Ep. 95 - Old School Bodybuilding

History, Science, Culture. As a CULTist, that’s what you signed up for and we’ve been lax delivering the first: history. But no more! We are joined by Dr. Conor Heffernan, Assistant Professor of Physical Culture and Sport Studies at the University of Texas at Austin to discuss how vaudeville circus acts became the iron game as we know it. Learn how Eugen Sandow literally ripped off his suit to enter the world stage and reshaped the view of what strongmen looked like. Learn how bodybuilding was born of this history and what the very first shows were like. We look back with reverence, but without rose-tinted glasses, exploring surprising aspects of this history, like the legal battles and money-making schemes that look surprisingly like the fit teas of today. Know your history, or repeat the mistakes of the past dear cult.