Muscle Beach: Where the Best Bodies in the World Started a Fitness Revolution [Paperback]

This is one of the several books available about the history of Muscle Beach that paved the way for fitness, aerobics, weight lifting, and body building. The athletes who made it possible, especially the ladies of Muscle beach, are the real stars. Women of modern generation must be highly indebted to them for popularizing a sport that was considered freakish and outright unfeminine. These women worked in 1930s and 40s when the land was highly conservative, and Santa Monica was no different. Strong pressure from local government through legislations, and public opinions through media were always unfriendly to women of Muscle beach. Muscle beach started around 1934, although few claim the foundation were laid as early as early 1920s. In its heyday, Muscle beach was made of men, women, and children who were learning and performing athletic feats, and acrobatic stunts to delight beachgoers. Some of these performers emerged as top class athletes, stuntman, bodybuilders, gymnasts, fitness consultants, and entrepreneurs. It is a long list of names that includes; Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton, Les Stockton, Jack Lalanne, Vic and Armand Tanny, Ran Hall, Frank Jares, Steve Reeves, George Eiferman, and so on. Many of them in later years became gym owners, trainers, authors and consultants.

Women performing stunts include; Pudgy Stockton lifting a man with one hand or support him on her shoulders; Pudgy or Relna Brewer would tear a book in half, and Relna would wrestle men and toss him like a rag doll. Women were considered equals by men on the platform. In the early 1940s WWII sent many men away to the warfront, this left women to join the workforce, and fill the void left by men at Muscle beach. Pudgy Stockton was a very powerful role model for women because she was not only muscular, and athletic, but also beautiful and feminine as a woman could be. When she died on June 26, 2006 at the age of 88 due to Alzheimer's disease; Boston Globe ran in its obituary column under the title "Queen of Muscle Beach." She was also called ``the First Lady of Iron," and ``America's Barbelle," in her time.

Many Hollywood stars hung out near Muscle beach. The list includes; Jane Russell who met her husband, Bob Waterfield, and Jayne Mansfield met her husband, Mickey Hargitay, a bodybuilder. Mae West known for her interest in men with good physique invited; Chuck Krauser, George Eiferman, Mickey Hargitay and Joe Gold for her live stage revue. Chuck Krauser and Mae West remained as couples until her death in 1980.

The athletes of Muscle beach were called "wackos, fruitcakes, hippies, and bums." The fall of Muscle beach started from 1952 - 1953 when the platform was taken over by the iron sports; weight lifting and bodybuilding, and the traditional acrobatic acts of Muscle beach was on its way out. Winning a competition was the main strategy of many iron sportsmen made them less social than acrobats. A combination of events that followed in late 50s may have closed the doors on the Muscle beach of Santa Monica. The events includes; car parking problems faced by the locals due to visitors to the beach; suggestive seminude poses, and physical touching of all male bodybuilders; Joe Weider's controversial publications that were aimed at gays; and a sex case involving a group of weight lifters and underage black girls sensationalized Santa Monica beach. In later years, Muscle beach reappeared at Venice beach, just south of the Pier, but it lacks the magic of "historical" Muscle beach of Santa Monica.

The athletes of Muscle beach have endured a great deal; it was a time when doctors told patients that muscle is bad; women may lose child bearing capability, and men may become impotent. In spite of all odds, they pursued their interests, and prevailed. They did not use steroids, and many were philosophical about life. George Eiferman printed his business card bearing his mind over body philosophy; a list of ten daily exercises, and one of them was; "We are never alone. Walk with God."

The author tells the story wonderfully and I did not find anything in this book that is either bigoted or unfair to any section of the society. I recommend this book to all fans of Muscle beach.

1. Remembering Muscle Beach: Where Hard Bodies Began : Photographs and Memories
2. Muscle Beach

My dear father is now 86-years-old and his memory has grown weaker with age. I try to visit him frequently as I know his time on this earth is drawing to a close. One night, he started talking about his memories of his family home at 213 14th Street in Santa Monica. He told me that he and his twin brother Ed Fuller would go down to the Santa Monica Beach and hang out.

My father was a very handsome man in his youth and very strong. He and Ed began working out on the beach and one day, the Lifeguard down at the beach referred to them as "The Muscle Twins."

Before long, more men and women started joining their little mini-fitness craze and lifting weights on the beach. Sometimes, their antics would draw quite a crowd. My father and his brother would get very competitive and see who could lift the most weight.

As my father told this story, I grabbed a pen and started making notes. He mentioned several names, including "Pudge Stockton" and more. I scribbled away as he talked. I had my doubts. After all, my 86-year-old father was telling me that he and his brother Ed started the phenomenon known as "Muscle Beach"?

As a surprise, I ordered a couple books for my father (including this one) and when it arrived, I found the same names my father had mentioned.

My father's joy at receiving this tome was beyond words.

It did everything for him that I had hoped it could and would do, mainly bring back many joyous memories.

Rose Fuller Thornton
daughter of one of the original "Muscle Twins"
gentlebeam@hotmail.com

I find the previous reviews quite biased and agenda-ridden. This is a light-hearted look at the Venice Beach muscle culture, with some great anecdotes. The book's few comments about heterosexuality are, in my opinion, merely to demonstrate that the scene was mixed, and not exclusively the province of stereotypical Muscle Marys. If you have any interest in the history of bodybuilding or Venice Beach, this is definitely up your alley. No pun intended.

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