Vince's Gym
11262 Ventura Boulevard,
Studio City, CA.

Vince's Gym was a modest, dark, old-fashioned kind of muscle factory out in the Valley, not far from the many Burbank studios.

Not quite as famous as Gold's, Vince's Gym was established in 1948 by Vince Gironda, a bodybuilder known as the "Iron Guru". No fancy machines here, no music, just basic free-weights and hard training.

The walls were lined with pictures of bodybuilders who have trained at Vince's over the years, including "Body by" Jake Steinman, Lou ("The Incredible Hulk") Ferrigno, and even Arnold ("The Terminator") Schwarzenegger.

Vince also helped the studios whip their stars into shape for the movies; he helped train the likes of Cher, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, James Garner, Brian Keith, Tommy Chong (of Cheech & Chong) and Erik Estrada.

It is said that in the late 1960's, before bodybuilders started to use steroids, Vince's Gym produced more top physique stars than any other gym in the world.

Vince's Gym was found travelling from Universal City Studios, take Lankershim southwest to Ventura Boulevard, and turn right (northwest). Follow Ventura about half a mile to Vince's Gym (between Vineland and Tujunga Avenues) .

Stories about Vince and his gym are legendary and in Vince's gym, you either followed his methods or suffered his wrath.

Once, after Vince had spent several hours coaching an upcoming bodybuilder, he noticed the trainee wasn't following his instructions. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded to know.

When the bodybuilder in question said he wanted to "change around a few things," Vince banished him from the gym! When the man complained that he'd paid for a six-month membership, Vince went to the cash register, took out payment for six months, and threw it at him, shouting, "If you aren't going to listen to what I say, I don't want you in here!".