Bob Paris
Encyclopedia
Bob Paris is a writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights
activist and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC
American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion, Mr. Universe
.
. He was the second of five children, though one of his younger brothers died in early infancy. His parents divorced for the second time when he was a teen-ager, and he lived with his father after getting into some trouble.
Bob was both an artistic and athletic young man. He won National Scholastic awards for his drawings and paintings, was active in his school’s theater group and debate team and he wrote short stories in his spare time. From an early age, he was an avid outdoorsman who dedicated a large portion of his time to hiking and backpacking through the wooded hills of Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest and other nearby wilderness areas. He was also a dedicated bicyclist. He played high school football and was active in both track and field and golf. Paris often said that it was this blending of his artistic and athletic sides that initially lead him to pursue bodybuilding.
He entered his first bodybuilding competition (the Mr. ISU) when he was a student at Indiana State University and he did not place in the show. When he was 19, he briefly moved to Florida and competed in the Mr. Teen Florida, placing 2nd. After he returned to Indiana, his father kicked him out of their house, leading Bob and a high school friend to drive to California. His friend almost immediately returned home and Bob lived for a short time in Santa Monica, which was popularly regarded as the bodybuilding capital of the world, but his money quickly ran out, and he was often forced to live out of his car. He eventually found work in neighboring Orange County, and from there began a serious pursuit of bodybuilding, moving quickly through the amateur ranks and into the pros.
In addition to his writing career, Bob Paris remains a civil rights advocate and motivational speaker. He is also a model
and a classically trained theatre actor
. Since rising to fame in the early eighties, Bob Paris has graced the covers of scores of magazines worldwide.
On October 10, 1998, he made his New York
stage debut, starring at Carnegie Hall
opposite Bea Arthur, Sandy Duncan, Michael Jeter
, Philip Bosco
, Alice Ripley and Tyne Daly
in the Broadway
musical, Jubilee
as the character Mowgli.
In 2009, he performed in a recurring role on the first season of the ABC Television
series, Defying Gravity
.
, Paris came out
in the media as a gay man
.
He and his then-partner, Rod Jackson, had a commitment ceremony in a Unitarian
church in 1989, started successful non-profit companies, lectured on a wide variety of LGBT rights issues, and made many television, radio, newspaper and magazine appearances. In 1995, the two separated.
Today, Paris lives with his spouse, Brian, on an island near Vancouver
, British Columbia
. Together since 1996, Bob and Brian were legally married after Canada equalized the marriage laws in 2003
.
As a professional:
IFBB Mr. Olympia:
Additional professional competition highlights:
NPC = National Physique Committee
IFBB = International Federation of BodyBuilders
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC
National Physique Committee
The National Physique Committee is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States. Amateur bodybuilders compete in various competitions from local to national competitions sanctioned by the NPC...
American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion, Mr. Universe
World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships
The World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships is a male bodybuilding contest organised by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness and first held in 1959. The name was changed in 1976 to avoid confusion with the NABBA Mr...
.
Early life
Paris was born and grew up in Southern IndianaSouthern Indiana
Southern Indiana, in the United States, consists of the 33 counties located in the southernmost part of the state. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be part of the Upland South...
. He was the second of five children, though one of his younger brothers died in early infancy. His parents divorced for the second time when he was a teen-ager, and he lived with his father after getting into some trouble.
Bob was both an artistic and athletic young man. He won National Scholastic awards for his drawings and paintings, was active in his school’s theater group and debate team and he wrote short stories in his spare time. From an early age, he was an avid outdoorsman who dedicated a large portion of his time to hiking and backpacking through the wooded hills of Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest and other nearby wilderness areas. He was also a dedicated bicyclist. He played high school football and was active in both track and field and golf. Paris often said that it was this blending of his artistic and athletic sides that initially lead him to pursue bodybuilding.
He entered his first bodybuilding competition (the Mr. ISU) when he was a student at Indiana State University and he did not place in the show. When he was 19, he briefly moved to Florida and competed in the Mr. Teen Florida, placing 2nd. After he returned to Indiana, his father kicked him out of their house, leading Bob and a high school friend to drive to California. His friend almost immediately returned home and Bob lived for a short time in Santa Monica, which was popularly regarded as the bodybuilding capital of the world, but his money quickly ran out, and he was often forced to live out of his car. He eventually found work in neighboring Orange County, and from there began a serious pursuit of bodybuilding, moving quickly through the amateur ranks and into the pros.
