Strongmen I Have Known – Bruce Randall, NABBA Mr. Universe 1959 - Frequently, I get requests to continue my stories about the many bodybuilders, strongmen, weightlifters, etc., whom I have corresponded with, talked to by phone, and even met over the last forty five years. Today, I’ll take a moment and write about a great guy who, as I look back, I was very fortunate to meet. As I recall, it was around 1967… As a teenager, I was walking through the old, now defunct, Montgomery Wards department store in nearby Detroit. As I walked around a corner into the sporting goods department, I stumbled upon a small group of people listening to a man giving a demonstration with barbells. While wearing a tight black t-shirt, you couldn’t help but notice his big long arms, narrow waist and long legs. His youthful smile and well developed physique attracted many passersby, especially the ladies! His name… Bruce Randall. He was promoting Billard Barbells, a popular brand in department stores back in the day. Randall seemed easy going while fielding questions from time to time. During a slow period, I walked up and asked him a few questions about training. He seemed to sense my enthusiasm, jotted down an address in New York on the back of his business card and said to write him if I had any further questions. A few years later, when I began world wide correspondence and distributing weightlifting publications by mail order, I picked up a copy of his book on training… “The Barbell Way to Physical Fitness” That is when I discovered who I had met. In his book he tells of his early days and how he got started with barbells. Spending his summers during high school at physically demanding jobs such as lumber jack, coal miner and merchant marine. He relates the, now famous, story of how, while in the Marine Corps, he began training at 203 pounds and built himself up to 401 pounds in 21 months. He consumed a tremendous amount of food, often eating 28 eggs and drinking 12 quarts of milk a day, courtesy of the Marine Corps. It was during this time, that he won his first weightlifting meet. However, after his discharge from the corps, he soon discovered that his food bill was well over $ 100.00 a week! That was back in the 1950s, by today’s standards, that is over $ 800.00!!! He went on to say that while he was very strong at 401 pounds, it was, obviously, impractical to carry that much weight. Therefore, he changed his focus of weightlifting from that of strength to bodybuilding. He rearranged his diet and barbell routines and, in 32 weeks, lost 218 pounds, bringing his bodyweight from 401 pounds down to 183 pounds. Eventually, he set his sights on the NABBA Mr. Universe competition. He was so successful in his training, that he placed 2nd in the 1958 NABBA Professional Mr. Universe Contest! Who placed 1st? Reg Park As a matter of fact, it was Reg Park who offered advice on diet and training to Randall while training for this contest. That’s right, even though Reg Park knew that Randall was entering the same contest, he offered to help him in any way he could. THAT was the type of person Reg Park was! The training advice offered from Park enabled Randall to win the Universe in London, the following year! Years later, I attempted to contact Bruce Randall, but with no luck. But, I did discover things about him from time to time: That he was a spokesman for barbell manufacturer, Diversified Products, during the 1980s. He was a strength coach for the Washington Redskins. And, he was a collector of and authority on rare Tiffany glass. Even my old friend Vic Boff, of The Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen, wanted to honor Randall at his annual banquet and get together. Vic said that Randall politely refused his many requests. Then, suddenly, seemingly out of no where, the Iron Game received the sad news… Bruce Emerson Randall quietly passed away on this day in 2010. He was 79 years of age. He was a great ambassador for bodybuilding and weightlifting. I’ll never forget his smile or his helpful enthusiasm for weightlifting. Until the next time… Yours for greater strength, Bill Hinbern P.S. For more Strength Training Tips like this one, go to our website and sign up for our FREE Strength Training Email Newsletters: superstrengthtraining/newsletter.html
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 21:22:59 +0000
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