A Belfast native who earned the title of “Mr Northern Ireland” in bodybuilding became a passionate advocate for the sport in Bermuda.

William “Bill” Cook told The Royal Gazette in 2001 that “bodybuilding has been the mainstay of my life — and I have used it to influence young men and some young women to develop pride and self-respect, particularly those not born into wealth or privilege”.

Mr Cook was shaped by his upbringing in a working-class neighbourhood of Belfast in Northern Ireland, which included experiencing the Second World War, in which his father was a soldier.

Sport provided an outlet, and he was coached in bodybuilding by Robert “Buster” McShane, credited with pioneering weightlifting in Belfast.

“There weren’t many people interested in bodybuilding and fitness in those days,” he recalled in a 2019 interview.

“It was a sort of Cinderella sport — people looked at you as an oddity.”

Mr Cook excelled: his awards included Mr Northern Ireland.

He was runner-up in the 1959 Mr Britain competition and was selected to represent Ireland in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome as a weightlifter — but by then had moved to Bermuda.

He won his weight class at the Montreal Mr Universe and competed in the 1962 Commonwealth Games as a middleweight power lifter, but gave up competitive bodybuilding in 1964.

Mr Cook came to Bermuda in the 1950s and was hired to bring physical education to the prison, where he advanced weightlifting as a means of self-development as well as fitness.

Not everyone supported the idea. Mr Cook recalled: “People were horrified at the time, particularly police — but they became model prisoners; it was therapeutic.”

Mr Cook debated returning to Northern Ireland, but adopted Bermuda as his home.

He became a respected member of the local bodybuilding fraternity, and was an avid golfer, sailor, skier, squash and tennis player.

He founded a thriving business with the Bermuda Hotel Supply Company.

Mr Cook was a spirited observer of local news as a letter writer to the Gazette, and a frequent caller to talk radio.

Describing himself as “a non-religious humanist”, he often commented on news from the Middle East, particularly concerning Israel and Palestinian affairs.

Writing in support of the Bermuda Regiment in 2004, he said: “Life is hard, competitive and the struggle for survival is constant. There is no provision made for the ‘softie’. Everyone is subjected to the rigours of nature equally. Life was never meant to be easy. Life was meant to be life.

“I had the experience of working in a training school for troubled youth and can attest to the measure of success due to the routine and discipline instilled there even under less perfect conditions. Today, the majority of graduates have become productive citizens in society.“

• William Patterson Cook, a prominent athlete in Bermuda, was born on October 20, 1933. He died on August 7, 2025, aged 91