Our nation’s 26th president was the most jacked person to ever occupy the Oval Office.
Teddy Roosevelt regularly took his advisors on rugged, obstacle-filled hikes through the Washington, D.C., wilderness and frequently boxed while on the job, a habit he only stopped when a detached retina left him blind in one eye. ).
At Harvard University, he was an active, albeit mediocre, wrestler. That didn’t stop him from pursuing the sport into adulthood. As governor of New York, Roosevelt met then-U.S. wrestling middleweight champion Mike Dwyer. Soon, the two were sparring several times a week in the billiards room of the executive mansion. (Roosevelt had set up mats for this purpose.
like the new york times report December 1, 1899:
The Governor was wearing the regulation wrestling costume of tights and trunks. His chest was bare… Mr. Dwyer realized that his pupil was no novice at the sport, and was surprised at the governor’s attempt to cross his buttocks, a trick common in the West.
But Roosevelt wasn’t always a great physical specimen. As a child, he was frail and sickly. When he was 12 years old, his concerned father took him aside and said:you must make your body. ”
This wisdom inspired the young Roosevelt to embark on a lifelong quest for physical mastery that led to a storied military career and a series of public offices that culminated in the presidency.
“Honour belongs to the man who is actually in the field, his face marred with dust and sweat and blood,” said President Roosevelt’s oft-quoted admonition. He was a man who made dust, sweat, and blood an important part of his education. He pays homage to the glory of his energetic life and the uniquely American power of self-invention.
