My name is Michael Economedes, I am an avid bodybuilding historian who has amassed a large collection of vintage bodybuilding magazines. Now I think it is time to share these with you.
I have trained for around 35 years and it has always been my favourite pastime. I started training in the late 80’s at Terry Bennett’s gymnasium in Melbourne, Australia. It was a wonderful place that has given me a lot of very fond memories. For the last 25 years I have been training exclusively at home. I have a wide collection of refurbished equipment from the 1960s to 1990s that I use almost daily. Now for this website………..
Let’s go on a journey and share the history of the Silver (40s to 60s) and Golden (70s to 80s) Eras of Bodybuilding through the pages of the many bodybuilding magazines I have collected over the years.
Learn about the stars of yesteryear through the competitions, training routines, interviews and pictures of these magazines. Bob Hoffmans Strength and Health, the Weiders many publications from Muscle Builder / Power to Muscle and Fitness, Perry Rader’s IronMan, Dan Lurie’s Muscle Training Illustrated and Bob Kennedys MuscleMag International plus many more North American Publications were all inspirational reading. Then there are the publications of the UK – Health and Strength, Peak Muscle Maker, Bodybuilding Monthly amongst others.
Enjoy stepping back decades and reunite with the forgotten champions – Bill Pearl, Chuck Sipes, Chester Norton, Clarence Ross, Armand Tanny, Jack Delinger, Ivan (Zabo) Koszewski, Melvin Wells, Dave Draper and John Grimek. Also the champions that thankfully are still relevant – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu, Sergio Oliva, Larry Scott, Robby Robinson, Mike Mentzer, Casey Viator and Serg Nubret amongst many more.
Then there are the pioneers of women’s bodybuilding – Abbye ‘Pudgy’ Stockton, Lisa Lyon and Rachel McLish. Their contributions to women’s bodybuilding were priceless and created an awareness that inspired future generations of women to the iron game.
Finally, I want to pay homage to my fellow countryman. The Australian bodybuilders of yesteryear and the magazines that promoted them. Rocco Oppedisano’s ‘Muscle Australia’ and Paul Graham’s Australasian Muscle & Fitness put the spotlight on such bodybuilding greats as Bev Francis, Roger Walker and John Terilli who were key players on the global bodybuilding stage. More importantly they highlighted the lesser-known champions that had made their mark both internationally and locally such as Peter Lindsay, Graeme Lancefield, Terry Mitsos and Sammy Ioannidis. I will also pay particular attention to the 1980 Mr Olympia which was hosted in Sydney Australia. Australia is known as one of the major sporting nations of the world and for some reason this key part of Australian sporting history has slipped through the gaps. I hope to create more awareness.
I hope you enjoy this website as much as I have putting it together.
Dedication
It would be remiss of me not to dedicate this website to my mentor and friend Terry Bennett. His gym was definitely my happy place and I have so many fond memories of my time in it. May his soul rest in peace.
