The streets of Venice Beach just lost one of their rarest gems, as Craig Monson, the original gangster bodybuilder who walked the razor’s edge between gang life and Gold’s Gym glory, passed away on March 8 at 76.

As the Golden Era legend found his final rest, 'The Wolf of Wall Street' star Danny Trejo mourned the loss of a longtime friend. Trejo took to his Instagram on March 9 and shared a carousel of snaps of the fallen bodybuilder.

The caption to his post read, “Craig Monson passed away. He was one of my best friends. He was an OG of the street, a legend, Mr. World. Going to miss you, Big Craig Monson.”

Monson lived a life larger than life. His fascination with bodybuilding began in his teenage years, so intense that his school administration once had to call his parents, urging them to curb his growing obsession with the sport.

“All he wants to do is work out in the gym, all the time and in his spare time," said the administrator.

However, the scolding never stopped him from pumping the weights. Witnessing his dedication, Monson's mother decided to buy her 13-year-old son his first set of weights, and the rest is history.

Well, his life was far from ordinary. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Monson became involved with a Los Angeles street gang known as The Avenue, and his life was drifting between the streets and prison.

However, his time at the California state prisons changed his life, as after release, Monsoon immersed himself in the Venice Beach bodybuilding scene, lifting weights with legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dave Draper.

You think Arnold was big? Well, think again, Monsoon was weighing over 270 pounds on stage and over 300 pounds during the offseason, making him much bigger than Arnold in his prime. Now the question is, did he ever compete? Well, he did.

Craig Monson's Competing Days

One day, while training at Venice Beach, a fine gentleman came forward to ask “Big Craig” if he was currently competing in bodybuilding. When Monson replied, "not anymore," the man insisted he compete in the Mr. World contest.

Monson replied, "I don't qualify." Then the man responded, "Yes, you do, you can compete as an amateur." The man then sent Monson airfare tickets and provided accommodations to compete in the Mr. World amateur bodybuilding contest in Geneva, Switzerland.

On the day of the competition, Craig was the biggest among them all, weighing 272 pounds and competing against 68 athletes. But despite his best efforts, he placed 5th in the competition.

But the story wasn’t over, the crowd booed, stomped in rhythm, and chanted Monson’s name until the judges finally gave in. "People's choice, first place, Craig Monson. Judges' choice, Monson, fifth place," the judges screamed.

That's the story of one of the biggest bodybuilding icons. His passing is hard for the community, but his legacy will live on.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Souvik Roy