The Body Beautiful Part II: For Love of Muscle

Sports Illustrated article about Vic Tanny and his chain of gyms, with author interviewing Charles Atlas as ‘the unquestioned leader of the [bodybuilding] field.’ Includes author’s speculation on reasons for participating in bodybuilding, recounting the rise, decline, and eventual closing of original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, gay men’s magazines, and Charles Atlas’s opposition to the ‘body beautiful cult.’