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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: Lift Studios on August 21, 2008, 06:33:58 PM
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It's lengthy but worth a read. Larry Pepe wrote this after the 2005 Olympia and as you can see it is very well thought out and researched.
Bodybuilding…Is It Time for a Change?
By Larry Pepe - 2005
I love bodybuilding. From the first time I read a muscle magazine because it happened to be sitting next to the martial arts periodicals (my first love), to the first time I went to a “real” gym back in New York and learned how to train, to competing, becoming an NPC National Judge and, ultimately, writing for Musclemag and authoring “The Precontest Bible”, I have a passion for this sport that I’m sure many of you share.
But, to be honest, I’m a bit concerned.
I’ve watched the many recent developments in our sport…from the sale of the Weider publishing empire, to the proliferation of synthol and abdominal distension that led to a re-emphasis of judging standards that have been in effect for years, to all the negative speak I hear about the sport dying and having a low level of marketability.
For the sport to prosper, it all comes down to one thing. What can we do to elevate the sport to a higher level and grow our fan base? This would allow the athletes, sanctioning bodies and promoters to, deservedly, make more money, publishers can sell more magazines and supplement companies can increase their revenue. And, perhaps most importantly, bodybuilders can serve as a source of inspiration and motivation to the millions out there that want six-pack abs, tighter glutes or just a healthier, more appealing body, which will draw more fans to that athlete’s fan base as well as the sport as a whole.
Part of the problem is that we’ve searched for the answer by engaging in an ongoing dialogue about judging standards…aesthetics vs. mass, the old “apples vs. oranges” debate. The reason I say it’s a problem is because it is a lose-lose proposition. If the more aesthetic physique wins over a conditioned mass monster, we risk losing the hardcore fan at the heart of our base. But, when the mass monster wins, the opportunity to appeal to “the mainstream” goes out the window.
Can bodybuilding ever be a mainstream sport? No. At the end of the day, it will always be a small subculture, not the masses, that want to be, well, massive! Let’s say that 3% of the sports-following general public has any interest in bodybuilding. That number will never be 20 or 30%. But, we don’t have to be mainstream to achieve a much greater level of interest and financial success.
What we do need to do, however, is become more appealing to a broader audience so that they are more likely to find role models within the sport to motivate them and bring more money into our arena for all to benefit and grow from. But here’s the tricky part…we must do it without losing any of the loyal fan base that have supported the sport since its inception. You know who you are. The people that look at the incredible musculature of 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman or the ridiculous legs of Branch Warren and get psyched for their next workout. If we can bump that 3% interest rate to 6%, we will have doubled the fan base and the money coming into the sport.
Can we do it? Yes, but it’s going to take a change, one major change, at one event, the Mr. Olympia...for starters.
It’s time for weight classes at the O.
No, not the same weight classes we have at the amateur level, but a unique set of pro weight classes. And before you tell me that it can’t be done or it will cost too much, will change the results of the Olympia or create too many “Mr. Olympias”, let me answer those objections quickly. Wrong, wrong, wrong and, wrong again! As you will see if you bear with me for the next five minutes, all those issues have been analyzed and handled in what I believe is a positive way for all concerned. In fact, you’ll see EXACTLY how this system would have made more money for almost every athlete at the 2005 Olympia and would not have taken one thin dime out of the pocket of the promoters. You’ll also see where each athlete would have placed in each weight class and who would have competed against whom.
Every legitimate sport changes rules as it sees fit to make competition more fair and increase excitement and fan interest. Whether it’s hockey after the strike, instant replay in football or the NBA’s 24-second clock, it happens all the time. It’s bodybuilding’s turn to follow that lead.
Before we get to all that, let me take a quick minute to explain why I believe that pro weight classes would be a move in the right direction and, potentially, have a positive, dramatic impact on the sport.
