Customer Reviews

Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell

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Once, when I was working out in the weight room at UCLA in the early 70's, someone called out, "The weight room is Mother!" And so it was, for those of us for whom working out had become a way of life. And if the weight room was "Mother", then Father was Bob Hoffman, who more than anyone else in my generation, popularized weight training for both athletes and the general public. Having been a disciple of Hoffman through his magazine, I had been thinking that a bio of him needed to be written (about 14 years after his death) when coincidentally Fair produced just such a book. The extent of Dr. Fair's research is impressive, especially about the era from the sixties onward, and his story of the degeneration of the US Olympic weightlifting team due to steroids and recreational drugs is particluarly compelling. Additionally, his debunking of the myth of Hoffman as a person was an eye-opener for me. The story of the Hoffman-Weieder wars is also interesting.

With regard to Hoffman however, the balance of the book may be a little off. While the details of Hoffman's sexual activity and his promotional quackery are interesting, I was disapponted not to see more about how Hoffman was as a coach. I have been told by a member of the York team that Hoffman was very good as a coach, but this did not come through for me in the book. Fair attributes the greatness of the post-war team to the socialization at York and the fact that the weightlifters were from immigrant families. He should have gotten more material from the lifters of that era and stuck more to history and biography; his psychologically-based simplifications detract from the book because he puts too much credence in them. All in all, it's a good book; it's not the last word on Hoffman, however.

I grew up in a household in which I was not welcome. Two individuals made my life bearable: Mickey Mantle and Bob Hoffman! From the late fifties through the late sixties I was a welterweight lifter out of Oakland, California. I enjoyed a small measure of success. I can recall being at the newsstand each month on the appropriate day to search the racks for the latest Strength and Health. I would read those magazines from cover to cover, every word, and would do so several times before the next issue was released. And throughout those years I certainly bought more than my share of York equipment.
Someone once said something to the effect that if you have an idol look a little closer and you will see that you are selling yourself short. The author, Mr. Fair, looks a little closer, but not unfairly, in my opinion. Growing up with Strength and Health I was not aware of many of Mr. Hoffman's shortcomings. And now that I know them, nothing has changed. For Hoffman is still number one in my book. In my view the character flaws only serve to humanize him. Something wrong with that? How many of you who've submitted critical reviews regarding Hoffman have lived steller lives? How many of you have built sucessful businesses from the ground up? And most importantly, How many of you have MADE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of so many? The silence is deafening. Regarding the book, I find it well written. Also of great interest to me are the photos of the luminaries of that era. I am thankful that this book was written, and I am pleased to have read it. Mr. Fair, how about bios on some of the high profile people of the "weight game", Grimek, Reeves, etc?

Finally we know the truth about Bob Hoffman. That he didn't work out. Didn't eat right and was nowhere near as healthy (actually pretty unhealthy) as he pretended to be.We also discover that Hoffman was not as well liked even among the weightlifters as we had thought.In fact, the whole thing was probably just used by Hoffman as a tax writeoff to offset his successful oil burner business. And in the end, Hoffman did writeoff a lot of the people that he used in his magazines to promote his ridiculously over rated products.Yeah, John D. Fair is correct, Hoffman did it for his ego alone.

