Ron Teufel
On December 22nd, 2002 Roland S. (Ron) Teufel died at the age of 45. A former Teenage Mr. America and Mr. USA titleholder, Ron was known for having one of the most massive and dense physiques of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In addition to his excellent overall physique, Ron will always be remembered for having had some of the best abdominals in bodybuilding history. With his All-American good looks and bad boy persona, he became a popular cover model and bodybuilding personality.
While Ron's wins will forever place him in the annals of bodybuilding history, his five runner-up placings in the Mr. America contest may best exemplify his steadfast persistence and winning attitude.
Ron was survived in 2002 by his parents Alfred and Carol Teufel, brothers Bruce, James, and Thomas Teufel and sister Terri McGlynn as well as by his many nieces and nephews. He will also be sadly missed by his best friend and companion, Darby.
Ron's Story:Most little boys dream of growing up to be firemen, ambulance drivers or police officers. Not Ron Teufel, even as a child he wanted to become a sports superstar. By the time he was fifteen he had started training with weights at school, earned a fine reputation as a wrestler and begun to dream of one day becoming Mr. America. Ron's whole raison d’etre at seventeen was to train in preparation for the day when he would be declared the number one bodybuilding champion in the United States. A native of Philadelphia, he joined Ryan’s Gym in that city on leaving school. He continued to train at Ryan’s up to the time he won the Mr. Midwest and Mr. USA titles, gaining for himself in four years a reputation that many champions never achieve in a lifetime of bodybuilding. Ron enjoyed the adulation that came with winning the Midwest and USA honors but those victories were, to him, no more than watering holes on the way to his dream: the Mr. America title. Writing about Teufel around that time, Franklin Page, a longtime chronicler of bodybuilding events, noted: “It is obvious that Teufel is not only a potential winner of every physique contest in the United States, he is also destined to be a world beater.” Franklin added that even though he had seen a great many outstanding physiques in his time, few had impressed him as much as Ron Teufel’s. Shortly after becoming Mr. USA in 1978, Ron Teufel did as so many other east coast champions before him had done. He packed his bags and headed for Los Angeles, California, Santa Monica, to be precise, home of both the super champs and Gold’s gym.
In addition to his excellent overall physique, Ron will always be remembered for having had some of the best abdominals in bodybuilding history. With his All-American good looks and bad boy persona, he became a popular cover model and bodybuilding personality.
While Ron's wins will forever place him in the annals of bodybuilding history, his five runner-up placings in the Mr. America contest may best exemplify his steadfast persistence and winning attitude.
Ron was survived in 2002 by his parents Alfred and Carol Teufel, brothers Bruce, James, and Thomas Teufel and sister Terri McGlynn as well as by his many nieces and nephews. He will also be sadly missed by his best friend and companion, Darby.
Ron's Story:Most little boys dream of growing up to be firemen, ambulance drivers or police officers. Not Ron Teufel, even as a child he wanted to become a sports superstar. By the time he was fifteen he had started training with weights at school, earned a fine reputation as a wrestler and begun to dream of one day becoming Mr. America. Ron's whole raison d’etre at seventeen was to train in preparation for the day when he would be declared the number one bodybuilding champion in the United States. A native of Philadelphia, he joined Ryan’s Gym in that city on leaving school. He continued to train at Ryan’s up to the time he won the Mr. Midwest and Mr. USA titles, gaining for himself in four years a reputation that many champions never achieve in a lifetime of bodybuilding. Ron enjoyed the adulation that came with winning the Midwest and USA honors but those victories were, to him, no more than watering holes on the way to his dream: the Mr. America title. Writing about Teufel around that time, Franklin Page, a longtime chronicler of bodybuilding events, noted: “It is obvious that Teufel is not only a potential winner of every physique contest in the United States, he is also destined to be a world beater.” Franklin added that even though he had seen a great many outstanding physiques in his time, few had impressed him as much as Ron Teufel’s. Shortly after becoming Mr. USA in 1978, Ron Teufel did as so many other east coast champions before him had done. He packed his bags and headed for Los Angeles, California, Santa Monica, to be precise, home of both the super champs and Gold’s gym.
