Steve Reeves as Centurion Glacissus "The Last Days of Pompeii" 1959
USA 50s, the war has recently ended, society looks at American soldiers as heroes. At this time, the film “Labours of Hercules” is being filmed in Italy. Hercules demonstrates the ideal of a male warrior, strong and handsome. The character has the best qualities of a hero: courageous, uncompromising, kind and fair. Starring American bodybuilding legend Steve Reeves.
Idol of idols
After all the horrors of the Second World War, the film became a real revelation and was liked by the public. Steve Reeves became the personification of the ancient hero in real life. Thanks to him, the world was gripped by an “epidemic” of bodybuilding. Reeves became the idol of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferigno and Sylvester Stallone.
Steve Reeves vs steroids
Today they will say... he’s an ordinary athlete who won’t even win the city championship! Reeves did not know modern technologies for rapid muscle growth and became a bodybuilding legend. He became an idol for hundreds of thousands, and maybe millions of guys around the world. He did not engage in self-PR to gain popularity. He built the greatest body according to all canons and showed what a man can look like without resorting to steroids.
It is enough to conduct an experiment: take a photograph of modern Mr. Olympia participants and a photograph of Reeves, show them to women with the question: whose body do they consider the most attractive? I'm sure the answer will not be in favor of modern mutants. Steve Reeves embodies all the best that nature gives to man.
Anthropometric data
Steve Reeves height and weight:
- at 185 cm, body weight did not exceed 98 kg;
- biceps girth - 47 cm;
- waist - almost 73 cm;
- torso - 128 cm;
- neck 46.35 cm.
At a time when only a few people were involved in bodybuilding, a pumped-up figure attracted everyone's attention. For 30 years, the athlete was a star on the Muscle Coast beach and was followed by a crowd of fans.
Raising Hercules
Reeves' life is a myth come true. Hercules was born by a simple woman, from Zeus, whom he had never seen. The mother raised her demigod son as a hero. Hercules won all competitions and feats thanks to his strength and intelligence. Reeves was left without a father at two years old and his mother raised her son to be a worthy man. Reeves was the best, rising to the top of the sports Olympus. Let the legends be more like Steve Reeves than modern steroid-synthol mutants!
“As for the hero, I don’t have such a good opinion of him. And yet: he is the most acceptable form of existence. Especially when there is no other choice!
Friedrich Nietzsche
Life after career
- Having earned worldwide recognition, Reeves left sports and cinema and moved to California to organize his own business.
- His personal life is rich with three marriages. From 1994 until his death in 2000, he was married to Deborah Ann Angelhorn. The athlete had two children with this Polish noblewoman.
- The bodybuilder bought a ranch, began breeding horses, and continued to promote healthy eating and exercise in the media.
- In 2000, at the age of 74, Steve died of lymphoma.
- The famous athlete remained for hundreds of thousands of fans an unsurpassed natural bodybuilder with the body of Hercules, a talented, spiritual and comprehensively developed person.
What is your opinion about the iconic Steve Reeves? Share your thoughts with readers in the comments below.
Death of Father, Ranch and Horse
Steve Reeves is from Glasgow, a small town in Montana. Born January 21, 1926. Welsh and German blood flowed in his veins. Father Lester tried to master the difficult soil of Montana by working as a farmer. Lester died in an accident; Steve was not even two years old. The mother was left with a small child in her arms.
After his father's death, the boy lived for months on his uncle's ranch. At the ranch, Steve became interested in horse riding. I had to go in for horse riding mainly during the holidays, three months a year. Good coordination and courage allowed Reeves to become a good rider. Adults admired how young Reeves raced while lying on the back of a horse. Sometimes bareback, holding his sides with his hands and feet. Experts noted that perhaps it was horse riding that gave Steve a thin waist and slender hips.
