Old Time Strongmen Volume Six

The Mighty Atom

Born in Poland in 1893 Yoselle (Joseph) Greenstein came into the world prematurely after his mother fell during the pregnancy which induced labor.

Joe was a tiny baby and wasn't expected to live a week but he exceeded everyone's expectations and survived. He was a sickly child and suffered from lung problems such as Asthma. By the time he'd reached 14 he was very sick and doctors had given up on him believed he didn't have long to live.

Joe decided that if he was going to die then why not pursue his dream of running away and joining a circus, so he left home and went to the circus where he was caught not paying for his ticket and given a severe beating by some of the circus staff.

As luck would have it Joe was found by one of the strongmen, Champion Volanko who performed an act for the circus and after talking with him Valanko decided to take him on and teach him the training methods of strongmen of the day.

Greenstein spent the next year and a half traveling with the circus across Russia, Asia, and India where he learned his craft from Valenko and other strongmen of the day. He also learned yoga breathing techniques from Indian strongman and champion wrestler The Great Gama.

After he left the circus he moved back home and married his wife Leah and not long after they were married the couple moved to America & settled in Galveston Texas. In 1914 a man obsessed with Greenstein's wife & jealous of Greenstein attempted to kill him by shooting him in the head. The bullet failed to penetrate his skull and he was able to leave the hospital on the same day.

After his brush with death he became determined to develop his mind and body to their full potential and he started performing many unusual feats of strength under the stage name - The Mighty Atom

Some of his stage acts and feats of strength were truly incredible and if they weren't recorded on film possibly no-one would believe that he actually did what is credited to his name.

He could straighten horseshoes, chew through chains, snap nails that were held in his teeth, bend steel with his hair taking the strain, hold back aeroplanes with his hair, and bend large steel bars with his hands to name a few.

It's also been stated that he could change a car tire without tools.

He was a wrestler in the days when wrestling more closely resembled MMA than WWF and one of the earliest western exponents of Jiu jitsu. When he moved to Brooklyn on of his hobbies was to walk the streets in the hope some foolhardy street thug would attempt to rob him. He collected souvenirs such as knives and guns from such incidents and several times he took on multiple opponents and won.

One he inspired the ire of over 20 Nazis after ripping their sign down and tearing it up with his bare hands. The nazis tried to beat him up but Atom ended being the one doing the beating and several of them were hospitalised and they were all injured.

All this from a small man who stood at a mere 5'4" and weighed about 145lbs.

Feats of phusical strength aside perhaps the most impressive trait Greenstein had was mental strength, One of his often quoted axioms was
"If you think you can do something, you can do something, just by conquering your own mind."

The man just refused to set limits on himself of any type, he firmly believed that we can unlearn our programming that limits our ability and performance in all areas.

He was truly great man and a Strongman who can rightly claim his place in history.