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What happened to dan Howard?

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jwb:

--- Quote from: Sunday on November 08, 2022, 12:22:22 PM ---Dan Howard came out to play in the Rose Bowl in the 60's where he met Joe Gold while working out at Gold's Gym. Dan later managed the original Gold's Gym during the filming of the movie "Pumping Iron" on Pacific in Venice California. (After Joe had sold Gold's Gym and gone out to sea.)
Dan later helped Joe Gold build equipment for Joe's original World Gym located at 2210 Main St. in Santa Monica, California. There is a picture on the internet showing Joe and Dan at the side of Joe's shop, that Joe had build next to his house in Venice. (This is were I first met Dan. The picture shows Dan and Joe and in the foreground creating the 45 degree leg press.)

Dan later moved to Orange County, and started Howard's World Gym located in Fountain Valley, California. Dan also built a line of gym equipment behind his gym called "Howard's Gym equipment". Boyer Coe also worked out of Dan's gym and helped with starting up the Body Master line of equipment.
 Dan later went on to form one of the Cowboy shooting Assoc., and went by the name "Doc Bones".  Dan also liked bench rest shooting, and built his own guns.
Dan was a true craftsman, and was never giving credit for some of the equipment he helped to create. He was a master of metal fabrication, and helped to teach Joe some of the finer points of welding, which Joe later passed on to me. Dan was also skilled in leather work creating saddles for his horses and his wife Linda on their ranch in Riverside California.
Dan and I drove out to Venice in my truck where someone name Bruce who owned several Gold's Gyms back east coast filmed Dan for a documentary on Gold's Gym. He also set a camera man out to Dan's ranch to film him working on a standing preacher bench. I hope someday the documentary will come out, because Dan was a good friend to many, but little is known about him if you look him up online.
 I would like to thank all at Getbig for allowing me to share what I know about Dan - Sunday

--- End quote ---
I’ve been preaching about Dan's genius to people for 20 years. The equipment he created was amazing for the time and many well known companies basically lifted the designs for their own lines.

Sunday:
The first adjustable cams where you could change the resistance on the weights I first saw at Dan's gym in Fountain Valley. Years later they now are on all the major leg extension and leg bicep curl machines.
 His first wife Linda once told me about a time when her and Dan went to a bodybuilding contest in Orange County, and a gym equipment company had already copied and was trying to sell a machine that Dan had invented and put on his gym's floor two weeks earlier. She said he started getting upset and they had to leave.
The first 45 degree leg press that I ever saw was at Joe's original World Gym around early the 1980's. Joe and Dan built it on the side of Joe's home. A year later every gym seem to have one.
You are correct that Dan never really got the credit he deserved for much of what he did. Frank Zane I remember had nothing but good things to say about Dan and what he created. He was the one that put the documentary crew in touch with Dan. Joe Gold also spoke very highly of Dan, and let Dan use his shop to build his equipment to start up his gym in Fountain Valley. Joe did it  as a "thank you" for Dan helping Joe earlier when he built his first World Gym.

jwb:

--- Quote from: Sunday on November 09, 2022, 09:23:21 PM ---The first adjustable cams where you could change the resistance on the weights I first saw at Dan's gym in Fountain Valley. Years later they now are on all the major leg extension and leg bicep curl machines.
 His first wife Linda once told me about a time when her and Dan went to a bodybuilding contest in Orange County, and a gym equipment company had already copied and was trying to sell a machine that Dan had invented and put on his gym's floor two weeks earlier. She said he started getting upset and they had to leave.
The first 45 degree leg press that I ever saw was at Joe's original World Gym around early the 1980's. Joe and Dan built it on the side of Joe's home. A year later every gym seem to have one.
You are correct that Dan never really got the credit he deserved for much of what he did. Frank Zane I remember had nothing but good things to say about Dan and what he created. He was the one that put the documentary crew in touch with Dan. Joe Gold also spoke very highly of Dan, and let Dan use his shop to build his equipment to start up his gym in Fountain Valley. Joe did it  as a "thank you" for Dan helping Joe earlier when he built his first World Gym.

--- End quote ---
what role did the guy who owned the Santa Monica bodybuilding center play? I think his name was George and he was European.

I know that all the equipment at Santa Monica bodybuilding center had very similar designs to Dan and World Gym and it was painted bright Orange.

I personally started playing around making strength equipment back in Australia in 1991 since my grandfather and Uncle ran a job shop, so I could get them the weld things for me. I worked at a crappy student gym for several years from age 19 and we modified many pieces slightly to improve them. The cable row pulley was too low to the ground so we raised it and people were very happy. We built a new 30 degree incline press bench to replace the old 45 degree one since it hurt people's shoulder joints. We used the old photos of golds gym #1 to design it after the 2” square version that Dan must have built around 1974/5 with the spotters platform off the back.

Sunday:
The Santa Monica Bodybuilding gym had some great machines, and George had it open for general membership until he decided to close it off and turned it into a private gym. Several top name actors would train there. I believe Tom Cruise was one. (?) It's my understanding that he also closed it off, as he was concerned about people stealing his ideas.
George was a former machinist by trade and Joe Gold told me that George's equipment was first rate. A guy who worked at World's named J.J. would go over from time to time to see George, and agreed George had some great design.
 
As far as the angle on the 45 degree incline bench goes, Both Dan Joe Gold told me that they felt 37 degrees was perfect.
Dan also created for the original World Gym a low pulley row machine with the lower pulley mounted at 45 degrees with a pull pin to adjust the height of the pulley. The height of the pulley could be change so you could pull more with either your upper or lower back. The height of the handle you used to pull the weight stack would change, but the cable that the handle was attached to remain in the same location. It was a great idea that I have not seem since. I built one based on Dan's design, and have it at my house.
I also have a few pieces of Joe's original equipment that I received from Charlie who lived next door to Joe, as well as some items Joe personnel gave to me. I'm hoping to get them in some museums someday. The Stark Museum in Austin Texas had showed some interest. (Terry Todd's wife Jan oversees it. Should come up if you Goggle it.)

Sunday:
Dan and Linda Howard at Joe Gold's memorial in 2004.

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