Frank Zane

Frank Zane, born in 1942, is a retired American professional bodybuilder and author, nicknamed the Chemist. He won the Mr. Olympia title three times, in every year from 1977 to 1979, after earlier holding the Mr. Universe title in 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1972 and the Mr. America title in 1966, 1967 and 1968. He usually competed at a bodyweight under 200 pounds yet regularly placed above much bigger men, and his physique is considered one of the greatest in the history of bodybuilding because of its symmetry and proportion. He had one of the smallest, tightest waists in the sport and was known for his vacuum pose. Since 1971 he has written more than two dozen bodybuilding courses and books, newsletters, audio tapes and CDs, and since the 1980s he has sold nutritional supplements. With his wife Christine he ran a bodybuilding learning centre, Zane Haven, in Palm Springs, California, from 1985, which later moved to San Diego. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.