Muscle Sport Magazine

Eddie Robinson Has Graced 86 Covers in His 33-Year Career

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END OF A GREAT RUN

As the 1990s morphed into the new millennium, the sport of bodybuilding began to go in a different direction that neither Weider nor Robinson agreed with. “Joe and his brother Ben formed the IFBB on the solid criteria of balance and symmetry with the aesthetics displaying the ultimate specimen of man,” explained Robinson. “We spoke about the changes in the late 1990s to 2000 when mass and freaky size took away from the beauty that was once respected and how the magazines were floundering on the shelf.”

When Weider informed Robinson that he was going to sell off the magazine titles to AMI/David Pecker in 2002, it spelled the end of an 18 year working relationship that benefited both parties immensely. “I told Joe that if he was throwing in the towel and selling two of the world’s greatest publications (FLEX and Muscle and Fitness) that I would do the same and retire because I was not going to work with anyone else but him.”

FULL CIRCLE

One of the many great conversations that Robinson had with Weider was about the latter competing in the 1951 NABBA Mr. Universe and some of the other competitors from that time, such as John Grimek, Steve Reeves and actor Sean Connery. “Joe spoke of this with such passion and it was why he mirrored NABBA when he started the (Mr.) Olympia.”

Fast forward to 2016 and Robinson was considering a comeback when he turned 50 but decided to look away from the IFBB and towards NABBA. “The IFBB is no longer for me as their judging criteria has changed drastically and directed more towards the mass monsters lacking the beauty of symmetry, balance and conditioning that us old school bodybuilders brought to the table in the 1980s and 90s,” he said. “In today’s lineup, I just don’t belong as I will not support a GH gut in exchange for freaky size or pump synthol.”

Robinson met with the NABBA officials in the United Kingdom about a potential return to the stage in their Masters division and was asked to attend their president’s meeting. He spoke about the current situation in the industry and some of his ideas for solutions to these problems, receiving a warm applause from the gathered men from all around the globe. A few days later, they contacted Robinson and asked if he would be interested in representing NABBA USA and ultimately being named USA president (in January of 2017). It was an easy decision to make.

“The main reason that I accepted is to bring back the authenticity of symmetry and balance of the sport,” he said. “Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t have said it any better that there needs to be a change and he came from NABBA and is a four-time Mr. Universe. I’m committed to bringing back the aesthetics from when NABBA was founded in 1950 and the type of physiques that Joe Weider spoke to me about when I was still a teenager.”

The Master Blaster may have passed away three years ago, but his spirit and legacy lives on through the vision of Eddie Robinson, who certainly took the right path that Weider mapped out for him.

Be sure to visit www.NABBA-USA.com and follow their social media pages: @nabbawffusa (Instagram), NABBAUSA (Facebook). Contact – nabbausainfo@gmail.com

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