The Weiders, Enthusiasts or All About The Benjamins?

[Parker]

Well, I'll keep this short and sweet. Joe has been in the business for a LONG while, he is the self declared "trainer of champions" (yet never trained anybody), brought us Arnold, after Dave Draper faltered, marketed Arnold, built a empire with his help, sells mags, supps, gym equip, and his name is synonymous with bbing. Oh, and his name is on the most prestigious bbing contest. His brother who died, had about a billi in the bank...which means, you know Joe has much more.

When you think about it, was all more of a business model born out a interest, abd everybody else were mere unwitting players in a goal to amass wealth, but it was just something one had a passion for? Basically, creating a empire out of other men's bodies...in a sense, a perverse form of prostitution? And the Weiders being the pimps? Everybody gets used to seeing the supps, weights, the shows, but really, really who gets paid (and that includes the other supp companies as well)?

[Lundgren]

Well, I'll keep this short and sweet. Joe has been in the business for a LONG while, he is the self declared "trainer of champions" (yet never trained anybody), brought us Arnold, after Dave Draper faltered, marketed Arnold, built a empire with his help, sells mags, supps, gym equip, and his name is synonymous with bbing. Oh, and his name is on the most prestigious bbing contest. His brother who died, had about a billi in the bank...which means, you know Joe has much more.

When you think about it, was all more of a business model born out a interest, abd everybody else were mere unwitting players in a goal to amass wealth, but it was just something one had a passion for? Basically, creating a empire out of other men's bodies...in a sense, a perverse form of prostitution? And the Weiders being the pimps? Everybody gets used to seeing the supps, weights, the shows, but really, really who gets paid (and that includes the other supp companies as well)?

All I ask is what would you do? Regardless good job on no racial analysis, (is he a jew german or french?)

[funk51]

Well, I'll keep this short and sweet. Joe has been in the business for a LONG while, he is the self declared "trainer of champions" (yet never trained anybody), brought us Arnold, after Dave Draper faltered, marketed Arnold, built a empire with his help, sells mags, supps, gym equip, and his name is synonymous with bbing. Oh, and his name is on the most prestigious bbing contest. His brother who died, had about a billi in the bank...which means, you know Joe has much more.

When you think about it, was all more of a business model born out a interest, abd everybody else were mere unwitting players in a goal to amass wealth, but it was just something one had a passion for? Basically, creating a empire out of other men's bodies...in a sense, a perverse form of prostitution? And the Weiders being the pimps? Everybody gets used to seeing the supps, weights, the shows, but really, really who gets paid (and that includes the other supp companies as well)?

first  Joeseph E WEider promoted larry scott. it is said that harold poole should have been the first mister olympia, but than weider went backstage with the judges and said it's close give it to the white man.

[funk51]

All I ask is what would you do? Regardless good job on no racial analysis, (is he a jew german or french?)

like hoffman called him joseph    e      weider= jew.

[Wiggs]

All I ask is what would you do? Regardless good job on no racial analysis, (is he a jew german or french?)

Joe is Canadian Jew...
Hoffman can be Jewish or German...as Hoffman is the last name if my Jewish ancestors...

Of course Joe was an enthusiast...just a very, very, very cheap one...No doubt he cared, he just needed to learn to share the wealth...no bodybuilders = no bodybuilding...

[Lundgren]

Joe is Canadian Jew...

From Quebec? with a german last name?

[Parker]

first  Joeseph E WEider promoted larry scott. it is said that harold poole should have been the first mister olympia, but than weider went backstage with the judges and said it's close give it to the white man.

Arnold was Weider's springboard. If you watched the Dave Draper story, you see that Weider was replacing one youthful squared jawed man with another...Dave repped the California Dream, and that showed in the name The Blonde Bomber, and all those pics that looked like they came from Beach Blanket Bingo, and Gidget.
 And see, he was fixing, or should we say, "influencing" contests back then.

