Bob Paris (born Robert Clark Paris on December 14, 1959) is an American writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist, and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion. Biography Early life Paris was born and grew up in Brown County and Columbus, Indiana. From a very early age, he was both artistic and athletic. He won National Scholastic awards for his drawings and paintings and wrote short stories in his spare time. Moreover, Paris was also involved in his school's debate team and a member of the International Thespian Society. Paris was involved in many sports in high school, he did track and field, golf, and was a talented football player for his school. After experimenting with weight training as a Sophomore, Paris started to gain size and strength. From that discovery Paris knew he wanted to be a bodybuilder. He moved to southern California to pursue his life and dreams of becoming a bodybuilder and actor. Within two years he had won two competitions, Mr. Los Angeles and Mr. Southern California. Career In 2006, Flex Magazine ranked Bob Paris the most aesthetic athlete in the history of bodybuilding. Renowned for both his aesthetics and artistic approach toward the sport, he was also a dedicated advocate for the rights of athletes and an outspoken voice in the push for drug testing at the professional level. He retired from bodybuilding in 1991. In addition to his writing career, Bob Paris remains a civil rights advocate and public speaker. He is also a model and a classically trained theater actor. Since rising to fame in the early 1980s, Bob Paris has appeared on the covers of scores of magazines worldwide. On October 10, 1998, he made his New York stage debut, starring at Carnegie Hall opposite Bea Arthur, Sandy Duncan, Michael Jeter, Philip Bosco, Alice Ripley and Tyne Daly in the Broadway musical Jubilee as the character Mowgli. In 2009, he performed in a recurring role on the first season of the ABC Television series, Defying Gravity. Personal life In the July 1989 issue of Ironman, Paris came out in the media as a gay man. He was the world's first male professional athlete, in any sport, to come out in the media while still an active competitor in his sport. The same year, Paris appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show discussing marriage and