Oscar Frederick Heidenstam (27 February 191121 March 1991) was a Cyprus-born British

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

champion and physical culturist."Heidenstam, Oscar Frederick Jeffery Gore"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He was president of the World Amateur Body Building Association (WABBA), the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA), and NABBA International.OH Foundation
/ref> He is said to be 'The Father of British Bodybuilding'.

Early life

Oscar Heidenstam was born in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

on 27 February 1911. From the age of nine, he was educated in the UK. He had a passion for sport from a very young age, and throughout his school years he participated in

track and field athletics Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

, hand balancing,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, football, and rugby. At the age of 18 he won thirty medals and two silver cups for his achievements in various sports including rugby, track and field athletics, and gymnastics.

Military career

Heidenstam served in the British armed forces during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and by the time he left the military in 1948 he had attained the rank of Major. During the war he was a physical training instructor with the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC), as well as being involved in action in Palestine (

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, Sudan,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Bodybuilding

In 1936, Heidenstam won his first bodybuilding contest. A year later he won the 1937 Mr. Britain contest on his first attempt. When he won the Mr. Europe contest in 1939, he became the first British bodybuilder ever to achieve this. During his military career he twice won the 'Best Developed Man In The Services Cup', in 1942 and 1945. He continued to compete in contests for many years after the war, winning a number of them. In 1957 he won his final bodybuilding contest: Senior Mr. Britain.

Later life

After the war, Heidenstam continued his career as a physical training instructor and over the years that followed trained not only members of the public but famous sports people and celebrities. He wrote several fitness articles for the

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

newspaper, and joined the publishing team of Health and Strength magazine in 1953, a magazine which he became owner of in 1974. He became President of the World Amateur Body Building Association (WABBA) in 1977, President of the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) in 1980, and President of NABBA International in 1984. Heidenstam was Secretary and President of NABBA when he died in 1991, aged 80.

Books

Heidenstam was the author of several books: 'Modern Bodybuilding' (1955) Faber Popular Books 'Modern Health & Figure Culture' (1960) Faber Popular Books 'Fit at 40 & After' (1961) Faber Popular Books 'Muscle Building for Beginners' (1981) W. Foulsham & Co Ltd 'Body Beautiful' (1984) W. Foulsham & Co Ltd 'Beginners Guide to Muscle Building' (1991) W. Foulsham & Co Ltd 'Body Building for women' (1985) Gallery Books 'Bodybuilding for men' (1985) Gallery Books

References