Reason 1: Marketability
One of the reasons that we’ve struggled with the aesthetic vs. mass monster debate is that it is widely agreed that most men (and women) will find a well-built aesthetic physique more appealing (and motivating) than a massive one. If Ahmad Haidar and Ronnie Coleman walk down a beach (OK, maybe not Muscle Beach, but every other beach in the world!), I will guarantee you that at least 80% of the onlookers on their blankets will find Ahmad’s physique more pleasing. (Hell, it’s probably 99%, but who wants to upset Ronnie!) However, Ahmad has never finished in the top ten at the Olympia and Ronnie is the best bodybuilder…ever.
Here’s the problem. It is human nature that we want to emulate champions. It is ingrained in our psyche from a very young age that we want to follow the example of the champ, not the guy who is 13th. Before you think I’m knocking Ahmad or anyone else who doesn’t finish in the top five at the Olympia, nothing could be further from the truth. But the inherent conflict we have with the marketability of our sport is that many of our top athletes have built the body type that is LEAST appealing to the general public. As a result, we don’t give many potential new (and current) fans “champions” to emulate, which goes against that basic human psyche to “back the winners.”
Until now, the IFBB has had the unenviable job of trying to change standards and engage in the debate of mass vs. aesthetics with every passing prejudging. By having a few weight classes, not 17 weight classes like boxing, (no, that’s not a joke…17) there will be “pro world champions” of several different sizes and shapes to appeal to and motivate a larger cross-section of fans.
Reason 2: Legitimizing Bodybuilding
Speaking of boxing (how’s that for a segue?), how legitimate or even believable would it be to think that a guy who weighs 287 pounds would get in the ring with someone 70, 80, or even 100 pounds lighter and duke it out? You already know the answer. I know what you’re thinking…”Of course they have weight classes…they hit each other.“ True, but that’s NOT the only reason they have weight classes. Whether it is boxing, mixed martial arts or wrestling (not the sports entertainment kind, but the Olympic variety), most individual sports have weight classes to make competition more evenly matched and AND TO HAVE MORE CHAMPIONS TO MARKET AND CELEBRATE! Do you really think that boxing needed to continually add more and more weight classes until there is very little division from class to class? Of course not. But more champs = more fans and more, drumroll please…MONEY! In fact, if you remember when the UFC first staged its events, there were no weight classes. And it almost died. Now, with weight classes and the marketing brilliance of its owners it may already be more popular than another sport with weight classes…boxing.
Reason 3: Give the Pros a Break
When I wrote The Precontest Bible, I asked every one of the 32 athletes featured in the book which contest they felt they had actually achieved their best condition. When USA champion and new pro phenom Phil Heath read the book, his first comment to me was that he was amazed at how many pros identified their pro qualifying win as an amateur as their best condition, not any of the pro shows they’d done! The reality is that once most guys turn pro, especially if they are not already 220 pounds or more in contest shape, they feel that they have to get a lot bigger to compete at the pro level because there are no weight classes. They know that they will have to stand next to guys who could weigh as much as 300 pounds and they often get bigger at the expense of the overall quality of their physique and conditioning. Let’s not even address the health issues associated with this drive for size or the message that it sends to that athlete’s fans as to what it takes to be a pro. Funny thing is that few of them actually end up looking better, by their own admission.
Reason 4: It Won’t Cost the Promoters a Dime
I know that economics of bodybuilding shows make the idea of weight classes much more challenging at most pro shows, for now, but there is plenty of money to go around at the Olympia (and the Arnold). First, the Challenge Round is seen by fans and athletes alike as a colossal failure and waste of time. I applaud trying new things to bring excitement to the sport, (like weight classes, hint, hint!), but the Challenge Round has to go. Good news is that there is $50,000 in awards for this round, so we have that to play with. But I could use $60,000 to make my idea work. Where could I get that other $10,000? The Wildcard! Is it fair that the winner of the Wildcard, who beats a group of non-qualified athletes, gets the same payday that the winner of the Ironman and San Francisco pro show gets? No! Qualifying in the eleventh hour and getting the chance to compete at the Olympia should be enough. Now that I’ve got my sixty grand, you’ll see when we break down the classes how it will be awarded.*
Reason 5: More Exciting for the Fans!
