1952 Mr. Universe celebrated his 100th birthday

“Don’t take life too seriously,” advises Manohar Aich, aka “Pocket Hercules,” who was crowned Mr. Universe in 1952 and recently celebrated his 100th birthday

The bodybuilder from Bengal, India, credits his long life to accepting and enjoying life. Neither prison nor a stroke has broken the spirit of the man who has now turned 100. Standing just 1.5m tall, Manohar Aich recalls that his interest in bodybuilding and developing his physique began at school and grew every time he watched a group of wrestlers or other athletes.

He began training specifically for bodybuilding after 1942, when he finished school and went to serve at a Royal Air Force base, where British officer Reub Martin introduced him to strength training.

Before long, the future Mr. Universe was sent to prison for protesting, and it was there that he began strength training in earnest. Manohar says prison helped him prepare for the world bodybuilding championships, adding: “In prison, I could train on my own, mostly without any equipment, and sometimes I trained for 12 hours a day.”

Manohar was even given a special diet in prison, as his fellow prisoners and the staff were so impressed by his efforts and results. In 1947, Manohar was released early.

Manohar and his family also endured poverty, with no money to send the children to school or buy good-quality food for himself. To make ends meet, he took whatever odd jobs he could find to put at least a little food on the family table.

Winning the Mr. Hercules bodybuilding competition in the 1950s gave Manohar a powerful incentive to keep pushing, and he set his sights on Mr. Universe. At the following year’s Mr. Universe competition in London, Aich took second place and the silver medal. He decided to stay in Great Britain to work towards the Mr. Universe title, which he secured the very next year, in 1952.

After winning the title, Manohar reached the peak of his career, appearing in numerous media outlets. His nickname, “Pocket Hercules,” also stuck. It came mainly from his victory at the Mr. Hercules competition in 1950 and his short stature, suggesting that the bodybuilder could even fit in a pocket.

Six decades later, Pocket Hercules is still involved in bodybuilding, running a fitness center with his sons. Manohar also works as a coach at his center, helping people get into the shape they aspire to, just as he did himself.

A mini-stroke a year ago left him unable to lift weights, but he still keeps a close eye on those training in the gym.

Although Pocket Hercules’ two sons have not followed their father’s calling in bodybuilding, he has still seen his work bear fruit. Manohar coached 8-time Indian bodybuilding champion Satya Paul, and his student Premchand Dogra won the Mr. Universe title in 1988.

Pocket Hercules says muscle training and healthy eating have kept him healthy. His diet consisted of milk, vegetables, fruit, rice, lentils and fish. He has never smoked or drunk alcohol.

Despite a hard life, he has remained positive through it all. But Pocket Hercules admits that one unfulfilled wish still weighs on his heart: he has always wanted to meet fellow Mr. Universe titleholder Arnold Schwarzenegger.