Casey Viator showed potential early on. Born and raised in Louisiana, Viator was a star athlete and packed on muscle very quickly. With some encouragement from his uncle, Viator took up Olympic Weightlifting aged thirteen. Unhappy with the aesthetic results, Casey turned his attention to bodybuilding.

Casey Viator found success in bodybuilding at an early age. He was seventeen when he claimed the title of Mr. Louisiana in 1968. Over the next few years, Casey continued to compete with sporadic success.

In 1970 everything changed for Viator when he met Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus equipment. Jones saw massive potential in Viator and took him under his wing. The training became shorter and more intense.

Viator went on to win the Mr. America competition in 1971. Casey was the youngest ever Mr. America at age nineteen. This was the height of Viator’s fame. Casey was the big name in bodybuilding at the time.

Life took a turn for Viator in 1973 after an incident in the gym caused him to lose part of his pinky finger. After the incident, Viator suffered a serious reaction to the anti-tetanus injection. Casey spent most of that year fighting for his life and suffered extreme bouts of depression.

Arthus Jones helped Viator on his road to recovery. After losing over 33lbs of muscle, Jones had the idea for The Colorado Experiment.

After The Colorado Experiment Viator returned to the stage. Casey had some impressive performances but never reached the heights of his Mr. America win. The most notable was 2nd place in the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in 1978. Casey continued to step in and out of retirement until his final show in 1995.

After retiring from competition, Viator spent his time working as a personal trainer. Viator was also a regular contributor for Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. Viator passed away on his 62nd birthday after suffering a heart attack.