When you read on and can envision how the show would play out, you’ll see why.
The Classes
This was the tough part. I went back over the last two years and compiled a list of most, if not all, Olympia qualified athletes. I came up with a total of 27 athletes. Fortunately, when I wrote my book, one of the questions I asked every athlete was their competition weight. I also kept records of the weigh-in done earlier this year at the Pro Ironman. (Since those weigh-ins were done in gym clothes and sneakers, I deducted three pounds from every athlete to be more accurate.) Fortunately, most of the athletes were in my book, and I called the remainder of the athletes to get their competitive weight.
Once I had all the data, I experimented with different classes until I found cutoffs that would allow for balanced classes and not create a situation where one class would have four guys and another would have fifteen. When it was all said and done, here’s how it turned out…
• Light Heavyweight Under 220 pounds
• Heavyweight 221-250 pounds
• Super Heavyweight Over 250 pounds
Based on those classes, here are the competitors for each class. This is where it gets interesting!
Light Heavyweight Under 220 pounds 10 Competitors
• Lee Priest
• Troy Alves
• Ahmad Haidar
• Johnnie Jackson
• Kris Dim
• Craig Richardson
• Ronnie Rockel
• Richard Jones
• George Farah
• David Henry
Heavyweight 221-250 pounds 8 Competitors
• Dexter Jackson
• Gustavo Badell
• Victor Martinez
• Darrem Charles
• Melvin Anthony
• Branch Warren
• Mike Sheridan
• Pavol Jablonicky
Super Heavyweight Over 250 pounds 9 Competitors
• Ronnie Coleman
• Jay Cutler
• Chris Cormier
• Dennis James
• Gunther Schlierkamp
• Mustafa Mohammad
• Markus Ruhl
• Quincy Taylor
• Alexander Federov
The Money
Remember I told you earlier that I needed $60K to make this happen, and we found it in the Wildcard and Challenge Round money. Here’s what we do with it. Each class will function as a contest within a contest and a total of $20,000 in prize money will be awarded IN EACH CLASS as follows:
1st Place $10,000
2nd Place $ 4,000
3rd Place $ 3,000
4th Place $ 2,000
5th Place $ 1,000*
Here’s how the classes would have turned out at the 2005 Olympia if this system were in place:
Light Heavyweight Pro World Champion
1. Johnnie Jackson $ 10,000
2. George Farah 4,000
3. David Henry 3,000
4. Kris Dim 2,000
5. Craig Richardson and Ronnie Rockel 1,000 (500 each-tie)
Heavyweight Pro World Champion
1. Gustavo Badell $ 10,000
2. Victor Martinez 4,000
3. Melvin Anthony 3,000
4. Branch Warren 2,000
5. Darrem Charles 1,000
Super Heavyweight Pro World Champion
1. Ronnie Coleman $ 10,000
2. Jay Cutler 4,000
3. Gunther Schlierkamp 3,000
4. Dennis James 2,000
5. Mustafa Mohammad 1,000
One of the common complaints at the Olympia is that fans don’t get to see, for example, Darrem and Melvin compared. With these classes, there will be more comparisons between “like” physiques before getting to the overall comparisons. Apples vs. apples before we get to apples vs. oranges.
Notice that the winner of each class holds the title of “Pro World Champion”, not “Mr. Olympia”, of their weight class. Maybe I’m old school, but I think there should be one Mr. Olympia each year to preserve the meaning and importance of the premiere title in bodybuilding. But ask yourself this. Is Johnnie Jackson more marketable as the “Light Heavyweight Pro World Champion” or as the eleventh place finisher at the Olympia?
What About the Top Fifteen Overall?
I know what you’re thinking. “This will never work. Under your stupid idea, Pepe, Johnnie Jackson ends up in third overall, leapfrogging everyone except Gustavo and Jay Cutler falls to fourth, at best.” Chill out, partner, I’m getting to that part right now.
