Robert Steven Gajda (September 14, 1940 – January 16, 2022) was an American

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 performance training pioneer.

Life and career

Gajda was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on September 14, 1940. He held the title of

AAU Mr. America The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. ...

, which he won in 1966, after defeating his training partner and friend,

Sergio Oliva Sergio Oliva (; July 4, 1941 – November 12, 2012), often known by his epithet 'The Myth' for his physique and performance, was a Cuban American bodybuilder and three-time Mr. Olympia winner. Early life Sergio Oliva was born on July 4, 1 ...

for the title. He also placed first in the 1966 FICH Mr. Universe. Gajda developed Chicago's Duncan YMCA gym, which was known as "the muscle factory on West Monroe", and played a major role in establishing the Chicago bodybuilding scene. He died on January 16, 2022, at the age of 81.

Awards

*AOBS Hall of Fame

References

1940 births 2022 deaths American male bodybuilders Sportspeople from Chicago 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-bodybuilding-bio-stub