Angelo Siciliano (1892 – 1973), more commonly known as Charles Atlas, was a bodybuilder and the most popular muscleman of his day. His company, Atlas Nutrition, marketed a fitness program for the "97-pound weakling", a registered trademark.
Born in Arci , in southern Italy, he moved to Brooklyn, New York at a young age. Initially a small, weak child, Siciliano worked hard to tone his muscles, using a variety of weights. Contemplating upon the strength of a tiger in a zoo, he conceived the idea of working muscle against muscle, rather than working out with weights. Using this system, later dubbed Dynamic-Tension, he acquired a physique that earned him the nickname "Charles Atlas", after the mythical Atlas, the Titan who held up the heavens. He later filed for and received trademark status for the name. He soon took the role of strongman in the Coney Island Circus Side Show.
World's Most Perfectly Developed Man
In 1922, the publisher of the magazine Physical Culture dubbed him "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man" in a contest held in Madison Square Garden. He was chosen by a cross-disciplined group of health and medical experts, educators, anthropologists, scientists and medical doctors who viewed Atlas as the "perfect male body" and placed his physical measurements on file for posterity. Atlas' physical measurements are buried in a time capsule at Oglethorpe University.
Advertising fame
Atlas developed his own muscle-building mail-order business through the use of advertisements in popular periodicals. In 1928 his business partner Charles Roman took over the marketing of the business and coined the term "dynamic tension" to describe Atlas' use of muscle-against-muscle resistance exercise, now generally known as Isometric exercise.
97 pound weakling
The Charles Atlas advertisements popularized the phrase "98-pound weakling". His most famous advertisement featured a weak scrawny kid who decides to bulk up after getting sand kicked in his face at the beach. Although the original ads stated "I turned myself from a 97 pound weakling into the World's Most Perfectly Developed Man", the phrase, as most commonly used, refers to 98 pounds, not 97 pounds, possibly due to trademark issues. Whether Atlas himself ever was a 97 pound weakling is in question. While he was of course 97 pounds at some point, it is uncertain whether he aspired to greater physical fitness at that time.
Business
His company did so well that it emerged from the stock market crash of 1929 unscathed. As many as 6 million people bought his mail order course, which is still offered today. "Charles Atlas" was selected by Forbes Magazine as one of the 20th Century's "Super Salesmen". Named one of the Most Influential People of the Twentieth Century by Times Sunday Magazine. Known throughout the world as a strongman, he is considered a founding father of modern-day body-building and fitness, and of isometric exercise.
Likenesses
Besides photographs, Siciliano posed for many statues throughought his life, including, it has been said, the statue of George Washington in New York's Washington Square Park. He died of heart failure at age 79 after his daily jog on the beach. At the time, people were still writing to him requesting his picture, and soliciting advice on fitness.
Trademarks
Charles Atlas, Ltd owns the following trademarks: "Atlas"; "Charles Atlas"; "Dynamic-Tension"; "Atlas Nutrition"; "Mr. Atlas"; "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man"; "97-pound weakling"; "Insult that Made a Man Out of Mac"; "Hero of the Beach" and "Hey Skinny!".
External links
Last updated: 05-07-2005 12:48:28
Last updated: 05-07-2005 18:09:53
