One of the challenges facing historians of physical culture across ages is the issue of biography. Those strongmen and women from the nineteenth and early twentieth-century who did so much to capture our respective attention were, for better or for worse, masters of publicity. It is so often difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction when it comes to the real lives of these performers, and for very good reason. The often dirty secret of the fitness industry is that aside from being performers and athletes, such individuals were also entrepreneurs. They had stories and products to sell and, as...

One of my favourite treats at the end of the year was the publication of sporting annuals. Based in Ireland, I would eagerly await the sale of soccer, rugby, boxing and wrestling annuals more so than my Christmas presents. Annuals offered an opportunity to reflect on the successes, and failures of the previous year. Much like these blog posts, they represented an opportunity to pause and reflect on some of the lesser known or understudied aspects of the sporting calendar. By now, my fondness for Health and Strength magazine is rather obvious. What continually draws me to this magazine is...

Born in Leeds in 1928, Reg Park was one of the most impressive bodybuilders of the mid-twentieth century. For many in the 1940s and ‘50s, the top physique athletes were Park, Steve Reeves and John Grimek.  Over the course of his bodybuilding career, Park won the Mr. Britain, Best Developed Athlete in America and Mr. Universe titles during the 1940s and 1950s. For more modern bodybuilding fans, it is worth pointing out that Park was supposedly the man who inspired Arnold Schwarzenegger to seriously take to weight training. The above front cover, dating to June 1950, was taken the same...