Brother Iron, Sister Steel
A Bodybuilder's Book—
What others are saying
What separates Dave Draper from others of his ilk is the clarity of his prose and the directness and simplicity of his approach. Dave Draper is not a bodybuilding star who stands apart. He is the "everyman of bodybuilding" and he wants every man (and woman, teenager and senior citizen) to transform his (or her) life through resistance weight training. It is impossible to read Draper and not start packing your gym bag. He's the Pied Piper of Bodybuilding! ---Ronald L. Dobrin, author of "Getting More", founder, editor East West Journal Former critic Show Business, After Dark, Backstage and New York Post
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Dave Draper has shown me that weight training needn't be limited to competitive bodybuilders, that the benefits of increased strength, energy, and a higher, fat-burning metabolism can be realized by an average Joe like me. Now with Brother Iron, Sister Steel Dave continues to inspire me with his originality, passion and dedicated approach to fitness. Dave is truly an icon of Modern Bodybuilding. ---Vince Steinman, Food and Lifestyle Editor, Modern Man.com, Men's Health magazine
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What makes Dave's work unique is his ability to inspire with eloquent simplicity while packing his writing with training tips. This is a unique combination. Many bodybuilders are not necessarily eloquent writers while some others write in too complex a style for the general consumption. Dave seems to have all the gifts plus more. My enthusiasm and intensity has returned with reading his writings. I now forward much of his stuff to all my gym buddies, who all find Dave equally exciting. ---Sam Tsang, Ph.D. candidate Department of biblical studies, University of Sheffield
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In a world of bodybuilders who stand out for their esthetic successes yet still lack the joy of living, Dave is a remarkable exception. Even without having met the man, it is plain to see from his writings that Dave is filled with the joy and awe of life and the Universe in which he lives. This combination of excellence in the sport and inner spiritual achievement is the true ideal for me, an ideal which I personally aspire to. It is the definition of true success, and it is what sets Dave Draper apart from the pack. ---Steve Holt, Jazz pianist
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Dave Draper is simply inspirational. More than an icon from Bodybuilding's Golden Era, he is a one-of-a-kind person. No one else writes like him, combining rich experience and depth of passion in a delightful turn of phrase. And no one else writes about the inner aspects of the Iron Game with such compassion and insight—whenever I read Dave Draper, I feel like I am reading a message straight from his heart. ---Owen Evans, BA Philosophy, MA Linguistics Full-time computer programmer, part-time poet
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Having bought and read many bodybuilding/ weightlifting/ biography books, Dave achieved his goal of putting out something unique. All thru the book I kept saying to myself "Yeah, that's how I feel". He really got to the heart and soul of why I do what I do; no other book has ever done that. The book is so much more than "Do this routine, diet, sets, reps, etc..." Dave's insight and humor makes this book the be-all, end-all book on bodybuilding, taking care of yourself and the healthy lifestyle. Seriously, anyone who ever asks me how to work out or why workout or what does working out mean to me, I couldn't add anything more than just hand him Dave's book and say "Read this. It explains everything". I can't think of enough superlatives to tell you what that book means to me to have my 27 years of effort explained clearly and honestly and why I have always felt a kinship with Dave. ---Guy E. Miller, M.B.A. Television host of "Guy's Workout Challenge"
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When I was a little boy, I wanted to fly. I pretended it in my yard and in trees, and I dreamt of it when I went to sleep. Little turned to big, though, and I abandoned flying as I learned to meet the bus and stand in line. One afternoon, during the days of obsession—girls and cars and sports—I picked up a magazine with Dave in it. It was an issue filled with unposed photos of him. He was training. Lifting, laughing, pacing the floor. Something in my head shifted that day, as I saw a Viking using the heaviest handtools made: barbells, big, earthbound tools to carve his future. It was something that made me think I could be more than what I was becoming. It was a new dream for me. One that was, in its own way, sweet and wild and free. In the thirty years since then, bodybuilding has been part of the very spine of my life. My way is settled, but the dream continues. It's not quite flying. But it is *real* good. ---Stephen Wedan, artist and author of "The Eater of Gods"
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It seems as though every celebrity and supermodel has published a 'fitness' book or video. And television is inundated with infomercials promoting strange and costly contraptions. What is the unknowledgeable person supposed to do? "Brother Iron, Sister Steel" cuts through the 'fitness and infomercial hype' and presents a lifetime of training knowledge and experience from one of Bodybuilding's legends—Dave Draper. With his unique, thought-provoking writing style, Dave provides his thoughts, views, and philosophies on how to pursue the 'wonderful world of iron' in a fashion sure to benefit everyone from the novice who has yet to pick up a weight to the competitive bodybuilder looking for that 'edge'.---Bill Keyes, International Strength Coach
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This man Dave Draper has walked the walk and talked the talk for the last 40 or so years and I have found that his writings both inspire and motivate me. I am sure they will do the same for you. ---Steve M, Otago, New Zealand
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When I started in 1965, Dave was on all the magazine covers, every one of which was plastered on the walls of my bedroom. Being tall like myself, he became the standard I worked to, the proportions and size. Recently, I've come to understand Dave's reason for quietly withdrawing from the bodybuilding scene. Having received my youthful admiration, Dave now has my utmost respect as I view him not only as a premier and dedicated bodybuilder, but more importantly as someone who lives his life the way he lifts weights. ---John Oneschak, Computer Systems Architect
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Dave's advice in his weekly newsletter is so genuine that even though I've never met the man, I feel like I'm reading a letter from my brother—one who really cares about my progress with the weights and about my life. I can't wait to read this book! ---Art Hansen, Amateur Bodybuilder Miller Brewing Co. Capacity Planning Manager
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Dave Draper is a master at taking the mystery out of weight training. The things I've learned from him have helped make me fitter and stronger at 51 than I was at 21. Even my outlook on life has changed for the better thanks to Dave Draper's words. ---R. 'Doc' Ray
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I knew about Dave Draper in 1966 when I graduated from high school, even before then. His pictures were in all of the popular muscle magazines throughout the sixties. I was amazed to find him once again on his website, davedraper.com. I knew that he had "dropped out" of the now famous Muscle Beach scene to make furniture but I never knew he was still actively involved in bodybuilding. Much to my delight, the man is now, literally, a bodybuilder's guru. His writings inspire, illumine and motivate both the novice and the seasoned bodybuilder alike. His knowledge storehouse is vast, so beware: A deep reservoir of insight and wit await the fitness enthusiast. ---William Kazak, Professional Photographer
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Through Draper's newsletter I get a weekly dose of Iron Inspiration that helps keep me focused on the task at hand, building a better body. I have heard the enthusiasm for bodybuilding, warmth of heart for people and the solid character of his person. Dave Draper is more than just another cog in the fitness wheel that has set me down the road of bodybuilding; he is the linchpin that holds it together. ---Ivan Schoen, ACE certified personal trainer
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In these times of false fitness prophets and gobbledygook gurus, none of whom appear healthy — much less fit — it's refreshing to have a true fitness professional of Dave Draper's stature step forward to lead by example and expertice. ---Jim Ganley, Gym Ganley Athletic Shapes Health/Fitness Consultants, Bow, N.H.
