Joe Weider, 1919-2013

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Foto: Weider Publications

Nyss nåddes redaktionen av nyheten om Joe Weiders bortgång under lördagen. Tillsammans med sin bror Ben var Joe med och grundade organisationen IFBB, och i sin publicistiska verksamhet startade och drev han bland annat titlarna Muscle & Fitness, FLEX, Men’s Fitness och Shape. En visionär har lämnat sporten bodybuilding. Vila i frid, Joe.

Joe såg också till att ge de som vunnit de främsta titlarna, Mr Universe, Mr America och Mr World, en chans att fortsätta tävla. Reglerna tillät vid denna tid inte segrare att ställa upp igen, så varje år tillkom automatiskt ett nytt gäng mästare.

Således fanns inget större utrymme att bli en långlivad superstjärna och ha möjlighet att tjäna pengar på sin talang. Tävlingen som skulle ge detta, Mr Olympia, avhölls för första gången 1965 och har sedan dess varit den yttersta titeln att sträva efter. Läs mer i historien bakom Mr Olympia och IFBB Professional League: del 1, del 2, del 3, del 4 och del 5.

Arnold Schwarzegger och Jim Lorimer instiftade ett Lifetime Achievement Award att delas ut varje år vid Arnold Sports Festival till en individ som har gjort betydande bidrag till bodybuilding- och fitnessbranschen. Den första mottagaren år 2000 blev självklart Joe:

Se även Arnolds kommentar med anledning av Joes bortgång:

Today, I lost a dear friend and mentor, and the world lost one its strongest advocates of living a healthy lifestyle. Joe Weider was a titan in the fitness industry and one of the kindest men I have ever met.

I samlingsvideon nedan (producerad för att inkluderas med 2012-dokumentären Evolution of Bodybuilding) hör vi fler profiler om Joes betydelse för sportens framväxt samt dem själva:

Nedan Joe Weiders ledare från juliutgåvan 1950 av magasinet YOUR PHYSIQUE. För över 60 år sedan gjorde Joe således tio förutsägelser om kroppsbyggning och dess centrala roll i livsstilen hos framtida generationer:

  • I predict that civilization will speed up in every phase, and that the stresses and strains on mankind will continue to increase.
  • I predict that the resulting increase in mental and physical illness will force the world to recognize the importance of systematic exercise and physical activities.
  • I predict that bodybuilding will become the chief form of systematic exercise and physical activity, and that it will come to be looked upon as one of the greatest forces in the field of preventive medicine.
  • I predict that a full realization of the importance of muscular development will sweep the world, and the sport of bodybuilding will grow by leaps and bounds.
  • I predict that the principles of good bodybuilding — which include a balanced diet, adequate sleep, plenty of fresh air, ample sunshine and regular workouts — will become basic principles of living.
  • I predict that bodybuilding will become the steppingstone to every other sport and physical activity.
  • I predict that the art of relaxation, one of the fundamental principles in bodybuilding, will become more and more important as tensions increase, and that relaxation will be universally taught and advocated.
  • I predict that those who practice bodybuilding will live healthier, happier and more useful lives.
  • I predict that bodybuilding will spread to every corner of the world and that it will one day be recognized as the king of all sports and physical activities.
  • I predict that bodybuilding will one day become one of the greatest forces in existence, and that it may be hailed as the activity that actually saved civilization from itself.
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Joe Weider: Legendary Bodybuilding and Fitness Icon Dies at 93
November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013

Joe Weider, the legendary fitness and publishing figure who popularized the modern conception of fitness and nutrition, and is considered the father of the sport of bodybuilding, died this morning in Los Angeles of heart failure. He was 93 years old.

Joe Weider’s influence is felt in every area of fitness and health. He created a massive fitness publishing empire, which included Muscle and Fitness, Flex, Shape, and Men’s Fitness magazines. He popularized the use of fitness equipment in people’s homes and was a leader in establishing the use of nutritional supplements. The company he founded, Weider Health and Fitness, became synonymous with fitness, nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

A weight training pioneer, fitness crusader, and magazine publisher, Joe Weider overcame the challenges of childhood poverty and lack of education to create a sports movement that changed modern culture’s conception of physical beauty and the way athletes and everyman exercises and diets. Through the magazines he published, the sports federation (International Federation of Bodybuilders) he created, the bodybuilding contests he promoted, and his groundbreaking advocacy of fitness for women, Joe Weider created a sports legacy that has a worldwide reach and affected the lives of millions of people.

Born in 1919, Joseph Weider grew up in a tough neighborhood in Montreal, Canada during the Great Depression. An undersized child, Joe became easy prey for older and tougher teenagers, which prompted him to head off to the Montreal YMHA to request to train with their wrestling team. The coach turned him down for fear he’d be hurt.

Undaunted, Joe made his way to a local newsstand in search of inspiration. ”I went to the local 5 and dime store and I bought two magazines for a few pennies,” he recalled. ”One was the 1930 edition of the Milo Barbell Company’s magazine, Strength and it really opened my eyes.”

Inspired by the message and images within their pages, Joe scavenged a local train yard for an old axle and two flywheels, which he cobbled into a makeshift barbell. He lifted, pumped and pressed the scrap metal endlessly, transforming his physique from scrawny to brawny. His reputation as a powerhouse quickly began to spread throughout Montreal.

”Then somebody knocked at my parents’ door and asked for me,” he continued. ”He said ’I represent the Verdun weightlifting club. Would you like to come try out for our team?’ When I saw the gym, saw the guys working out, supporting one another, I was mesmerized. That experience changed my life.”

At 17 Joe competed in his first weightlifting contest which earned him a national ranking. Letters and calls began inundating the Weider household with requests for Joe’s advice. Realizing he hadn’t the time to attend to each query he chose to create his own magazine.

With $7 in his pocket he began to work on the first issue of Your Physique, which was published in August of 1940. Orders poured in immediately and within 18 months Joe had turned a $10,000 profit. Soon he started the Weider Barbell Co., a mail order business, using his magazine to advertise its wares.

In 1946, Joe and his younger brother Ben rented Montreal’s Monument National Theater to host the first Mr. Canada contest. They formed the International Federation of Bodybuilders that night.

In 1965 Joe created the Mr. Olympia contest, which to this day is the premier event in bodybuilding. Joe created the Ms. Olympia contest in 1980, and added the Fitness Olympia contest in 1995 and the Figure Olympia in 2003. He also mentored numerous young bodybuilders, including young Arnold Schwarzenegger. Recognizing Arnold’s potential, he said, ”Every sport needs a hero and I knew that Arnold was the right man.” Joe brought Arnold to the United States from Austria, financing his trip and helped him become established in business. Joe maintained a very close relationship with Arnold for the rest of his life-they were close friends and visited frequently.

To help support his family young Joe Weider was forced to drop out of school in the seventh grade. Self educated, he was an avid student of history and a collector of art, particularly of the American West. In 2010 he oversaw the donation of money and priceless bodybuilding artifacts, photos and documents that established the Joe and Betty Weider Museum of Physical Culture at the University of Texas, Austin.

Twelve years ago Joe was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a heart condition with which he was expected to survive about three years. Doctors credit his amazing fitness and nutrition ethic — until recently he trained every morning and made frequent public appearances — for allowing him to survive an additional nine years.

He is survived by his wife, Betty Weider.

Additional information about Joe can be found on his website at JoeWeider.com.