1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Did you know that the original ancient Olympics were done 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: completely in the nude and the athletes had a really 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: weird way of making money off their skill sets. I'm 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: Patty Steele making a buck in sports. Next, on the backstory. 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: When you watch world class athletes compete like in the Olympics, 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: aren't you blown away by how physically perfect they? Love? Man, 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 1: they make me jealous. Well, honestly, they're just making the 8 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: very most of what they have, and they're doing their 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 1: best to make a buck off of it too. If 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: you think about it, it wouldn't. Well, it turns out 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: there's a backstory about that motivation to look and perform 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: at your very best and also get some payback, and 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: it goes back thousands of years to Greece and the 14 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: ancient Olympics. In a moment, I'll tell you about the 15 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: sort of shocking way those guys performed and how they 16 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: and their trainers made money off of their physical perfection, 17 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: kind of like our star athletes do today, only way 18 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: to athletes today pretty much agree that their uniforms are 19 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: totally about feeling good about themselves physically and mentally so 20 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: they can perform at their best. I mean You look 21 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: at them in their body hugging uniforms and you think 22 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: about how crazy amazing they look and the work it 23 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: takes to get there. Right, personally, I think I'd freak 24 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: out if I show that much skin, but I am 25 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: happy for him. So where did it actually all begin. Well, 26 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: it goes back to those original ancient Olympics, and we're 27 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: talking three thousand years ago. Those guys were all about 28 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: showing off their perfect bodies, and believe it or not, 29 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: when they competed, they did it completely in the nude. 30 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: It was done in the nude as a tribute to 31 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: the Greek god Zeus. They wanted to honor him by 32 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: showing him their physical power and muscular exquisiteness as a 33 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: show of gratitude for what he'd given them. And let's 34 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: face it probably was also an ego boost for the 35 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: athletes too. Right on top of that, it didn't hurt 36 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: that showing off their gorgeous, powerful body could intimidate their competitors. 37 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: These guys, and by the way, it was only guys 38 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: both competing and watching the games. No women allowed wanted 39 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: to be compared to the true heroes of their culture. 40 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: The big mythological names in art and literature like Achilles, Hercules, Hermes, 41 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,239 Speaker 1: and of course Adonnas. So at the games they did 42 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: everything from foot races to jumping, discus throwing, javelin throwing 43 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:32,519 Speaker 1: yikes javelins, in minute wrestling, the pentathlon boxing, all totally 44 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: naked and very sweating. In fact, the sweat was a 45 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: really big thing. You see, these guys got ready to 46 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: rumble by rubbing their bodies down with high end olive 47 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,079 Speaker 1: oil before their events got underway. Everybody believed the scent 48 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: of the olive oil mixed with the sweat was incredibly masculine. Okay, 49 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: sounds kind of like an exotic locker room to me anyway. 50 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: Then the competition began. Remember it's grease in August and 51 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: September during a festival for Zeus, it's usually above eighty 52 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: five degrees and really humid, so these guys are oiled 53 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: up wildly sweaty from the heat and then the workout, 54 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: and they are covered with dust from running and rolling 55 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:20,959 Speaker 1: in the dirt. So at the end of each event, 56 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: the athletes took their dirty but still glistening naked bodies 57 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: back to the locker room and somebody there I guess 58 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: the sweat collector had the tasty job of using a 59 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: metal scraper called a stridgel to scrape oil, sweat, dead skin, 60 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: and dust off the athlete's bodies. What did they do 61 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: with that sticky goo, which by the way, was called gloious, Well, 62 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: it was packaged in vials, believe it or not, and sold. 63 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: It was taken to markets everywhere. I mean it was 64 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: actually collected, marketed, and sold from gymnasiums all the time, 65 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: but it was especially valuable after big games like the Olympics. 66 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: In fact, the gym owners would even scrape the gunk 67 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: off the walls and floors where popular athletes train, and 68 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: businesses would bid on those vials of goop. Folks rubbed 69 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: it all over their bodies for a bunch of different 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: medicinal purposes. They especially used it to rub into aching 71 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: body parts to reduce inflammation, and also because they believed 72 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,039 Speaker 1: they'd capture some of the athletes youth and virility by 73 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: soaking it that they smell great. Is it any weirder 74 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 1: than what we do these days with bowtoxx fillers and 75 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: plastic surgery. I mean, we all want to feel good, 76 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: look good, and feel better about ourselves. Right. And when 77 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: it comes to merchandising stuff, stop and consider this. Today 78 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: athletes make a bundle selling all kinds of stuff, sneakers, clothing, 79 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: diet supplements, tons of other things. The ancient Olympians weren't 80 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: selling clothes since they did their thing in the nude. 81 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,239 Speaker 1: They didn't sell sneakers or pretty much anything else except 82 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: for the gunk they scraped off their bodies. Everybody wanted 83 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: some of it, and it was an incredible revenue stream 84 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 1: for the athletes and for the gyms these guys trained in. 85 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: At the end of the day, their motivation really wasn't 86 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: any different than ours. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory is 87 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartMedia and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 88 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our executive producer is Steve Goldstein of 89 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: Amplify Media. We're out with new episodes twice a week. 90 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory. The pieces of history 91 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.