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At 38, I woke up and realized that I didn't want to look or feel that way at 40. In searching for a role model I could find nothing more inspiring than Dave Draper and his writings. At almost 20 years my senior he had the the body of which I dreamed. After 2 years of following my adopted role model, I feel better, look better and am looking forward to 50. ---Johnny Turner
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A few months ago my favorite fitness magazine ran an article by Dave Draper. Sure, the name, the face, and of course the physique were familiar, but I couldn't remember seeing an article written by him in any recent periodicals. I knew that he'd retired from competitive bodybuilding before I started kindergarten and I'd always wondered what became of him. I was elated. The smooth, introspective, down-to-earth prose conveyed the author's meaning with startling efficiency. His "everyman" style expressed a wisdom that was refreshing, particularly in contrast to the ego often communicated in material written by today's crop of bodybuilders. It was the finest article I had ever read in a fitness publication. I wondered, "Where the heck have they been hiding this guy?" ---Kevin Phillips
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A giant among men, a legend in the sport of bodybuilding is the Blond Bomber, Dave Draper. After many years away from the Iron I was back at it for more than a year when I stumbled on the Dave Draper web site. As I delved into the extensive information and photos in his site I was extremely impressed by Dave's physical condition. For a man in his fifties he had a physique that was truly inspirational. Through his coaching via e-mail and later the Iron Online e-mail group, I was able to transform my scattered and disorganized routine into one that was focused and extremely effective. Like Grimek and Reeves before him, Draper is a unassuming and kind man quick to offer guidance when sought and an inspiring motivator through his weekly e-mail columns. Humble and human, Dave shares his thoughts freely, acknowledges his human weakness, to which we can all relate, and inspires us to persist and break the barriers that hold back those of lesser determination. With a career that continues past the forty-year mark I doubt if there are many others of the golden age that continue with such marked enthusiasm. ---Gary Fajack, Author & Chief Financial Officer for a national distribution company
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Dave Draper has been a constant source of instruction, inspiration and motivation for me and countless others from all walks of life. Whatever your profession, whatever your present fitness level, the Blond Bomber can help you get the body you've always wanted (but never thought you could). ---Paul Wagner, Lutheran pastor
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Dave Draper sets the standard in bodybuilding as a way of life, not just a diversion from it. He speaks profoundly through his writings though it's his actions that are the real communicator. His new book, "Brother Iron, Sister Steel", is simply an expression of his living example. Bodybuilding + Passion = Dave Draper ---Vince McConnell Personal Trainer/Sports Conditioning Specialist
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If it is true that early influences have a hand in later habits, I was very lucky to have grown up watching the likes of Dave Draper doing cameo appearances on such T.V. shows as 'The Monkey's' and 'The Beverly Hillbillies'. Since than I have come to realize that behind that physique I admired as a child, there beats the heart of a truely poetic writer, as evidenced in this quote pulled from his website: "The clutter of intelligence, the waste of words describing a simple thing, the superior heaps of decaying mental rubbish surrounding the notion of exercise and sensible eating is maddening. Why, there are people out there who have read so much that they think they actually know something. The learning's not in the reading, it's in the doing." ---John Shipman, MS, CRC Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
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In a world of copycats, Dave is a 100% original creation. When it was far from hip to be a bodybuilder, he quite simply became one of the best the world has ever seen. Later, when it became not only hip but potentially highly profitable to be a top bodybuilder, he walked away from the hype and "scene" of it all, returning to the serenity and purity of the movement and work for its own sake and its own inherent rewards. Rewards that many of the current crop of pros apparently fail to grasp, and will never attain. Dave now offers the lessons and teachings of a lifetime in the gym with the wisdom and patience of a true master of the discipline. With the volumes of words written on the subject, none so clearly impart their insights from the soul or with such delight in the work, play, love and philosophy of the world of iron. ---William H. Luttrell, esq., B.A., J.D.
Read what Dr. Ken Leistner has to say about Brother Iron, Sister Steel
Read the review from Fearless Book Reviews
Read an excerpt from Brother Iron, Sister Steel
Brother
Iron, Sister Steel sells for
$24.95. Dave will be happy to sign the book to you (or to
a friend if it's a gift)--you'll have a space to request
this on the online order form.
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