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Muscle Beach Founder Muscled OutDate: 16.05.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
A weighty problem surrounds Muscle Beach in Venice. The founder of the beachside bodybuilding Mecca says he's being muscled out by the city. Eyewitness News Reporter Rob Hayes tells us that the 73-year-old isn't going down without a fight.
No pain, no gain. Bill Howard says he's definitely feeling the pain.
The 73-year old founder of Muscle Beach Venice says after nearly 45 years of organizing Venice's trademark bodybuilding shows, the city of L.A. has told him he's no longer needed.
And that has Howard taking off the gloves.
Bill Howard: "Just a thank you and a letter saying goodbye. They're slapping me in the face and I'm going to tell the world about it."
Howard, who still works out five days a week, says he's the one who raised half-a-million dollars to build this facility more than 15 years ago, that he enlisted Arnold Schwarzenegger to bring fame to Muscle Beach, and that he kept the bodybuilding sensation here alive when it foundered in the '80s.
Now, four decades into the battle, Howard still sees Muscle Beach Venice as something worth fighting for.
Howard: "This is my mistress. I've spent money, I've lost lovers. I've paid a lot of dues. I didn't expect this. Not from the city."
Joe Wheatley: "We're not trying to close the door on Mr. Howard. He's a great guy. He's done a lot for Muscle Beach."
Joe Wheatley is the current Muscle Beach promoter. He admits none of it would be here without Howard, but says the city cut ties with him because he grew too obstinate.
Wheatley: "The moment he said he was going to picket the event and actually disrupt the event, and at that point the department felt it was best to part ways with Mr. Howard."
But Wheatley says he's hoping to find a compromise that will bring Howard back to the Muscle Beach shows, maybe even honor him with a plaque here. A good sign that this powerlifting power struggle may eventually work out.
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