Rick Valente
| Rick D. Valente | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
July 11, 1958 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Personal trainer, bodybuilder, and television personality |
| Years active | 1983 to present |
| Known for | Mr. Los Angeles 1983 |
| Television | BodyShaping on ESPN |
Rick Valente is a former bodybuilder and host of the ESPN television show BodyShaping. He was the winner of the 1983 Mr. Los Angeles competition and appeared on more than forty different magazine covers as a fitness model. He is currently a personal trainer operating out of Gold's Gym in Venice Beach.
Valente was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 11, 1958. He trained in karate at the West Haven Academy of Karate as a child and the West Haven Assembly of the Martial Arts Academy as a teenager. After graduating from high school Valente moved to Florida to work as a lifeguard and nightclub bouncer. At 19 he won an amateur bodybuilding competition at the nightclub he worked at, Summer’s Night Club in Fort Lauderdale.
Valente began his bodybuilding career and went on to win the Mr. Gold Coast competition in the middleweight division, come in second at the Mr. Golden Glades competition, and placed third in the Mr. Florida competition in the light heavyweight division. In 1983 Valente won the Tall Class of the NPC Mr. Los Angeles Contest and was on the cover of Flex Magazine. He was one of the highest profile bodybuilders at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach during the 1980s, working out alongside individuals including Flex Wheeler, Hulk Hogan, and Lou Ferrigno.
He maintained a presence there throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s and 2000s. He has also worked as a personal trainer at the gym, with clients including Gregory Hines, Sally Field, Jeff Goldblum, Chuck Woolery, Jermaine Jackson, Dennis Alexio, and Chuck Arnoldi. In 1984 Valente was the winner of the Mr. Los Angeles competition. He also placed second in that year's Mr. California competition. His bodybuilding career was cut short in August 1987 when he suffered a third degree pectoral tear. He has since continued his personal trainer business at Gold's.
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