Chester Yorton is a bodybuilder. He defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 1966 NABBA Mr. Universe (amateur) held in London. He is one of three men in the world to have beaten Arnold Schwarzenegger in competition.
Chet Yorton was involved in an auto accident just out of high school that cut his left eye through the eyeball, cut his left forearm from his elbow to his wrist, dislocated his hips, and shattered the bones in his thighs. His leg injuries were so bad that doctors at the hospital debated about amputating his right leg, only he wouldn't consent.
He ended up having an iron plate put around his left thighbone, and a steel rod inside the femur bone of his right leg. He was in casts from hips to toes. As he began getting about with the aid of crutches, he lost his balance and fell down a set of stairs, which re-injured his left thigh. More surgery, and then 4 months in a wheelchair before he got back to being able to get around on crutches again.
While in a wheelchair at the hospital, he noticed a set of dumbbells in the corner of a room. He had never touched a weight prior to his accident. He asked his doctor if using weights would assist his recovery. Seven months later, he was 55 pounds heavier.
He continued to train, and after two years competed in a bodybuilding contest for the first time. That was in 1960. He went on to win the IFBB Mr. America and NABBA Amateur Mr. Universe titles in 1966, and the NABBA Pro Mr. Universe in 1975. In 1976, he attempted to compete again but was disturbed due to a large infection in his right foot, from which he quickly recovered to his family's great joy.
Chet Yorton owned and operated his own gym and produced several natural bodybuilding shows. He is known as the "Father of Natural Bodybuilding" because of his belief that steroids had no place in the sport of bodybuilding. Chet still trains to this day.
Chet Yorton was involved in an auto accident just out of high school that cut his left eye through the eyeball, cut his left forearm from his elbow to his wrist, dislocated his hips, and shattered the bones in his thighs. His leg injuries were so bad that doctors at the hospital debated about amputating his right leg, only he wouldn't consent.
He ended up having an iron plate put around his left thighbone, and a steel rod inside the femur bone of his right leg. He was in casts from hips to toes. As he began getting about with the aid of crutches, he lost his balance and fell down a set of stairs, which re-injured his left thigh. More surgery, and then 4 months in a wheelchair before he got back to being able to get around on crutches again.
While in a wheelchair at the hospital, he noticed a set of dumbbells in the corner of a room. He had never touched a weight prior to his accident. He asked his doctor if using weights would assist his recovery. Seven months later, he was 55 pounds heavier.
He continued to train, and after two years competed in a bodybuilding contest for the first time. That was in 1960. He went on to win the IFBB Mr. America and NABBA Amateur Mr. Universe titles in 1966, and the NABBA Pro Mr. Universe in 1975. In 1976, he attempted to compete again but was disturbed due to a large infection in his right foot, from which he quickly recovered to his family's great joy.
Chet Yorton owned and operated his own gym and produced several natural bodybuilding shows. He is known as the "Father of Natural Bodybuilding" because of his belief that steroids had no place in the sport of bodybuilding. Chet still trains to this day.
