Anibal Lopez

Anibal Lopez, born on August 24, 1942, in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, is an American bodybuilder whose family relocated to the Bronx, New York, in 1954, where he attended Public School 66, Herman Ridder Junior High School and Christopher Columbus High School. As a boy he was fascinated by men of muscular power who performed feats of strength, and the first sport he took part in was gymnastics. His first glimpse of a bodybuilding icon was Steve Reeves playing Hercules on the screen, and decades later Reeves told Lopez that he considered him one of his favorite bodybuilders. Another early motivation was a guest posing exhibition by the IFBB Hall of Fame bodybuilder Leroy Colbert. Lopez served in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne Division and later with the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the National Guard, credited with over 100 jumps.