Bodybuilders - Part 24

John Farbotnik

Last time, we saw how Melvin Wells became embittered because he lost the Mr. America title in 1950 to John Farbotnik.  Many thought that Farbotnik won because he was white and Wells was black.  Above, John Farbotnik as Mr. America 1950.

But John Farbotnik (1925-1998) was a remarkable bodybuilder in his own right.  He was originally from Philadelphia and won a few bodybuilding titles on the East Coast before moving to California.

In 1946, Farbotnik posed for Al Urban, resulting in the rest of the photos in this post.

Of course, after Farbotnik won Mr. America in 1950, Al Urban promoted that fact for selling the photos.

After moving to California, Farbotnik struggled to find work and took a manual labor job.

According to an article by Gene Mozee in the April 1992 issue of Iron Man magazine, Farbotnik decided to enter the 1950 Mr. America contest 30 days before the contest, even though his weight was down to 170 pounds.

He proceeded to gain an astonishing 27 pounds of muscle to compete at 197 pounds and win the title of Mr. America.

After his competitive career, Farbotnik took up coaching and training.  He owned a gym in Glendale, California.  Mozee said "Farbotnik was a remarkable bodybuilder and one of the most knowledgeable experts on training that I have ever met."  He died in 1998 at age 72.