Bodybuilders have always known of the power of subliminal messages, but few actually knew that they were being used on them. Articles on subliminals and the secret to mind control have been written about in the magazines.

About 1950 an innovative marketing technique was discovered - subliminal marketing.  This was really a new application of a discovery made in the early part of the nineteenth century, namely hypnosis.  Almost 140 years later, when it was discovered that if you flashed the words popcorn or I'd like a Coke on a movie screen at a speed just fast enough not to be registered by the conscious mind, studies noted that popcorn and soda sales increased by almost 60 percent.  Without inducing a trancelike state, it was possible to bypass the conscious mind and access the subconscious mind, much the same way as hypnosis had in the past.(1)

Don Morgan, Ph.D., an expert in subliminal research stated:

"Armed with this breakthrough technology, we are...able to actually take control...on the subconscious level."(2)

Subliminals work best when they are unknown to the subject!(3)

Before I get into this much further, let me share with you some of the things we know to be fact about Weider, his empire, and the bodybuilders who follow him by quoting some of their own statements:

Joe Weider said, "It isn't by accident that I am in the... fitness crusade, having spent...decades recruiting followers to the lifestyle.(4)

Digging deeper we learn that Joe Weider's involvement in what he calls a "crusade", and that he recruits "followers", indeed was not by accident.

In an article that details "How Joe and Ben Weider became the founding "fathers" of bodybuilding" we learn that their mother sought the counsel of a fortune teller for advice.  The fortune teller advised Mrs. Weider to let her son follow his dream of publishing and that he would be a success.(5)

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and UPON THIS ROCK I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. - Words of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 16:18 (KJV)

This article, titled "Upon This Rock", (which by the way are the words of Jesus Christ when he was speaking to His Disciple Peter about building his church), stated:

"So with a fortune teller's blessing...Joe began publishing..."(6)

The holy Bible forbids seeking the counsel of a fortune teller, yet Joe's mother did, and the advice from the fortune teller was considered a "blessing."

According to the article, it was the beginning of a career for both Joe and Ben "that would ultimately impact the lives of millions."(7)

Former Mr. Olympia competitor Mike Christian, is one example of a life that was impacted.  In an article subtitled, "Bodybuilding has become his life," Mike says that the sport of bodybuilding is all about religion!  Here's the quote from him:

"Winning has got to assume the proportions of religion, which is what this sport is all about."(8)

Remember what I explained to you about subliminal messages earlier in this article? Look at this ad(9) taken from Muscle & Fitness magazine:

Weider said, "Even the ads...have instructional or inspirational value."

We do not think that the use of the word "convert" in this ad is referring to the adjustable bench or the car in the picture. Listen to what Joe Weider has to say:

"Even the ads...have instructional or inspirational value."(10)

Here is what bodybuilder Boyer Coe says of Joe:

"When Joe is in the role of "Master Blaster" he's full of...technical understanding.  He knows exactly what he's doing every moment...Joe will spend hours, sometimes days if necessary, searching for the precise photo or illustration to top off an article or the precise phrase to bring an advertisement to life."(11)

We looked up the word "convert" in the dictionary.  Here is what we found:

CONVERT: to cause to adopt a different religion...(12)

Arnold Schwarzenegger has referred to Joe Weider as "the sport's chief guru".(13) So we looked up guru in the dictionary and here is what we found:

GURU: a preceptor giving personal religious or spiritual instruction...(14)

Joe weider has said, "Bodybuilding is a spiritual experience..."(15)

As I pointed out in my book "Anabolic Outlaw", Mr. Universe Tom Platz has said:

"I am turning people on to my religion.  I'm a bodybuilding Priest in a sense." (16)

In an article titled, The Meaning Of Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia, subtitled, "It's as far as a bodybuilder can go!", the last two sentences read:

It is a select club.  Its membership rites are the most stringent a man can endure, but there is never a shortage of man who at least apply.(17)

Did you catch that?..."Membership rites?"

While we were looking words up in the dictionary we decided to look up the word "rites" and here is what we found:

RITE: 1. a formal ceremony or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use. 2. a particular form or system of religious or ceremonial practice: the Scottish rite in Freemasonry. (18)

This brings me to the next Muscle & Fitness ad(19) that I want you to look at. This one is actually for a subscription to the magazine.  Take notice of the words at the top of the ad which reads: IT'S A WAY OF LIFE! 

The same words appear on a brochure(20) put out by the Masonic Lodge.  Take a look:

A former high-ranking Mason put it this way:

"Masonry...is and always has been a secret society and within it is the matrix or the blueprint for all other secret societies."

"In a sense you might think that Masonry has the basic DNA code, if you will, Satan's DNA, from which that little seed you can basically grow any kind of a fertility cult (Masonry is a sex cult), any kind of a secret society that you want to. It's like the skeleton upon which he hangs the mangled flesh of all these false religions."

"It's most effective work is almost always done in secret by infiltration and subversion."(21)

And God's word says:

For there is nothing covered, that shall not be REVEALED; neither hid, that shall not be known.
- Luke 12:2 (KJV)

READ PART TWO: Why the Weider Magazines Use Images of Crosses, Words from Scripture, and Make Christian References in Article Titles

Footnotes:

1. Dr. Bob Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz, "The E Factor," Muscle Training Illustrated (May 1989), 53 and 54
2. Ibid, 54 and 55
3. Ibid, 56
4. Joe Weider, "Zen of the West," Muscle & Fitness (June 1984), 5 and 190
5. Tim Hoxha, MA, "Upon this Rock," Flex (September 1995), 233
6. Ibid, 233
7. Ibid, 233
8. Mike Christian, as told to Jerry Kindela, "This is my Year!" Bodybuilding has become his life," Muscle & Fitness (November 1988), 236
9. Muscle & Fitness (March 1987), Ad: "We're gonna convert you!"
10. Joe Weider, "Muscle Builder- The Magazine with your Personality, Editorial,"
Muscle Builder/Power (May 1975), 7
11. Boyer Coe, "Joe Weider: the Man,  How he forged the bodybuilding renaissance and shaped my life," Muscle & Fitness (August 1980), 157
12. Random House Webster's Dictionary, (New York: Random House, 1996), 298
13. "Bodybuilder's Forum, Bodybuilding Crossroads!  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Joe Weider Face Off on Bodybuilding Events," Muscle & Fitness (August 1982), 14
14. Random House Webster's Dictionary, (New York: Random House, 1996), 596
15. Joe Weider, "Bodybuilding- Voyage of Discovery, Editorial," Muscle & Fitness (May 1988), 13
16. Tom Platz, "Who says Dreams Don't Come True?" Muscle & Fitness (July 1980)
17. Jack Neary, "The Meaning of Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia," Muscle & Fitness (November 1988), 206
18. Random House Webster's Dictionary, (New York: Random House, 1996), 1162
19. Flex (September 1993), Ad: "IT'S A WAY OF LIFE!" for Muscle and Fitness subscription.
20. "A Way of Life Freemasonry," Masonic Literature
21. Bill Schnoebelen, "Exposing the Illuminati from Within," Video Presentation