Joe Weider
Encyclopedia
Josef E. "Joe" Weider is co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders
(IFBB) along with brother Ben Weider
and creator of the Mr. Olympia
, the Ms. Olympia
, and the now-defunct Masters Olympia
bodybuilding
contests. He is the publisher of several bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness
, Flex
, Men's Fitness
and Shape, and is the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements.
, before founding the IFBB, Weider published the first issue of Your Physique magazine in 1936 when he was 17 years old. In 1953, the publication was renamed Muscle Builder magazine. The name changed again to Muscle & Fitness
in 1980. Other magazines published by Weider's publishing empire include "Mr. America", "Muscle Power", Shape magazine
, Fit Pregnancy
, Men's Fitness
, Living Fit, Prime Health and Fitness, Cooks, Senior Golfer, and Flex
. He also authored numerous training courses beginning in the 1950s and developed the Weider System of Bodybuilding course. In addition, he penned numerous books beginning with The Weider System of Bodybuilding (1981) and co-wrote the 2006 biography Brothers Of Iron with Ben Weider
. In 1983, Weider was named "Publisher of the Year" by The Periodical and Book Association. Weider made few motion picture appearances however in 1995, he appeared in the Charlton Heston
and Peter Graves
film, America: A Call to Greatness
, directed by Warren Chaney
.
Weider, the scrawny, poor Jewish boy with a 7th-grade education, began his bodybuilding and publishing empire with $7 at age 17 after building his own barbell
s out of junked car wheels and axles. In the 1950s, he met Betty Brosmer
, who was then the highest-paid pin-up model in the U.S. In 1961, he married Betty Brosmer, co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders
.
In 2003, his publication company, Weider Publications, was sold to American Media.
On Labor Day 2006, California governor and seven times Mr. Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger
, a Weider protege, presented him with the Venice Muscle Beach Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement award. During Weider's introduction, Schwarzenegger credited Weider with inspiring him and bringing him to the United States.
on the label. The actual claim centered on consumers being able to "gain a pound per day" in mass. Following an appeal wherein Schwarzenegger testified, Weider was forced to alter his marketing and claims.
Weider was ordered to offer a refund to 100,000 customers of a "five-minute body shaper" that was claimed to offer significant weight loss after just minutes a day of use. The claims, along with misleading "before and after" photographs, were deemed false advertising by a Superior Court Judge in 1976.
In the 1980s, Weider found himself answering charges levied by the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC). In 1984, the FTC charged that ads for Weider's Anabolic Mega-Pak (containing amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and herbs) and Dynamic Life Essence (an amino acid product) had been misleading. The FTC complaint was settled in 1985 when Weider and his company agreed not to falsely claim that the products could help build muscles or be effective substitutes for anabolic steroids. They also agreed to pay a minimum of $400,000 in refunds or, if refunds did not reach this figure, to fund research on the relationship of nutrition to muscle development.
In 2000, Weider Nutritional International settled another FTC complaint involving false claims made for alleged weight loss products. The settlement agreement called for $400,000 to be paid to the FTC and for a ban on making any unsubstantiated claims for any food, drug, dietary supplement, or program.
International Federation of BodyBuilders
The International Federation of BodyBuilders is a competitive bodybuilding organization founded in 1946 by brothers Ben and Joe Weider and is the highest level of competitive bodybuilding in the world. Currently, the IFBB consists of seven different sub-divisions for different competitors ,...
(IFBB) along with brother Ben Weider
Ben Weider
Benjamin "Ben" Weider, was the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness along with brother Joe Weider...
and creator of the Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness . Joe Weider created the contest to enable the...
, the Ms. Olympia
Ms. Olympia
Ms. Olympia is the title given to the winner of the women's bodybuilding portion of Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . It was first held in 1980, and since 2000 it has been held at the same...
, and the now-defunct Masters Olympia
Masters Olympia
The Masters Olympia was an international bodybuilding competition which was held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . The competition was created by Joe Weider in 1994 as a venue for former champions to continue to compete at the highest professional level into their later...
bodybuilding
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...
contests. He is the publisher of several bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness
Muscle & Fitness
Muscle & Fitness is an American bodybuilding magazine founded by Joe Weider, but now published by American Media, Inc.-History:Muscle & Fitness has a more mainstream focus than its companion publication, Flex...
, Flex
FLEX (magazine)
Flex is an American bodybuilding magazine, published by American Media, Inc.-History:Founded in 1983 by Joe Weider, local versions are now published throughout the world, in countries such as the UK and Australia.The premier issue was dated April 1983, and featured Chris Dickerson on the cover...
, Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness is a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series The Greatest American Hero....
and Shape, and is the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements.
Biography
Born in Montreal, Quebec, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, before founding the IFBB, Weider published the first issue of Your Physique magazine in 1936 when he was 17 years old. In 1953, the publication was renamed Muscle Builder magazine. The name changed again to Muscle & Fitness
Muscle & Fitness
Muscle & Fitness is an American bodybuilding magazine founded by Joe Weider, but now published by American Media, Inc.-History:Muscle & Fitness has a more mainstream focus than its companion publication, Flex...
in 1980. Other magazines published by Weider's publishing empire include "Mr. America", "Muscle Power", Shape magazine
Shape Magazine
Shape Magazine is a monthly English language fitness magazine started by Weider Publications in 1981, founded by Christine MacIntyre and became the #1 women's fitness magazine...
, Fit Pregnancy
Fit Pregnancy
Fit Pregnancy is a magazine and Web site for pregnant women and new mothers, published six times a year.- History :Fit Pregnancy was founded in 1993 by Weider Publications as a spin-off of Shape Magazine. Weider Publications was acquired by American Media, Inc...
, Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness is a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series The Greatest American Hero....
, Living Fit, Prime Health and Fitness, Cooks, Senior Golfer, and Flex
FLEX (magazine)
Flex is an American bodybuilding magazine, published by American Media, Inc.-History:Founded in 1983 by Joe Weider, local versions are now published throughout the world, in countries such as the UK and Australia.The premier issue was dated April 1983, and featured Chris Dickerson on the cover...
. He also authored numerous training courses beginning in the 1950s and developed the Weider System of Bodybuilding course. In addition, he penned numerous books beginning with The Weider System of Bodybuilding (1981) and co-wrote the 2006 biography Brothers Of Iron with Ben Weider
Ben Weider
Benjamin "Ben" Weider, was the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness along with brother Joe Weider...
. In 1983, Weider was named "Publisher of the Year" by The Periodical and Book Association. Weider made few motion picture appearances however in 1995, he appeared in the Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
and Peter Graves
Peter Graves
Peter Graves may refer to:* Peter Graves , American actor* Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves , English actor and peer* Peter Graves , English cricketer...
film, America: A Call to Greatness
America: A Call to Greatness
America: A Call to Greatness is a 1995 docudrama feature from Paige-Brace Cinema, chronicling United States history from its inception through the 20th century. It stars Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Deborah Winters, Peter Graves, Jane Russell, and Rita Moreno among others and was written,...
, directed by Warren Chaney
Warren Chaney
Warren Herbert Chaney, Ph.D. is an American executive, author, filmmaker, behavioral scientist, entertainer, businessman and a pioneer in early television. In a career spanning four decades, Chaney wrote fifteen books, fourteen screenplays, and seventy-eight professional and nonprofessional...
.
Weider, the scrawny, poor Jewish boy with a 7th-grade education, began his bodybuilding and publishing empire with $7 at age 17 after building his own barbell
Barbell
A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, weightlifting and powerlifting. Barbells range in length from to although bars above 7' in length are used primarily by powerlifters and aren't commonplace...
s out of junked car wheels and axles. In the 1950s, he met Betty Brosmer
Betty Brosmer
Betty Brosmer is an American former model born in Pasadena, California. She was a popular pin-up at the height of her career in the 1950s.In 1961, she married Joe Weider, co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders...
, who was then the highest-paid pin-up model in the U.S. In 1961, he married Betty Brosmer, co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders
International Federation of BodyBuilders
The International Federation of BodyBuilders is a competitive bodybuilding organization founded in 1946 by brothers Ben and Joe Weider and is the highest level of competitive bodybuilding in the world. Currently, the IFBB consists of seven different sub-divisions for different competitors ,...
.
In 2003, his publication company, Weider Publications, was sold to American Media.
On Labor Day 2006, California governor and seven times Mr. Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, a Weider protege, presented him with the Venice Muscle Beach Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement award. During Weider's introduction, Schwarzenegger credited Weider with inspiring him and bringing him to the United States.
Settlements related to advertising and marketing claims
In 1972, Weider and his brother Ben found themselves a target of an investigation led by U.S. Postal Inspectors. The investigation involved the claims regarding their nutritional supplement Weider Formula No. 7. The product was a weight-gainer that featured a young Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
on the label. The actual claim centered on consumers being able to "gain a pound per day" in mass. Following an appeal wherein Schwarzenegger testified, Weider was forced to alter his marketing and claims.
Weider was ordered to offer a refund to 100,000 customers of a "five-minute body shaper" that was claimed to offer significant weight loss after just minutes a day of use. The claims, along with misleading "before and after" photographs, were deemed false advertising by a Superior Court Judge in 1976.
In the 1980s, Weider found himself answering charges levied by the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
(FTC). In 1984, the FTC charged that ads for Weider's Anabolic Mega-Pak (containing amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and herbs) and Dynamic Life Essence (an amino acid product) had been misleading. The FTC complaint was settled in 1985 when Weider and his company agreed not to falsely claim that the products could help build muscles or be effective substitutes for anabolic steroids. They also agreed to pay a minimum of $400,000 in refunds or, if refunds did not reach this figure, to fund research on the relationship of nutrition to muscle development.
In 2000, Weider Nutritional International settled another FTC complaint involving false claims made for alleged weight loss products. The settlement agreement called for $400,000 to be paid to the FTC and for a ban on making any unsubstantiated claims for any food, drug, dietary supplement, or program.
See also
- List of Montreal athletes
- List of famous Montrealers
- Ben WeiderBen WeiderBenjamin "Ben" Weider, was the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness along with brother Joe Weider...
, brother and co-founder of the IFBB - Tiger's MilkTiger's MilkTiger's Milk is a nutrition bar made by Schiff Nutrition Group, Inc. Introduced in the 1960's, Tiger's Milk is known as "America's Original Nutrition Bar." Available in multiple varieties, including Protein Rich, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter & Honey, and Peanut Butter Crunch, each Tiger's Milk...
, possibly the first nutrition bar, introduced by Joe Weider over forty years ago and still widely distributed
External links
- Brothers of Iron: How the Weider Brothers Created the Fitness Movement and Built a Business Empire by Joe Weider and Ben Weider, with Mike Steere, published by Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006
- Muscle Beach Venice
- Joe Weider: His Fitness Legacy Article on the history of Joe Weider and his impact on the fitness industry.
- Palmieri Bodybuilding article reference
- A photographic guide to Joe's most famous creation - The Mr. Olympia Contest
- United States Postal Service vs. Joe Weider, Respondent