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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: 240 is Back on March 30, 2009, 05:16:08 PM
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PBW reporting that Zabo died. 84 years old. Very popular in the 40's and 50's.
1948
Mr New Jersey - AAU, Overall Winner
1950
Mr America - AAU, 13th
Mr Eastern America - IFBB, 3rd
Junior Mr America - AAU, Unknown placing
Mr Middle Atlantic - AAU, Junior, 1st
Mr Middle Atlantic - AAU, Winner
1951
Mr Eastern America - AAU, 3rd
Junior Mr America - AAU, 4th
Mr Strength and Health, 2nd
1952
Mr America - AAU, 5th
Mr California - AAU, 4th
Mr Eastern America - AAU, 3rd
Junior Mr America - AAU, 3rd
Mr Southern California - AAU, 3rd
1953
Mr America - AAU, 3rd
Mr California - AAU, 2nd
Mr Los Angeles - AAU, Winner
Mr Pacific Coast - AAU, Winner
Mr Southern California - AAU, 2nd
1954
Mr America - AAU, 3rd
Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 2nd
Mr California - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
Mr California - AAU, Winner
Junior Mr America - AAU, West , 2nd
1956
Mr USA, 3rd
1957
Mr USA, 5th
1965
Mr America - IFBB, Medium, 3rd
1967
Mr America - IFBB, Medium, 2nd
Mr Los Angeles - Pro - IPBA, 2nd
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Any photos? ???
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Wow, that is definitely the physique I am aiming for.
PIP
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1940's and 50's...
Does that mean he's natural? I didn't think steroids came onto the scene until the 1960's? ???
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:-\ He got into Joe Weider's bodybuilding hall of fame in 2007.
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PBW reporting that Zabo died. 84 years old. Very popular in the 40's and 50's.
1948
Mr New Jersey - AAU, Overall Winner
1950
Mr America - AAU, 13th
Mr Eastern America - IFBB, 3rd
Junior Mr America - AAU, Unknown placing
Mr Middle Atlantic - AAU, Junior, 1st
Mr Middle Atlantic - AAU, Winner
1951
Mr Eastern America - AAU, 3rd
Junior Mr America - AAU, 4th
Mr Strength and Health, 2nd
1952
Mr America - AAU, 5th
Mr California - AAU, 4th
Mr Eastern America - AAU, 3rd
Junior Mr America - AAU, 3rd
Mr Southern California - AAU, 3rd
1953
Mr America - AAU, 3rd
Mr California - AAU, 2nd
Mr Los Angeles - AAU, Winner
Mr Pacific Coast - AAU, Winner
Mr Southern California - AAU, 2nd
1954
Mr America - AAU, 3rd
Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 2nd
Mr California - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
Mr California - AAU, Winner
Junior Mr America - AAU, West , 2nd
1956
Mr USA, 3rd
1957
Mr USA, 5th
1965
Mr America - IFBB, Medium, 3rd
1967
Mr America - IFBB, Medium, 2nd
Mr Los Angeles - Pro - IPBA, 2nd
R.I.P Abs :(
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R.I.P Abs :(
X 2
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1940's and 50's...
Does that mean he's natural? I didn't think steroids came onto the scene until the 1960's? ???
Olympic Game athletes had them in the 30s and 40s, but I don't know if they drizzled down to Bbing yet.
The guy's physique looks very attainable naturally. Eat a lot of meat, stay active in the weight room.
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Olympic Game athletes had them in the 30s and 40s, but I don't know if they drizzled down to Bbing yet.
The guy's physique looks very attainable naturally. Eat a lot of meat, stay active in the weight room.
I have to thank you for posting this. That first photo has seriously motivated me.
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Guy was rumored to do like a thousand sit-ups just to warm up, then the same number of hanging leg raises too.
There's a reason they called him Abs. Or in later years, they should have called him "Shades" since he usually wore sunglasses all the time.
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someone post some pics of him looking cool in those shades he always wore.
RIP, Great man.
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(http://www.davedraper.com/zabo-1999.jpg)
Only one I could find...
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Legendary bodybuilder who trained with the best at Golds Venice for decades.
Was a permanent fixture at Golds back in the day when it was a real gym.
Worlds best abs!!
RIP
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Only one I could find...
i just did a little hunt.
