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Bill Pearl Bodybuilder Biography
Bill Pearl Classic Bodybuilding Champion
William Arnold "Bill" Pearl was born in Prineville, Oregon on October 31, 1930. Bill is without a doubt one of the greatest bodybuilders having not only won the coveted Mr. Universe title 5 times but also to be named "World’s Best-Built Man of the Century."Bill started training at an early age in order to stop the kids from beating him and it was not long before he was winning every time he stood on stage. His first biggest victory was winning the Amateur Mr. Universe in 1953.
Bill Pearl competed regularly every year for over 18 years until he finally retired. He had beaten some of the best bodybuilders the world has ever seen from Frank Zane to Sergio Oliva and also won the professional Mr. Universe 4 times.
Bill Pearl had a permanent impact on the sport by not only being the first bodybuilder to ever pose to music but he was also the first bodybuilder who ever published bodybuilding training courses, as well as a few booklets which gave advice on exercise and diet.
Bill was a performer who loved to be on stage and he created a performance where he would do a copy of the great Eugen Sandow wearing a fig leaf and doing strongman demonstrations. But more importantly was the published work that he left behind.
His very popular exercise book called "Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Men and Women", sold over 350,000 copies in the USA and has been translated into 4 languages, including Chinese. Probably his biggest impact on bodybuilding was his book called "Keys To The INNER Universe."
This encyclopaedia of bodybuilding had 1,500 different weight-training exercises each with a full explanation and the book itself weighs five pounds. Considered a must read by most bodybuilders it sold over 60 000 copies in the first two years.
Bill continues to make an enormous contribution to bodybuilding even though he is officially retired. He still runs his own Q an A column called "Pearl of the Universe" which has been published in MuscleMag International magazine for many years.
In 2003 he published his autobiography called "Beyond the Universe: The Bill Pearl Story". Part of that fascinating story is when he became a vegetarian at the age pf 39. The true definition of his diet according to Bill is a lacto-ovo vegetarian that eats eggs and dairy products.
Bill has served as a mentor to many top bodybuilders all over the world and he was recognized for his huge contribution that he has played in the development of bodybuilding by winning the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic.
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