(ACL) was formed, which announced its own competition for the title of "Mr. America". The participants were still not real bodybuilders who had undergone special training, but representatives of different sports, posing in everything from boxing shorts to jockey breeches.

Sigmund Klein

But as the emphasis shifted to the development and relief of the muscles in general, weightlifters gained a noticeable advantage. Lifting weights changed the contours of the body faster than any other type of training, so they could make an ever stronger and more favorable impression on the judges.

John Grimek

In 1940, the CSL held the first real bodybuilding competition. В том году, как и в следующем, титул "Мистер Америка" завоевал John Grimek, который тренировался, главным образом поднимая тяжести в гимнастическом зале. For anyone who wanted to compete with him, this meant that they would have to follow a similar training program. Grimek also demonstrated the fallacy of the idea that people who train with weights become clumsy and cannot show good athletic performance. His posing prowess is legendary; he could stand on stage for more than half an hour in one performance, taking poses that required extraordinary strength, flexibility and coordination of movements from a person.

BODYBUILDING IN THE FORTY AND FIFTY YEARS

The winner of the 1943 Mr. America contest was a man considered by many to be the first modern bodybuilder. The physique of Clarence (Clancy) Ross even today would not look out of place on the competition stage: broad shoulders, conical latissimus dorsi, a narrow waist, well-developed calves and abdominal muscles. By that time, a clear distinction had been made between lifting weights to increase physical strength and weight training to achieve better body shape and proportions. The physique of bodybuilders, as opposed to other types of muscular development, was now recognized as something new and quite special.

Clarence (Clancy) Ross

However, bodybuilding was still an unknown sport. No champion was known to the general public until the advent of Steve Reeves. Reeves became famous as a man who was in the right place at the right time. He was handsome, charming and well built. Veterans of the Muscle Beach era (located in Venice, California, Muscle Beach was a small stretch of Santa Monica Beach where bodybuilders congregated in the late 1940s and early 1950s) remember how crowds followed Reeves as he walking along the beach, and how people who knew nothing about him stopped and stared in awe.

Steve Reeves

Having won the titles of "Mr. America" ​​and "Mr. Universe", Reeves began acting in films and became an international star after starring in the film "Hercules". (Subsequently, I and Reg Park also played this role in the movies.) Then he played the main characters in the films "Pirate Morgan" and "The Thief of Baghdad". As far as the general public knew, in the 1950s—with the exception of the legendary Charles Atlas—there was only one famous bodybuilder: Stephen Reeves.

It is quite possible that until then no man in history had achieved such level of physical development, like Grimek, Ross and Reeves. Because they trained harder and more methodically than anyone else before them, bodybuilders began to learn things about the physical capabilities of our bodies that even medical experts could not predict. Their fame quickly spread, and soon more great bodybuilders began to appear every year: Bill Pearl, Chuck Cipes, Jack Delinger, George Eiferman, and one of my greatest idols, Reg Park.

Reg Park

Reg Park

I remember how incredible it seemed to me meeting with Reg Park in 1967. I was almost speechless, filled with awe. I have always admired Park, in particular because he was an unusually large man, very strong, with a powerful physique. When I first started bodybuilding, I knew that I wanted to get the same density and relief that I saw in his photographs - to become like a real Hercules.

Reg Park was the next champion to be celebrated after Reeves retired from competition for a career in film. He won the title of "Mr. Universe" in 1951 and 1958, and also became the "Mr. Universe" among professionals in 1965. At that time, everyone admitted that Reg was head and shoulders above the rest of the leading bodybuilders. He stood alone in the bodybuilding arena for two decades.

BODYBUILDING IN THE SIXTY YEARS

I first came to international bodybuilding in 1966. At the time, many of the top bodybuilders I read about in magazines were living and training in California.

Beating Dennis Tinerino in 1967 (that year's Mr. America) in the North American Bodybuilding Association (NAB) Mr. Universe competition was my first international triumph, but it meant I would now have to compete against other champions.. Then there was already a very fierce competition. Among others, I can name Frank Zane - a man who prepares for the competition as carefully as for everything else in bodybuilding; my good friend Franco Colombo, who went from a great weightlifter to the title of "Mr. Olympia", relying only on his determination and unbending will; and, of course, Sergio Oliva.

