The protagonist’s quest to abolish the limitations of basic human physiology—to overcome limits, create something new, breathe life into a lifeless body—is one that speaks to the soul of bodybuilders everywhere. But it’s especially applicable to the 13 winners of the Mr. Olympia title, for whom a modest bronze statue represents a form of immortality few will ever taste.
In true Shelley fashion, we’ve identified the best parts of several Sandow winners, spanning nearly five decades, and “surgically” adjoined them to produce the monster of a man you see here. Some may cry sacrilege, but once you’ve perused the notes we’ve included on how each body part was built, perhaps you’ll stop short of calling us heretics.
You see, the parts we sourced weren’t hastily created in some dank, dark laboratory. They were built in gyms, over years, through constant experimentation in which failure was the norm. What emerges is an intricate patchwork of exercises, sets, and reps—the proven formulas that produced the body parts for which each man has come to be known. Here, we’ve laid bare these programs for your own sinister aspirations.
Use our monster to start creating one of your own in the gym, and it won’t be long before you find yourself echoing Dr. Frankenstein’s exultant refrain: “It’s alive!”
