Iron Subculture

We lift to get stronger and bigger, with Bodybuilding as the artistic build of the body. looking at the history of the Mr America, Mr Universe, and Mr Olympia we see growth (some that people appreciate others that some people feel is a step backwards. In this part two of three videos that I have filmed in the past 12 years, share the answers of:

Brandon Curry, Jeff Storch, Kenny Wallach, Walter Martin, Adam Coriell, Darrem Charles, Tad Inoue and Chris Cormier. Tell me who you thing has been the best?

Who is Bodybuilding’s Greatest of All Time? (Part2) We lift to get stronger and bigger, with Bodybuilding as the artistic build of the body. looking at the history of the Mr America, Mr Universe, and Mr Olympi...

I posted a great video on Alisha Sturkie — The Beautiful Beast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRnxHacTf90
A Beautiful Wellness Champion that Trains like a Powerlifter
I have met many champions in powerlifting, strongman and bodybuilding... few impressed me as much as Alisha Sturkie! With great genetics, there is the handle of numerous medical issues, life challenges but choosing to maintain (and share) a great positive attitude. Enjoy!

Alisha Sturkie — The Beautiful Beast! I have met many champions in powerlifting, strongman and bodybuilding... few impressed me as much as Alisha Sturkie! With great genetics, there is the handle...

Just posted... great one hour interview with Louie Simmons, along with dozens of great photos new seen before that I took in early articles on Westside Gym. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH9FkcSZrWw

Who is the GREATEST Powerlifter of ALL time? I interviewed some of the top athletes to share their choices...

Who is the Powerlifting Greatest Of ALL Time? Looking at the history of powerlifting, many great strength athletes are considered. I speak to some of the top lifters and coaches to share their personal G...

Iron Subculture Vidcast #001: The Diet Strategy of Jason Theobold

I interview Jason Theobald on the basics of setting up a nutrition program. Kathy Johnson talks about being a champion in two different sports. Peter Ciccone discusses periodization for bodybuilding and Josh Bryant tells us if genetics limit us as powerlifters!

https://youtu.be/9yRrs4NUZdo

Please share the video on Facebook and social media.

Nasser el Sonbaty was born on October 15, 1965 in Stuttgart, Germany. At 5'11” he had a lean off-season weight of 310-330 pounds and competed at a shredded 270-290 pounds. His impressive placings include:

* Second-place in the IFBB Mr. Olympia (1997)
* Third-place in two different IFBB Mr. Olympias (1995, 1998)
* Arnold Classic winner (1999)
* Second-place twice in the Arnold Classic (1997, 1998)
* Night of Champions winner (1995)
* Winner of four IFBB Grand Prix contests
* Top three in 31 IFBB pro contests

Nasser el Sonbaty died in his sleep on a visit to Cairo on March 20, 2013. The reason was not reported. He represented himself not only as a mass monster, but someone that was exceptionally intelligent and shared knowledge with others.

Happy birthday to three-time (and first) Mr. Olympia Larry Scott.

Known for his wisdom of training techniques, Scott was also even more regarded for being a true gentleman of the sport, helping people reach their goals and representing the sport like a true champion. He is missed as a great bodybuilder and human being!

Oct. 12, 1974: Schwarzenegger Wins his Third Mr. Olympia
Bill Grant wins IFBB Mr. World and Bob Birdsong wins AABA Mr. America

Those that follow the current contests will find it hard to imagine a Mr. Olympia with just five competitors...but, keep in mind, the award money has grown from $1,000 to $400,000. The contest was held in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum and (as was common back at this time) a variety of other high-level contests were included. Also, this was one of the first big shows to have a pre-judging that fans could attend, but you had to fork out $4 for a ticket!

At the 1974 Mr. Olympia the contest was split into two classes, an under 200 and an over 200-pound class. This was the first of six times this division was included. With just five competitors overall it doesn't seem like this was needed. The lighter weight class was Frank Zane versus Franco Columbu, with Columbu winning. Schwarzenegger, Ferrigno and Nubret fought for the bigger class. Of course the Austrian Oak won, the soon-to-be Hulk was in second, with Serge Nubret rounding things out in third.

“The Columbu/Zane battle was more a study of contrasts to comparisons,” says Al Antuck's in his MTI article. “It was like comparing apples to oranges. Ask most men whom thy would prefer to look like and Zane's name comes up most often.”

