipment.[2] He became a professional bodybuilder in 1984, entered the 1985 IFBB Night of Champions and placed 2nd, then placed 3rd for his first participation at Mr. Olympia that same year. Richard was a three-time runner-up at the Mr. Olympia contest (the most important in the professional circuit) during the long reign of Lee Haney at the top. He also won several secondary IFBB Grand Prix competitions during the same period. He was particularly praised for his hitherto-unseen level of conditioning and definition, being the first athlete to exhibit striations on the gluteal muscles.[3][4]
Richard Gaspari was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2011, he was awarded with the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame Award.[5] He was featured on the cover of the October, 2011 issue of Iron Man, 23 years after he last appeared on the cover of the magazine.[6] In 2013 he was presented with the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award.[7]
In 1997, Gaspari started his own supplement company, Gaspari Nutrition. In 2005, the company became the subject of controversy after a client’s investigation implicated Gaspari Nutrition in a ring of supplement companies engaged in covertly spiking some of their products with a variety of steroids and/or their derivatives while deceptively mislabeling their ingredients, FDA violations which resulted in a lawsuit upheld in 2017. Shortly after, Gaspari filed for bankruptcy and sold the company.[8]
^"Mayor Reina issues proclamation for Jackson resident Rich Gaspari", JTown, May 15, 2011, Backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 22, 2012. Accessed November 22, 2017. "Jackson resident Rich Gaspari, CEO and founder of Gaspari Nutrition has had many honors bestowed upon him in his life including Mr. America, Mr. Universe and three time runner up for the coveted Mr. Olympia title."
