serge nubret

Serge Nubret is considered by many to have one of the most perfectly developed and balanced bodies in the history of bodybuilding. With broad shoulders that narrowed down to a tapered waist, Nubret sports perfectly shaped abdominal muscles and supremely developed arms and legs that allowed him to capture six major world titles in his career.

Nubret was born  on October 6, 1938 in Anse-Bertrand, Guadeloupe. His family moved to France when he was 12 years old to pursue his scholarship, when he was 12 years old and he was very active as a child, excelled in athletics. He returned to Guadeloupe when he was 19 and decided to dedicate himself to bodybuilding, focusing on  becoming the “sculptor of his own body.” He approached the sport, not just as an athletic competition, but saw his body as a canvas for his artistic expression.

In his first year as a bodybuilder he won the title of Mr. Guardeloupe. After a mere two years of training, Nubret decided to compete onstage internationally, vowing to become a world champion. In 1960 he entered International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB)World’s Most Muscular Man contest in Montreal, Canada and placed 1st. He next began competing in the prestigious National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) Mr. Universe contest where he placed 2nd in the pro division in 1963 and 1964 and 3rd in 1969. In 1969 he finished 2nd in the IFBB Mr. World in the tall category and captured first prize the next year in the IFBB Mr. Europe in the tall category. He finished in the 3rd place in 1972 and 1973 in the IFBB Mr. Olympia competition and in 1975 in second place in the Mr. Olympia.

The 1975 competition was wrought with controversy. A major motion picture documentary was being filmed about the competition called “Pumping Iron.” Nubret, because of his good looks and screen presence had been recruited to appear in 15 movies in Italy and France since 1972. Thus, when he was offered $200 to appear in Pumping Iron, he declined, offering instead to trade his appearance for distribution rights in France. When the producers rejected this offer, most of the footage of him was cut from the film. In the documentary he was introduced as a last second entrant. This was in part because he was told two weeks before the competition that he would not be allowed to compete. Ben Weider, the promoter of the event claimed that rumors had circulated that Nubret has appeared in an adult film and that no one associated with the adult film industry could be affiliated with the Mr. Olympia contest. Nubret, who was in incredible shape, denied that he had appeared in aan adult film and was despondent. He stopped training for the events and over the course of the next twelve days lost 12 lbs. of muscle. At the last minute on the day of the competition he was told that the events coordinators had changed their minds and that he would be allowed to compete. Many observers believed that Serge had arrived at the event in the best shape of his life and that Weider feared he would defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Weider brother’s golden boy. Thus, his 3rd place finish infuriated many spectators as well as some of the competitors.

The events of the 1975 Mr. Olympia left more than a bad taste in Nubret’s mouth. He had worked as the Vice President of the IFBB Europe, but had become disenchanted with the organization. Thus, later in 1975, Serge created the World Amateur Bodybuilding Association (WABBA), an organization designed to compete against the IFBB and to provide bodybuilders with the support they needed to compete at the highest levels. From this point on he would never compete in or associate with the IFBB.

Nubret continued his active career, winning the 1976 NABBA Mr. Universe contest, the 1977 Mr. Olympus title,  the 1977 Pro Mr. World, and finished 1st at the 1981 and 1983 world championships. He retired from active competition in 1985 but continued to train into his 70’s, including guest posing at the WABBA World Championship when he was 65 years old.

For the rest of his life he remained active in the sport and owned and managed his own gym in France. He appeared in 25 motion picture films and a televisions series in his career and published his autobiography, Je suis…Moi & Dieu in 2007. He died of natural causes in Paris, France on April 19, 2011^.

Serge Nubret is the only bodybuilder in history to hold six world titles with four different bodybuilding federations. Along with Frank Zane, he remains the definition of proportionate muscularity and symmetry that was once the defining characteristics and qualification from the greatest champions of the sport. Had he appeared more prominently in the Pumping Iron documentary and competed at his best and won the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Nubret may have been vaulted to the top of the list of all time greatest bodybuilders. Still, he is viewed as an icon and trailblazer.