March 2009 - August 2009

2009 Arnold Classic

          For the second year in a row, I was working the Optimum Nutrition/ABB booth at the Arnold Classic Expo in Columbus, Ohio. This annual event took place from Friday, March 6th to Sunday, March 8th, 2009.

          The Arnold Classic gets bigger and bigger each year and this year’s extravaganza featured over 700 booths at the gigantic Expo. You really need all three days just to see everything. In addition to all the vendors, the stage at the back of the Expo Hall has events going on all weekend including the judging for the Professional Figure, Fitness and Women’s Bodybuilding, Bench Press Contests and the Arnold Strongman Competition.

With the Optimum/ABB crew at the booth	Claudia and I celebrating my birthday at the Arnold Classic weekend.	At the Optimum Nutrition/ABB booth with Jen and Danielle.

          I was celebrating my birthday a couple of days early (my actual birthday is March 10th). Claudia came to Columbus this weekend and it was fun showing her around this huge event. I took her to the Arnold Classic Finals on Saturday night followed by the Party with the Pros After Party. She was extremely happy at this last event because she was able to actually shake Governor Schwarzenegger’s hand when he came onstage. All in all, it was another great weekend at the Arnold Classic! To check out all the photos from the 2009 Arnold Classic, click here.

National Fitness Hall of Fame

          One week after the Arnold Classic, I was proud to be inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place on Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at the Glendale Lakes Golf Club in Glendale Heights, Illinois. Some of my fellow Fitness Hall of Fame inductees that evening included Arnold Schwarzenegger’s partner Jim Lorimer, Jan Todd, Dr. Philip Claussen and his wife Nancy Claussen, Paul Bernstein, Bob Richards, Joe Bonomo, Dr. Nicholas DiBubile and the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to 90 year old Bob Delmonteque.

With my family at the National Fitness Hall of Fame ceremony	With fellow inductee Jim Lorimar	With Don and John Figarelli, founders of the National Fitness Hall of Fame

          It was an honor to be inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. Past inductees have included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Weider, Jack LaLanne, Tony Little, Richard Simmons, Ben Weider, Robert Kennedy, Lou Ferrigno, Cory Everson and Bob Gajda. I was presented the award by fellow inductee Tamilee Webb. For the full article on the National Fitness Hall of Fame, click here.

2009 ABA Natural Illinois Championships

          For the second year in a row, I promoted the ABA Natural Illinois Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships in Bolingbrook, Illinois. This year’s event took place on Saturday, April 25th at Brooks Middle School. We had a great turnout with 50 competitors entering the show this year and a Standing Room Only crowd at the Evening Show.

          Brent Swanson won the very competitive Men’s Open contest over Short Class winner Pierce Walker from Michigan. In the Novice Men’s division, Eric Forest from Indiana won the overall. Brittany Ramsey created a sensation by winning her first contest in the Open Figure division. Jennifer Abrams easily won the Women’s Open and Jeff Gruskovak won the overall Masters Men class.

          Last year’s Natural North America winner, Thomas Anderson, was the guest poser. When Thomas came out dressed as the Incredible Hulk, the audience was blown away by the size and shape of this young bodybuilder.

John and Bob Gajda present Jeff Gruskovak with the Overall Masters Sword.	Thomas Anderson was Guest Posing as the Incredible Hulk	John with Jennifer Abrams, the Overall Women's winner	John will all the winners of the 2009 ABA Natural Illinois

          I made an appearance on NBC-Channel 5 News the day before the contest along with some of the competitors from the show. I also featured the winners of the contest on my radio show, www.naturalbodybuildingradio.com. To check out the video clip from our appearance on the Morning News, click here.

To read the full photo report of the contest, click here.

2009 NPC Illinois State Bodybuilding Championships

          NPC Illinois District Chairman Chuck Sanow promoted another big event with the 2009 NPC Illinois State Bodybuilding Championships on Saturday, May , 2009 at the Gateway Theater in Chicago. The guest poser for the event was new pro Mike Libatore, also from the Chicago area.

