“The Legend,” “The Golden Boy,” the very first Olympia champion.

Larry Scott has sported many different titles throughout his bodybuilding career. Scott is held as one of the most influential individuals to ever have competed in the sport, though his influence stretched farther than the posing stage.

Ironically, Scott wasn’t possessed of considerable genetic potential. He was said to have narrow shoulders which could’ve been a major hindrance to making him championship material, although by looking at his competition photos you wouldn’t have a clue. He would go on to train with prominent bodybuilder and personal trainer Vince Gironda. Gironda would be instrumental in morphing Scott into the first Olympia champion. Known for his biceps, Scott attributed his famous arms to Gironda’s Preacher Curls which have gone on to be interchangeably dubbed the Scott Curl due the bodybuilder’s major influence.

During the 1960’s Scott would prove to be a superstar not only in America, but in international markets as well. Scott was not only a competitor, but a model as well appearing in many different magazine publications as well as having a minor role in the film Muscle Beach Party opposite Don Rickles. His popularity would later go on to be dubbed “Larry Fever”.

After winning back to back Olympia competitions, Larry Scott would retire from competition at 28 years old (though he would make a comeback in 1979), shocking the bodybuilding world. Scott felt that his accomplishments in bodybuilding had been realized, deciding to move on to other things.

Scott was a major inspiration to many bodybuilders, notably Arnold Schwarzenegger who was a big fan of “The Legend”. Schwarzenegger would go on to state how the bodybuilding icon had been a big influence on him in terms of not only his nutrition and training program, but his social, economical, and political career. He credits Scott as being the man who informed Arnold to obtain insurance, something that would prove to help him after suffering an injury in 1972. The incident would be one of Schwarzenegger’s major reasons for pushing for health reform when he was the Governor of California.

Scott wasn’t just a influential competitor in the sport, he was a humble and warm man always willing to give a helping hand. He would spend his later years in Salt Lake City where he ran his personal training company until his death this past March. Larry Scott represented what it meant to be an Olympia champion and will be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest athletes.

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Cover photo courtesy of Bodybuilding.com