Tom Platz:
• Former professional bodybuilder
• Works as a consultant for bodybuilding enthusiasts
• Began working out at nine years old
• Competed in Mr. Universe in 1973 and won the World Amateur Championship in 1978
• Married to Cha Nikito-Platz and running a fitness consultation business based in Southern California
• Estimated net worth of more than $2 million
Contents
- 1 Where is Tom Platz (bodybuilder) today? Wiki Bio
- 2 Childhood and education
- 3 Career of a bodybuilder
- 4 His first serious competitions
- 5 The most popular male bodybuilders in the world
- 6 Training and dieting
- 7 Tom’s personal life and relationships
- 8 Hobbies and interests
- 9 Appearance and net worth
- 10 Social media presence
Where is Tom Platz (bodybuilder) today? Wiki Bio
Tom Platz was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma USA, on 26 June 1955, so under the zodiac sign of Cancer and holding American nationality – better known online as the Golden Eagle, Quad Father and/or Quadzilla, he is popular for being a former professional bodybuilder. Tom is no longer competing today, but is working as a consultant for all those people who are interested in bodybuilding, and is still exercising.
Childhood and education
Tom became motivated to start working out at a very young age – he was only nine years old when he saw Dave Draper sitting on the beach with Betty Weider – the picture stuck inside his head, and he decided to begin working out.
He ran across the title of Mr. Universe in a magazine he read when he was 11 years old, and promised himself that he was going to become Mr. Universe someday. He did his weightlifting exercises in his basement, and his father supplied him with everything he needed, as he was still too young to go to the gym – Tom hasn’t shared any details regarding his parents, but often recalls how helpful and supportive they were of his dreams.
Tom did not work on his legs because he had problems with his back – he told his friends that working on your legs will only get you back problems, however, he had no idea he was later going to become the owner of some of the best built legs in the history of bodybuilding.
Tom is rumored to have dated numerous girls during his high school years, but this hasn’t been confirmed by him. After he matriculated from high school, he completely focused on his career of a bodybuilder, and did not immediately go to college – he enrolled later at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and obtained his degree in fitness science, and then went on to obtain his master’s degree in business administration from the University of California.
Career of a bodybuilder
Tom was only 15 when he left home and moved to Kansas City – he switched to another high school but was mostly focused on his future career of a bodybuilder. He decided to get a job so that he wouldn’t be a financial burden on his parents, and drove to a nearby health spa center to ask if he could work as a trainer at their gym.
Even though he was too young for the position, the manager of the place saw his potential and figured Tom was very likely to attract a lot of people to the gym. He hired Tom (illegally) and it turned out to be a good idea because the gym was soon filled up with people who wanted to lift weights and look as Tom. He was still working at the gym at 17, and a couple of people training there showed him how to do proper squats as they realized Tom wasn’t good at these exercises.
He didn’t initially like the exercises but did them regardless because he thought he should still work on his legs – he saw his leg exercises as trivial and kept them short and they lasted for no longer than 15 minutes. He moved to Detroit to work out at the Armento’s gym, and there were people there who were Olympic weightlifters, and who taught him everything he needed to know about working on his legs.
He combined multiple workout techniques he learned, and his legs became something most bodybuilders were trying to achieve.
His first serious competitions
Tom began competing seriously in 1973 when he entered Mr. Adonis competition – he kept on competing as an amateur for the next five years, and won the World Amateur Championship in 1978, after which he focused on attending professional competitions, aiming to become Mr. Olympia – unfortunately for him, he competed at seven IFBB Mr. Olympia competitions from 1979 to 1986 with the exception of 1983, but his best score was rating 3rd at the IFBB Mr. Olympia 1981.
He has published a single book entitled “Pro-style Bodybuilding” on 20 May 1985, and has appeared in several movies including “Who Killed Johnny Love?” in 1998, “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” in 1997, “Book of Love” in 1990, and “Twins” in 1988.