(http://www.davedraper.com/gallery/data/511/8Zabo_1.jpg)
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and another
(http://www.davedraper.com/gallery/data/510/Zabo09.jpg)
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RIP
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That sucks, I knew Zabo when I was a kid training at Golds and after Joe Gold opened World Gym, he was Joe's right hand man right up until Joe's death. I'm sure Onlyme has some great stories of Zabo as well.
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That sucks, I knew Zabo when I was a kid training at Golds and after Joe Gold opened World Gym, he was Joe's right hand man right up until Joe's death. I'm sure Onlyme has some great stories of Zabo as well.
coach seriously if you ever die, i will buy the domain WWW.THECOACH.COM and will make a tribute to you , a getbig legend
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coach seriously if you ever die, i will buy the domain WWW.THECOACH.COM and will make a tribute to you , a getbig legend
I'll never die, I'm too stubborn!
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RIP, Zabo!
Coach, I was at Gold's when the yearly dues were $34 a year or thereabouts (very early 60's). Joe was always in the back welding some equipment together. I wonder if I ever met ya?
The squat rack over in the rear, left hand corner was always in use by the USC or UCLA football players and some humongous shot putter whose name I presently forget.
Can you recall the name of some of the members back then?
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I'll never die, I'm too stubborn!
if we ever meet make sure to lend me a sniper rifle so we can go to the border and shot some aliens
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An absolute legend.
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I remember reading an old MuscleMag that had an interview with him (around 1993).
He was very straight forward in his replys it was pretty funny.
They did ask him if he used steroids and he no by the time they were around in bodybuilding he was too old.
Asked about if he or others knew if Arnold would get so famous he was like 'How would we know that? That's a stupid question'
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Thats not Larry 'The Legend' Zbyszko
http://revver.com/video/1147903/larry-zbyszko-testimony-wrestlings-living-legendeasyvideosales/
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many more pics and mag covers at musclememory (http://musclememory.com/show.php?a=Koszewski,+Irvin+(Zabo))
(http://musclememory.com/magCovers/sh/sh5406.jpg)
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Stuntmovie told me he died today. I saw Zabo maybe 400 times in my life when I first started serious training in 1979. I went to the original World Gym and he and Eddie G. worked the counter everyday (at least everyday I was there). Unlike today, back then you had just a few employees and between Joe, Eddie and Zabo I really can't remember anyone else working there. Maybe in the afternoon when I wasn't there. Memberships were $150 a year. No monthly dues or EFT. No computers, no contracts, no nothing. Just an index card with your name, address, phone number and who to call in case of an emergency. Zabo was there to make sure everything went smoothly. I only talked to him a few times though. He and Arnold and the big boys had there inner circle. I was just a young kid who went there before going off to paint houses. Not even sure Zabo really noticed me. He called me Mr. Jones a few times I remember that. But, he didn't keep track of me like Joe did. Joe seemed to notice whenever I wasn't there. All I know is Zabo was a pillar helping Joe with anything and everything he needed. I would think Arnold would definitely be at his funeral but who knows, not sure how good friends they were
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Stuntmovie told me he died today. I saw Zabo maybe 400 times in my life when I first started serious training in 1979. I went to the original World Gym and he and Eddie G. worked the counter everyday (at least everyday I was there). Unlike today, back then you had just a few employees and between Joe, Eddie and Zabo I really can't remember anyone else working there. Maybe in the afternoon when I wasn't there. Memberships were $150 a year. No monthly dues or EFT. No computers, no contracts, no nothing. Just an index card with your name, address, phone number and who to call in case of an emergency. Zabo was there to make sure everything went smoothly. I only talked to him a few times though. He and Arnold and the big boys had there inner circle. I was just a young kid who went there before going off to paint houses. Not even sure Zabo really noticed me. He called me Mr. Jones a few times I remember that. But, he didn't keep track of me like Joe did. Joe seemed to notice whenever I wasn't there. All I know is Zabo was a pillar helping Joe with anything and everything he needed. I would think Arnold would definitely be at his funeral but who knows, not sure how good friends they were
Any stories on Zabo training? Zabo certainly was pretty strong if I remember correctly from Ironage stories.
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What strikes me is the fact that these old natural bodybuilders from the 40s seem to all live a very long time with few deaths earlier than 75 years of age.
