A young Joe Weider

Although the self-proclaimed Trainer of Champions is seen by some as little more than a master self-promoter – P.T. Barnum for the buff set – he is more than that, much more, in fact.

From revolutionizing the bodybuilding publication industry to co-founding the International Federation of Bodybuilders with his brother, Ben, to bringing icons like Larry Scott, Dave Draper, Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the attention of the public, Joe has single-handedly done more to promote our sport than any man living or deceased.

In short, Joe Weider loves bodybuilding like no one else and has loved it for longer than just about any human being ever.

With his incredible longevity in the sport and his expansive knowledge base, you might imagine that Joe would have a lot to say about bodybuilding, and you’d be right.  In fact, Joe has so much to say that, when he’s asked to share his thoughts, a surge of reflections, ideas, reminiscences and opinions will often come pouring forth with all the unbridled energy of the Colorado River.

If you want to learn about the awe-inspiring life story of The Master Blaster, get yourself a copy of the excellent book Brothers of Iron (2006, Sports Publishing) in which he and Ben tell the tale of how two poor Jewish kids raised in Montreal’s ghetto during the 1930s created an empire – and indeed an entire culture – with little more than determination and a dream.

If, however, you want a taste of what Joe Weider, world’s number one bodybuilding fan, is like on a typical Tuesday afternoon as he sits surrounded by ornate statuary and priceless paintings in his palatial office in Woodland Hills, California, then read on.

FLEX: Here we are, at the 25th anniversary of a magazine that, since its inception, has established itself as bodybuilding’s number one magazine.  When you were putting the first issue together, did you realize the impact it would eventually have?

JOE WEIDER:  You can’t launch something as big as a magazine and not believe that it’s going to change the world.  Otherwise, there’s no sense in starting it.  There’s too much room for failure in something like that, so you’d better think positive or you’re finished before you start.

FLEX was originally meant to focus solely on competitive bodybuilding.  In the early ’80s, at MUSCLE & FITNESS, we had begun to move more toward fitness than bodybuilding, so we decided to start FLEX in 1983.  The first few issues were pretty thin while we fleshed out the scope of the magazine.  Eventually, it began to take shape and included more articles about training and nutrition to go with the competition coverage, until it became what it is today.  I happen to think it’s a very good product.

And no, I’m not surprised by its success, because I hired the best and the brightest to work on it.  We had people like Rick Wayne, Jeff Everson, Bill Reynolds, Jerry Kindela, Julian Schmidt and Tom Deters, and now there’s Peter McGough.  We’ve had all these smart, ambitious people who have guided the magazine over the years.  Plus all the great champions we’ve covered over the years.  It’s hard to fail when you have guys like Arnold and Lou and [Ronnie] Coleman in your magazine.

Joe Weider at 17 years old

You started your publication business when you were only 17.  At the time, Bob Hoffman was the undisputed king of everything to do with muscles and strength.  Did you really believe you could overtake him?  You had nothing – a few dollars, and you hadn’t even completed public school.

If I didn’t believe I could, I wouldn’t have even tried!  You know, when I told my mother what I wanted to do, she said, "How can you expect to compete against him?  You’re just a young kid living in Montreal!  He’s a multimillionaire.  He has his own foundry.  He has his own company, York Barbell.  Who do you think you are that you can compete with him?"

She continued, "Look, you’d better work for your father tomorrow morning in the factory and learn a trade.  Otherwise you’ll be a bum."  How do you like that?  She was right, you know.

She was right?

Well, she was right in being concerned for her son.  Who did I think I was, taking on that jerk Hoffman?

You weren’t fond of him.

When YOUR PHYSIQUE first came out, he didn’t pay too much attention.  But then as it started to grow, he took notice and he began to attack me in his magazine.  What he didn’t realize, though, was that this was a good thing.  You see, when he would attack me, I would answer in my magazine.  So people wanted to see what I would say.

In those days it was very difficult to get circulation.  But Hoffman was there for many years, so he had a good circulation.  So here I was, getting all of these readers, thanks to his attacks on me!  Everyone wanted to know, "Who is this kid?  How can he compete with Hoffman?"  Really, he was shooting himself in the foot.  He was building me up.

When did you finally overtake him?

In the late ’40s, Hoffman wasn’t a very nice man.  He used to praise Hitler, which got him banned in Canada.  He would refer to me as that J-E-W in Canada.  Then he started saying I was lying about my measurements and the weights I could lift.  I said to myself, How am I going to prove that he’s lying about me?

Then I had an idea.  Do you know who Sigmund Klein was?

Yes.

Well, Sigmund Klein had a beautiful gym in New York.  It had these beautiful weights, with the globes on the end.  He wrote for Hoffman; he praised him.  [John] Grimek praised him.  They were all buddies.

So one day, I said to myself, I’m going to go to see Sigmund.  I knew he was a nice guy.  So I met him and we hit it off, and I said to him, "would you mind measuring me?"  And he said, "No!  Not at all!"

So I took off my shirt and he took a few measurements.  Then he wanted to see how strong I was.  I took one of those barbells – it was 100 pounds – and I did a strict one-arm military press.  Back in Canada, they made you do everything very strictly, you know.  Then I grabbed the heaviest weights he had and walked around the gym with them, and he was really impressed.

After we were all done, I asked him, "Sig, would you mind if I published all of this – my measurements, the weight I lifted and how you were here to witness it?"  He said, "No, go ahead!"  So I printed it, and Hoffman couldn’t say one word.  He couldn’t get around the truth after that.

That’s smart.  I like that.

Yeah, but then he got mad, so he challenged me to a weightlifting competition.  He kept saying how I wasn’t well built, how I wasn’t strong.  So I said, "OK, let’s meet."  Then he changed his mind.  "I want to fight with you – box with you.  But with bare knuckles.

That’s crazy.

Bodybuilding is a healthy activity.  It gives you life.  It makes you strong, not just physically but mentally.  You know, back in 1950, I predicted that bodybuilding would be the number one most-practiced activity for everyone involved in sports and physical fitness, and it’s true.  Back then, an athlete would be told by his coach that he’d be kicked off his team if he picked up a weight.  Now, do you know what they’d say?  You’ll be kicked off the team if you don’t train with weights!

I don’t think people always give enough credit to bodybuilding.  It is the best activity for physical and mental health in the world.  A lot of people think it’s just about building big muscles and posing on a stage, but bodybuilding is much more than that.

From the very start, I wanted bodybuilding to be seen not just as a way to build massive muscles, but also a way to get healthy.  I’m afraid that message got lost, and I still want to get it out there.

Do you feel that people’s perception of bodybuilders must be changed for them to accept that message?

Sure.  Who wants to look at a guy who is lumbering and doesn’t look healthy?  They want to see guys and girls who are beautiful to look at.  People should look at a bodybuilder and say, "Hey!  There’s someone I’d like to look like."

You know, bodybuilders are heroes to a lot of people, and they should look like heroes.  They need to dress right, too.  They should be presentable.  You see the outfits that some of them wear at the contest, and it’s not becoming, especially the women.  Too many of them wear outfits that make them look cheap.  They aren’t cheap, but they look it because of their clothes, makeup and hair.  If they want to be accepted by the public, they need to look more presentable.

I think we should have stylists to work with our athletes, like in the movies and TV.  If you are in the public eye, you should always try to look your best.

So if you could change …

Can I stop you here and say a few words about Arnold?

Of course.