Lundgren, it's not about doing a good job, he never really was a good bber, in fact, there are people today and back then that all they did was pushups and looked better than he ever did. He made money off of magazines, at first, then gradually with his brother went into various other aspects---supps, equip, contests, etc.

With people like Carroll Shelby, who actually won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he had actually has street cred, and pretty much was abd still is involved in car manufacturing---from his own line of cars, to the legendary GT40...compare that to Weider...making up training principles, which were developed by other people, using Robby Robinson's body and his face for a bust. When you start looking into it, it all seems like one big marketing sham, kinda like how X-mas is for very gullible kids...complete with a story told over centuries, toys, and a Armada of cartoons to reinforce the lie.

[Lundgren]

Arnold was Weider's springboard. If you watched the Dave Draper story, you see that Weider was replacing one youthful squared jawed man with another...Dave repped the California Dream, and that showed in the name The Blonde Bomber, and all those pics that looked like they came from Beach Blanket Bingo, and Gidget.
 And see, he was fixing, or should we say, "influencing" contests back then.

Lundgren, it's not about doing a good job, he never really was a good bber, in fact, there are people today and back then that all they did was pushups and looked better than he ever did. He made money off of magazines, at first, then gradually with his brother went into various other aspects---supps, equip, contests, etc.

With people like Carroll Shelby, who actually won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he had actually has street cred, and pretty much was abd still is involved in car manufacturing---from his own line of cars, to the legendary GT40...compare that to Weider...making up training principles, which were developed by other people, using Robby Robinson's body and his face for a bust. When you start looking into it, it all seems like one big marketing sham, kinda like how X-mas is for very gullible kids...complete with a story told over centuries, toys, and a Armada of cartoons to reinforce the lie.

He still built the sport in my opinion it's just a freak show. He built something and kept it going. And he knew how to sell it with people like arnold. I give him credit for it. He made the money because he created the wealth.

[Parker]

He still built the sport in my opinion it's just a freak show. He built something and kept it going. And he knew how to sell it with people like arnold. I give him credit for it. He made the money because he created the wealth.

But, did he build bodybuilding because he was an enthusiast, or to make make money. My question is when did one surplant the other, or did it? It's fine making money off of what you enjoy, like Enzo Ferrari, another contemporary of Joe Weider, but when it gets down to it, the many, many issues that bbing has been criticized for---judging, money, marketing, can be directly traced back to him...if he were to have been an example and let things play out in a natural procession, I would argue that many things would be different. Bbing may or may not be as popular, Arnold may or may not have been a great, but, there might have been more integrity in the "sport", and far more unity.

[LurkyLurker]

From Quebec? with a german last name?

They're from Montreal. And you can question Joe Weider's business ethics if you want, but I wouldn't doubt his commitment to bodybuilding. He's an easy scapegoat of course, but I'm down with the JW.

[Parker]

They're from Montreal. And you can question Joe Weider's business ethics if you want, but I wouldn't doubt his commitment to bodybuilding. He's an easy scapegoat of course, but I'm down with the JW.

I wouldn't necessarily call him a scapegoat, it's the system that he allowed, he practically built or had a hand in. We all talk about "the powers that be", and he used to be one of them, if not the big Zeus God Father, yet he engaged in contest fixing, just to market his "champion", marketing strategies that were outright lies...it seems like Joe Gold, Vince G, Arthur Jonesand other old skoolers had more experience of being "in the trenches" than Weider, he was just "around the bbers" and put them in mags...kinda like how the old skool porn producers never stepped in front of the camera, and probably would never, because they either lacked the gumption or the equipment...now that is not the case.

[LurkyLurker]

It's not as if Joe never lifted. He competed both in bodybuilding and Olympic lifting contests as a young man and even won the Canadian Championships middleweight title in the old school Olympic contests (which consisted of 3 rather than the current 2 lifts). There are tons of old pics of him lifting and posing. I'm not saying he was Mr. Universe material, but you're talking like the guy was a disconnected businessman looking to make a buck off something in which he has no interest. That would be David Pecker.

http://oldtimelifting.com/articles/joe-weider-part1/

[dantelis]

Apparently you don't realize how many pro bodybuilders Joe Weider helped create with his many muscle building courses, equipment and supplements.  If you did, you'd see that you can create a body like Joe's:  huge, muscular and cut.