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Any stories on Zabo training? Zabo certainly was pretty strong if I remember correctly from Ironage stories.
No I don't remember seeing him train. I'm sure he did but not when I was there. I remember him being very tan all the time. What was really cool about that gym was the outdoor (which was upstairs) are where you could workout under the sun and get tan at the same time. I always thought that was really cool.
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No I don't remember seeing him train. I'm sure he did but not when I was there. I remember him being very tan all the time. What was really cool about that gym was the outdoor (which was upstairs) are where you could workout under the sun and get tan at the same time. I always thought that was really cool.
Is that the same place where they filmed that Bertil Fox Training video?
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IDIOTS will say that PED killed him...
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Is that the same place where they filmed that Bertil Fox Training video?
Not sure. But I do remember the first day Bertil came to the gym. Kal was so excited. He was going around telling everyone who Bertil was. There are some days you can remember in a gym and that is definitely one of them.
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many more pics and mag covers at musclememory (http://musclememory.com/show.php?a=Koszewski,+Irvin+(Zabo))
(http://musclememory.com/magCovers/sh/sh5406.jpg)
He looks like a young Arnold Palmer in the face.
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Not sure. But I do remember the first day Bertil came to the gym. Kal was so excited. He was going around telling everyone who Bertil was. There are some days you can remember in a gym and that is definitely one of them.
I still can`t get over how thick and unbelievably strong Bertil was. Did you guys ever Bench together since you both were doing 500 plus?
Whats amazing in his training video, he does it so non-chalantly like it is just any other set or even a warmup. If I remember he didn`t even have a spotter.
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I found this Bertil Fox Bench Press. :o
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if we ever meet make sure to lend me a sniper rifle so we can go to the border and shot some aliens
Joe's the type of repub who clutches the bible, not a rifle.
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Joe's the type of repub who clutches the bible, not a rifle.
lol
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I found this Bertil Fox Bench Press. :o
Holy shit I might have been there then just didn't notice. Joe didn't let cameras into the gym unless he approved them. If anyone came in with one Tony Nowak would quickly throw them down the stairs as I witnessed once before. I have told this story to many times on here about Bertil, but the short version is.......
Bertil shows up to the gym for the first time. Kal is going up to everyone to tell them that Bertil is here and he is going to bench. Someone had just benched 500 and the weight was still on the bar. Back then most of the time the attitude was, if you can't lift what is on the bar or rack then you need to take off the weight yourself. Anyway we were all watching him as he paced in front of the window. He sat down on the bench and start4ed stretching some. I know what I was thinking as was probably everyone else. Is he going to just warmup with that weight. Well as he was lying on the bench and stretching some more he grabbed the bar and without a spotter (which I like to practice too), he took the weight off held it there for a couple seconds and then proceeded to do some reps. I can't remember how many but it was more than 5. It was funny cause everyone just looked at each other shaking their heads. When he re-racked the bar and got up most of us turned around to pretend we were'nt looking. But again, this was one of the moments I will always remember from going to the gym.
I still can`t get over how thick and unbelievably strong Bertil was. Did you guys ever Bench together since you both were doing 500 plus?
Whats amazing in his training video, he does it so non-chalantly like it is just any other set or even a warmup. If I remember he didn`t even have a spotter.
No I never worked in with him. He was very quiet and I never really saw him talk to many people. I was just a kid. But, I did do 500 for one rep with Joe Gold standing behind me to make sure I made it. But, I was only 247 at the time and didn't have the strength to make it look easy like I did a few years later.
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RIP Zabo,and heres my favourite pic of the man.With a real woman,unlike the plastic ones you get today.
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Just read an interview in High Times magazine by Tommy Chong (from Cheech and Chong) where he says in the early 70's he used to go over to Zabo's place and smoke a ton of weed with Zabo, Arnold and Dave Draper.
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zabo joe gold and a guy who looks like kevin james actually steve mery...........an
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another of them
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It doesn't seem that long ago that I had a photo taken with Zabo at Venice Beach in 1969 when I was on my honeymoon. Joe took my wife, Roz, to Muscle Beach while I had a workout. Joe was interested in selling his gym and I asked him if he would finance me. He gave me a look which said he was the kind of guy who didn't joke about $. Seymour Koenig, who used to wrestle in Vancouver, BC., told me Joe was keen to sell the gym as he wanted to travel more in the merchant marine.
