Joe Weider just passed away…
Confirmed by Aaron Singerman
Damn whats happening, first Nasser and now Weider… tragic week for the bodybuilding world.
As tragic as this is, I think it’s ridiculous that every time a thread like this happens people find a way to somehow be shocked that bodybuilders are normal people, too. We all die. The man was 93.
[quote]MickyGee wrote:
As tragic as this is, I think it’s ridiculous that every time a thread like this happens people find a way to somehow be shocked that bodybuilders are normal people, too. We all die. The man was 93.[/quote]
We’re not shocked! We’re UPSET.
First time i saw Joe Weider was 20 years ago in a magazine, was sat in his garden with his wife and 2 pet tigers.
Where would bodybuilding be without him?
Yeah, probably the wrong thread to have posted that in, but I just noticed a general trend where the “healtiness” of bodybuilding is questioned every time one of these threads pops up regardless of circumstances.
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]MickyGee wrote:
As tragic as this is, I think it’s ridiculous that every time a thread like this happens people find a way to somehow be shocked that bodybuilders are normal people, too. We all die. The man was 93.[/quote]
We’re not shocked! We’re UPSET. [/quote]
Sad day. RIP Big Joe
The guy certainly had an interesting life, and no doubt our little sport would certainly not be what it is (for good or for bad) without the man.
S
Sad, strangely his BB products weren’t the best quality back in the 80’s… very high sugar Protein Drinks,
etc…kinda strange as I expected his products to be cutting edge and top of the line, but there
were better brands out there at the time…The Guys behind “Muscle Media” had more truth in their
articles and products than the 'roided up freak show Mags that still occupy the Magazine racks.
I gotta go to Golds Mecca next weekend, in homage to “da man.”
[quote]Karado wrote:
Sad, strangely his BB products weren’t the best quality back in the 80’s… very high sugar Protein Drinks,
etc…kinda strange as I expected his products to be cutting edge and top of the line, but there
were better brands out there at the time…The Guys behind “Muscle Media” had more truth in their
articles and products than the 'roided up freak show Mags that still occupy the Magazine racks.[/quote]
I think all bodybuilders like to romanticize Weider quite a bit, but the bottom line is that he was a shrewd businessman and publisher. He wasn’t a trainer, or even a bodybuilder (although he did do some amateur weight lifting way back when), but used his magazines to create an amazing image for himself. With this fabricated persona, Joe sold supplements, promoted contests, and put his stamp on training methodologies that had been around for decades.
It’s a bit sad that this is an end of an era I suppose, but to anyone who has ever read about all of the government lawsuits and fines regarding his supplements, treatments of some of the athletes (read Robby Robinson’s book, Bob Paris’s …), it leaves an interesting end to a life of excellent public relations work.
S
I was reading on a lot of bodybuilding boards that Weider was a cutthroat businessman who fixed contests, and ruined anybody who tried to compete with him in the early years.
There was even mention of him owning several porn businesses early on where he made a lot of money that helped launch his career(nothing wrong with that part of it IMO)
But it always seems that with folks like this (Michael Jackson is a good example) that people have no problem pointing out such things when a person is alive, but when they die it is all rainbows and unicorns.
Do we overlook things he did for the end result of BB being more mainstream because of it?
For the record I had subscriptions to FLEX and M&F in the 90’s.
[quote]UtahLama wrote:
I was reading on a lot of bodybuilding boards that Weider was a cutthroat businessman who fixed contests, and ruined anybody who tried to compete with him in the early years.
There was even mention of him owning several porn businesses early on where he made a lot of money that helped launch his career(nothing wrong with that part of it IMO)
But it always seems that with folks like this (Michael Jackson is a good example) that people have no problem pointing out such things when a person is alive, but when they die it is all rainbows and unicorns.
Do we overlook things he did for the end result of BB being more mainstream because of it?
For the record I had subscriptions to FLEX and M&F in the 90’s.[/quote]
No we don’t overlook the stuff he did. Like you stated, his death actually allows us to learn more about his life, particularly the “underground” unpleasant stuff. If you want to go further, I guess it serves as a reminder that bodybuilding has to change from what it was in the early years Weider owned it.
[quote]ToTheTop_TTT wrote:
Damn whats happening, first Nasser and now Weider… tragic week for the bodybuilding world. [/quote]
He was 93. Not bad. Sad, but not tragic really.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/23/entertainment-us-usa-weider-idUSBRE92M0ED20130323
I say tragic cause it kinda feels like the end of an era in our small freaky world… that’s all. Make no mistake about it, he was a good businessman but “bad” person. I guess the two things are always together.
R.I.P. Joe weider its his magazine that got me started . i used to read and buy M&F and flex regularly , they were inspirational to a wide-eyed kid. I even got to meet him and got a signed autograph one time while waiting outside townhall in nyc for the night of champions contest.
Sad. No matter what you thought of him, he did a lot for bodybuilding and lifting.
[quote]ToTheTop_TTT wrote:
Make no mistake about it, he was a good businessman but “bad” person. I guess the two things are always together.
[/quote]
Bill Gates
Was lucky enough to meet Joe and film him in 2009. He did a lot for bodybuilding regardless if you love him or hate him.