Joe sure was a hustler.  He sold everything under the sun, including these sex manuals.

 

[Lundgren]

I wouldn't necessarily call him a scapegoat, it's the system that he allowed, he practically built or had a hand in. We all talk about "the powers that be", and he used to be one of them, if not the big Zeus God Father, yet he engaged in contest fixing, just to market his "champion", marketing strategies that were outright lies...it seems like Joe Gold, Vince G, Arthur Jonesand other old skoolers had more experience of being "in the trenches" than Weider, he was just "around the bbers" and put them in mags...kinda like how the old skool porn producers never stepped in front of the camera, and probably would never, because they either lacked the gumption or the equipment...now that is not the case.

But that's your expectation, I don't think there realistic. making a beauty contest more fair would just distort the point. It's about building a fake industry like WWE. It's sports entertainment first and foremost. As chick says it's about looking like an athelete not being one.

[Parker]

It's not as if Joe never lifted. He competed both in bodybuilding and Olympic lifting contests as a young man and even won the Canadian Championships middleweight title in the old school Olympic contests (which consisted of 3 rather than the current 2 lifts). There are tons of old pics of him lifting and posing. I'm not saying he was Mr. Universe material, but you're talking like the guy was a disconnected businessman looking to make a buck off something in which he has no interest. That would be David Pecker.

http://oldtimelifting.com/articles/joe-weider-part1/

I agree, he was a enthusiast, but I think he saw it more profitable to market than to actually be "it" and market. We've all seen Joe's pics, and he wouldn't even make a honorable mention in any Mr. Getbig contest. I'd wager that Fatpanda with 6-12 months of hard training could look better than Joe did...
The Weiders just paved the way for Pecker and others.

And I wonder, who high up in the Weider offices had said one time of Flex, when he wither did poorly at a contest, or back out, "He's just too busy fcking his wife". This was printed in a Flex Wheeler interview in 1999 in Musclemag, not making it up. That's  the type of shit, you keep under wraps in your office, thar shit is private. But, yet that is type of ship that Weider has run...a boy and his toys.  

[Cableguy]

Well, here's my take.

Being a cable guy in LA, you get to meet a lot of people. Been to Joe's house for trouble calls a couple of times. He was never there, but I got to know his Philipino housekeepers Jimmy and Elia. I even used his home gym while I was there which was located in the small back house he had on his property. This was about 20 years ago...damn, time flies!

One Saturday, I took the written test to get into the LAPD at Hollywood High. Still don't know why I even contemplated becoming a cop, lol! After I was done, I stopped by Joe's place just for the hell of it to see if he might be there since it was the weekend. Sure enough, he answered the door and said "can I help you?" I told him I had been to his house several times to fix his cable, and that I always wanted to meet the guy who's magazines I've been reading since I was 15.

He invited me out back and we sat and talked for about an hour. We talked about bodybuilding, art (he has a great collection), and life in general. He excused himself a few times to take phone calls, but we still continued talking. That voice is a little offputting for sure, and he had this weird twitch in his right eye, lol.

Just as I was about to leave, Betty came out back. Joe introduced me to her, and she said, "why don't you give him a year's subscription to one of the magazines?" I chose Flex, and he said "consider it done". Sure enough, my first issue arrived a month later!

Is Joe a cutthroat businesman? I'm sure. Is he a homosexual schmoe? Apparently. But I will say that he has a genuine love for bodybuilding, no doubt. And he didn't have to talk to some stranger, let alone hang out with me for an hour, or give me a free magazine subscription. So I have to give him some props...   

[Benito Mutumbo]

Was Betty looking hot?

[Cableguy]

Was Betty looking hot?

She was looking kind of old even back then, but she did have that trademark hourglass figure. Like she had a couple of ribs removed or something, lol!