Muscles and freaks: the legendary Venice Beach in the lens of Claudio Edinger

Classic photographer Claudio Edinger came to California in 1984 and took these eccentric photos of the famous Venice Beach, which were later included in his book.

The Brazilian photographer's lens caught numerous inhabitants of the incredible country of Venice Beach: bodybuilders, roller skaters, surfers and ordinary beachgoers of all formats and ages. We offer you a look at the resting public of the Venice Beach embankment in 1984.

Venice Beach, a lively coastal area of Los Angeles, has become a center of counterculture rich in eccentric characters since the 60s.

Kai Baxter — participated in the competition "The world's best female bodybuilder" from 1979 to 1983. Dreams of always staying young.

Tom Sevell is a former art director, gallery owner and inventor: he covered his old Studebaker with polyurethane, and now it "shines like a cucumber."

Eliot Rosen — became a Sikh, which greatly upset his parents. They still hope that their son will come to his senses and become a good Jewish boy again. In the meantime, he cooks raw food dishes for cancer patients, writes articles for health magazines and plays drums for a belly dancer.

Kenny Johnson is a mechanic, admits that he comes to Venice Beach because of the girls. It took 8 months to tune his 61-year-old Chevrolet, but with this car he can shoot new girls every week.

Linda Albertrano, a former singer, lives in a 13—room house in Venus Beach, which she calls "slums by the sea", but she likes that there is inexpensive housing here. On her first day here, she found out that her old friend had been strangled on the beach.

Jeff Howe and Gigi Rene. He is 21 and eats 8 meals a day. He is now "Mr. Arizona" and the owner of a tanning salon in Phoenix. And Gigi received the title of "Miss English Leather Bikini" and won a trip to California as a prize at the Pony Express bikini contest. She's also a dental assistant and studying to be a firefighter.

Red Ish, leader of the rock band R.I.P. "I like the people on this beach because they're even weirder than me." The main purpose of his life is to shock.

Liz Bevington, or Skateboard Mom — this old lady works as a janitor, and in her spare time rides a skateboard. She also took part in the Pensioners' Olympiad and received three gold medals.

Tony Brightwhite, sound engineer. I am sure that the key to longevity is hanging upside down.

Terry Hershey, a nuclear engineer, has been building pyramids on Venice Beach every Saturday for 10 years, after once visiting an exhibition about Tutankhamun.

Natasha Hankle and John Hayden: she is a former Playboy model, he is an actor. They've been dating since school. He does not intend to give up acting, and she decided to retrain as a computer set operator.

A Mexican family in a public shower.

In 1977, the first roller store opened in Venice Beach. Then polyurethane wheels appeared, and the legendary beach became the capital of American roller skates.