joe weider

In 1968, Weider saw promise in a 19-year-old Austrian body-builder named Arnold Schwarzenegger. He brought Arnold to America and began to train him in the sport. The rest is history.

In 1965, Joe and Ben founded the Mr. Olympia competition. The competition would go on to define and enhance the sport.

When Betty Brosmer met Joe Weider in the 1950s, she was already a successful model and had appeared on dozens of magazine covers. A California native, Betty began lifting weights as a teenager to improve her figure and she got her start in modeling after winning several beauty contests. Once she and Joe married in...

Throughout the years, Joe trained the most well-known and successful bodybuilders the world has ever known including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbo, Dave Draper, and Frank Zane.

This magazine was the direct antecedent of “Muscle & Fitness,” which became one of Joe’s most popular and successful publications.

In July 1952, the last issue of Your Physique appeared on newsstands. It was henceforth incorporated into a new magazine called, “Mr. America.”

In his amateur body-building career, Joe competed in Olympic-style weightlifting in the light heavyweight division (181 lbs). He placed 5th at the London Mr. Universe contest in 1951 which was hosted by the National Amateur Body Builders Association of Great Britain.

In March 1950, Val Njord and Lex Barker, who played Tarzan in the movies, appeared as the first celebrities on any of Joe’s publication covers.

In August 1948, Mary McDowell appeared as the first woman on any of Joe’s publication covers.