I first met Zabo in October 1968 and I recall an amusing story about his girlfriend. I was at the original 'Muscle Beach' at Santa Monica sun tanning. Arnold had just arrived from Germany and was there with some mates. I was sort of observing the scene when I saw Arnold get up and walk to the surf for a swim. I was surprised that nobody paid him any attention. I mean, the guy was huge and weighed about 250 pounds and was 6' 1 1/2". I know because I measured his height the next year in Honolulu. How could a giant like that not be conspicuous on that famous beach? A few minutes later, Zabo's curvaceous Mexican girlfriend got up to have a swim. Everyone looked at her! Well, she had a great body with this small waist and everyone looked. I thought to myself that bodybuilding was an empty pastime because here was a gal who didn't train who got more attention than the biggest bodybuilder in the world at the time. Well, I am sure Zabo would have had her come to the gym, but she was not a figure or bodybuilding gal. The truth is most people envied Zabo than they did Arnold on that day!
Joe called Zabo 'The Chief' and that was fitting because Zabo was a cool guy and mates would assemble at his place to watch football. I caught up with Zabo again in 1980 when visiting LA and then again in 1991. One day when I visited the World Gym I asked after Zabo and was told he was asleep in the cupboard in the office so that he would be there if Joe called. I didn't believe it but apparently it was true. Joe told me he opened another gym after he sold the original Golds so that Zabo and Eddie would have jobs! Now that is looking after your mates. Joe was a good businessman but he looked after his mates and his customers. He let me train for free when I was there for a month in 1968. I offered to do some cleaning, etc., but he shook his head and said just to tell him how long I would be there.
Over the years Zabo got older but aged slower than most of his contemporaries. Zabo looked the best is what I heard when he attended old time reunions. He told me several times, "Where is the pot of gold from all this training?" Well, he lived to see some guys earn a lot of money from the sport. In the days when Zabo competed there was virtually no prize money but a title and trophy was sufficient reward, anyway. Zabo was a keen observer of the human condition and would comment on things if he knew you.
I used to shake my head when I witnessed Zabo doing his long abdominal sessions. Something like 40 minute doing partial situps and leg raises. I think he popularized the partial movement used by just about everyone since. He did them religiously maybe because his abs made him a bodybuilding celebrity. I always felt Leo Robert had better abs but Zabo won more best ab trophies for sure.
Steve Reeves, Reg Park, Vince Gironda, Clancy Ross, Joe Gold, and now Zabo Koszewski are gone. These guys were legends even in the old days and were always featured in the magazines.
The big guy in the photos above with Zabo is Steve Merjanian. What an interesting guy he was. He was the strongest big guy at Golds in those days and everyone respected him. One day I challenged him to lift this big block of wood used to stand on while training. It was something like 4 inches thick and weighed about 60 pounds. Big Steve's hands were too small and he couldn't lift it. Not to be undone he told me 'come here kid' and proceeded to hold an Olympic bar out front at shoulder height and rotate it from vertical to horizontal and back to vertical using one hand. I didn't even attempt to duplicate that feat and merely quipped that it was one all!
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Why wasn't this thread made a sticky at the top of page 1? Zabo was a real legend in bodybuilding but I guess the flotsam here are too young to even know who he was. What a shame that famous guys like him aren't given more attention when they leave this world.
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Wow, that is definitely the physique I am aiming for.
PIP
I'll take his abs, but I don't care for his obliques.
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Found another photo of Zabo from 1949. That was 60 years ago so he was 24.
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The year was 1970. I was in L.A. with a high school bodybuilding buddy for that years "Mr. America" contest. We were two wide eyed sixteen year old bodybuilding fanatics, but otherwise good kids. The day before the show, we went sight seeing at the Mecca to see the top stars in person. There was Ken Waller putting the final touches on his physique by doing some posing at Gold's gym.
Zabo Kosewski was there too. We struck up a comraderie with him and asked him if he knew where we might find lodging for the next two nights while we were in town. We were bussing it, so out of his gracious hospitality and the kindness of his heart, Zabo offered to drive us to an affordable Venice hotel. I remember to this day him driving us around in his old green volkswagon.