The old Mid City gym. I worked out there a couple of times. It really was a bit of a dump but it was hard core. I was there when a photographer was taking pictures of the gym. A girl working out there that I recognized from the magazines said to the photographer, " I do nudes too with a smile." One time Tom who owned it had a new policy after bodybuilding took off. No one was allowed to visit the gym walking around the gym floor. I think it got too much traffic from the gays and tourists.
Another hardcore gym in the area was Atlas in Jersey city, NJ across the river from Manhattan. It was a second floor walk up on top of a little store. The floor had holes in it from dropped deadlifts. If you didn't know where the holes were under the rug you could twist an ankle. The manager who was not the owner seemed to be a guy down on his luck. He lived in the gym. He had a hot plate, tv and a couch to sleep on. He was friendly guy.
People who train in modern gyms would be shocked how gyms were back in the day. I still think hard core dumps are the best gyms but I do like trying the equipment in modern gyms. Just in my town are two gyms. One looks like a million bucks. Beautiful flooring with new equipment. Maybe 20 treadmills and all the other cardio equipment. A little boxing room and an indoor swimming pool. Women have their hair done, make up and wear those panty hose leggings that's just as good as being naked. Expensive cars are in the parking lot and the beautiful tan people come out of them.
The other gym is the one that I belong to. It's a hard core place. All the machines are over 30 years old. Chalk flies by the powerlifters and the floor gets white. Hard core trainers mix with the old people who go there to socialize. Maybe the biggest muscular guy I have ever seen workout there. He looks about 350 and is muscular. He couldn't win anything because he is a cross between a strong man contestant and bodybuilder. Very impressive but he doesn't squat or deadlift. He does move impressive weights in other exercises. He mainly works out by himself and has a soft voice that seems weird coming out of this gorilla. He told me he's just a naturally huge guy and he doesn't use anything. He said he as a training partner who he works out with when his partner is juicing. He said off the juice he can't keep up. Very few young women work out there. They normally come in to check the place out and leave with a disgusted look on their face. I'm sure they ended up in the above paragraph gym. One thing for sure is a 45lbs plate is a 45lbs plate no matter where you go. Yates and Coleman were the result of working out in a place like the one I'm describing.
On a side note the picture of Harold Poole in Mid city used to live in Union city, NJ. The same place Weider used to have his headquarters prior to moving to California. Rumor was at the time Poole worked for the mob as an intimidator. Someone correct me if that was false. He lived above a bar that was notorious for mob activity.
