Bodybuilding great Jusup Wilkosz passed away on November 19, 2019, at 71. This is his story.

JUSUP WILKOSZ: BODYBUILDER

Jusup Wilkosz was born on November 8, 1948, in Heilbronn, Germany. He was a national weightlifting champion before he turned from the clean and jerk to the abs and thighs. Of this transition, he mused:

“Why did I turn from the logic of weightlifting where if you lift more weight than the other guy you are clearly the winner to the subjectivity of bodybuilding? In Olympic lifting, emotion is minimal as you compete. The crowd are not shouting and screaming. You concentration approaching the bar is total. In weightlifting, the fascination to the crowd is the bar you are about to lift. In bodybuilding, the fascination is your own body and how with your mind you can change it. That’s why bodybuilding fascinates me.”

As a bodybuilder, Wilkosz ascended rapidly, winning the German and World heavyweight titles in 1979. The following year he prepared for his pro debut by training with fellow German speaker Arnold Schwarzenegger in World’s Gym, Venice, California. He won the contest, the World Pro Championships, his debut and his single professional victory.

In the ultimate bodybuilding contest, Jusup Wilkosz finished sixth in the 1981 Mr. Olympia, slipped to 10th in 1982, finished sixth again in 1983. And then came the highlight of his career: third place in the 1984 Mr. Olympia. Third-best in the world, a distinction that makes him, to this day, the greatest German bodybuilder of all time. Wilkosz last competed in the 1986 Olympia at 37, before injuries forced him to retire.

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The thinking bodybuilder doing the thinker’s pose: Jusup Wilkosz at 1983 Mr. Olympia

JUSUP WILKOSZ: POST-BODYBUILDING

The late bodybuilding journalist Peter McGough wrote this of Jusup Wilkosz after the German giant retired from the bodybuilding stage:

He was a very well-educated man with many cultural interests outside of bodybuilding, but exercised a subtle sense of humor. He also told me he suffered with bouts of severe depression. He was always with his charming wife Ruth, who was the bubbly one of the pair, while Jusup was more subdued. Jusup was devoted to Ruth. When Ruth died from cancer in 1989, he sort of fell to pieces, lost his gym, and ended up on the street. I last saw him in 1994 when he came to the Weider offices during his prep for that year’s Masters Olympia. He clearly wasn’t well, and didn’t recall our previous meetings. He also wasn’t in shape for a contest and finally pulled out of the Masters. But, thankfully, after those series of traumas, he slowly found his way back to normalcy and in recent years has been doing well.

JUSUP WILKOSZ: CLASSIC PHYSIQUE

At 6′ and 230, Jusup Wilkosz was noted for his thick upper body (especially his chest, abs, and shoulders) and perpetually grainy conditioning. He was also the rare bearded bodybuilder then, which added to his Herculean look. The proportional, thick-but-aesthetic body Jusup Wilkosz sported 35 years ago remains a paradigm for the classic physiques of today.

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Jusup Wilkosz strikes a classical archer pose.