I have to admit that I was not aware of Hoffmans health problems untill I read this book, although on seeing him in person at shows in York in the 1960's and early 1970's it was very obvious that his physical and mental faculties were declining fast.I also wasn't aware of his problems with Charles Atlas. And while I am not a fan of the Atlas "Dynamic Tension" program, it certaintly couldn't have been any worse for muscular development than the York Simplified Barbell and Dumbell courses or Hoffmans Daily dozen.Hoffmans war with Weider, on the other hand, was well known and obvious. Most of us felt that Weider was just a con man and self promoter. Weider was, in fact, bodybuildings number 1 fan and promoter.The contests promoted by Hoffman were always in the worst venues and under the worst conditions. No air conditioning on a hot summer weekend, uncomfortable seating and disorganization. Some of the bodybuilding shows were held in gymnasiums with a flood light clamped onto a basketball net and the audience sat in the bleachers.The olympic weightlifters didn't fare much better having to compete in auditoriums or gyms in national competitions in 85 to 90 degree temperatures with competitions running all day and untill 2am.The Bodybuilders would get the worse end of the deal. The Mr. America contest would be held in a high school auditorium and contestants would stand on a band leaders pedestal and frequently, the best developed men would lose. In some cases, it would after midnite before the contest (which were always held after weightlfting contests) would start. Smaller contests were held in YMCA gyms or community centers.Of course the biggest losers were the fans who to pay for this nonsense and the sport, which failed to attract any real audience.In the 50's and 60's, bodybuilding lost a lot of good champions who quit in disgust. Some went overseas to compete in and win the NABBA Mr. Universe like Earl Clark, Mickey Hargitay, Enrico Thomas and Elmo Santiago while others just left the sport.Black bodybuilders like George Paine, Arthur Harris, Leroy Colbert. Leon Burke, Bob Walker and Harold Poole and non olympic weightlifter types like Bud Counts, Lynn Lyman, Jerry Ross and Lou Degni would frequently lose to lesser developed olympic lifters with a partial interest in bodybuilding.In the late 50's, American bodybuilders had an alternative with the IFBB and the Weider/Hoffman battles really heated up.Hoffman made a big deal about Chuck Sipes winning the IFBB Mr. America after placing 18th in the AAU Mr. America. The following year, Sipes would defeat Ray Schaeffer, a AAU Mr. America and Amateur NABBA Mr. Universe for the Pro Mr. Universe title.Weider would also sponsor bodybuilders like Clancy Ross, Jack Delinger (who beat Bill Pearl sponsored by York) Doug Strohl and Reg Lewis and others to the NABBA Mr. Universe in London competing directly with Hoffman and giving the great champions of the day, slighted by York Barbell an opportunity to go for the Gold.Hoffman would sponsor the current AAU Mr. America to the NABBA Mr. Universe.Hoffman was also a self promoter of sorts. In the 60's, Hoffman was trying to promote a new "secret" strength and muscle building system using a power rack doing isometrics and isometronics (partial limited range movements in the power rack) offered by York and endorsed by top AAU National Weightlifters and AAU Mr. America winners. In reality, their secret was anabolic steriods and the York people were among the first, if not the first to use steriods.The power rack "secret" system went the way of the hoola hoop once the truth came out.The last AAU show I attended was the 1971 AAU Mr. America. What a thrill it was to see Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Ken Waller in the audience. How disgusting it was to see world class bodybuilders like Ed Corney and Mike Mentzer finish 4th and 10th respectively when both should have been in the top four at least and then losing to York man/Olympic lifter Bill St. John was a joke. The organization was typical York chaos and on a hot June night, the fans and contestants sweltered in 80-degree+ temperatures because the promoters told the school maintenance staff not to turn on the air conditioners.Corney and Mentzer never competed in the AAU again after that.I also recall Hoffmans energy bars having more sugar than nutrition and the Hi Proteen powder had a lot less protein than we thought and was hard to digest. Ditto for the Protein of the Sea, Energol, powdered Lecithin and Papaya Juice that Hoffman peddled.Strength & Health was mainly an olympic lifting news magazine and a catalog for Hoffman products with bodybuilding, fitness and health as a side interest.Hoffman did help some olympic weightlifters like Bob Bednarski, giving both an apartment and a salary (I thought these guys were supposed to be amateurs???) and then tossed him aside after he passed his peak. The best thing that I can say is that I enjoyed the articles in Hoffmans magazines by John McCollum, Bill Starr and Ernie Picket. Muscular Developent was at least initially, a good, quality magazine under York rule that deteriated badly in later years. Some of those AAU contests had some great champions: Olympic lifers-Tony Garcy, Phil Gripaldi, Bill MARCH and Bob Bednarski. Bodybuilders-Harold Poole, Hugo Labra, Don Howorth, Joe Nistam Jr., Frank Zane, Chet Yorton, John Corvello, Eric Pederson, Bob Hinds, Zabo Kosiewski, Jim Haislop, Boyer Coe, Chris Dickerson, Casey Viator, Ken Waller, Ed Corney and Mike Mentzer.Strength & Health and Muscular Development were both catalogs and commercials for York products primarily with some useful information as an afterthought.This book covers a lot about Hoffman, but it misses a lot as well and is not the final word on Hoffman and York Barbell. Bob Hoffman was no saint.

This book by John Fair makes a good account on how the sport of weightlifting got going in the 40's, where it was. It accounts many of the characters involved in the sport, although not all of them. It does reveal some nasty things about Bob Hoffman that his fans didn't know or didn't want to admit.

I think that some of the recent reviews have been inspired by articles written by Bill Starr in Iron Man. Starr was a former associate editor of Strength & Health as well as a competitive weightlifter and powerlifter. He has been revealing a lot about where York Barbell was back in the 60's.

