| Bob Paris | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Clark Paris December 14, 1959 Columbus, Indiana |
| Spouse | Brian (1996 – present)[1] |
| Website | |
| http://www.bobparis.com | |
Bob Paris (born Robert Clark Paris on December 14, 1959) is a writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion, Mr. Universe.
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Paris was born and grew up in Southern Indiana. He was the second of five children, though one of his younger brothers died in early infancy. His parents divorced for the second time when he was a teen-ager, and he lived with his father after getting into some trouble.[2]
Bob was both an artistic and athletic young man. He won National Scholastic awards for his drawings and paintings, was active in his school’s theater group and debate team and he wrote short stories in his spare time. From an early age, he was an avid outdoorsman who dedicated a large portion of his time to hiking and backpacking through the wooded hills of Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest and other nearby wilderness areas. He was also a dedicated bicyclist. He played high school football and was active in both track and field and golf. Paris often said that it was this blending of his artistic and athletic sides that initially lead him to pursue bodybuilding.[2]
He entered his first bodybuilding competition (the Mr. ISU) when he was a student at Indiana State University and he did not place in the show. When he was 19, he briefly moved to Florida and competed in the Mr. Teen Florida, placing 2nd. After he returned to Indiana, his father kicked him out of their house, leading Bob and a high school friend to drive to California. His friend almost immediately returned home and Bob lived for a short time in Santa Monica, which was popularly regarded as the bodybuilding capital of the world, but his money quickly ran out, and he was often forced to live out of his car. He eventually found work in neighboring Orange County, and from there began a serious pursuit of bodybuilding, moving quickly through the amateur ranks and into the pros.[2]
In 2006, Flex Magazine ranked Bob Paris the most aesthetic athlete in the history of bodybuilding. Renowned for both his aesthetics and artistic approach toward the sport, he was also a dedicated advocate for the rights of athletes and an outspoken voice in the push for drug testing at the professional level. He retired from bodybuilding in 1991.
In addition to his writing career, Bob Paris remains a civil rights advocate and motivational speaker. He is also a model and a classically trained theatre actor. Since rising to fame in the early eighties, Bob Paris has graced the covers of scores of magazines worldwide.
On October 10, 1998, he made his New York stage debut, starring at Carnegie Hall opposite Bea Arthur, Sandy Duncan, Michael Jeter, Philip Bosco, Alice Ripley and Tyne Daly in the Broadway musical, Jubilee as the character Mowgli.
In 2009, he performed in a recurring role on the first season of the ABC Television series, Defying Gravity.[3]
In the July 1989 issue of Ironman, Paris came out in the media as a gay man.
He and his then-partner, Rod Jackson, had a commitment ceremony in a Unitarian church in 1989, started successful non-profit companies, lectured on a wide variety of LGBT rights issues, and made many television, radio, newspaper and magazine appearances. In 1995, the two separated.
Today, Paris lives with his spouse, Brian, on an island near Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] Together since 1996, Bob and Brian were legally married after Canada equalized the marriage laws in 2003.
As an amateur:
As a professional:
IFBB Mr. Olympia:
Additional professional competition highlights:
NPC = National Physique Committee IFBB = International Federation of BodyBuilders