Biography of “the most beautiful of people”
Steven Lester Reeves was born into the light of day in a very simple family in 1926 in winter in the state. Montana in the northwest of America. As soon as the boy turned one and a half years old, his beloved dad tragically died. All the worries about her young son fell heavily on the mother’s shoulders.
Interesting! Baby Stevie became a screen star at the age of 6 months, when he was recognized as the healthiest baby in the country. For this, his mother received a cash prize.
In his childhood, he recklessly played ball with the kids in the yard, and as a teenager he began to engage in strength sports. His hobbies coincided with the dawn of the era of weightlifting, so at that time there were no sources of useful information for beginners. John Grimek became a role model for the boy. Soon the future champion shared: “My opinion about a real bodybuilder was at odds with the photos I saw on the pages of magazines. One athlete had a beautiful chest, the second had legs, the third had a back. For myself, I wanted the ideal in all respects.”
Auckland Postman
At the age of 10, Steve and his mother moved to Oakland, California. Steve gets a job as a newspaper delivery boy to earn pocket money. Working as a postman, Steve accustomed his body to physical activity, on his bicycle, he overcame the steep hills of Auckland, pedaling diligently. He was the only newspaper delivery boy who climbed the hills on a bicycle, carrying a heavy bag. His friends preferred to climb on foot. Throwing newspapers onto the top step of the porches of houses, he trained his coordination.
The future Mr. America loved long walks and runs on sandy beaches. Over time, this also affected the definition and strength of his leg muscles. Still not suspecting that in the future he would become a bodybuilding legend, as if fate itself was leading him to triumph in the sport.
First training
Steve Reeves became interested in arm wrestling and throwing. Everyone who challenged him was defeated. One of the opponents, Joe Gambina, was smaller in build, but easily defeated Steve in arm wrestling. Wondering how he could lose, Steve went to his opponent's home, hoping to find out why he was stronger. He found his opponent in the backyard of a house, training with a barbell and dumbbells. Having become acquainted with iron for the first time, Steve was impressed by the training. He was equally impressed by the portrait of “Mr. Universe” by John Grimek. I saw a photograph of Grimek hanging on Gambino's wall. The rivals became best friends, and at the same time iron teammates.
Body-building
Thanks to a special training program developed by mentor Edd Yarik, Reeves became a professional bodybuilder in a couple of months in his youth. The size of his biceps in a short time reached 47 cm in girth, and he had to do a number of exercises to allow other muscles to develop.
Thanks to this balanced approach, from the first professional competitions, Steve became a star of the Muscle Coast and the owner of the title of Mr. Western America. His arms, legs, chest and waist deserved separate prizes and diplomas and surpassed the ideal parameters of the famous athlete George Eiferman.
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Steve Reeves in old age
The photographers who worked at the competition appreciated Reeves’ merits in their own way and offered the new winner to learn stagecraft. As a result, after completing theater courses, he came to the film “Samson and Delilah”, but then refused the role, since he was not yet ready for cinema.
Instead of fame as a Hollywood actor, Steve wanted to become “Mr. Universe,” but he was able to achieve this title only in 1950. At this competition, held in London, he defeated the legendary Reg Park, who served as a role model for the famous American Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In subsequent years, keeping in shape thanks to his own training methods, Reeves decided to repeat the film experience and, finally, open a filmography. He made a successful debut in the film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and then left America and went to conquer Europe.
Steve Reeves and Arnold Schwarzenegger / Steve Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger
The athlete’s most famous work, which contributed to the popularization of bodybuilding, was his role in the films “The Labors of Hercules” and “Hercules and the Queen of Lydia.” There, Steve, in the form of a demigod - the son of Zeus and Alcmene - appeared on the screen in the company of a beautiful Italian woman, known as Silva Koshina.
Having gained popularity among the audience, Reeves stopped participating in competitions, but thanks to his independent performance of stunts, he maintained excellent physical shape. His figure exactly corresponded to the famous characters of the past: the English pirate Henry Morgan and the Roman heroes Romulus and Glaucus.
