Mass Appeal

After decades of success as a model, bodybuilder, powerlifter, and martial artist, Mike O’Hearn shares the secrets of his longevity: consistency and lifting extremely heavy weight.

- Jim Schmaltz

SOME MEN ARE BORN GREAT, OTHERS WORK AT IT, and then there are those who achieve greatness so well for so long that you’re not quite sure they’re human. An example? Mike O’Hearn.

O’Hearn, the ubiquitous fitness star whose accomplishments span four decades, has built a résumé as impressive as his physique. Not only has he won titles in powerlifting, bodybuilding, and judo, but his piercing stare has greeted consumers at newsstands for nearly 30 years.

In fact, he’s one of the most photographed fitness models in history, appearing on more than 500 magazine covers. This is his ninth time on the cover of M&F—only Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger have more appearances—and he’s not done yet. 

With his jutting cheekbones and flowing locks, O’Hearn is a uniquely constructed specimen, that rare Adonis who could pass as either Hercules or a bodice-ripping lothario from the cover of a romance novel. It’s as if someone put Steve Reeves and Fabio in a blender and got the best of both. And, as you would expect, O’Hearn has checked those two feats off his list, having been a romance cover model and an actor in several sword-and-sandals productions. 

But this is no pretty boy who sweats only under the hot lights of photographers. O’Hearn is an elite athlete who has earned multiple trophies as a bodybuilder. He didn’t just descend from Mount Olympus to mingle with us mortals for a few years—he’s the product of decades of relentless work in the gym, hoisting super heavy weights to fill out his 191-cm frame.