A lifetime commitment to physical fitness, healthy and drug-free living and a passion for bodybuilding has paid off for Parkland resident and WWII veteran, Andrew Bostinto, as he celebrated his 100th birthday on Jan. 11 by – what else – doing what he loves – working out at the gym.
His long and fulfilled life is defined by two passions – his three years spent in the army in the 101st Regiment, 26th Infantry – and his years devoted to bodybuilding.
In 1979 he founded the National Gym Association (NGA) a not-profit organization that supports the philosophy of natural strength training and bodybuilding with a mission to encourage drug-free athletes and is still active today.
He was the first in the industry to develop a personal trainer’s fitness certification program and in 2006 co-authored, “Become Your Own Personal Mental Fitness Trainer.”
He was friends with other well-known body-builders (or, as they called them at the time, muscle-men) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Jack LaLanne and in 1977, won the title of Senior Mr. America, at Madison Square Garden.
In 1963, Bostinto opened his own gym, the Olympia Gym and Health Club, in Queens, N.Y.
He lectured at Queens College on exercise and nutrition and personally trained many well-known celebrities, including Cyndi Lauper, Regis Philbin, Al Pacino during filming of the 1993 film, “Carlito’s Way,” and his favorite, Patrick Stewart from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
He officiated at numerous national and international events, such as Mr. Olympia 1970-1971, and was a guest on many local New York television shows discussing physical fitness and bodybuilding.
In May 2025, he plans to earn the title of the “World’s Oldest Bodybuilder” for the Guinness Book of World Records in a competition in Deltona, Florida.
“Andy is still in great shape,” says his wife of 34 years, Francine Bostinto, 67, who is the current president of the NGA. The couple, who met at Jacob Riis Park beach in Brooklyn, has been together 44 years and have one son, Dillon, 27, together. Andrew Bostinto has a son (now deceased) and daughter from a previous marriage.
Aside from some knee and balance issues, Francine Bostinto jokes, “I take full credit for his longevity; this is what happens when you marry a much younger woman.”
Looking more like 75, than 100, Bostinto says when her husband wears his hat and medals, people mistake him for a Vietnam-era veteran, not a WW II veteran. With smooth skin and no wrinkles (his mother lived to 99), Bostinto says her husband is a “good talker,” likes to watch TV, go grocery shopping and likes to cook eggs, pasta and burgers.
For Francine, he cooks her favorite pasta dish, pasta with green peas.
He doesn’t follow a special diet but his wife says he has a good metabolism and eats mostly anything.
In Joe Bonomo’s 1943 book, “Body Power,” Bostinto was called “one of 20 of the world’s most perfect super-strongmen,” and in 1972 at the age of 46 was featured in the magazine, “Muscle Training Illustrated,” where he talked about his diet and training regimen of leg presses, bench presses, parallel dips, sit-ups, shoulder, triceps and lat reps.
In December, the couple returned from a trip to Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, (“the greatest American battle of the war”), Hitler’s last major offensive against the Western front, which paved the way for a Allies’ victory.
“This was the most meaningful event of my life,” says Bostinto about the experience, where he and other returning veterans, Louis Brown, Ed Cottrell, Jack Moran and Lester Schrenk, all of whom are between 99 and 102 years old, were treated like royalty and returning heroes.
“Going with Andy on this trip is the best decision I ever made,” says Francine Bostinto. “These countries laid out their red carpet for these American veterans.”
Organized by Boston police officer and Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran, Andrew Biggio, author of “The Rifle,” Biggio is the founder of Boston’s Wounded Vet Run, New England’s largest motorcycle ride dedicated to severely wounded veterans.
Inspired by nostalgia and to honor an uncle and namesake who lost his life fighting in WWII, Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand Rifle, the most common rifle used in WWII, and had a neighbor, a WWII veteran, sign it.
This launched him on a mission to find the remaining WWII veterans and have them sign his rifle and tell their stories in his book.
Funded in part by a GoFundMe campaign which raised $32,814, Biggio, organized the trip to bring the American veterans back to the site of the battle in Bastogne, Belgium.
He told the Boston Herald in December, “What was important about this is that there isn’t going to be a 90th anniversary for these guys, same thing for D-Day. This was the last big anniversary for a big number of them.”
According to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs, fewer than 1 percent, or roughly 66,000, of the 16.4 million Americans who served during WWII are still with us today.
“We’re both so grateful to have had this opportunity,” says Francine Bostinto, where in a whirlwind week, they met the king and queen of Belgium, the duchess of Luxembourg, Senator Bob Graham of Florida, the mayor of Bastogne and other dignitaries, Helen Patton, the granddaughter of General George Patton, actors from the film, “Band of Brothers,” took part in a parade, visited a castle and the Bastogne War Museum and met with many locals, who Francine Bostinto says were “profusely grateful” to the Americans.
“It was “overwhelming” Andrew Bostinto says. “There was so much gratitude.”
He was particularly moved by the fervor of little kids who waited in long lines and turned out to shake his hand and buy an autographed copy of “The Rifle,” which he and the other veterans signed for more than five hours.
In a post from Facebook on Dec. 15, reflecting on that day, Francine Bostinto writes, “Wherever we go, people applaud and bring gifts.”
They also visited Wereth, Belgium and a memorial to 11 American Black soldiers from the African American artillery battalion, a segregated unit, who were tortured and massacred by German SS troops on Dec. 17, 1944, in an event known as the “Werenth 11 Massacre.”
They appeared on the front page of many local publications, including the German newspaper, “Bild,” (“Der Terminator und der U.S. Veteran (99)” with the sub-heading, “Arnie Owes his Career to this Friendship.”
“I think the Belgian people remember tremendously,” Biggio says in a video post. “They crowd the streets, they crowd the museums so that we can’t even walk because they just want to get a glimpse of an actual WWII veteran who liberated them.”
“They’re taught at a very young age that these guys are superheroes,” he says. “Most of them want autographs to keep and to wear on their jackets.”
Being a hero was not on Bostinto’s mind, but being focused and methodical was.
Training since the age of 13, Bostinto still works out on the treadmill and does weight training, including his favorite lat pull-down, five days a week at the Planet Fitness in Coconut Creek.
The self-described, “very analytical, very organized and very disciplined” bodybuilder and veteran who was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and grew up poor in Brooklyn, shares the wisdom he’s garnered over a productive and meaningful century of life.
“Know yourself,” he says. “Know your priorities and your values and who you are innately.”
Nolan McMurry, 25, the manager at Planet Fitness and a self-described “WWII fanatic” says, “As a WWII veteran, Andy is a piece of living history. I’m honored to know him and always enjoy hearing his stories about his time serving overseas.”
McMurry says the gym plans to mark Bostinto’s birthday with cake and a celebration.
“Andy had an amazing career as a professional bodybuilder and with founding the NGA and he’s still dedicated to helping people, working out and staying fit,” he says. “He always has interesting stories to share and I always learn a lot from him.”
“He’s one of a kind and truly a living legend.”