CLASSIC BODYBUILDERS of the Golden Age

CLASSIC BODYBUILDERS of the Golden Age is a retrospective photographer, writer and editor Bill Dobbins. Bill showcases some of his best bodybuilding physique photos and tells stories about why this period is considered the Golden Age of Bodybuilding, how it got that way and who were the important people in its development. Bodybuilding first became publicized in the 40s and 50s when champions like Steve Reeves hung out at Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, CA. In the 1960s, Joe Gold created Gold's Gym, Joe Weider moved his company and magazines from New jersey to Los Angeles. That set the stage for the explosion of the sport in the 1970s, mostly due to a collaboration between Joe Weider and Arnold Schwarzengger. After that, most of the champions either lived or spent time in the Los Angeles area and Gold's Gym in Venice became known as the Mecca of Bodybuilding. The photos in this book are of the stars of bodybuilding from that period, after people began to have a positive view of the sport and before various controversies, including the steroid question, caused a return to more negative views on the part of the mainstream.