Ivanko Barbell Company

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Los Angeles, CA
Ivanko Barbell Company

06/11/2026

Muscle Dynamics (A.K.A. the "Maxicam" brand). 1980's. A shop up the freeway about 4-5 miles from us, MD started in the 1970's. Made clean, minimalist equipment (including dumbbell racks). 2"x2" and later 2"x3" and 2"x4". They had, to my eye, a distinctive look. I don't know if Icarian (another great company) or someone else came up with the look first, or imitated MD. We sold them OEM parts, including dumbbell saddles & weight stacks (at one point among our best-selling parts). In the early years, we always gave them booth space at trade shows, like NSGA & SGMA. One of the owners, Roger, had in the early years, climbed up a power pole and using alligator clips, jacked into the grid, and powered the equipment in the shop. Los Angeles was different then. Another owner, Brian, later co-founded . Mainly imported equipment. A noted great salesman. It was said of Brian that he could sell anything to anyone. (Cameo: our rubber-encased Olympic plates [Part No. RUBO] introduced in 1981 and still sold today).

06/05/2026

from IVANKO Catalog (1979).

06/03/2026

Johnny Gibson Gym Equipment. c. 1990's. Out of Tuscon, Ariz., Johnny Gibson (1921-2010) served in the 101st Airborne at the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded the Bronze Star & Purple Heart. He was Mr. Arizona in 1950. A seller of IVANKO equipment in the 70's through 90's. There's a lot more to his story. Like skating & surfing, the fitness world was often full of interesting people before larger corporations took over.

06/01/2026

Wally Pullum's 45KG Barbell Plate. Cast in the UK 🇬🇧. With two diametrically-opposed oblong grips. c. 1977-78. Wally was the nephew of famed early 20th-c British strongman William Pullum. Pullum

05/28/2026

Our 28mm Stainless Steel Olympic Bar (Part No. OBS-20KG) with 17-4 US stainless shaft & 304 Stainless Seamless Tubing is in stock and ready to ship. I don't think there's a finer made stainless bar available. We care about every detail.

05/26/2026

We continue to make Fixed Weight barbells & EZ-Curl bars in cast-iron & rubber. We make racks too. Any color you want. And individual fixed bars to make your own barbells & EZ-Curl bars. We are always mindful of rising shipping costs & our racks "knock-down" to small dimensions to get you what you need, at a reasonable cost, and in the good condition in which it was shipped. Inquire.

05/23/2026

We have good stock of OBPX Heavy-Duty Bumpers, 45, 35, 25, & 10 lbs (also available, if you must! in kilos, in colors), as well as training/technique plates in 10 & 5lbs (and 5 & 2.5KG). Pairs well with our 28mm OBS-20KG stainless steel bar (stainless shaft & sleeves). Treat yourself to quality commercial-grade equipment. Available on our website. Yours in the Tradition.

05/21/2026

From the archive: early 1980's IVANKO Iron Boots, Shot Put Balls, & Discus. Discontinued in the late 90's. We still have a crate or two of "oblong" imperfect shot put castings of unreliable weight. Perfect for movie prop houses or anyone wanted to re-enact the Battle of Waterloo. Inquire.

05/18/2026

Addison, is, to my knowledge, the first recorded usage of "dumbbell" in the English language (see the The Spectator) in the early 18th-c. A customer who is building a series of gyms and is a huge admirer of F. Scott Fitzgerald brought this to my attention. Gatsby's list of self-improvement, including morning dumbbell exercises. The self-improvement list is a tradition as old as Geo. Washington, Ben Franklin & Thomas Jefferson. In fact, the entire idea of "self-recreation" and improvement is an American tradition. A "right" even. In the past century, we see it in Hawthorne, Melville, and even the poets Whitman & Dickinson. The idea of "self-improvement" and the recreation of the self -- in the inventing of a new self even -- was the subtext of many body building magazines of the 20th-c. Jan Todd

05/16/2026

Flash Back to 2016 --the inimitable C.T. Fletcher offering motivation at Joe Wheatley's Muscle Beach/Venice International Strict Curl Association competition. Every generation thinks their Venice Beach is the greatest period in Venice Beach history. For me, it was the late 80's through 2016 or so. In the 80's the Sidewalk Cafe was open until 2am, and had the best juke box; next door, Small World Books had a great selection of books, crammed into it's small space & the weight pen (from about '83 to 2020) had all IVANKO weights & bars and Tuff-Stuff & Cal-Gym racks & machines.

Address

Los Angeles, CA

Website

http://www.ivankobarbell.com/

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