As I'm sure you have noticed, I love the history of Quebec strongmen, in particular Louis Cyr. As discussed, Cyr represented more than strength; he stood as a symbol of French Canadian opportunity in the face of an history of oppression. Little wonder Cyr's funeral in 1912 is still alluded to in Quebec press. The … Continue reading The Fall of a Giant – The Crowning of a Newcomer
1946, Montreal, the International Federation of Bodybuilding is founded by the Weider brothers before a contest held at the Monument National. This federation will be the Weiders' first step towards gaining supremacy in the bodybuilding world - this however, did not go unopposed. Conflict Releasing the first issue of Santé et Développement Physique in 1946, fitness … Continue reading A French-Canadian Bodybuilding Federation
I had the chance to meet this guy called Sam while shopping for supplements about a month ago. We began discussing various effects of preworkout, our favorite brands, and the reasons I don't take it anymore. Our talk quickly changed to the Mr. Olympia contest that was on its way. Seeing that we both … Continue reading Phil Speaks: An Interview with Natu and the Super Jacked Ginger
While researching the regular strongman and bodybuilding articles (as we history PhD people do on the daily) I stumbled across this newspaper clipping that was featured in the National Police Gazette in 1893 asking “Is Eugen Sandow Afraid?” In this post I would like to address not only this specific clipping, but also the use … Continue reading A Challenge to Sandow; Strongmen in the Press.
As some of you might recall from a previous article, Joe Weider, later assisted by brother Ben released Your Physique magazine in 1940 out of Montreal. Although their first attempt was modest, the (soon-to-be) Weider brand grew quite steadily to reach exponential heights. However, the Weiders were not alone in the francophone Iron Game (without going into … Continue reading Santé et Force
In a previous post I discussed the presence and importance of strongmen in the province of Quebec. Physical culturist George Jowett, termed Quebec the 'Cradle of Quebec' due to the sheer number of those guys coming from the province. On another occasion, Quebec political figure Joseph-Xavier Perrault, during his trip to England with Louis Cyr, … Continue reading Strength through Violence
Who? Quebec strongman Louis Cyr; he's only one of the most prominent sporting figure of Quebec equal to Maurice 'the Rocket' Richard. (Full Bio of Cyr posted in the near future.) Louis Cyr is known for feats of strength including his 500 pound one finger lift, his over 270 pound bent press, and that time … Continue reading Louis Cyr’s Backlift
