Today is my Dad’s birthday and he would
be 100 years old if still alive.
Unfortunately, he passed away 13 years ago at age 86.
My joy of physical fitness was cultivated from him and the example he set. As a young boy in the late 1930s, my Dad read comic books and the inside cover comic book ads of Charles Atlas and his Dynamic Tension exercise system caught his young boy attention. The ad’s Mac the 97-lb. weakling comic strip lured my Dad into wanting to be like muscular and strong Charles Atlas. Later as a sailor during World War 2, my Dad was in New York City and he visited and met Charles Atlas at his office. I wrote about it here:
Pierini Fitness: A young sailor meets Charles Atlas
Returning to his hometown Sacramento after World War 2, he immersed himself in weightlifting and joined the local YMCA. He read every issue cover to cover of Strength and Health, a Bob Hoffman and York Barbell magazine, and Your Physique, a Joe Weider magazine. At the YMCA, he met and befriended Tommy Kono, America’s greatest Olympic weightlifter.
I recall my Dad telling me that his best barbell lifts were 280 lbs. for the bench press (his weakest lift), 460 lbs. for the squat and 480 lbs. for the deadlift. I also recall him sharing that he would press 100 lb. dumbbells for reps. After witnessing Doug Hepburn overhead press Ed Yarick, an over 250-lbs. big man, my Dad embarked on doing something similar. He shared that he once over pressed a fellow weightlifter who weighed 180 lbs. for a single rep. At his peak, my Dad weighed 205 lbs. standing five feet nine inches tall.
The Northern California bodybuilding and weightlifting scene was vibrant in those days with the greatest action taking place at Ed Yarick’s Gym in Oakland, California. My Dad, along with Tommy Kono and other Sacramento weightlifting enthusiasts, would jump in their cars and head to Ed Yarick’s Gym on weekends for gym workouts and camaraderie with like-minded muscle heads. He was able to meet legends like Paul Anderson, Doug Hepburn, Jack LaLane, John Davis, Steve Reeves, Clancy Ross, and others, while there.
As a young teenager, he took me to the YMCA weight room where I was able to train with him. Even though the weight room was for adults only, my Dad was able to get me inside because of his connections. I learned the basic barbell lifts from his instruction and watchful eye.
His peak time at the YMCA came to end once he married and became a father, but he continued training on his own as time permitted. He had a simple home gym right up to the time of his passing in 2013.
I’m thinking about you today, Dad, on your 100th birthday. I thank you for the joy of physical fitness that you instilled in me. I’m Pierini Fitness today because of your example. I always try my best to inspire others to be physically fit and will continue to honor you by the example I set for others.
I hope that one day I get to Heaven to be reunited with you. Maybe we’ll be able to get a workout together then. You can do your barbell squats and I’ll do my burpees.
May perpetual light continue shining upon your soul and may your soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed through the mercy of God continue in eternal rest, Amen.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum
