User:Paul Timothy Burke

Paul Timothy Burke, Born, January 24, 1956. Bodybuilder, SAG/AFTRA Actor, World Champion Sailor, Author, Fitness Model, Former Writer for "Iron Man Magazine, Exercise for Men Only, "Natural Bodybuilding", Speaker, Singer/Songwriter

Paul Timothy Burke grew up in Hopkinton and Boylston, Massachusetts. The oldest of three sons of Paul Thomas Burke jr. and Ann Elizabeth Kennedy, Paul began lifting weights at the age of 13. Paul also taught himself how to play the guitar at the same age.

A mediocre athlete in peewee and High school sports, Paul joined Catalina's Health Spa at 16 years old and was bitten by the Bodybuilding and weight lifting bug hard once he started training with the real Bodybuilders that trained at Catalina's. Burke says that it was meeting Arnold Schwarzennegger at Catalina's, doing a seminar, that cemented the ambition into his soul. Burke had extraordinary strength for a guy who rarely weighed over by 200 pounds ..picking up cars, winning North Country Open Armwrestling Championship in 1975, at the age of 19, and UK Champion for each year Burke was stationed at RAF Woodbridge as a Helicopter Rescue Crew Chief on HH-53s, in the US Air Force. In 1981, the year Burke would DEROS back stateside, before leaving he stunned the UK weight lifting and Bodybuilding community by secretly preparing, entering and winning the Mr. Titan in London, England. Oscar Heidenstein was head judge and told Burke, and printed in England's premier Bodybuilding magazine,. Strength and Health, that Burke was a unanomois winner, with a great future ahead of him. All done without the use of steroids. Returning to the US, Burke finished his four year hitch at Myrtle Beach SC and headed back to Catalina's. "When I came home, a lot of guys were on anabolic steroids and I really didn't want to go through that, Burke says. He traveled to California with rising Bodybuilding star Rich Warfield. By that point, Arnold was retired and getting into movies. While Warfield and Burke often spoke with Arnold at the Rose Cafe, in Venice Beach, CA, it became clear to Burke at the new Gold's gym that if he wanted to compete in big time Bodybuilding, taking steroids was going to be part of the equation. He returned home from California 25 pounds of muscle heavier. Moving to NYC in 1983, he made his first TV commercial lifting weights in a Levi's/Sears commercial that ran during the 1984 Olympics in LA. It was in NYC that Burke met Manny Kladitis, producer of the Broadway musical "The King and I" and Burke took Manny up on a job being one of Yul Brynner's bodyguards. It was at this time Burke also met Film Director and Producer Franco Rossellini. He moved into a second apartment that Rosellini owned in the building just one street behind the Essex House on Central Park South. Burke also began his fitness modelling career at the gym where he worked out at, Madison Avenue Muscle. It began a long friendship with the camera lenses and lifting really heavy weights with fellow Bostonian, Mike Quinn, Australian, John Terrilli, and New Yorker, Tommy Terwilliger. Burke placed as high as 3rd in the Jr. Mr. Universe, and Jr. Mr. USA. He won the heavyweight class in the Mr. Empire State, Mr. New England, and Mr. Continental USA. He stopped using steroids in ,1986 to pursue acting, modeling and music. In 1987, Burke was cast to play Ray in the blockbuster Hollywood hit, Mystic Pizza." Beside old friend Vinny D' Nofrio, and new friends John Fiore and a young Julia Roberts, Burke found himself riding high cashing checks signed by Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Still working out and always pushing himself for a higher mountain to climb, not long after the movie became a huge financial success Burke began training billionaire businessman Bill Koch. Burke was a partner in the Kendall Athletic Club, in Cambridge, MA. He trained Koch in multiple locations, including NYC and Palm Beach. At one point Koch asked the still powerful Steve Reeves look alike if he would like to come out and sail. Burke was hesitant at first but once on the massive Matador2 Burke settled in as mainsail grinder. Months and years of sailing and after 3 grueling weeks against the best boats in the World, Koch, the crew and the Bodybuilder/actor/model turned sailor was a World Champion. Burke then shifted gears and really shocked everyone when he and guitarist/producer Bobby Keyes made a record called, "Paul Burke, No Time." All those years and Burke had been awake each night writing music.