The Journal
Gym history & LA stories
Everything we've learned about Muscle Beach, Gold's Gym, the Golden Era legends and visiting Los Angeles as a fitness fan.
Bodybuilding history
Muscle Beach History: From Santa Monica to Venice
Muscle Beach began in the 1930s on the sand just south of the Santa Monica Pier, closed in the late 1950s amid scandal, and lived on in the Venice weight pen that powered the Golden Era of bodybuilding.
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What Was the Golden Era of Bodybuilding?
The Golden Era of bodybuilding is the period from roughly the 1960s through the 1970s, often extended into the early 1980s, centered on Venice and Santa Monica, California, when Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane and their peers defined the classic, aesthetic physique.
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The History of Gold's Gym Venice: How Joe Gold's Gym Became the Mecca
Joe Gold opened the first Gold's Gym on Pacific Avenue in Venice in 1965. Here is how a cinderblock gym near the beach became the Mecca of bodybuilding, and what happened to it next.
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Mr. Olympia in the Golden Era: The Contests That Defined Bodybuilding
Joe Weider created Mr. Olympia in 1965 so Mr. Universe winners had somewhere left to compete. Here is every Golden Era champion from Larry Scott to Lee Haney, plus the rivalries that shaped the title and its link to Venice.
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Pumping Iron (1977): The Documentary That Put Venice on the Map
Pumping Iron followed Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu toward the 1975 Mr. Olympia in Pretoria, and turned Gold's Gym in Venice into a worldwide name. Here is the story behind the film and what fans can still see in Venice.
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Why California Became the Bodybuilding Capital of the World
California became the bodybuilding capital of the world because a sunny outdoor training scene at Muscle Beach, early commercial gyms, the Weider publishing empire and Hollywood all came together on a few miles of Los Angeles coastline.
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World Gym History: Joe Gold's Second Act in Venice
Joe Gold sold Gold's Gym and the rights to his own name, then came back in the late 1970s with World Gym. Here is how the gorilla-logo gym grew from a single Santa Monica gym into a worldwide franchise.
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