The Shape of Water by Jerry Brainum 8/26

 

 

 

In the early 1980s, the Weider empire—publisher of the era's most popular bodybuilding magazines, including Muscle & Fitness—brought in a new associate publisher named Ben. His job, as I later learned, was to rein in what CEO Alan Dalfen saw as the runaway spending of Joe Weider, the founder and public face of the magazines.

I met Ben by accident. I'd arrived at the Weider offices around 1984 for a meeting with Joe—I was a freelance writer, not on staff, there to pitch new article ideas—when a man I'd never laid eyes on intercepted me before I reached Joe's door. He introduced himself, explained his new title, and then delivered the news: my usual four articles a month would be cut to two, and from now on, he'd have to approve them first. I assumed Joe had signed off on this. He hadn't.

But what struck me most about that first encounter wasn't Ben's clipped, no-nonsense manner. It was his appearance.

Ben was grossly overweight—easily 370 pounds, none of it muscle.

Granted, you don't need to be a champion bodybuilder to work at one—most of Joe's in-house staff looked like they'd never touched a barbell. But some baseline of fitness seemed like it should matter, if only for credibility. That mattered more in Ben's case, since his role wouldn't stay confined to spreadsheets—he'd soon be writing for Muscle & Fitness himself.

Six months later, I made the same trip to Joe's office for another meeting. As I climbed the winding staircase, I noticed a man at the top who clearly recognized me, though I couldn't place him. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it was Ben—except this Ben bore almost no resemblance to the man I'd met months earlier. He'd slimmed down, looked fit, and appeared to have shed at least 100 pounds. I couldn't help but ask what had caused the transformation.

Naturally, I pressed further . . .