This
page is devoted to one of the greatest innovators in the
sport of bodybuilding. Zane redefined the concept
of physical supremacy from an emphasis on mere mass to an
emphasis on symmetry and proportion reminiscent
of the days of ancient Greek and Roman statuary. While
Zane was Mr. Olympia in the late 70s and for a few years
afterwards, judging the best physique on the planet would no
longer be governed by a search for the largest human on
stage, but the best built!
Zane
has always been different than the stereotypical
bodybuilder, or has he? Growing up in the tough
Pennsylvania coal-mining town of Edwardsville, at fourteen
Frank decided that rather than continue to get beat up he
would gain some muscle. He began to realize that he
could build himself up when he happened to see a
muscle-building magazine in a wastebasket in junior high
school.
Who would have thought this guy would some day be
Mr. Olympia, the best bodybuilder in the world for
three years straight?
After
graduating valedictorian in high school and getting
scholarships to college, he began to enter bodybuilding
contests as he earned a B.S. in secondary education.
Eventually Frank would move to Florida seeking better
climate and training conditions. Besides success in
bodybuilding, he was also successful in finding
his lifelong mate in life, Christine.
With
Christine's support Frank flourished and began winning more
and more bodybuilding titles. It was only after
beating the soon-to-be-great Arnold Schwarzenegger in the
1968 IFBB Mr. Universe in Miami, FL, that he would make the
big move to California, and the rest is history.
I have
had numerous occasions to be around Frank, at his homes in
Santa Monica and Le Mesa, in Gold's and World Gyms in
California, at contests and seminars, etc., and I have
always respected his honesty and openness with me and his
contemplative nature. Frank is a "thinking
man's" bodybuilder. A long time Buddhist, he has
learned to live life to the fullest despite the ups and
downs we all experience as human beings. This is
particularly evident in his retirement from physique
competition.
He has retained the sense of calm that has always
surrounded him through his Buddhist practices and has found
in music a new love to challenge him and supplement his
continuing quest to resist the aging process through
sensible training and nutrition.
For those who wonder about Frank's ability to continue to
train enthusiastically in his 60s, Frank revealed, "I'm
just curious as to how far I can go with it. Curiosity is
the driving force." He also admitted that he is
"always on a pretty good diet."
When I asked him about how he's dealing with the aging
process, he said, "I look back at those [magazine]
covers of me at the time and I remember what I used to look
like and," laughing, "yeah, if I could only look
that good!" Yet he goes on to say, "Well, my
priorities have changed a lot. I don't really care that much
about being like that but living a relatively stress-free
life." In other words, Frank has discovered the
major key to a happy life: "Everything is
changing all the time. You've just got to change with
it."
watch frank pose:
and more:
mind-blowing
images of Zane:
For all you Zane fans, check out Frank's great Web site
by clicking here.
