Chet Yorton, two-time NABBA Mr. Universe champion affectionately referred to by some as the “Father of Natural Bodybuilding,” has passed away at 81.
The news of Yorton’s passing was shared by his daughter on her personal Instagram. In an emotional post, she revealed that both her father and her mother had passed away the week prior. You can check out the post in full below.
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“I lost both of my parents 2 weeks ago, we found them on the same day ? though they died days apart. I am an only child and they were all I had in this world. My blood connection to it. My dad looked like a real life superhero and my mama was a walking Barbie doll and just everything to me,” Shannan captioned the post. She also revealed that they had died within days of each other and that her father, Chet Yorton, had passed of a heart attack.
Yorton was beloved and viewed as the “Father of Natural Bodybuilding” by fans who admired his unparalleled devotion to the sport he loved. Norton was involved in a car accident in his late teens which left him with steel rods in both legs and required years of physical therapy to correct. While in the hospital, he took up weightlifting to speed up his recovery and fell in love with the sport. From those humble beginnings he soared to become one of natural bodybuilding’s best and brightest.
Yorton is probably best remembered for pioneering natural bodybuilding and for discouraging the use of anabolic steroids to produce results. Steroids, although effective, are unsafe if not used extremely careful and have been implicated in the premature deaths of many famous bodybuilders. Yorton founded the NBA (Natural Bodybuilder’s Association) in 1978 to protect the integrity of the sport and encourage people to push their limits in a safe and healthy way. He will be missed by all those who loved the sport and cherished the unique spirit he brought to it.
*All images and media courtesy of Instagram.
