Bertil Fox
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bertil Fox (born 5 January 1951) is a British former
International Federation of BodyBuilders The International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness. Headquartered in Las Rozas de Madrid, it oversees many of the sport's major international events, ...
professional
bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic ...
and convicted
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
er. He was pardoned for that crime by the Governor General of
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...
on 4 August 2022.


Biography

Born 5 January 1951, on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Kitts, Fox emigrated to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, with his family when he was one year old. He then moved to
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
. He did not return to St. Kitts for more than 40 years. He once said, "I'm 100% British. I think, I act and talk like an Englishman, not like someone from the West Indies." Encouraged by a cousin to take up
bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...
, Fox won the 1969 Junior Mr. Britain at 18. He went on to win nearly every major bodybuilding contest outside of the IFBB, including the 1976 AAU Mr. World, the amateur 1977 NABBA Mr. Universe and the professional NABBA Mr. Universe in 1978 and 1979. Before turning Professional, Fox worked as a train driver on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
.
Joe Weider Josef Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. Ol ...
sponsored Fox's move to Los Angeles in 1981, and he competed in IFBB contests for the next 13 years. Bill Reynolds, then '' Flex'' magazine
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
, gave Fox the nickname "Brutal Bertil" for his high-volume and extremely heavy training. Fox placed second in two IFBB shows – the 1982 Night of Champions and the 1983 Swiss Grand Prix (beating
Lee Haney Lee Haney (born November 11, 1959) is an American former professional bodybuilder. Haney shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight with Ronnie Coleman. The winner of the Mr. Olympia title for eight consecutive years, he is ...
) and he finished fifth in the 1983 Mr. Olympia (his second of five Mr. O appearances). He competed in 12 IFBB shows from 1984 to 1994. Retiring from the stage, he returned to St. Kitts for the first time since 1952, to open Fox's Gym in the summer of 1995.


Murder conviction

On 30 September 1997, in St. Kitts and Nevis, 20-year-old beauty queen Leyoca Browne and her mother, 36-year-old Violet Browne, were fatally shot by Fox, then 46. Fox, who previously had been engaged to Leyoca, was arrested and charged with the murders. On 22 May 1998, Fox was convicted of murder of the two women. He was originally sentenced to death by hanging, but after an appeal to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...
, his sentence was changed to life in prison. On 4 August 2022, Fox was pardoned by the Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis after serving 25 years and is now a free man living in the UK.


Competition record

;1969 :Mr Britain – NABBA, Junior, 1st ;1970 :Mr Britain – NABBA, Junior, 1st ;1971 :Mr Britain – NABBA, Junior, 1st :Mr Europe, Junior, 1st ;1976 :Mr Britain – NABBA, Winner :Mr Europe, Medium, 1st :Mr Europe, Overall Winner :Mr Universe – NABBA, Medium, 2nd :Mr World – AAU, Winner :Mr World – AAU, Most Muscular, 1st :Mr World – AAU, Medium, 1st ;1977 :Mr Universe – NABBA, Medium, 1st :Mr Universe – NABBA, Overall Winner ;1978 :Universe – Pro – NABBA, Winner ;1979 :Universe – Pro – NABBA, Winner ;1980 :World Championships – WABBA, Professional, 2nd ;1981 :Grand Prix Belgium – IFBB, 5th ;1982 :Night of Champions – IFBB, 2nd :Olympia – IFBB, 8th ;1983 :Grand Prix Sweden – IFBB, 4th :Grand Prix Switzerland – IFBB, 2nd :Olympia – IFBB, 5th ;1984 :World Pro Championships – IFBB, 5th ;1986 :Olympia – IFBB, 7th ;1987 :Grand Prix Germany – IFBB, 9th :Night of Champions – IFBB, 7th :Olympia – IFBB, 12th ;1989 :Arnold Classic – IFBB, 6th :Grand Prix Melbourne – IFBB, 6th :Olympia – IFBB, 11th :World Pro Championships – IFBB, 5th ;1992 :Arnold Classic – IFBB, 16th :Pittsburgh Pro Invitational – IFBB, 9th ;1994 :Ironman Pro Invitational – IFBB, 13th


See also

*
List of male professional bodybuilders This is a list of male professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders. A * Fouad Abiad * Manohar Aich, "Pocket Hercules" * Abdulhadi Al-Khayat * Achim Albrecht * Troy Alves * Charles Atlas * Art Atwood * Dayo Audi B * Jim Badra * William Bankie ...
*
List of female professional bodybuilders This is a list of female professional female bodybuilding, bodybuilders. All people listed here have an International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness, IFBB pro card. {{incomplete list, date=January 2025 A * Heather Armbrust * Lisa Auklan ...
*
Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...


References


External links


Privy Council Appeal DecisionBertilFox.com Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Bertil 1951 births Living people Sportspeople convicted of murder British male bodybuilders Black British sportsmen English people convicted of murder British people imprisoned abroad English prisoners sentenced to death English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of murder by Saint Kitts and Nevis Prisoners sentenced to death by Saint Kitts and Nevis Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Saint Kitts and Nevis Professional bodybuilders Saint Kitts and Nevis emigrants to the United Kingdom Pardon recipients