Albert "Al" Beckles (born July 14, 1930, as stated by Albert himself on John Hansen’s Bodybuilding Legends podcast) is a former IFBB pro bodybuilder and Mr. Universe. He was a three-time New York City ‘Night of Champions’ winner. He was celebrated for being competitive at the top level in his fifties. He is the oldest professional male bodybuilder to win the overall of an

International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League The International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness Professional League (IFBB Pro League) is the largest international professional sports governing body in the world for professional bodybuilding, physique, fitness, figure, bikini and wellnes ...

(IFBB Pro League) contest at the age of 60 years old.

Bodybuilding career

Beckles was born in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

but immigrated 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 ...

. In the mid-1960s, he won several British regional titles before winning the 1969 and 1970 NABBA Mr. Britain titles. In 1971, Beckles joined the IFBB, earning the overall at the IFBB "Mr. Universe." Beckles was one of the most active participants in bodybuilding history, having been in over 100 contests. In 1982, at the age of 52, he won the Night of Champions competition in New York. Beckles’ 13 forays into the IFBB

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 ...

have yielded six placings among the top five, including coming second to

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 ...

in 1985 at the age of 55. In 1991, at the age of 60 years, he won the Niagara Falls Pro Invitational.

Personal life

Beckles resided in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Beckles was a " pollo-vegetarian", which means he ate

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

but no red meat."Albert Beckles: the vegetarian muscle man you should know"
Generation Iron Fitness Network.

Statistics

Height: 5'6” Weight: 218 lb Neck: 17 Waist: 31 Thigh: 28 Calf: 16¾ Arms: 19” Chest: 48.5”

Contest history

References

External links