Earlier this week, I wrote a special blog concerning the passing of the great Joe Weider. However, I wanted to give such an icon a little more adulation — so I interviewed a close friend and former Mr. Olympia contestant, Tom Platz, to discuss what Weider meant to bodybuilding and the fitness industry.
Platz originally came into contact with Weider when he was 9 years old. He had been reading Weider’s magazines featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbo. “I was looking at myself in the bathroom mirror and I said to my mom, ‘I look like these guys, right?’” said Platz.
Platz sent Weider a picture of himself and a letter asking him to evaluate his physique. And, to the young Platz’s surprise, Weider wrote him back giving him praise and hope for the possibility of becoming a professional bodybuilder even from a young age. From the time he received that letter, Platz focused on his body and becoming a professional bodybuilder.
The dream of Platz’s was to head to California immediately following high school to pursue a career as a professional bodybuilder and eventually work for Weider. However, Platz’s father, a former Army Colonel, told him that he had to attend college before moving to California. “Everything was ‘yes, sir,’” explained Platz. “He said, ‘if you’re going to live under my roof, you’ve got to get a college degree so that you have something to fall back on.’”
In 1978, immediately following graduation from college, Platz moved to California. He was working out at the original Gold’s Gym in Venice, when Weider walked into the club. He recognized Platz from across the gym and walked up to introduce himself. “He told me to come by his office on Friday and we’d talk and he’d take me out to lunch,” said Platz. When he arrived, it was like reaching the pinnacle of bodybuilding. Platz felt as though he had finally reached his goal with covers of Schwarzenegger, Columbo and Lou Ferrigno on the walls.
Platz signed with Weider and the writers of his magazines wrote articles about him for weeks. “Joe told me, you can be the best bodybuilder in the world, but you have to be an actor on the stage to get the judges and audience on their seats,” he said. Weider pushed Platz and the others to be great stage actors, businessmen, diplomats and bodybuilders.
“I’ve been all over the world because of Joe,” said Platz. “Joe was the Vince McMan of bodybuilding. Joe’s love of bodybuilding made it popular. He made going to the gym cool. All of a sudden muscles were in the movies and it was cool to have muscles, where before, if you were in a gym, you were weird. It got people to start going to gyms, and the wave has kept going.”
Tyler Montgomery is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
Tyler, nice article. Tom was someone I looked up to. He trained hard and was focused. I was a high school senior when I joined Golds in 1978, and watched Tom transform himself from 1978-1980. A small aside, in 1978, Golds was on 2nd street in Santa Monica. The original having been converted from the gym to a private residence for the owner of Golds at the time.