The Unknown Man Who Transformed American Fitness

Who helped transform American fitness and who, more importantly, has often been overlooked in the fitness industry?

Frederick Tilney.

It is a name that I have constantly seen in writing but not one that I have ever really researched. From my vague memories, I knew that he was born in England in the late ninteenth century, had moved to the United States where he spent several decades working alongside some of the biggest names in fitness like Bernarr MacFadden, Charles Atlas, Bob Hoffman and Joe Weider among others. What I hadn’t realized was how influential Tilney was in the creation of one of the most successful workout routines ever devised – the Atlas Dynamic Tension method.

Who Was Frederick Tilney?

Frustratingly we do not yet have a proper study of Tilney by historians – a hint for any budding readers – so a lot of what we know has been pieced together from his own writings in fitness magazines and in other’s recollections. This means, obviously, that a great deal of suspicion is needed in any of the things we are about to look at.

What I can tell you is that Tilney was born in Norwich, England in 1897 and that he moved to the United States in the early 1900s where he became a zealot of physical culture. Accordingly to fitness lore, Tilney came across a Physical Culture magazine when he was twelve and had already begun experimenting with gymnastics and drill. In his biography, Tilney described it as a near mythical experience

This fascinated me, and 1 soon built myself, making the other boys look like weaklings. I became so enthused, I was eager to help others, and when I was only 12 years old I wrote to Bernarr Macfadden’s London office to ship me down a large batch of back issues of PHYSICAL CULTURE magazines, which they did.

Terrifyingly based on his readings of Physical Culture magazine Tilney believed himself to be an expert, at age 12

I loaded up a suitcase full of these magazines and hiked over to the Norwich City Hospital, and went around the wards giving out copies to the patients, telling them they could learn how to help themselves get well, faster. Just as I passed out the last copy, a doctor came and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was trying to help these patients and give them something useful to read.

His biography continued by explaining that he hoped to provide the patients with some sound health knowledge. Few could ever doubt Tilney’s commitment to physical culture as a lifestyle but his reasoning here was somewhat suspect. In any case, Tilney’s life became consumed by fitness. He wrote articles to fitness magazines, such as Health and Vitality and Physical Culture, and slowly began to make a name for himself.

It is likely that Tilney would have emigrated to the United States but the Great War (1914-1918) stopped him in his tracks. As a young man, and a married man at that, Tilney worked in a health food company and saved his money to make the big move to the United States. This eventually happened in 1920 where, in time, he joined forces with American health guru, and some would say quack, Bernarr MacFadden.

Why Was Tilney Important?

It was under his tenure with Bernarr MacFadden that Tilney crossed paths with Charles Atlas. For those unaware, Charles Atlas was arguably the biggest fitness star of the twentieth century in the United States, bigger than Sandow and bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Marketing a muscle building course that would ‘make a man’ out of his clients, Atlas did a very clever thing. He advertised his workout courses in comic books and other periodicals aimed at young men as well as fitness magazines.

There are three things worth noting with Atlas’s workout courses. First that they were equipment free. Marketing a system he called ‘dynamic tension’, Atlas’ workout courses were body-weight only and focused solely on pushing or pulling one muscle against the other. Second, Atlas’ systems were mail order courses. This meant that every month, or two weeks, clients received a new Atlas workout course or lesson on nutrition. Finally Atlas used really captivating marketing. His most famous advertisement, the ‘Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac’, depicted a young man being bullied on a beach. He returns home, undertakes Atlas’ course and returns to defeat the bullies.

Atlas made men!

Now he wasn’t the first person to market his courses like this. Jan Todd and Ben Pollack have a fantastic article about Atlas’ former colleague Earle Liederman who became rich in the 1920s doing what Atlas did in the 1930s. It was a marketing agent, Charles Roman, who helped conceive of the Mac advertisement.

Roman bought a 50% share in Atlas’ company from our friend Frederick Tilney. While Roman was the genius who advertised Atlas’ system into economic success, it was Frederick Tilney who helped to create the workout course itself.

Working for MacFadden Tilney was encouraged to work with Atlas on creating mail order advertisements and also for helping to co-create his workout course. Tilney also suggested he gave Atlas the idea for his course

It was while driving with Mr. Atlas back and forth to the studios [Conor edit: MacFadden was I suggested that he and 1 start in the mail-order business. We did, and our first ad appeared in November 1922. We were business associates for many years, and he has since told me that the years in association with me were the happiest in his life.

This account is somewhat corroborated by James Woycke in his brilliant, but ultimately unfinished book, Esprit de Corps: A History of North American Bodybuilding. According to Woycke ‘Tilney could not stop with merely writing ads for Atlas; he made up a whole lifestyle training course organized around the principle of dynamic tension, complete with follow-up letters to pressure customers into buying the program’

So why was Tilney important? Aside from everything else he did within the fitness space, he helped to set into place, to till the field, for Atlas’ later successes. It was for this reason that Jonathan Black depicted Tilney as a ‘busy if unsung health and fitness expert.’ The most definitive account of Atlas’ life, written by Charles Gaines of Pumping Iron fame, credited Tilney with creating 13 body-weight only exercise courses which were unique for their time.

What Happened to Tilney?

He sold his stake in Atlas’ company to Roman and moved to Florida where he continued to work in the fitness industry including for big names like Joe Weider and Bob Hoffman. This was always as a writer for their magazines. His last real impact came in 1968 when he published Young at 73 – And Beyond which went against the tide of American fitness in focusing especially on older trainees. In it Tilney provided a biography of his life, oftentimes obscured in other media, and, more importantly, encouraged people to exercise across the life cycle.

What is most telling about Tilney is how often he appears in other people’s accounts and histories. He was a staff writer for several decades but it was in his collaborations with Atlas that I think we can see his influence and importance. Charles Roman was the man who created the ‘Insult which Made a Man Out of Mac,’ Tilney is arguably the man who created the system behind it. For that reason alone he needs more attention.

As always… Happy Lifting!