He was the great promoter of the iron sport in Spain. He organized most of the bodybuilding championships in Madrid, created the best bodybuilding school from his legendary gym: El Heracles.
Many are the men who have been relevant to the development of bodybuilding in Spain: Salvador Ruiz, Jesús Mario Muñoz, Carlos Flórez, Eduardo Franco, Baldo Lois, Manuel Lucena, Alfonso Gómez, Jorge Serrano, José Donato, Rafael Santonja, the Ramos brothers , Jaime Gallostra, José Viñas or Dino Chemes, but, without a doubt, Dino Camerlengo was the great advance.
Actor in various films
Dino Camerlengo was born in Rome eight decades ago. In his youth he began to practice sports activities: soccer, forearm workouts for men, boxing and cycling. But due to his thinness, he decided to start bodybuilding practice, first in the Tulio Richardi gym and later in the Weider gym. There, in the aforementioned Weider gym, he met, among others, Steve Reeves, Reg Park, Brad Harris and Gordon Scott, who were shooting different films in Italy at that time. Thanks to them, Dino Camerlengo got several film roles in the movies Los Titanes, Sodoma y Gomorra y Cleopatra.
In 1962 he arrived in Spain
Dino Camerlengo arrived in Madrid in 1962 to participate in the filming of the aforementioned movie Los Titanes, starring the famous Giulano Gemma. He was looking for a bodybuilding gym to train but couldn’t find it, there was none. In 1964 he married a woman from Madrid and established his residence in Madrid. That same year he opened the legendary Heracles gym, at number 7 Calle Peñascales, semi-corner with Doctor Esquerdo. It is relevant to say that all the gym equipment he brought from Italy, but, yes, transported in his 600, an odyssey for those times. Without a doubt, Heracles was the first gym in Spain where competitive bodybuilding was practiced. Therefore, very soon the best bodybuilders in the country were there.
| Dino with his students, among them, Ayestarán, Robles or Eduardo Franco, at the Heracles Gymnasium, 1965. Photo digitized by Febus. |
The Heracles Gym School of Champions
In the 60s and 70s the Heracles gym became the mecca of national bodybuilding. The atmosphere that reigned in it was impressive. The illusion, the joy and the camaraderie, were hallmarks of all the athletes. The best bodybuilders of the time passed through Dino’s hands: Carlos Flórez, Adolfo Robles, José Luis Ayestarán, Eduardo Franco, José Viñas, Jesús Mario Muñoz, José Mollejo, Rafik Mousallam, Vicente Mena, Pablo Martín Recio, Carlos and Pedro Visedo , Carlos Rodríguez, Manuel Benito, Carmelo López, Manuel España, Jaime Pérez, José Luis Benito, Román Crespo, José Luis Santos, Steve Shabaneh, Salvador Ruiz, etc.
The first competitions in Madrid
It was Dino who organized the first bodybuilding competitions, in Madrid, in 1965, first Mr Heracles and then Mr. Madrid. On the sly and with surveillance at the door in case the police came. During the following five years he promoted a large number of bodybuilding events, without a doubt, he became one of the most important supporters of the sport of iron in Spain. At that time he also published several bodybuilding magazines, collaborated in the most important ones, including Las Pesas or Deporte y Salud, and participated in various automobile competitions.
| Dino Camerlengo, falnqueado by José Luis Benito and Steve Shabaneh, Mr Heracles 1976. Photo Pedro López, digitized by Febus |
IFBB judge
In the 80s Dino Camerlengo acted, always with great mastery, as IFBB national and international bodybuilding judge. In the 1990s, due to heavy competition, Heracles closed. Soon after, he started working in a sports equipment company. In recent times Dino Camerlengo continues to train at the City Gym in Madrid, with his great friends Ana Rosa Estepa and Carlos Flórez, owners of the same. Today, already retired, only his friends and family remember him, however, no one should forget that Dino Camerlengo is one of the most important references in Spanish bodybuilding.
| The Heracles gym was the birthplace of Spanish bodybuilding in the 60s and 70s. Photo digitized by Febus. |
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