Gagnon Vintage Weight Plates

These gorgeous vintage plates were created by Adrien Gagnon (1924-2011) in the 1950s and 60s in Quebec, Canada. Gagnon was a pioneering Quebecois enthusiast of physical culture; starting out as a bodybuilder himself in the 1930s-40s, inspired by famous strongmen of the time, he later shifted to producing weightlifting equipment, then became a bodybuilding publisher and promoter, famously going up against the monopoly the Weiders held over the industry at the time. Later in life he shifted again and created a successful line of supplements. Throughout his life he was a diehard champion of Francophone culture and Canadian national pride. The Gagnon plate castings are clean and crisp. They were originally released in seafoam green and French blue metallic paints. This brand eventually was repackaged as Atlas Barbell, which continued to release plates in the 1970s and 80s.