Here’s the structure of the show, through my eyes.
Press Conference and Weigh-Ins
Can you imagine the excitement of a real weigh-in and press conference, just like in boxing. It will increase the hype coming into the show, and we’ll all know exactly what these superstars weigh. A lot of guys lie to sound bigger because they think it will sway judges and make people think they are bigger than they are. Why? NO WEIGHT CLASSES! What this does is make them seem more unattainable to that fan out there who really believes that so and so weighs 235 when he really weighs 215 at that guy’s height. That could encourage others to take larger risks to achieve a weight that was a lie all along. It would also provide a certain level of drama to see how the athletes look a the weigh in and then see them onstage after they’ve finished carb loading, dropped water and put those final coats of Pro Tan on.
If for some reason, the powers that be decide that they don’t want the public to see the guys before the show, do the weigh in backstage with an IFBB representative, no press allowed, athletes only. Then the competitors for each class can be disclosed at the press conference. But, I think that doing the weigh-ins live at the Press Conference turns this into an exciting, can’t miss part of the show.
Prejudging Phase 1
Each light heavyweight competitor does his mandatories, just as they do now, so this will not add any time to the prejudging. Once they are done, they do quarter turns in groups of three to five. Again, this adds no time as it is done under the current system already. At that point, the judges do the comparisons as they see fit and determine the top five in the class. The process is then repeated for the heavyweight and super heavyweight classes.
Prejudging Phase 2
The top five in each class are brought onstage in one group of fifteen athletes to be judged. The judges have already seen all the competitors do the quarter turns and mandatories, so they can go straight to comparisons, just as they do now. This would also be a great opportunity to institute another change…stop judging a symmetry round and a muscularity round and just let the judges place each athlete one through fifteen. This is exactly how we have judged at the NPC amateur levels forever and it is a better, more efficient method that I believe, tends to more accuracy in the outcome. It’s also much easier on the judges themselves. Of course, the judges will have seen all the athletes in both quarter turns and mandatories, but they wouldn’t have to score those poses separately. In fact, IFBB Head Judge Jim Rockell stated on the internet radio program, Pro Bodybuilding Weekly, that he would prefer using the NPC judging structure at the pro level as well.
Finals
Have the athletes do their posing routines in class order, but with no break until all the athletes have posed. The announcer should let the audience know when the first athlete in the next class is going to pose so the audience can know who is competing against who for the title of Pro World Champion in that class. Then, I would bring the top fifteen on stage for the awards and stand in class order, again for the benefit of the fans. For example, the five lightheavies would be on the left side of the stage, the five heavies in the middle and the five supers on the right.
As each athlete is awarded their overall Mr. Olympia placing, their placing within their weight class would also be revealed. For example, when Johnnie Jackson was placed 11th this year, he would have also been announced as the “Light Heavyweight Pro World Champion,” the best bodybuilder in the world under 220 pounds! Once you award places fifteen through seven, they file off stage. At that point, the top six do comparisons, posedown and we find out their placings.
If you are asking yourself, “Why not award each weight class and then award the top ten overall for the Olympia?”, the answer is that it would kill the suspense and drama of the awarding of Mr. Olympia. For example, this year, if Ronnie was awarded the superheavies before the overall results of the Olympia, everyone would have already known that he beat Jay, making the Olympia results anti-climactic.
Show Me the Money!