Mel Chancey wins the Super Heavyweight and Overall at the NPC Illinois State	At the Optimum Nutrition booth with Tony Litton and Jenifer DiGiovanni (in the front) and Sean Royer, Danny Stevens and Beth Peshia in the back.	Congratulating Mel on his Overall win.

          I was glad to see my friend and old training partner, Mel Chancey, win the Super Heavyweight and Overall title in the Men’s Open division. Mel weighed over 240 pounds and he dwarfed the competition in the Overall comparisons.

          I worked the Optimum Nutrition booth at the NPC Illinois along with my fellow Optimum athletes Jenifer DiGiovanni, Beth Peshia, Sean Royer, Daniel Stevens and Tony Litton. It was a fun and exciting evening!

2009 NPC Jr. Nationals

          The 2009 NPC Jr. Nationals took place at the O’Hare Hyatt Regency in Rosemont, Illinois on Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th, 2009. This national level show is always one of the biggest events on the NPC calendar and this year was no exception. With a total of 344 competitors, the championships were a huge success! Congratulations to promoter Pam Betz and her crew for putting together such a tremendous show.

          This year, the NPC added the Bikini division to a line-up that already included Men’s Bodybuilding, Women’s Bodybuilding, Figure, and Fitness. The NPC Jr. Nationals is a pro-qualifier for Fitness, Figure, and the new Bikini division. Four IFBB Pro Cards were handed out for both Figure and Bikini, and three IFBB Pro Cards were awarded for Fitness. The Men and Women’s Bodybuilding titles were not pro qualifiers, but they are an important stepping-stone for bodybuilders with professional aspirations. 

With Jenifer DiGiovanni at the Optimum Nutrition booth.	With Kimberly and Gina at the Jr. Nationals

          I was at the Optimum Nutrition booth all weekend and I was able to conduct several interviews with some of the competitors. The highlight of the show for me was seeing Sergio Oliva Jr. compete in the Men’s Heavyweight class. I grew up seeing his father, the great Sergio Oliva, attend many of the local bodybuilding competitions in the area so it was really surreal to see his son onstage hitting many of the poses that Sergio made famous during his legendary competitive career.

          Here is a link to the article I wrote for Optimum Nutrition and American Bodybuilding that features all of the interviews with some of the competitors from the 2009 NPC Jr. Nationals in Chicago.

2009 ABA Natural North America

          On August 1st, I promoted the Natural North America Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships for the third year in a row. We moved the contest from Romeoville, Illinois to Bolingbrook, Illinois this year. Bolingbrook High School, the location of the contest this year, is a brand new high school with a state of the art auditorium. It was a beautiful venue!

          We had less competitors this year but the competition was top-notch and the audience had a great time. Thomas Anderson came back to win the title for the second time in two years but he had a battle on his hands this year in the form of Ron DeBry. Ron won the Over 50 Masters category (Ron is 52 years old) last year but looked much improved this year and he really gave Thomas a battle for first place. In the end, Thomas edged out Ron by a 4-3 vote.

          Brittany Ramsey came back to win the Figure Open after her great debut at the Natural Illinois in April. Stacy Kvernmo also returned from her victory at the Natural Illinois to once again take first place in the Fitness division. Jessica Olson from Texas won the Women’s Bodybuilding Overall crown and Heather Frystak won the Bikini Diva.

Posing with some of the Legends of Bodybuilding - Bill Seno, Bob Gajda and Sergio Oliva.	Me and Dave posing with guest poser Jennifer Abrams.	Presenting Thomas Anderson with the Overall Men's Open Victory Sword.	With some of my judges - Kimberly, Dan and Dave.

          Jennifer Abrams, the very impressive winner of the Women’s Open division at the Natural Illinois, was our guest poser at the Natural North America. Jennifer was carried out onstage (by yours truly and Natural Bodybuilder and Judge Dave Vignasse) for her routine as “Cleopatra”.

          The highlight of the evening was when some of the Legends of Chicago Bodybuilding made an appearance onstage. Bob Gajda, 1966 AAU Mr. America, Bill Seno, 1964 Most Muscular Man and Sergio Oliva, 3 Time Mr. Olympia, all made a special trip to this event to be honored by an appreciative audience.

          For a complete Photo Report of the contest, click here.

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