Likewise, Bob Kennedy's magazine MuscleMag International has a feature on Dan Lurie in their new issue. Lurie also makes some revealing statements about how Hoffman "handpicked" winners in the early AAU contests and those "handpicked" winners were members of York BBC like Jules Bacon, Frank Leight and Steve Stanko. Lurie then goes on to say that he was banned from the AAU after winning the most muscular man award in both the AAU Jr. Mr. America and AAU Mr. Contests as well as being a runnerup in the AAU Mr. America contests three years in row.

I am curious as to why this information was not in Mr. Fairs book!

One of the reviewers in support of Hoffman said he was strong and indicated that he saw one of Hoffmans stregth exhibitions where he lifted 200 lbs. with one hand. Perhaps this fan missed the part that Hoffman used to use aluminium weights! Had this fan gone on stage he would have found that he too could have lifted this supposedly 200 + lbs. of weight. So could his mother!

This book by Fair is revealing, but not totally revealing. A lot is left out. In all fairness to Hoffman, despite his intentions, he did get the Iron Game started and even inspired Joe Weider with his Strength & Health magazine. Now there is something that Fair missed and so did the Hoffman supporters and even his bashers. If it hadn't been for Bob Hoffman, perhaps there never would have been a Joe Weider! Think about that you Tiger Tough Weider boys who follow those Super Bomb&Blitz programs. Beef up with Crash Weight Formula 7, then supplement with Super Pro 101 and get cut up with Crash Cut RX7 and raise your energy with Enertol, yeah a ripoff of Hoffmans Energol!

Joe Weider was inspired by Hoffmans magazine.


Those early contests were great though and offered great variety with hand balancing, juggling, muscle control, acrobatics plus posing along with the weightlifting events. In a way I miss that. And Hoffman through his magazine Strength & Health and control of the AAU did do a lot to start weightlifting and bodybuilding. Some of Hoffmans actions were not popular, nor were Weiders in the 1970's when the IFBB became the "governing body" for bodybuilding and Weider started issuing suspensions to bodybuilders for competing in non sanctioned events, something that Weider repeatedly attacked Hoffman for anytime a bodybuilder was suspended from the AAU for one reason or another.

There is a saying; don't bite the hand that feeds you or in this case that feed you. Hoffman, York Barbell and the AAU did a lot to pioneer the sport and deserve credit for that. If it wasn't for this early pioneering work, the iron game may be be around at all today.

Think about that you muscle pumpers!

Thoroughly exhaustive research and a placing into context of the iron game in this most useful of historic tomes dedicated to the history of physical culture. This is an invaluable 20th century artefact that describes the development of physical culture and the huge influnce on it of Bob Hoffman and York Barbell. An essential record of a one of the last centuries enduring sporting trends. Incredible if not for the fact that it completely undermines the Weider view of the world of 20th century body building/physical culture.

This book has much information in it about York Barbell and Hoffman, its founder. The author has done much reading in the source materials. He was given access by Alda Ketterman(Hoffman's widow) and John Terpak, his associate, to additional Hoffman writings and Terpak's records. I reckon at the Stark centre in Austin, which contains the Ottley Coulter collection(as well as much more), collected by Jan and Terry Todd(both former world champion powerlifters in their respective heavyweight classes) as well as the work of many others he got help too. The book may be augmented by the author, John Fair's writings for Iron Game History, put out by the above mentioned centre. He also interviewed many of the individuals that he writes about. Some of them may demur from his interpretations of what they meant, but he did interview the available principals at York and those who formerly were at York in the course of his research into the "Iron Game".

Fair reports on Hoffman's time and performance as a soldier in France in WWI, in which he was highly decorated by France, as well as telling us about Hoffman's youth.

This is a notable contribution to our understanding of the 20th century Iron Game, weight lifting, powerlifting and bodybuilding, as particularly regards York Barbell and its founder, Bob Hoffman, and the principals with him, giving us a few views of Mark Berry, John Grimek, Terlazzo, Terpak, Harry Paschall, Tommy Kono, and many others. George Jowett is mentioned a few times, Alan Calvert, Mark Berry and Jowett should be covered more. Did Hoffman, in learning from Jowett, also absorb Jowett's fondness for claiming fine accomplishments for himself?

Speaking of those who were before Hoffman, the second chapter, about the earlier history of physical culture and weight resistance exercise, is one that I would like to have seen much more developed. I understand that it was larger, but the book was much edited down by order of the publisher. We should see more about Alan Calvert, the originator of Milo Barbell, which Hoffman purchased, and Jowett's part and Berry, too. Calvert started Strength magazine. He should have a title that goes something like the grandfather of weight training in America. Fair does note that Jowett had a lot to do with wanting and starting a national body that regulated the sport(ACWLA, or American Weight Lifters ASsociation, which provided reliable judging and authentication of lifting records as well as regulating competitions. This is more gone into in the Iron Game History at Austin TX.

