Robert Kennedy (publisher)

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Robert Kennedy (born April 18, 1938 in Munich , † April 12, 2012 in Caledon , Canada ) was an author , publisher and founder of Robert Kennedy Publishing , based in Mississauga , Ontario. His work was mainly concerned with bodybuilding and fitness .

Life

Kennedy attended Culford School and Norwich University College of the Arts in Norfolk, England. After living in London and teaching art for eight years at Tottenham Technical College , Kennedy moved to Canada in 1967, where he taught art for five years in Brampton, Ontario.

In 1972, Kennedy went into business for himself and sold classes on nutrition, bodybuilding and fitness by mail. In 1974 he started his first magazine, MuscleMag International , with an initial circulation of 110,000 copies. He had no experience in publishing magazines. MuscleMag made no profit for 15 years, forcing Kennedy to evade creditors and even sell his house and car to fund it. The magazine stopped publishing in 2013 after the Robert Kennedy publishing company filed for bankruptcy.

In addition to MuscleMag International, Kennedy has also written 53 books. Several of these books made the New York Times bestseller list : Hardcore Bodybuilding, Reps !, RockHard !, Beef It! and Pumping Up! Eventually he decided to become a book publisher himself and published hundreds of books under his own imprint.

In 1976, Kennedy opened a chain of fitness stores called MuscleMag International, the first of which opened in downtown Toronto. Kennedy soon followed with stores in Miami, New York, Las Vegas, and California, eventually reaching 28 stores. He also created a fitness clothing line ( Faremon ) and a supplement line (Formula 1). Most stores eventually closed while the clothing and supplements line was sold or discontinued to focus on the core business of book and magazine publishers.

In 1997, Kennedy founded Oxygen magazine , which caters to female fitness demographics. By 2008 the publication had a circulation of over 200,000 copies.

The magazine publisher currently has five titles: MuscleMag International (hardcore bodybuilding), Oxygen (women's fitness), American Curves (swimsuit pictures of fitness women), Clean Eating (food for health and fitness) and Reps! (Building a proportional body). In 2011 another title, Maximum Fitness, was featured in Reps! folded and the first issue was published with a double cover. Until then, Maximum Fitness was a general fitness title for men that appeared six times a year. Kennedy is also known in the bodybuilding world for coining the term Hardcore Bodybuilding "after publishing the book under the same name; and the concept The Pre-Exhaust Principle, known and used by bodybuilders around the world .

At the Arnold Classic Bodybuilding and Fitness Expo 2012, Kennedy received the Arnold Schwarzenegger Lifetime Achievement Award a few weeks before his death ; the award was presented by Schwarzenegger to Kennedy's wife Tosca Reno.

Works (selection)

  • "The Eat-Clean Diet for Men" (2009)
  • "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding: The Complete AZ Book on Muscle Building" (2008)
  • "1001 Muscle Building Tips" (2007)
  • "The New Hardcore Bodybuilding" (1990)
  • "Hardcore Bodybuilding: The Blood Sweat and Tears of Pumping Iron" (1982)

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Kennedy, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Author, publisher, and founder of Robert Kennedy Publishing based in Mississauga, Ontario
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 2012
Place of death Caledon , Canada