Mark H. Barry was a successful national weight lifting champion, author and trainer. He was born in Chicago in 1896 the son of an engineer and inventor. His father's family was of Scottish descent by way of Northern Ireland and his mother's family traces their origins to New Amsterdam in the 1600s. He was the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting coach at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was the first Olympic weight lifting coach for the U.S.
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Lifting champion
He was a successful feather weight champion in the American continental weight-lifters association (ACWLA) in the mid-1920s.
Author
After his success as a weight lifter he focused on teaching others. Berry advocated drinking milk and focusing on compound movements especially heavy squats for building power and bulk. He is considered one of the pioneers of weight lifting with his classic books physical training simplified and the Mark Berry bar bell course. He also edited several magazines published through the Milo Barbell Co.
Trainer
Mark trained a young John Grimek whom he met in the late 1920s. Grimek would later win the Mr. America and Mr. Universe titles. After his success with Grimek and others he was selected to be the head coach for the 1932 and 1936 United States Olympic weight lifting team of which John Grimek was a participate in the later. He continued to instruct throughout the 1940s and 1950s as a head physical trainer for the BUR Barbell Company.