“In light of recent circumstances, I feel it is my responsibility to clear the air and explain one of the many reasons why both Dave Palumbo and John Romano were terminated.

Dave was hired two years ago to be Editor-in-Chief of the Muscular Development website. During the first year, he was instrumental in helping to grow it. During this past year, Dave’s interests were focused increasingly on his side businesses of training athletes and launching his supplement line. John was hired by Dave as a paid employee to endorse and promote this supplement line.

Because of this, John’s position as Senior Editor was compromised. Together they were using MD and the website as a vehicle to further their own interests, and as a result, less time was being spent on increasing the website’s potential and taking it to the next level. During their employment, Dave and John’s contributions were very much appreciated, and they were well compensated.

Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor are full-time positions and we require those who hold these titles to be willing to give their total focus. This was not the case. Dave and John have not worked onsite in the MD offices for over one year, which made working as a team extremely difficult. No one person is bigger than the team as a whole, and anyone who thinks Dave or John built MD is sadly mistaken. We have always had the best team of writers, athletes and employees and will continue on that path. When one door closes, another one opens and usually for the better.

I love bodybuilding and have always given MD 100 percent and have only had the best interest of the readers at heart. I ask anyone to dispute the fact that I have always been extremely loyal and generous to anyone who has worked for MD.

We are very excited about having Robbie Durand as the new Editor-in-Chief. He brings passion and incredible scientific knowledge to the site and will do whatever is necessary to meet the same high standards of excellence as Muscular Development magazine. Robbie wants very much to work with everyone in making this a team success. I hope you will welcome him aboard.

In closing, I want to reassure each of you that we will never compromise our mission and will always look to enlighten and inspire as well as search for new ways to continue to make MD the best bodybuilding magazine and website on the planet!”

Team BSN has further expanded its already talent-laden roster with the addition of yet another sporting legend – this time from the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), one Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. Much the same way 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman is a legend in bodybuilding circles, Nogueira is legend in the MMA brotherhood. Not only is he the current UFC® Interim Heavyweight Champion and the star of the hit reality series The Ultimate Fighter™: Season 8, Nogueira also holds the distinction of being the first Heavyweight Champion of the former Japanese fighting organization PRIDE®, and is the only man in the history of MMA to hold both UFC® and PRIDE® Heavyweight Championship titles.

Standing a towering 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing in the neighborhood of 240 pounds, the Brazilian born superstar is a black belt in Judo as well as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and also possesses some serious striking and submission ability. Nogueira is poised and ready to showcase these world-class skills at UFC® 92: THE ULTIMATE 2008 (December 27th, 2008), where he will face-off against former UFC® heavyweight champ Frank Mir. Currently, both men are opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter™: Season 8, which airs every Wednesday at 10 pm EST on SPIKE TV. It’s widely thought in MMA circles that the winner of the Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar fight taking place at UFC® 91: COUTURE VS. LESNAR on November 15th will face off against the winner of the Nogueira vs. Mir fight sometime in 2009 to unify the UFC® Heavyweight Championship title.

Supplement industry guru Mel Rich passed away on Octover 18, 2008, after a long battle with cancer. He was 64 years old. Mel was born on November 29, 1944 in New York. Mel was married to Ronnie, and has two daughters, Hallie and Barrie.

Mel always believed that science should be at the root of all dietary supplement formulations and he always valued efficacy over marketability. As a child, Mel used to do work for his father, Sidney Rich, founder of Phoenix Laboratories Inc., stuffing cotton in bottles. After graduation, Mel began working the family business, but was drawn to the dietary supplement side of manufacturing and soon became the industry’s “go-to” person for any company who wanted to develop unique and credible products. Mel began to formulate and manufacture products for Great Earth Vitamin Stores. In1988, Mel and the Rich family purchased the Great Earth franchising company, and Mel became president of Great Earth. In the 1996, Mel created Bodyonics Ltd., and its brand, Pinnacle®. Mel developed many “firsts” for the dietary supplement industry, including a mega-potency multiple vitamin, a patented time-released process for use in dietary supplements and an antioxidant formula.

“Mel Rich always believed in the vision of individuality,” said Bernie Bubman, pharmacist and co-founder of Great Earth Vitamin Stores. “That is what Great Earth was based on. Belief that the unusual or the different matters and can be done if one has the will. And he worked harder than anyone to prove it.”

“Mel Rich was one of the pioneers of new supplements, new ways to increase the bioavailability of nutrients,” said Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., author of “The Vitamin Bible” and co-founder of Great Earth Vitamin Stores.

“He was always looking and researching to better the industry with quality products. His enthusiasm to share what he discovered with me is something I will never forget. I will miss him and so will the whole industry.”

Mel Rich was born on Nov. 29, 1944 in New York. He graduated from Columbia University, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1968 with a degree in pharmacy.

Thanks to Natural Insider for providing the info.

 An interesting article that ran today…

World’s Largest Physical Culture Collection Gets $1 Million and 25 New Artifacts
AUSTIN, Texas — The world’s largest physical culture collection, located in the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at The University of Texas at Austin, has received a $1 million gift from physical fitness icons Joe and Betty Weider, along with their pledge to donate around 25 unique paintings and sculptures from their personal collection.

This is the second $1 million gift the Weiders have given to The University of Texas at Austin. To acknowledge the Weiders’ generosity and honor their lifetime of achievements in the field of physical culture, the Stark Center announced that its galleries related to the history of  “Physical culture” is a broad term that originated in the 19th century and that refers to many ways of promoting strength, health and vigor. The attainment of health and strength could be through purposive exercise regimens like running, resistance training, cycling, swimming, athletics, field sports and walking, as well as through proper eating habits, recreation and rest. Reflecting the breadth of the term, the Stark Center collections include books, magazines, photographs, correspondence and artifacts related to physical fitness, sports, nutrition and alternative medicine.

The Weiders’ involvement with The University of Texas at Austin began in 2004 when the Weider Foundation pledged $1 million to create the Joe Weider Physical Culture Endowment Fund. Interest from that fund has supported work related to the Todd-McLean Physical Culture Collection, a donation to the university from Drs. Jan and Terry Todd, longtime faculty members in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and record-setting competitive lifters.

At the time of their first $1 million gift, the Weiders indicated that another $1 million would be forthcoming when the university provided a large space to serve as permanent home for the Todd-McLean Collection. In 2006, the Todds secured a $3.5 million gift from the Nelda C.and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, and that gift triggered The University of Texas at Austin’s decision to allocate 27,500 square feet of space at the north end of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the collection. The collection was named in honor of Lutcher Stark, who served on the University of Texas System Board of Regents for 25 years.

Fulfilling their promise, the Weiders presented their second $1 million gift and pledged paintings, sculptures, books, photographs and other rare artifacts from their private collection.

– Read the Full Story Here.