Bodybuilding

The history of Canadian bodybuilding cannot miss the name Ben Weider. He was a school dropout from Montreal who took bodybuilding out of sweat-soaked gyms and helped usher in the modern-day fitness boom attracting many followers from all over the world.

In his more than sixty years of involvement in bodybuilding, as Founding President of the International Federation of Body Builders (I.F.B.B.). Mr. Weider and his older brother joe anticipated, then led, the worldwide fitness revolution and legitimized the sport of bodybuilding.

The I.F.B.B., founded by the Weiders in 1946, has 173 member national federations worldwide and sanctions thousands of amateur and professional competitive events.

Ben Weider was born in Montreal Feb. 1, 1923, to jewish Polish immigrants . He and his brother joe dropped out of grade school to support the family. He worked in garment sweatshops and restaurants before enlisting in the Canadian Army and serving during the Second World War.