Mike Katz

Mike Katz, one of the bodybuilders of the "golden era" of bodybuilding, was born on November 14, 1944 in New Haven, Connecticut. His biography is notable for the fact that throughout his life this man has tried himself in various guises, and has achieved success almost everywhere.

Mike Katz

Katz's childhood was spent in rather harsh conditions of religious upbringing. He was born into a Jewish family, where the rules and laws of his religion were very revered. Therefore, little Mike was refused in many ways: to play outside late, to eat meat on fasting days, etc. Mike's unspent energy still found a way out – the boy fell in love with strength exercises, namely simple and useful push-ups. He could do push-ups throughout the day, taking long breaks between sets and, it is worth saying that thanks to this, his fate turned out exactly as it will be described later.

Seeing the extraordinary physical development of his son, Mike's father decided to send him to some sports section, and one where he could achieve great success and, if possible, ensure his existence. In those years, football was the most prestigious and profitable sport. And soon Mike became a member of his school's football team. Since childhood, accustomed to doing everything in the best way, Mike diligently trained and became one of the best players in the League.

His last and perhaps best team was the New York Jets. In 1968, in a Super Bowl match, Mike Katz suffers a serious knee injury, after which he is forced to leave the football world. The year before, Katz had earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and started teaching in high school. However, after retiring from football, he had no intention of remaining a teacher for the rest of his days and practically wasting his years of acquired talent – excellent physical shape with pronounced muscles.

The way out was found by himself - thanks to a coincidence, Joe Weider noticed Mike Katz and invited him to try himself as a bodybuilder, since he had all the data for this. Three years later, Katz, transformed and gained weight, shared the stage stage with future bodybuilding legends Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.

Katz took many honorary places in the most prestigious bodybuilding tournaments and rightfully inscribed his name in its history, but he still failed to become an absolute champion. But he became one of the heroes of the most famous bodybuilding movie "Pumping Iron", which tells about the preparation and holding of the professional Mr. Olympia contest and the amateur Mr. Universe contest of 1975, in which Katz took part.

Mike Katz left bodybuilding in 1981. He concentrated entirely on teaching and began trying to open his gym. By 1999, he succeeded and completed his teaching career. His experience was 33 years. Today, Mike, who has managed to take almost everything from life and try himself in completely different roles, maintains several fitness centers and writes articles in bodybuilding magazines.