Poldi Merc
Leopold "Poldi" Merc (* 1932 in Graz ) is an Austrian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who won the 1964 Mr. Universum title.
Life
As a child, Poldi Merc sang soprano with the Vienna Boys' Choir until his voice broke . After graduating from high school in 1952, he studied interpreting . During a student job with the US Army , he discovered dumbbell training. In 1955, Merc moved to Berlin , where he and Gino Giuliani opened the second bodybuilding studio in Germany the following year (after that of Harry Gelbfarb in Schweinfurt ). In 1993, Merc gave up his studio. He estimates that between 35,000 and 40,000 people, including Götz George , Artur Brauner and Arnold Schwarzenegger , trained in his studio over the period . Reinhard Smolana , also a bodybuilding pioneer with studios in Munich , was trained by Merc for three years. For Werner Kieser , Merc's studio was the first one he was ever able to visit in 1963. From this he drew ideas for starting his own company.
In interviews over the past ten years, Merc described himself as a personal trainer for the elderly
Merc took part in the NABBA's Mr. Universum competition for the first time in 1958, winning the title in 1964. He was the first winner from German-speaking countries. A year later, Merc won the competition for the Mr. Europe .
literature
- Erika Dilger: The fitness movement in Germany , Hofmann, Schorndorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-7780-4640-1
Web links
- Article in the Morgenpost on the occasion of his 70th birthday , accessed on September 26, 2012
- Article in the Tagesspiegel on the occasion of his 70th birthday , accessed on September 26, 2012
- Article in Tagesspiegel on the occasion of his 75th birthday , accessed on September 26, 2012
- List of his sporting achievements , accessed on September 26, 2012
- Interview in the taz from 2013 , accessed on November 11, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.taz.de/1/archiv/print-archiv/printressorts/digi-artikel/?ressort=bl&dig=2013%2F02%2F02%2Fa0202 Interview in the taz from 2013
- ↑ Werner Kieser : The discovery of iron: stations of my life. Econ, 2008, ISBN 978-3430200479 , pp. 82f
- ↑ http://www.morgenpost.de/printarchiv/berlin/article536516/Harte-Muskel- Weiches- Herz.html
- ↑ http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/wer-arnie-das-schwitzen-lehrte/366564.html
- ↑ Erika Dilger: The fitness movement in Germany, Hofmann, Schorndorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-7780-4640-1 , p. 256
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Merc, Poldi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Merc, Leopold |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian bodybuilder and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Graz |