Charles Atlas
Charles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano in southern Italy, is renowned as a pioneering figure in bodybuilding and fitness. After moving to Brooklyn, New York, with his mother at the age of ten, he faced significant bullying during his adolescence, which instilled in him a fear of weakness. Seeking to transform his identity, Atlas drew inspiration from classical statuary and strongman Eugene Sandow, ultimately adopting Sandow's physique as his aspirational model. His remarkable transformation earned him the nickname "Charles Atlas," likened to the mythological figure who bore the weight of the heavens.
In 1921, Atlas gained recognition by winning the "World's Most Handsome Man" contest held by Physical Culture magazine. The following year, he launched a mail-order bodybuilding course that contributed to his fame and popularity. His advertising campaigns, featuring the iconic slogan, "You, too, can have a body like mine," made him a symbol of health, muscularity, and masculinity. Atlas’s legacy continues to influence the fitness industry and the ideals surrounding physical fitness and self-improvement.
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Subject Terms
Charles Atlas
Bodybuilder
- Born: October 30, 1892
- Birthplace: Acri, Calabria, Italy
- Died: December 24, 1972
- Place of death: Long Beach, New York
Identification: Italian American physical fitness expert
Significance:Arguably the best-known physical fitness advocate of the first half of the twentieth century, the muscular but not muscle-bound Atlas became the physical model of the ideal American man. He epitomized personal transformation, self-reliance, and a quest to impress others.
Charles Atlas was born Angelo Siciliano to farmers in the Calabria region of southern Italy. After his parents separated when he was ten, he joined his mother when she immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, in 1904. As a teenager, Atlas suffered bullying from other young men. The experiences left him with a lifelong fear of weakness. In search of an identity, he found the ideal model of a man while viewing classical statuary at the Brooklyn Museum. Soon he pasted a picture of strongman Eugene Sandow on his mirror and religiously read Bernarr Macfadden’s magazine, Physical Culture. Atlas undertook an exercise program with the aim of imitating Sandow. A friend likened the results to the mythological figure Atlas, thus giving the bodybuilder his professional name.
Atlas followed other strongmen into vaudeville. In 1921, he won Physical Culture’s contest as “World’s Most Handsome Man.” A year later, he began the mail-order bodybuilding course that brought him fame. Advertisements in pulp magazines portrayed Atlas in a breechcloth alongside the slogan, “You, too, can have a body like mine.” He became synonymous with health, muscles, and manliness.
Bibliography
Fair, John D. Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.
Gaines, Charles, George Butler, and Charles Roman. Yours in Perfect Manhood, Charles Atlas: The Most Effective Fitness Program Ever Devised. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982.
Grover, Kathryn, ed. Fitness in American Culture: Images of Health, Sport, and the Body, 1830-1940. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.