Chris Dickerson was born on August 25, 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama. He was the youngest of the triplets (Chris, Alfred and John), though younger than his brothers, he was only a few minutes. Chris studied music, and learned to be an opera singer. He is an extremely aesthetic and educated person, reads a lot and knows how to sing arias in several languages.

After graduating from college in New York in 1963, Chris went to visit his aunt who lived in Los Angeles, and there he met with Bill Pearl, who became his mentor and began to prepare Chris for the competition.

Chris first appeared in the 1965 contest at the Mr. Long Beach, where he took third place. In addition to the 1982 Mr. Olympia title, Chris won nine other professional IFBB tournaments in the late 70’s and early 80’s, making him one of the most successful bodybuilders of all time. He finished his career as a bodybuilder at the Master Olympia in 1994, where he finished fourth.

Chris Dickerson Photo Gallery

His career as a bodybuilder lasted thirty years and he participated in more than fifty contests. He was famous for his symmetrical physique, good muscularity and a wonderful ability to pose (with a great deal of drama). In this you can be sure, after looking at his gallery – as a man of art, he found a great way to combine sports and “theater.”

We can not fail to note two special achievements of this athlete – he was not only the first African-American in the contest Mr. America, but also the oldest winner (43 years) in the most prestigious tournament – Mr. Olympia.

In April 1983, a photo of Chris was published on the cover of the magazine Flex. In 2000, Chris was officially admitted to the Hall of Fame of the International Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB).

Currently, Chris lives in Florida, where he still trains, conducts seminars, and tries to keep up with today’s athletes.