Earlier this year I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Marcus Kment, who runs the highly popular Barbell Films account on Instagram. While I’m not on Instagram (I know… I know), I have been aware of the account for some time because of friends and family members who excitedly show me his latest posts. So I was/am a fan.
I was doubly excited when I learned that Marcus was producing a documentary on Eugen Sandow and the 1901 Great Competition. This is something that I have spent several years researching and writing about but still don’t believe it has gotten the recognition it deserves in the modern fitness space.
Marcus’ documentary, which is available freely on Youtube, is incredibly well researched (you can find all the references here), it uncovers new ground (including the eventual winner, W.L. Murray’s original medals!), and very entertaining. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did.
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THANKS for linking this, CONOR!
When I was an as-yet-uninformed age 16, in 1972, and a novice iron-devotee for only a year, I believed the growing popularity of bodybuilding was a new phenomenon and due to Schwarzenegger.
Around age 18, sitting in a car outside the bookstore where, fifteen minutes before, I’d just bought the first edition of the book “Pumping Iron”, I learned about Sandow, and so subsequently discovered that the bodybuilding popularity circa 1975 triggered by Schwarzenegger was merely an (albeit, anabolic-steroid-enhanced) repeat of the Physical Culture popularity triggered by Sandow circa 1900.
We monologuing, exhausting-because-obsessively-exhaustive historophiles know that little is “new under the sun”, don’t we? LOL…
Exceptional!
Great documentary! The most fascinating aspect about it, I found, was what first-rate physiques of that era were like when they were unquestionably, unimpeachably “natty.” These days you could probably find no few high school athletes with comparable or superior physiques. However, I suppose that a fair number of the latter group are not immune to the seductions of chemical enhancements.
As to the subsequent career of Billy Murray, I was under the impression that after recovering from having been gassed during the Great War, he went on to a successful career in theatrical management. According to this, he ended up going back to the dye works. What’s the straight story?
I just wanted to let you know that I recently discovered your website and think it’s quite fascinating and useful.
Love how this documentary sheds light on such an overlooked moment in fitness history.
Really enjoyed reading your take on the documentary it’s amazing how much detail goes into uncovering history like that. It actually reminded me of how interior projects in Dubai also need careful planning and the right steps in place, especially when it comes to interior fitout approvals. Companies like Atech Interiors LLC make the process easier by handling both the creative design and the approvals, so the vision comes to life without unnecessary delays.
It’s fascinating to see Marcus Kment’s dedication to uncovering new aspects of Eugen Sandow and the 1901 Great Competition. The documentary’s depth and entertainment value truly shine through.
It’s fascinating to see Marcus Kment dedication to uncovering new aspects of Eugen Sandow and the 1900 Great Competition. The documentary’s depth and entertainment value truly shine through.