Key Takeaways:

• Biography of Bernarr Macfadden, the flamboyant “father of physical culture” who mixed bodybuilding, fasting, and health-food evangelism.
• Shows how his magazines, sanitariums, and publicity stunts helped popularize alternative health ideas long before they were mainstream.
• Also highlights the contradictions—extreme discipline, showmanship, and occasional quackery—that shaped early health-culture celebrity.

‍