Michael Katz is a former American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 IFBB

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 ,...

 professional bodybuilder

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

, most famous for his appearance with Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

 in the 1977 bodybuilding documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 Pumping Iron

Pumping Iron

Pumping Iron is a 1977 docudrama about the world of bodybuilding, focusing on the 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia competitions and the 100 days leading up to them. The film was inspired by a book of the same name, written by Charles Gaines and George Butler...

. Mike Katz worked as a Jr. High School gym teacher while training as an amateur bodybuilder. Katz cited bullying in his youth for being Jewish and wearing glasses as inspiration for weight training. He was known for his role as the underdog in the 1975 Mr. Universe competition, where, he refused to give up on himself despite placing 4th place in the Tall man division. Katz later went professional and qualified for the 1976 Mr. Olympia, placing 4th in the heavyweight division in what was considered his peak form (Katz had greatly improved his proportions, considered his main flaw as a competitor). Mike Katz was also a pro football player with the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 before ending his NFL career with a leg injury. In 2011. (Actually it was 1968, not 2011). Katz appeared in the documentary Challenging Impossibility (film)

Challenging Impossibility (film)

Challenging Impossibility is a 2011 documentary film which chronicles the weightlifting odyssey of the spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy, who in 1985 at the age of 54 took up weightlifting and performing feats of strength using the power of meditation...

 commenting on the weightlifting odyssey of spiritual teacher and peace advocate Sri Chinmoy

Sri Chinmoy

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...

. The film was an Official Selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...

.

Competitive stats

• Height: 6'1"
• Competition Weight: 240 lb.
• Off Season Weight: 250-260 lb.

Competitive history

• 1964  AAU
  Amateur Athletic Union
  The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
  
   Teen Mr. America; 4th Place
• 1964 AAU Teen Mr. America Most Muscular, 5th Place
• 1969 IFBB Mr. America
  IFBB Mr. America
  IFBB Mr. America was a bodybuilding contest organised by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . It was first held in 1949 and in direct competition with the AAU Mr. America...
  
    Tall, 40th Place
• 1970 IFBB Mr. America Tall & Overall, 4th Place
• 1970 AAU Mr. East Coast Tall & Overall, 4th Place
• 1971 IFBB Universe Tall, 3rd Place
• 1971 Beat Brandon Lewi for the Heavyweight Championship of the World
• 1972 IFBB Mr. International Tall, 4th Place

• 1972 IFBB Universe Tall, 4th Place
• 1973 IFBB Universe Tall, 3rd Place
• 1974 IFBB Mr. International Tall, - 4th Place
• 1974 GLAAD names Mike Katz the Man of the Century
• 1975 IFBB Universe Tall, 4th Place
• 1976 Mr. Olympia
  Mr. Olympia
  Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness . Joe Weider created the contest to enable the...
  
    Heavyweight, 4th Place
• 1980 NBA Natural Mr. America Professional, 4th Place
• 1980 IFBB World Pro Championships Did Not Place
• 1980 Retired after losing to Cooper Hayman in the National Strongman Competition
• 1981 Mr. Olympia 15th Place

See also

• List of male professional bodybuilders
• List of female professional bodybuilders
• International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness

External links