Fair spends a good deal of time talking about Hoffman and his ego. Fair does acknowledge on many pages the contribution that Hoffman made in promoting Olympic lifting and a life of fitness and strength, through weight lifting and training, as embodied in the magazine Strength and Health and its articles. Hoffman extolled the virtues of weights and nutrition, (especially York/Hoffman products such as Energol, Hi Proteen, and Super Hi Proteen, and vitamins) for health, for all of life, for all sports, and for country. This was an important thing he pressed for, and should be credited with, is the value of weight training and strengthening for all sports.

I found Fair's critique of so much that Hoffman did as being self serving to be somewhat tiring, as most every charitable gift, of which there were many, property, money, help in education seemed, in Fair's analysis, to have a Hoffman glorifying motive. That may be so, but 'there is more to the man' as one York employee said, and one of the best points Fair makes is that wealth did not seem to matter greatly to Hoffman, except in that it enabled him to do things, to further American weightlifting(esp. Olympic lifting) and his York team. Hoffman paid for the employment(not real well paid), training, and transportation of lifters to world meets, travelling being paid for by Hoffman for the American team. He quotes one lifter who said "I could not compete if it were not for Hoffman's help." And as another, who became an editor at S&H said "Overall, he did more good than harm." Speaking of what hypocrisy he saw in Hoffman's conduct. So this was probably a 'fair' assessment, so to speak, as well as the many other less complimentary things that are included. Bill Starr has given a number of inputs about York and Hoffman, not complimentary.

One interesting part of the story had to do with the under the table selling of weights by employees, like Starr, who admits it. He said that he learned from Hoffman how to profit. Starr had taken orders, which were paid for, but he pocketed the money and entered it in the books as paid. He said that he learned to do these things from Hoffman's example, and that Hoffman did not mind if someone found a way to supplement their income. I had to chuckle. Still illegal, but an interesting portion of human life. Thanks for sharing that, Mr. Fair.

Fair speaks of the comraderie that the Olympic lifting team had, especially when Hoffman was lifting with them, and the community and fellowship that was had at York in the gym. The reviewer Bobby K. has a good point, that the book says not much about Hoffman as a coach. I think Bobby must have meant an individual's experience of Hoffman as a coach. Fair has been a lifting competitive athlete, and has done coaching. This probably shows in his critique of Hoffman via Starr and others, who said that when the team won it was Bob, but when we lost it was the team's fault, and that you got left behind if you did not produce. Hoffman did promote, fund and encourage winning American teams. It is a good question Bobby has asked, what was the individual experience that people had of Hoffman as a coach, who called himself the father of weightlifting?

The book goes through the decades, up to Hoffman's death and afterward, attempting a comprehensive look at York, and said before, gives up much information, including sales totals for years and months.

I thought there could have been more personal anecdotes, it would have made more interesting reading. There are, however, a number of anecdotes, such as Harry Paschall's lines on Joe Weider's appearance at the 1951 Mr. Universe contest, and a foot race that Paul Anderson and Tommy Kono had up the stairways at York.

There are portions on the Hoffman Weider feud. For myself, I looked at magazines from both, and as one young man, I got encouragement and instruction from the Hoffman magazines, many articles oriented toward beginners and intermediates, and I found little of that in the weider mags, I remember about one article for beginners. Also, while some of the Olympic athletes were given steroids at York, under Ziegler, a good note Fair includes quotes Ziegler's strong concern after he left about the danger of overconsumption of steroids. He would prescribe the basic 1 pill dose of Dianabol, but the lifters, including Starr and others, would take 3 or 4, 'taking them like candy'. This Ziegler believed was unhealthy and dangerous. Fair quotes the older generation's concern(Grimek for one) with the drug using mentality of America. Weider's mags had articles that were certainly quite accepting of the use of drugs for enhancing performance or development(Why not? as one weider article said). American life and sport is not better off with this. Who showed most concern for America's athletes? I am glad that York's magazines encouraged a healthy lifestyle without drugs, as did Peary Rader's Iron Man. Hoffman did have concern for people's health, even if he did burn the candle at both ends, and Grimek, the editor, who by the way often ghost wrote for Hoffman, taking some of Hoffman's many lines and editing them, certainly was a great advocate for strength and health in America and abroad.