Career
In 2006, Flex Magazine ranked Bob Paris the most aesthetic athlete in the history of bodybuilding. Renowned for both his aesthetics and artistic approach toward the sport, he was also a dedicated advocate for the rights of athletes and an outspoken voice in the push for drug testing at the professional level. He retired from bodybuilding in 1991.In addition to his writing career, Bob Paris remains a civil rights advocate and motivational speaker. He is also a model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and a classically trained theatre actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Since rising to fame in the early eighties, Bob Paris has graced the covers of scores of magazines worldwide.
On October 10, 1998, he made his New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
stage debut, starring at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
opposite Bea Arthur, Sandy Duncan, Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...
, Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
, Alice Ripley and Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical, Jubilee
Jubilee (musical)
Jubilee is a musical comedy with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It premiered on Broadway in 1935 to rapturous reviews. Inspired by the recent silver jubilee of King George V of Great Britain, the story is of the royal family of a fictional European country...
as the character Mowgli.
In 2009, he performed in a recurring role on the first season of the ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
series, Defying Gravity
Defying Gravity (TV series)
Defying Gravity is a multi-nationally produced space travel television science fiction drama series, first aired on August 2, 2009 on ABC and CTV and canceled in the autumn of 2009...
.
Personal life
In the July 1989 issue of IronmanIron Man (magazine)
Iron Man Magazine is a publication which discusses bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting. It was founded in 1936 by two Alliance, Nebraska natives, Peary Rader and his wife, Mabel Rader.-History:...
, Paris came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
in the media as a gay man
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
He and his then-partner, Rod Jackson, had a commitment ceremony in a Unitarian
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
church in 1989, started successful non-profit companies, lectured on a wide variety of LGBT rights issues, and made many television, radio, newspaper and magazine appearances. In 1995, the two separated.
Today, Paris lives with his spouse, Brian, on an island near Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Together since 1996, Bob and Brian were legally married after Canada equalized the marriage laws in 2003
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
.
Books written by Bob Paris
- Beyond Built: Bob Paris' Guide to Achieving the Ultimate Look (1990)
- Natural Fitness
- Straight From The Heart (as co-author)
- Gorilla Suit (1997)
- Flawless: The 10-Week Total Image Method for Transforming Your Physique
- Generation Queer: A Gay Man's Quest For Hope, Love & Justice
- Prime: The Complete Guide to Being Fit, Looking Good, Feeling Great (2002)
Bodybuilding competition overview
As an amateur:- 1981 NPC Mr. Los Angeles, (Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
), Light-heavyweight class and Overall: 1st - 1982 NPC Mr. Southern California (Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
), Light-heavyweight class and Overall: 1st - 1982 NPC California Muscle Classic (Pasadena, California), Light-heavyweight class and Overall: 1st
- 1982 NPC Mr. California (San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
), Light-heavyweight class: 2nd - 1982 NPC American National Championships [Mr. America] (New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), Heavyweight class: 3rd - 1983 NPC National Championships [Mr. America] (San Jose, California), Heavyweight class and Overall: 1st
- 1983 IFBB World Championships [Mr. Universe and professional qualifier] (SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
), Heavyweight class and Overall: 1st
As a professional:
IFBB Mr. Olympia:
- 1984 (New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
): 7th - 1985 (Brussels, Belgium): 9th
- 1988 (Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
): 10th - 1989 (Rimini, Italy): 14th
- 1991 (Orlando, FloridaOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
): 12th
Additional professional competition highlights:
- 1988 IFBB Niagara Falls Grand Prix (Niagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
): 3rd - 1988 IFBB Night of Champions (New York City): 3rd
- 1988 IFBB Spanish Grand Prix (Madrid, Spain): 4th
- 1988 IFBB Italian Grand Prix (Bergamo, Italy): 3rd
- 1989 IFBB Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic (Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
): 5th - 1989 IFBB World Professional Championship (Surfers Paradise, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
): 3rd - 1991 IFBB Montreal Grand Prix (Montreal, Quebec): 3rd
NPC = National Physique Committee
National Physique Committee
The National Physique Committee is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States. Amateur bodybuilders compete in various competitions from local to national competitions sanctioned by the NPC...
IFBB = International Federation of BodyBuilders
International Federation of BodyBuilders
The International Federation of BodyBuilders is a competitive bodybuilding organization founded in 1946 by brothers Ben and Joe Weider and is the highest level of competitive bodybuilding in the world. Currently, the IFBB consists of seven different sub-divisions for different competitors ,...