Steve was born January 21, 1926, Glasgow, Montana. Not knowing their son’s future glory, his parents, Goldie and Lester Reeves, entered him in the “Healthiest Baby in the Country” contest. Here, infant Steve found himself in the favor of the judges, winning first place.

When Steve was 20 months old, his father died in a tragic farming accident. Soon after, the Great Depression ushered in economic upheaval. Goldie found it necessary to leave her son in the caring hands of family members. Once Goldie was financially able to do so, she took her 10-year-old son to live in Southern California. He commenced on his road to fame with the sober temperament necessary to realize his long-held ambitions.

Like most schoolboys, he participated in sports. His interest in bodybuilding began because of an arm wrestle with a school chum. Joe Gambino pinned Reeves’ arm, like he did with all of his opponents. Years later, during an interview, Reeves said: “He didn’t weigh very much, and when he beat me I wondered how he did it.”

Steve went to Joe’s house and found him lifting weights in the back yard. A young entrepreneur, Joe made Steve pay a dollar a week to use the weights. Eventually, Steve graduated to the small weight-training facilities at Castlemont High School in Oakland. Because of a rather limited array of exercise equipment and spotty supervision, Steve was left without a sound routine. His search for the best routine would forever brand Steve a connoisseur of variety.

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