The first of many great European bodybuilders emerged from England to win the Mr. Universe on three separate occasions in 1951, 1958 and 1965. To win a top level show 14 years after you won your first is testament to a great bodybuilding career. Reg was the first big man to win at the top levels of the sport. Standing at 6'1 and weighing 225-230 on stage, he was simply gargantuan compared to the bodybuilders that came before him. Reg was quite obviously the first big time bodybuilder to use anabolic steroids. If you look at the competitors before him they looked muscular and developed but not massive. Reg was the first massive bodybuilder and his body looked completely different. So obviously I have to call for a round of applause for Mr. Park.
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While Reg was a great champion in his own right, his most important legacy in the sport was being the man that Arnold Schwarzenegger idolized. Their genetic body structure was quite similar and Arnold looked at him as the model for his own development. He was the first bodybuilder to bench press 500 lbs which, even today, is a gold standard amongst powerlifters and bodybuilders alike. In my research for this article I have come away impressed with Reg Park's development and genetics. He was the first man who if he walked into a gym now when he was 30 years old people would take notice and say "Wow, that guy is big". Reg went on to star in a number of Italian Hercules style movies and that is when The Austrian Oak began to idolize him.
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