One more little bit on Arthur Jones -
"Arthur founded Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries, in 1970. His new line of exercise machines became so popular over the next ten years, it was said that more money was spent on Nautilus than on all other commercial gym equipment being sold.
The first version of his machine was previewed in Culver City, California, at that year's AAU Mr. America Contest. I acted as Master of Ceremonies. My training partner, Chris Dickerson, became the first Afro-American to win the title.
Arthur had transported the prototype from Slidell, to Culver City, in a rented trailer. To save money, he stayed at our home in Pasadena. His 13-year-old son, Gary, remarked with confidence, “We can put another inch on your arm in a month, if you will use the machine.”
The Nautilus multi-station unit that sat in the lobby of the Culver City convention hall looked like a bad substitute for the popular Universal multi-station unit. Arthur's unit was cumbersome, poorly built, painted blue and equipped with lever arms to hold free-weights. It was immediately nicknamed "The Blue Monster." Its best selling points were Arthur's gift-of-gab and the off-centered cams, which were pitched to everyone who would listen.
I later commented to Arthur that trying to compete against the Universal multi-station unit might be a mistake. I suggested that he design separate pieces of equipment incorporating the off-centered cam and then promote his theory of training, which could only be done “on his machines.” How much influence my suggestion had on his decision to do this is anyone's guess, but that's what eventually evolved.
At the beginning of the Nautilus reign, Arthur used the editorial pages of Iron Man Magazine to promote his concepts. Issue after issue was filled with his opinions on training. The magazine was so hard-core, its readers were more than willing to give Arthur's theories a try, if they could get their hands on his equipment. Sales of his units were going out of sight. Prospective buyers were phoning my gym day and night to confirm what Arthur was preaching. There were so many calls, in fact, that it started interfering with my ability to run my business. He convinced me that my time wasn't being wasted. In exchange, he was going to give me the new Nautilus Biceps/Triceps and Torso Pullover machines, plus an exclusive written Nautilus franchise for the State of California.
He then tried to convince me that bodybuilding had changed since my last competition in 1967. The only way I could win the 1971 NABBA Professional contest was by following his training principles, along with incorporating the Nautilus machines into my programs. It mattered little that I'd done quite well with free weights for twenty-five years. When the Biceps/Triceps and Torso Pullover machines arrived, I placed them in the living room of our home for my own personal use. Later, to Judy's relief, they were transferred to the gym, where they became so popular it was nearly impossible to get near them.
Our relationship became more strained when I informed Arthur that I had replaced the lever arms of my Nautilus machines in the Pasadena Health Club with weight stacks. Arthur went ballistic saying, “You ruined the 'gawd'-damn biomechanics by doing that.” My reply was, “Arthur, you're wrong. The movement is even better. Because of the weight stacks you now start the motion from a dead stop rather than having a swinging motion. Besides, there are no weight plates to pick up, the machines are more simple, safer and faster to use.” “Yah... but... but,” he sputtered. Later it occurred to me that Arthur might not have been so upset because I ruined the 'gawd'-damn biomechanics of his machines, as he was with the fact that he was now going to have to add weight stacks to the machines he was currently manufacturing. It was possible that he didn't have the capital to make the conversion at that time.
It came down to where I either had to replace the lever arms on my machines, or he was going to renege on the exclusive Nautilus franchise for California. Stupidly, I told him it would be a relief to get back to running my gym. That remark probably cost me millions of dollars from the profits of the sales of Nautilus in the State of California, over the next several years.
Matters didn't improve when I publicly questioned Arthur's theories regarding the advantages that came from training on the Nautilus Isokinetic machines. Much of the promotional material in the early days of Nautilus was based on the claim that free weights were obsolete, injury-causing antiques. I disagreed. He claimed that three twenty-minute workouts per week on Nautilus equipment could produce a physique like mine. Again, I disagreed by stating, “Nobody who has trained exclusively on Nautilus has won a major physique contest.” This enraged Arthur to the extent that he began threatening Leo and me with phone taps and hit men. Why he included Leo is anyone's guess.
He used Iron Man Magazine to wage his war, which became more venomous with each issue. The final straw occurred when he commented that it was “rumored” that my training partner, twenty-eight-year-old Willie Stedman, had died because of anabolic steroid use, which I supposedly had supplied. It was sadly true that Willy had died, but the cause of death was pneumonia, brought on by a lethal strain of Asian flu. I contacted Peary Rader, the owner and publisher of Iron Man Magazine, threatening a lawsuit if a retraction wasn't printed.
I kept training for the 1971 NABBA Mr. Universe, using the same methods that had brought the best results in the past. By now, Arthur was so irate it was “rumored” that he had given Sergio Oliva $5,000.00 to come to Florida to train on Nautilus with a promise of another $5,000.00, if he won the contest."