Meet Ed Yarik
Upon entering Castlemont High School, more serious training began. The muscles responded to the load, but the knowledge of the school coaches was not enough. Steve began looking for more thoughtful workout routines. Meeting Ed Yarik was a real gift of fate. Ed Yarik is an experienced trainer and owner of one of the best bodybuilding gyms in the world. Ed took Steve under his leadership and began to teach him all the intricacies of muscle building. Two years later, under the guidance of a trainer, Reeves has built up impressive muscles.
First experience
Based on materials in the press, the teenager drew up a training plan for himself and began training in the garage with a barbell. After gaining a little experience, Steve signed up for the gym and unexpectedly fell under the tutelage of Edd Yarik, the owner of the club. He immediately recognized the guy’s potential and decided to work with the “raw material.” In 4 months at the age of 16.5, the young man gained 14 kilos of muscle. Then came the sports plateau.
4 weeks passed, but there was no change in the mass, only the muscles became more prominent and denser. The next month the weight progression was 5 kg. And just a block away, it was impossible not to notice a tall, muscular figure. The jocks with 4 years of experience were shocked by this transformation.
However, the guy did not train for volume. “When I came to the gym, the girth of my biceps did not exceed 34 cm, my ankles – 41 cm. In order not to increase the disproportion, I stopped pumping my calves and waited for the arm muscles to become equal to the parameters of my shins. Then I pumped up my neck and calves to 44 cm and calmed down.”
Military service
The year was 1944, at the height of the Second World War. Steve stops training, after graduating from school, he goes into the army. After six weeks of training, he is sent to fight in the Philippines. Steve received several awards, but severe malaria put him in a hospital bed. According to various sources, I lost about 10-20 kg of muscle mass. After leaving the hospital, he was sent to Japan, in the land of the rising sun, the disease periodically made itself felt. In the Army, I tried to train whenever possible. Having been demobilized, he returns to Ed Yarik’s hall.
Personal life
In between training and filming, Steve found time for his personal life, in which, according to American publications, he had at least two wives. In his first marriage to a Polish countess, the bodybuilder had children, and his wife named Alina was the embodiment of a real family.
It was with her that Reeves spent time in his old age on his own ranch in sunny California, feeling supported in writing a book and running a horse breeding business. But in 1989, Alina died after a serious illness, and the man abandoned the relationship, spending the rest of his days alone.
Mister Universe
He conducts classes three times a week and hard training gives results. Steve wins the 1946 and 1947 Mr. Pacific Coast competitions. In 1947, Reeves became Mr. America, the highest title in bodybuilding. His photos are published in sports magazines, and his popularity in bodybuilding is growing. Being unmarried, the mother took an active part in preparing her son: she prepared high-calorie foods, salads from vegetables and fruits.
The famous director Cecil B. DeMille contacted Reeves. DeMille was making historical films and was looking for an actor to play Samson. Reeves suited him; he needed to lose 20 pounds for the role. Steve refused because it was very difficult for him to gain every pound of muscle. The role went to actor Victor Matura.
Steve continues training and in 1948 wins the Mr. Universe title. Next come Mr. USA and Mr. World. Two years later, he won the title “Mr. Universe” in London.
Acting career as a bodybuilder
With the growth of a bodybuilder's career, the demand for this type of figure in theatrical circles has increased. Steve realized that he wouldn’t last long on the income from bodybuilding, so he decided to accept an offer from agents to act in films.
Reeves' most famous films:
- "The Labors of Hercules";
- "The Last Day of Pompeii";
- "Trojan War"
- "Il figlio di Spartacus";
- "Romulus and Remus" and others.
At a certain period of his life, Stephen showed himself as an author. His book “Building a Classic Physique. The Natural Way" is completely autobiographical, and describes in detail all the ups and downs of Steve's life, his comments and statements about himself.
