How Joe Gold Saved My Life

Only recently obviously, the bodybuilding world realized that our dear friend and gym franchise pioneer Joe Gold has departed to the great big gym in the sky. Joe Gold's contribution to bodybuilding has been extensive. He's the founder of the initial Gold's Gym in Venice Beach.

 

Everyone remembers seeing Arnold and Lou and Frank Zane and all of the greats of the 60s and 70s training at Joe Gold's Gym. Joe also started both franchises Gold's Gym and World Gym both franchises blossomed into worldwide successes. Centered on Self-Tanner facts alone, Joe has affected many people on a large scale. However, everyone who new him could testify that Joe Gold's character was as golden as his name. Joe made an invaluable contribution to the life of each and every individual that knew him.

 

Recently, I was flipping by way of a magazine and I saw an article and a series of photos of all greats getting together to honor Joe Gold after his recent passing. I was moved to learn every one of the personal stories of how Joe touched people's lives. Over and over the exact same theme kept developing; Joe Gold was bodybuilding's real nice guy.

 

Joe really did see everything or done it all as far as the sport goes. Early in his career he had spent amount of time in the May West Muscle Show, did the whole Muscle Beach scene, started a gym, trained the champions and lived the bodybuilding lifestyle. Joe has helped out almost all the greats in the game but he also affected normal people as well. In fact some of those people was me. Joe Gold saved my entire life, and here is how it happened.

 

Everything started way back within my barn in rural New Brunswick. New Brunswick is a cool out from the way province, just above the Maine border. As a lad there have been no gyms around so I had to train in a makeshift gym I had constructed in a barn. I'd stare at the pictures and magazines of muscular he man flexing their muscles on a sandy beach with a California sun beating down. I watched movies like Pumping Iron with Arnold, Ed Corny, Lou Ferrigno and most of the greats training in Gold's Gym and I dreamed that one day I too could train there.