If you are a certain age, you’ll remember those Charles Atlas body building ads in the comic books. Tired of getting sand in your face at the beach by the big bully? Just order some bodybuilding guides, beef up and then bring vengeance to back to the beach by punching out that evil sand kicker.
Now available on cool tote bags, pillows and framed prints!
Atlas was that true rarity, a man equal to the marketing hype—the real deal. He was a scrawny immigrant kid who transformed his body and launched a fitness revolution by creating a 12-lesson exercise course that was translated into seven languages and adopted by millions around the world, including King George VI, Joe DiMaggio, and Rocky Marciano. Even Mahatma Gandhi wrote to inquire about the program—no kidding! The mail-order business Atlas started has now been around for 82 years (although it’s currently run by others—Atlas died in 1972), and thousands continue to look to his program for a way to get in shape.