In reference to the over-200 class, George Kaye wrote the following for Muscle Builder, “For an instant at pre-judging I thought Ferrigno might surprise but a closer inspection showed the wunderkind's longer arms had nowhere as much meat as Arnold's more compact hams, and at the Most Muscular posedown, Arnie ground Lou's hopes into a squeegie of baby oil. For this year...”

History tells us that this was a year before the rematch between the Schwarzenegger/Ferrigno/Nubret trio that took place in Pretoria, South African (which was filmed in Pumping Iron).

If you ever wondered how much the female side of the sport has advanced, the coverage of the Miss Americana contest (run in conjunction with the three male bodybuilding categories) is shockingly harsh in its seventies-style sexism. In the Weider article, George Kaye writes: “Miss Americana 1974 is a dollie named April Davis with two nifties, Sandra Milstead and Natalie Rebozo runners-up.”

Kaye goes on to mention that the fourth-placer Kellie Everts should have won for obvious reasons. “Kelly is a Vargas Pl***oy drawing of a fantastic super-bunny in reality. Aside from a super face she possesses the biggest knockers outside of a barnyard, great legs and everything else - yessir, the works! At no point did the audience spend a moment looking at another chick when Kelly was onstage, and several entrants would not return after pre-judging due to the one-sided adulation. The judges gave her only Most Shapely but at 4 in the morning I know who they wish they were sacked out with. Hypocrites, you guys. Next year, vote for sex...not Miss Americana apple pie.”

Since Everts placed well in a number of the East Coast-based WBBG competitions this may have worked against her on the judges' sheets. She was a stripper that went on to found her own church with an unusual “I strip for God” motto. Thankfully, the female aspects of the sport (and respectability of the judging and coverage) has greatly improved.

The IFBB Mr. World contest was the first major IFBB title for Bill Grant. He had another 14 years in pro competitions and also competed in the Masters Olympia in 1994. Grant won the overall and the tall class. Franklyn Greene won the medium class and Ed Corney won the short class.

The AABA Mr. America was the title of the IFBB affiliated National title at that time (prior to the launch of the NPC). In the short class, the placings were 1st Eddie Giuliani, 2nd Leon Brown, and 3rd David Mastorakis. In the medium class, it was 1st Bob Birdsong, 2nd Kent Kuehn, and 3rd Roger Callard. The tall class was 1st Bill Howard, 2nd Don Peters, and 3rd Don Modzelewski. Bob Birdsong won the overall title.

REFERENCES:
- Antuck, Al. Muscle Training Illustrated (Jan-Mar 1975) pg 29
- Kaye, George. Muscle Builder (Mar 1975) Pg 28

On this date in history, the great Lee Haney wins his third Mr. Olympia title in Columbus, Ohio. As usual, Haney dominated with first-place being unanimous by all of the judges in all of the rounds. The battle between Gaspari and Christian was more heated (ending 42-59) with Christian getting some of the second-place votes. Albert Beckles dropped from a second-place finish (the year before) to fourth, shredded separation and high-peaked biceps being things for which he earned credit. Berry DeMey impressed people by grasping a fifth place in his second Olympia (up one spot from his sixth-place debut a year earlier). Australia's John Terilli was considered by many to have been placed a bit lowered than he deserved.

1) Lee Haney
2) Rich Gaspari
3) Mike Christian
4) Albert Beckles
5) Berry DeMey
6) Peter Hensel
7) Bertil Fox
8) Ron Love
9) John Terilli
10) Josef Grolmus
11) Tom Platz
12) Jusup Wilcosz
13) Edouard Kawak
14) Frank Richard
15) Gary Leonard

[Photos courtesy of the January 1987 issue of IronMan magazine]

Easily one of the best PL meet I've been to in awhile: https://youtu.be/WityO2AEpxM

Amazing Lifting at the 2016 SPF Cincinnati Women's Pro-Am! Laura Phelps-Sweatt promotes one of the best, competitive and motivational powerlifting meets in the country. The best female lifters travel from as far away...

Filming video with IFBB pro Brian Yersky and recent Natural Ohio winner Matthew Vogel. You know the owner comes from old school when there are 80s pics of Chris Dickerson, Diana Dennis, and Danny Padilla on the walls!