Kudos From The Great White North - PhillyFIT Magazine

in 1968. But I feel entitled tothis liberty, having knownhim personally for the betterpart of two decades; RobertKennedy’s the one who gaveme my first breakin writing whenno one elsewould. And evenas I lambastedhim and other dignitariesin my articles,he was unfailinglyencouraging,even leaving phonemessages at myhome waxing rhapsodicover pieces I’ddone for him:“Chawwwles, youare indeed awrrritah.” His praisecarries freight, as hedoesn’t dispense it easily. In the manner of many Brits, he canbe outright blunt. But rarely.Of course I’m a fan of Robert Kennedy… why wouldn’t I be?And I’m in good company, because his admirer list’s been aWho’s-Who of bodybuilding, going back to legends like JohnGrimek, Steve Reeves, that big Austrian guy(whom Bob hadknown since 1967 and touted as Presidential material a decadebefore the Governator took over the Left Coast) and nearly anyoneelse who ever appeared in a bodybuilding or fitness magazine.He’s lived the life he espouses, having missed no more thana handful of workouts in the past 55 years. A serious scholar of“Iron Game” history he’s assembled what amounts to a museumdevoted to feats of strength and physical accomplishment. It hasn’talways been an easy ride either; born in Europe and living inEngland until he was 27, Bob started MUSCLEMAG INTER-NATIONAL in 1974, hocking most of his possessions (includinghis prized Jaguar) to get the first issues out. And this was at atime when bodybuilding (and Arnold) hadn’t yet registered on thepublic mind; as the book PUMPING IRON noted, muscles werecheaper than dirt --- you couldn’t give them away. Out of nothing,Bob created something. Much like bodybuilding itself, which tomany has no tangible justification compared to the pragmaticdrills of strength-training for football or track, his whole enterprisedepended on his being a conjurer of sorts, expanding thatimagination and excitement which comes of seeing and beingsomething beyond mind-blowing, drawing in no small way on thesensation Arnold created. The acolytes of bodybuilding may bedismissed as living in a quasi-comic-book world, a perpetual,self-indulgent adolescence replete with its own virtues andextremes (who could ever take those hysterically disingenuoussupplement ads seriously?), but in harming no one, enjoying theirversion of the “runner’s high” (aka “the pump”), and generallysetting an admirable example of nutrition and exercise-discipline,who’s qualified to fault them?kin0309Close Spaces • Straighten Crooked TeethBond Chipped Teeth • Whiten TeethKING of PRUSSIA DENTAL ASSOCIATESBrad G. Jacobson, D.D.S., P.C.491 Allendale Rd., Suite 306Call for FREE CONSULTATION - 610.337.2989 or 610.265.4142March/April I 215-396-0268 I www.phillyfit.com PhillyFIT I 39