Comments about the 2007 ABA Natural North America

“I just wanted to compliment you on a great show this past Saturday! I had so much fun and have decided I definitely want to love forward with fitness competitions. The staff was so friendly and helpful which made my first experience smooth and stress free.
Thank you again and looking forward to seeing you in future competitions!!! “

Suzy Grammis, 3rd place in the Fitness Division.

“Hi John, Thanks again, this is Robert BREEDING. I had a great time at your show and look forward to competing again. You seemed to have addressed all of my concerns in make it run a little smooth. I still think it was a great first showing. I am away on vacation but when I get back I would enjoy getting any helpful information from you regarding bodybuilding. Would like to stay in touch If possible. May GOD continue blessing you. “

Robert Breeding, 1st place in Grand Masters Division.

John, just wanted to let you know that I had a great time at the show this
weekend. My fiance and her family also enjoyed it. My future in-laws have never
seen a bodybuilding show before and they enjoyed their first experience and they said it changed their mind on what they always thought these shows were about. I hope next years will be just as good, with just as good if not better competition.

Richard Brecklin

Hey John,
Thanks for a great competition. I enjoyed meeting everyone and learned a great deal from the experience. Thanks also for your words of encouragement, that meant a lot coming from you.

Take Care,
Nancy Zirkel

John,
I thought the event was good. As you said, it was long, but for this to have been my first event, I was pleased and had a great time. Personally, I think that since all of the men & women backstage prepared in the gym with weights, cardio and diet, we could all relate to one another. I'm sure you've experienced that kind of camaraderie in your years of bodybuilding. I certainly walked away from the event with a great deal of respect for the sport and the concept of natural bodybuilding.

The only thing that I could see that would be good for next year is to have programs for the crowd and have the emcee explain the judging for each category and class. My wife actually suggested that to me. She only knew to look for me, but she was unsure about how athletes are judged.

Other than that, I can only say that you shouldn't worry about the length. Events have issues arise with personnel, building facilities, PA system malfunctions, etc. It still was a good show and I thank you for hosting it.
Take care and I'll see you soon.
Best Regards,
Louis Johnson

John,
Well, congratulations on making it through your first contest promotion. As you know, the "first" of everything is always the hardest, whether it be entering your first competition (as I did just two weeks ago) or promoting your first competition!

And yes, we each can pick up things to help us improve. But the key to it all is to enjoy the task at hand. I'm sure you didn't enjoy your day Saturday as much as I enjoyed mine since you played host at the party. But I had a blast!

Sure, this or that could have been done differently or more efficiently but you're already working on that by sending the email asking for feedback. Good for you.

Oh. And I have to tell you. My 16-year-old thinks this whole "bodybuilding show" thing is the coolest. And you know why, don't you? Of course - it's the sword! Thanks so very much for substituting it in place of a plaque. I'll let you know if it helps reduce the whining when it's chore time around the house.
Good luck to you in your future planning and I look forward to participating next year!
Susan Today

Hey John-
I thought you put on a great show and I really enjoyed myself! I hadn't competed in about 5 years and I realized there were a lot of things I could've done, & a lot of things I shouldn't have done (sodium loading and depleting). Never the less, I think, everyone enjoyed themselves.

I heard some comments about why there were no programs available to the guests. (i.e. keepsake of the show, or for scrap book items) Also, some of the competitors made mention that they preferred trophies over medals. What I also heard was a concession area with food and drink would have been nice. I know all the vending machines were sold out. With all the guests throughout the day it could have been a huge opportunity to make some extra cash- FYI....

Other than that, I know myself and all those I spoke to had a great, great time. This has actually fired me up to do another show coming up in October. Thanks of the opportunity and experience, it was great!

Wil McRay

John
I wanted to thank you for entrusting me with the opportunity to handle the drug screening for your contest this past weekend. If you get any feedback from the competitors regarding the polygraph testing I would appreciate you passing it on. This is one way I can continue to challenge myself and learn to improve with every contest. You had a great bunch of athletes and I enjoyed meeting and talking with them. I hope you also know how much I appreciated the hospitality you extended to me during the weekend. Your organization and professional approach to coordinating the drug testing was greatly appreciated and helped the polygraph testing run very smoothly.

I hope your contest was a success both for yourself and the ABA. From what I observed during the testing I suspect you had some good competition. Thank you again for allowing me to administer the drug screening. I know you have a lot of experience with bodybuilding but I can’t believe this was your first contest . . . you did a great job organizing the event and I could not have been treated nicer. You cannot imagine some of the situations I have found myself in over the years. Know that I consider it a privilege and honor to be trusted with the responsibility to handle the drug screening for both yourself and the ABA / INBA. I hope we can work together again in the future.

Again, thank you for a great weekend . . .