For me, growing up and reading Strength and Health and Muscular Development, both from York, I absorbed an ethos of the value of strength and health in life and its development, esp. with weights, but also bodyweight exercise and cardiovascular exercise and sports, of how one would do much better to train naturally without any drugs, for a lifetime of health, and many other health guidelines, such as rest, a peaceful mind, nutrition, and avoiding dissipations, meaning much alcohol or drugs, or wild illicit sex. Now Hoffman had been a hypocrite in terms of that last matter, and inasmuch as that his team lifters were allowed to take the pink pills, there were two messages going on, one for the public, thankfully, and another for those lifters who came to be encouraged to try out the pills.

Another way that Fair credits Hoffman was that he was for America, the melting pot. He was not biased against people based upon their skin colour or ethnic background. Was he biased against John Davis or John Terry? True, for guys like Harold Poole or Sergio Oliva, they did not seem to get a fair shake, and Oliva was an Olympic lifter. But neither did white men who were more bodybuilders, esp. if they had connexion with the santa monica operation. I think it is more that if you were in his operation, Hoffman was for you regardless of your skin colour, but if you seemed to be with his adversary, then he was not for you.

Regarding York Barbell and its future, things have developed since the last reprint of the book. Ownership went overseas, and has now returned again to North America, Canada being the home of the current owner. Fair expresses savvy in that nutritional supplements were (and remain) a large source of profit, more than just equipment.

And so I am glad that other books have come out which have more portrayed the York type of spirit in life, namely Brooks Kubik's books in the "Legacy of Iron" series, I especially like the first one. Jan Dellinger's book "The Dellinger Files" is also to be recommended. I rather prefer these books, but Fair's book goes into a great deal of detail, and so it certainly has its real place in giving us a picture of York Barbell and Bob Hoffman. He has compiled much information, and offered a view.

I am familiar with much of the content of the book having been part of the newest "York Gang" and knowing most of the newer characters. Although it is great to have a history of our sport, the author continually qualifies any positive aspects of Bob Hoffman with "He did it for his ego alone." There are enough inaccuracies that I am sure of that I have to question the accuracy of the entire text. One of the characters cited as an accurate historical reference is known to be an exaggerator of far greater proportions then Bob Hoffman ever was. Lastly one of the much much quoted references was run out of York for theft.

Whether you agree or disagree with the "tone" taken towards Bob Hoffman in this book - whether he was a devil or a saint (though the truth is, no doubt, somewhere in between) - you'll have to agree that a lot of time, work and research went into writing this book. Dr. Fair interviewed a lot of history's most prominent figures in the Iron Game in compiling the material here.

Everyone with personal experience will have their own opinion of Bob Hoffman as a man. I don't really think that's the point here. The point is that Fair did a monumental task in putting this book together. There's a lot of interesting and little-known history contained it. I don't think anyone interested in the history of the Iron Game should be without it.

I just finished reading John D. Fair's recently released Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell. If you want to know everything about the old York Barbell phenomenon and the iron game in general get this book It's so good. You may feel like you've been dragged through a repository for used razor blades but at the end your perceptions will be striped of all those idealistic notions you may once have had about what motivates people. And, lest you give up all hope, there are real heroes who come shining through. Fair interviewed all the right people and lays out the Hoffman phenomenon beginning with his great grandfather and ending with his death. From it, you can draw a number of conclusions but probably not that Bob was a healthy man (infected gastric intestinal system, vascular circulation problems), not a strongman (used aluminum weights for his exhibitions), and not a model of post Victorian moral virtue (considered a sexual pariah by York society).

Fair depicts Bob as a man who is singularly focused, surrounding himself with mostly good people but concocting a fictional self-image that he himself came to believe. Believing that he was the world's healthiest man simply by repeatedly saying it, he worked incessantly with very little sleep, though he taught the importance of sufficient rest. Although promoting the benefits of exercise was his life's mission, he exercised little. And, despite his strong interest in nutrition, his diet was poor. There's the ironic incident where Bob's doctor lectures him on his need to exercise more. It's a story full of paradox. As one begins to doubt all of Bob's claims about himself, it turns out that he really was a decorated World War I soldier. Fair makes a case that Bob was sloppy in running his business, yet he was capable of making lots of money and during the depression, when many companies were failing, his York Oil Burner prospered. Though promotion of himself may have been his primary objective, he had linked his ego so tightly to weightlifting that it was impossible for him to promote the one without the other. The result was a financial and promotional boon for the sport. The revelation that encapsulates the book's theme for me is that Hoffman's Hi-Proteen wasn't quite as high in protein as we thought.