In the 1800s, the term “Strongman” was used to refer to a circus-performer who entertained the audience by showing his strength through various activities.
One such strongman was the German-born American Ludwig Durlacher, who began his career in 1863.
Over the next few years, he became famous and a personal trainer to the rich and famous of the era.
He is believed to have been one of the first “personal trainers” in the world, and in 1886, he opened a gym in Brussels, Belgium.
At this gym, he trained Eugen Sandow, a young strongman who later became known as the “Father of Modern Bodybuilding.”
Eugen worked hard on this body, and by 1890 he had impresarios (people who organise concerts and stage performances) interested in “displaying” him at events.
His performances, muscle-flexing, and feats of strengthSuch as breaking the chain around his chest. fascinated the audience.
By 1894, he was a celebrity—he featured in a three-part TV series, Sandow, and was a part of one of the first commercial motion picture exhibitions in history.
Soon, he was touring the world for his performances, and people began seeing him as a global fitness influencer.
Just as today’s wellness culture is booming because of long hours at work, stress, and screen-locked lives, Sandow flourished on the back of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in the early 20th century.
By 1900, he had opened Institutes of Physical Culture, launched a fitness journal, published books, sold branded merchandise, including a body-rub called Sandow’s Concentrated Embrocation.
In 1901, he organised and judged (alongside author Arthur Conan Doyle) what is believed to be the world’s first major bodybuilding competition in London.
Over the next few years, the bodybuilding contests grew in number and size, and soon, Mr. XXXs (region, state, city, etc.) were happening in different parts of the world.