Dennis Smith

Hi John,
Thanks you for the great experience of my first show. It was awesome. I am looking forward to next year.
Crystal Juarez, 2nd place in Fitness Division

Hi John-
It was nice to finally meet you in person. Thanks for running a good...LONG show! My family and friends enjoyed the evening show and trust me they have been to quite a few so they know what they are talking about!!!

Nicole Moneer Guerrero, 1st Place Fitness Division.

John,
Again thank you so much for your help in 2005. Your knowledge, patience and ability to communicate what I needed to do , change and adjust throughout my training made it easier for me to come back after the 2 years of rehab from my shoulder injury. Your book was very helpful during this come back competition for me. I am pleased to have done so well especially in memory of my father who I dedicated the show to.
I am planning on competing again in Sept or October. I have to find a competition that works for me. Your show came at a perfect time for me. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the sport.
Hugs,
Paula McBride

Hi John,Thanks for putting on a great show
Angela Glenn

Hi John,Thank you very much. It was a great experience for me!
Karah Veselka

Hi John,
I learned a lot from the competition. I was truly a novice and believe I still am though much of the prep won't be as foreign to me next time. I look forward to when I am fully recovered from my injury and can really train deeply. Nonetheless, I feel doing this was a huge step forward in my recovery process and am looking forward to the next one.

Sally Stone

John,
Thank you again for the great show. I had a good time and I have learned a lot about my body for the experience. I look forward to seeing you sometime in September to continue the training sessions and gaining some much needed mass.

Erik Schlick
Kenosha, Wisconsin

John,
Yes I think you did a great job promoting the show... I've seen shows before where the promoter looked really stressed. I liked how you didn't looked stressed at all, and you just walked around making sure everything was moving smoothly and there to answer any questions for any of the competitors!! You seem like a really nice guy!! And I just wanted to thank you for giving the chance to let my Fiance, Vince Robbins, SHINE that night! It has been one of his biggest dreams, and he just loved being on that stage entertaining the crowd!! He has been on Cloud 9, since the show!! Once again thanks for giving him the opportunity!! God Bless!

Jefra Cobb
Joliet, IL

John,
I would like to congratulate you for your show///being yourself a first time promoter you did a fantastic job by keeping the athletes backstage always aware of when to get ready to get on stage with the 2 gentlemen's that where keeping us in line back stage//I applause their professionalism they kept the show running smoothly///as far as judging is concern it was done very fairly with no favoritism to any athletes////it gives a fair chance to anyone who is on target at prejudging to win is categories//on a personal base I would like to thank you for the meal at the after party///I laugh so much with Dennis which he should make a living as a standup comic///you guys were wonderful and I will never forget the great time I had with all of you//I made new friends which by the way you have my email and you are more than welcome to come down to Montréal yourself with Dennis and Joe//I will take care of you as I was taken care in Chicago//please come down and I will do my best to book a seminar with a gym. Again congrats for a great show...MARTIN CORMIER, Masters Overall Winner

Hi John, thanks for such a fun time at your show. I sent some pictures that Jeff took of the winners on stage over to Dave Middleton today. In case they wanted to do a lil recap of your event. Thanks for letting me help with the trophies as well. Like I told Dave it was a great show.
Kisses
Gina Lara, Trophy Presenter representing Bodybuilding.com

John,
I had a great time at the show. The event was filled with good competitors that came out to compete. I met some new people and almost everyone was very friendly. The evening show did start late and that caused us to get out a little late.

The best body part awards were pretty cool (even though I didn't get nominated for any of them) this allowed some people that maybe didn't win some glory.

Chris Salgado, 1st Place Tall Class, Men’s Open Division

Mr. Hansen,
I just wanted to thank you. My friend ,Dennis Bordwine and I had an awesome time at your show ! It really opened my eyes to the real world of natural bodybuilding, not the guys in the magazines promoting and claiming they only took supplements, when you know they’re juicing. It was the real deal! It was really nice to see what a real natural guy can do, it was the first show I’ve ever been to. It was awesome! It was a great feeling being around people like me, I had gotten sick about five years ago due to a stomach illness I lost 65 pounds of raw muscle its taking me 5 years to bounce back I'm pumping hard all natural I’m now 6'1" 210lbs 17 1/2 " arms and still going, and I'm looking forward to competing next year. Thank you for the great seats and hospitality! By the way can you hook me up with some of those figure models? Man they were hot just kidding (not really lol)... if you have anything else going on please let me know an if you need help I’ll be more than happy to help. Can you also tell me what issue the show will be in in Ironman Magazine? Thanks again!

Thomas Dougall Aka Tommy Gunn!!!

John,

Thank you again for putting together a great show. This was my first one, and it was really a great experience. I've been telling people about it all week.
Matt King

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