Arthur Jones, inventor of Nautilus exercise machines, passes away

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Obituary here.

Arthur Jones, the swashbuckling inventor of Nautilus exercise equipment, which revolutionized strength training by replacing the dead weight of barbells with a variable resistance technique, died Tuesday at his home in Ocala, Fla. No cause of death was reported. He was 80.

By all accounts, Jones was a right bastard, but the modern fitness industry would be very different if it weren’t for him.