If this weight class system were applied to the 2005 Olympia, here’s how it would have turned out:
Overall Placing Overall Placing Award Class Placing Award Total Prize Money
1st Ronnie Coleman $ 150,000 10,000 160,000
2nd Jay Cutler $ 85,000 4,000 89,000
3rd Gustavo Badell $ 55,000 10,000 65,000
4th Gunther Schlierkamp $ 45,000 3,000 48,000
5th Victor Martinez $ 35,000 4,000 39,000
6th Dennis James $ 27,000 2,000 29,000
7th Melvin Anthony $ 16,000 3,000 19,000
8th Branch Warren $ 15,000 2,000 17,000
9th Darrem Charles $ 14,000 1,000 15,000
10th Mustafa Mohammad $ 12,000 1,000 13,000
11th Johnnie Jackson $ 2,000 10,000 12,000
12th George Farah $ 2,000 4,000 6,000
13th Chris Cormier $ 2,000 0 2,000
14th David Henry $ 2,000 3,000 5,000
15th Markus Ruhl $ 2,000 0 2,000
16th Kris Dim $ 2,000 2,000 4,000
17th Craig Richardson $ 2,000 500 2,500
18th Ronnie Rockel $ 2,000 500 2,500
19th Quincy Taylor $ 2,000 0 2,000
20th Alexander Federov $ 2,000 0 2,000
21st Mike Sheridan $ 2,000 0 2,000
Sixteen competitors would have made more money and four would have made the same amount of money. That means that 95% of the Mr. Olympia competitors this year would have walked away with the same or more money. The only exception would have been Gustavo Badell because of the Challenge Round, which I believe will be eliminated whether weight classes are instituted or not.
But, let’s not forget one important thing. In addition to the athletes making more money at the Olympia based on the above, many of the athletes will have a much greater marketability because of their placements in the “Pro World Champion” classes. Gustavo Badell becomes the 2005 Pro Heavyweight World Champ, setting up a heavyweight battle next year with Dexter Jackson for the world championship. And, as mentioned, Johnnie Jackson becomes the 2005 Pro Light Heavyweight World Champ, instead of 11th at the O. Will he be able to fend off Troy Alves, Lee Priest and Ahmad Haidar next year and keep that title? What about up and comers like David Henry, Mark Dugdale and Phil Heath? What might they do in this class if they qualify this year?
Adds some drama to the event, wouldn’t you say? And drama equates to increased interest, excitement and more potential ticket sales, PPV sales and magazine sales. And that adds up to one thing, MORE MONEY COMING INTO BODYBUILDING!
Conclusion
Do I believe that bodybuilding is dying? No, but it doesn’t seem to be growing either. I think that there have been attempts to make it more exciting, like the Wildcard which seems to be well-received, and the Challenge Round, which seems to be universally despised by athletes and fans alike. But trading a few individual poses onstage or getting one additional athlete into the Olympia hours before prejudging isn’t going to cause growth…new fans with new dollars. As I’ve said, I sincerely believe that weight classes will further legitimize the sport, give fans more champions to identify with, give the athletes an additional playing field to compete on while maintaining the existing structure as well and, potentially, breathe some new energy into the sport along with new fans and new money.
Let me be crystal clear about something…I didn’t write this to point fingers at anyone or to lay blame on anyone’s doorstep. The reality is that people like the Weiders, Jim Manion and the rest of the NPC and IFBB hierarchy have done an incredible job of getting bodybuilding to a recognizable level and creating income and exposure opportunities for many athletes, magazines, supplement companies and everyone associated with them. And I know, personally, that they share the same passion for the sport and its future that I, and many of you, do as well.
To be honest, I’m tired of hearing about everything that’s wrong with bodybuilding from people who offer no solutions or alternatives. I researched and wrote this piece because I believe that it can make a good thing better.
But I’m only one person. What do you think?
Do I think it will make bodybuilding a household topic? No, but it sure can’t hurt.
* (At the smaller shows, weight classes could be instituted with smaller cash awards for the weight class placements. For example, the promoter could pay the first three places as follows…$1500 for first, $1000 for second and $500 for third. That would only add a total of $9000 to the entire event. You can also give the winner of each class an automatic Olympia qualification to increase what is at stake. If weight classes are well-received, that money should be made back with added fan attendance and athlete participation. If the additional money were really an issue, keeping in mind that a two page in most of our magazines could cost more than $9000, then simply put the Olympia qualification up for grabs to encourage the lighter athletes to compete.)
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ill save that read if i ever end up on a deserted island
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Is that "War And Peace" ?!?!??!?!?
jesus!!!!