The most popular male bodybuilders in the world
The Ranker website has compiled a list of the most popular male bodybuilders in the world including those people who have made their way into other industries such as film and music. We are going to mention the top five male bodybuilders in the world chosen by the people’s votes:
- Fifth place is held by Mickey Hargitay who is an actor as well, and who became the Mr. Universe in 1955. He is popular for his appearances in “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter”, “The Loves of Hercules”, and “Promises! Promises”;
- Anthony White is in fourth place – better known under his ring name Tony Atlas, he is a bodybuilder, a powerlifter, and a professional wrestler. He holds the Mr. USA bodybuilding title, and is currently working with WWE;
- In third place is Bob Paris, who is a writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist, and a bodybuilder – he became popular after winning the 1983 NPC American National, and for Mr. Universe after winning the IFBB World Bodybuilding Championship;
- Second place goes to Lou Ferrigno who is an actor, fitness trainer, and a bodybuilder – he has won IFBB Mr. America and IFBB. Mr. Universe two times in a row, and is the star of the “Pumping Iron” documentary movie;
- Top place is held by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is mostly popular for his acting career and his starring role in the “Terminator” movie franchise – he is also a model, producer, director, activist, businessman, investor, writer, politician and a philanthropist.
I have a secret weapon when @KingJames and @djkhaled take over the gym playlist. Join us at @weareladder to fuel your training, no matter what music gets you pumped: https://t.co/O45VLvF3yT pic.twitter.com/57AZFvfL4I
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) April 24, 2019
Even though Tom is a well-built bodybuilder, he is nowhere to be found in the list of the most popular male bodybuilders in the world compiled by the Ranker website.
Training and dieting
Tom invented his own technique of exercising, which he didn’t share with the public until he stopped competing. His idea was to trick his mind that he was a lot shorter than he really was, as this helped him lift more weight – he even wore longer socks to help test the theory. Some of the leg exercises he most commonly did include squats, hack squats, leg extensions, lying leg curls, standing calf raises, seated calf raises, and hack machine calf raises.
When it comes to his diet, Tom had a high intake of protein and carbs, and ate more than six times per day. His diet mostly consisted of whole grain toast, milk, eggs, vegetables, salad, chicken, fish, and fruits.
Tom’s personal life and relationships
Tom is very secretive when it comes to his love life, as he hasn’t shared much regarding his past and present affairs with the public.
It is known that Tom is a married man – he met his future wife Cha Nikito-Platz at the gym in Detroit, began dating after only a couple of days, and they have been together ever since – the date of their wedding isn’t known. They don’t seem to have any children, as they have both wanted to remain focused on their careers.
Tom hasn’t talked about any other women he might have dated before Cha, but his fans believe that he had dated numerous girls. He and his wife are currently running a fitness consultation business based in Southern California.
Hobbies and interests
Tom was mostly interested in exercising back in the days when he was competing at bodybuilding, but he has numerous interests today completely unrelated to working out.
Tom and his wife are both very passionate about travelling, and have decided to spend their retirement days travelling around the world – they have already visited Africa, and are now planning to visit it again, move to Europe from there including Scandinavia, and then make their way towards Asia. They are both very fond of animals, and have participated in numerous actions to make animal habitats better, and to improve the life of endangered species.
In the years after he stopped competing in bodybuilding, Tom fell in love with fast cars, and has recently purchased a brand new Porsche as a gift to himself.
Appearance and net worth
Tom is currently 64 years old. He has short blonde hair, blue eyes, is 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, and weighs around 230lbs (104kgs).
According to authoritative sources, his current net worth is estimated to be more than $2 million, but it’s not known if it’s rising as we don’t know what Tom is currently working on.
Social media presence
Tom is very active on several popular social media networks, as this is very important for the image he has created for himself on the internet.
He launched his Twitter account in July 2011, and has gathered nearly 1,500 followers and tweeted more than 110 times. However, his Instagram account is followed by more than 200,000 people, while he has uploaded over 100 pictures onto it – he is running a Facebook page as well, which currently counts more than 31,000 fans.