And of course, they would be given less violent exercises, and little weights to lift or bean bags or something. Exercise was what they were after, specifically the health part of it. “Before he glorified the American girl, Ziegfeld glorified the American hunk.”Ĭhapman: Yes, to a lesser extent. Collectors Weekly: At the time, was it acceptable for women to work out, too? Sandow said, “I can show you how that’s done for a small fee,” and that’s how it got going.Ī poster advertising Sandow’s performance with Ziegfeld’s traveling vaudeville show, circa 1894. Men were inspired by him, and they wanted to have a body like his. This happened mainly through the work that Eugen Sandow did, making bodybuilding popular. He didn’t invent the sport, but he made it widespread because he was an international vaudeville star. The late 19th century was a time when people were discovering sports in a big way, and a lot of new sports were born at that time. But that physique was mainly for athletes like boxers, wrestlers, and people like that it wasn’t until the 19th century that bodybuilding became an activity that regular individuals could engage in. I think people always appreciated men with a muscular, well-formed body in the classic “V” shape. Now we take it for granted, but it’s not something that people did on their own. Originally, it started as a means to attain health, but then, it gradually morphed into something else because people thought, “I’m feeling better and I’m also looking better, what a happy coincidence.” Though there had been smaller movements before, the period from the 1890s up through the 1920s was the real start of working out and going to the gym. Chapman: There’s always been a three-pronged reason for working out or exercising, and that’s health, beauty, and strength. Collectors Weekly: How did we develop the notion of exercise as a leisure activity?ĭavid L. Right, a cabinet card image of Sandow circa 1895. Above left, the March 1934 issue of “Physical Culture” featured the father of bodybuilding.
Photo by Herman John Schmidt, courtesy Alexander Turnbull Library. We recently spoke with Chapman about Sandow’s rise to fame and the body worship he inspired. “Control of body was equated to control of the environment and control of others,” Chapman says.
Chapman explains that during the late 19th century, in addition to sexual power, a strong physique began to convey political power, too. Chapman has written several books on the history of bodybuilding and male physique photography, often drawing from his own extensive collection of related ephemera. His latest book, “ Universal Hunks,” offers an intriguing look at the muscled Adonis ideal as it spread across the globe. Men and women alike clamored for cabinet cards featuring Sandow in the buff, and his physique inspired the first generation of gym bunnies. As Tim Farrell wrote for Neatorama, “Sandow did more than simply shock and titillate audiences with his tiny waist and ripped muscles he pioneered the notion of working out for the sake of aesthetics.” Sandow recognized the value of sex appeal and used it to establish one of the earliest celebrity sporting franchises from his headquarters in London, which formed the basis of modern gym culture.ĭavid L. “He was using allusions to classical art and statuary as an alibi, an excuse for posing practically nude.” It was no accident that the imagery of “physical culture,” as recreational exercise was known, became closely intertwined with sexuality and pornography.
Though the bodybuilding trend was initially based on notions of health, it found broad appeal using the allure of physical attraction. Instead of catering to mainstream morals, German-born Sandow played up his womanizing reputation, even encouraging scandalous rumors to circulate.
Not only did Sandow have one of the finest musculatures in the Western world, but he made physical beauty his primary talent: Instead of focusing on magic tricks or daring feats, Sandow simply posed like a gorgeous hunk of marble. When Eugen Sandow took the stage in 1894, clad only in a pair of miniature briefs, audiences swooned.