Every time people argue who is the best bodybuilder of all time, the name of Sergio Oliva inevitably arises. We had moments of incredible rivalry on stage. The only way to defeat him was to be in perfect shape and still not make mistakes. Sergio was so good that he could beat you in the dressing room if you didn't keep your eyes open. He pulled his shirt over his head, exposing a staggering mass of muscle. Then he pinned you to the spot with his gaze, let out a sonorous exhalation with some kind of animal grunt, and the latissimus dorsi muscles suddenly began to bulge ... but just at the moment when you thought that these were the most perfect muscles that you had ever seen. BOOM! - they suddenly bulged even more, until you began to doubt whether it was a person at all?

In 1967, Bill Pearl won the title of "Mr. Universe" among professionals, and I - among amateurs.

Joe Weider and Sergio Oliva - "Mr. Olympia" 1967

When I fought for titles in Europe, I followed closely the competition in the United States. Larry Scott won the first two Mr. Olympia contests, and I knew that in the end I would have to beat him and other top pros like Chuck Cipes. Another bodybuilder that I admired not only because of his outstanding physique, but because of the image he was able to create on stage was Dave Draper.

Larry Scott

Dave Draper

Draper was the perfect epitome of Californian bodybuilders: tall, blond and tanned, with a winning demeanor and smile. To me, surrounded by the snows of an Austrian winter, the image of Dave Draper on a California beach seemed unusually attractive. And Dave's roles in movies like Don't Make Waves with Tony Curtis and his appearances on TV shows opened up the possibilities of bodybuilding outside of the competitive arena for me.

In the 1960s, there were two separate bodybuilding worlds: Europe and America. My first Mr. Universe titles in 1967 and 1968 made me famous in Europe (Ricky Wayne even wrote in his article, "if Hercules were born today, his name would be Arnold Schwarzenegger"), but the question is, how well I can perform against the American champions was still open.

I looked across the ocean and saw Dave Draper, Sergio Oliva, Chet Wharton, Frank Zane, Bill Pearl, Freddie Ortiz, Harold Poole, Ricky Wayne and others. My life challenge was to compete with these great bodybuilders and win the championship title.

Harold Poole

Freddy Ortiz

Rick Wayne

With Dennis Tinerino at Mr. Universe in 1968

In just a few years, my perception of the world has expanded enormously. While training in Austria, I considered winning the Mr. Universe competition in London the highest achievement one could hope for. Now I discovered that this title was just the beginning. I still had a long way to go and compete with many bodybuilders before I could consider myself the best. So after winning my second Mr. Universe title in 1968, I went to the States.

With Roy Velasco at the 1968 Mister International competition in Mexico City.

"Mr. Universe" 1968

In 1969, I developed a plan to win three major competitions in one year, in the championships of all major federations. I competed at the International Bodybuilding Federation Mr. Universe competition in New York, and then immediately went to London for the North American Bodybuilding Association competition - and received two titles in one week! But even with these achievements, I have not yet defeated everyone, so next year I planned to achieve even more.

"Mr. Universe" 1969

В конце 60-х годов в рядах тех, кто принимал участие в борьбе за чемпионский титул, определилось шесть основных имен: Dave Draper, Серджио Олива, Bill Pearl, Franco Colombo, Frank Zane и я.

BODYBUILDING IN THE SEVENties

In 1970, my finest hour came. I won the titles "Mr. World" according to the CSL classification, "Mr. Universe" according to the SAB classification and "Mr. Olympia" according to the MFB classification. Finally, I defeated everyone and now I believed that I could rightfully call myself a world champion. 1971 marked the high point in Bill Pearl's remarkable career. Bill first won the title of "Mr. America" ​​in 1952, then won the competition for the title of "Mr. Universe" in 1961, 1963 and 1967. At the 1971 Mr. Universe championship, nineteen years after his first Mr. America title, he returned and defeated Sergio Oliva himself. So he proved that is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. Unfortunately, Bill did not enter the Mr. Olympia competition that year, so I never got the chance to compete with him, and we never figured out which of us could become the main champion.

Posing with Dave Draper and Reg Park