Bruce E. Randall

I was 18 in working in Montgomery Wards in Allen Park Michigan when I first met Bruce Randall. I saw this guy with a great physic and decided to ask for a little direction in lifting weights. Bruce was nice, and we talked for about an hour. It was an intermittent conversation because he was there promoting weights for a manufacturer. He told me about his weightlifting career and his attempt to gain weight to be competitive in the Superheavy weight division. He showed me some pictures of what he looked like through the years. I told my buddy about meeting the 1959 Mr. Universe winner and that Bruce and I spoke for quite some time. My buddy did not believe me he thought I was making it up. The next night Dan and I were driving on I-94 in Dearborn, Michigan. I saw Bruce driving the car I was passing, and I blew the horn to catch his attention. He saw me and waved. I did an arm bicep pose and he did too. I said to Dan, look at the size of his Bicep! My buddy said, Look at the size of his forearm and wrist! Dan said you really did meet him!
14 months later I was in the Army and was stationed in Minnesota. I went down to Minneapolis to buy a couple of 25# weights at the Dayton Department store. I saw Bruce and was heading towards him when he saw me. I was amazed that he recognized me. He said what are you doing up here? He remembered us talking in Michigan but not my name. So, I got to talk to him for a little while that night but there was a bigger turnout that night to see him, so he was busier then than when he was in Allen Park.
I told him I was still lifting and getting stronger, but the bodyweight was going up very slowly. I have thought about Bruce many times over the years. Meeting him made me more determined to get better and competitive in lifting. In 2015 I was trying to find Bruce and that is when I saw the obituary the first time. I was sad and wished I would have tried to find him earlier so I could tell him I still workout.
I'm thankful I met Bruce.