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Let's get this edition of "Titus Talks" started with the Pro Ironman that took place on February 21st in Pasadena, California. I didn't start my training for the 2004 season until December 10th (because of some minor cosmetic surgery) so I waited until the last minute before I notified John Balik that I wanted to compete in his event. I figured by the way I looked about three weeks from the show that I could possibly be ready, I was wrong. I still needed two more weeks of hard training and dieting to come in at 100% but sometimes you just don't see it until the last minute. Anyway, this outing was a really hard pill for me to swallow, to say the least. Whenever you get beat by athletes that never have even been compared to you, it's a feeling that's very hard to describe. It's a feeling that pisses you off and gives you more drive to absolutely destroy these bodybuilders the next time you get on stage against them and that day cannot come fast enough.
- In the May 2004 Muscular Development issue, Flex Wheeler states that Ahmad Haidar & Gustavo Badell are genetically superior to me? Are you kidding me? These guys beat me once in like 20 shows and now all of a sudden their genetically superior? Come on Flex, give me a little more credit then that, for god's sake, they didn't beat me, I beat myself! I'm not taking anything away from these two gentlemen, but the fact of the matter is I was off and they were on, the best they've ever been, even though Ahmad had forgotten to use oil in pre-judging but I guess that didn't matter.
Melvin Anthony is genetically superior to me. Flex Wheeler (in his days), Dexter Jackson, Ronnie Coleman and some others are, but the guys that placed ahead of me in the 2004 Ironman being genetically superior, not in this life time! Let's not forget I was two points behind Lee Priest in the first round with a score of seven when Ahmad had a 29 and Gastavo had 30+ points. I faded resulting in them moving ahead of me in the last round which certainly doesn't mean their genetically superior to me? Also, I've very proud to say that two judges actually had me in second place before the night show began. Every show is a learning experience and this was the first time I had worked with Chad Nicholls. We played it nice and safe this show (so to speak) because Chad was on the other side of the country and I didn't want to take any chances. I cannot complain whatsoever on my placing in fifth. The other bodybuilders were better athletes on that day and that's all there is to it. I've learned a few more things and believe me when I tell you I don't plan on ever taking any more step backwards again. I also want would like to point out that Chad did bring my waist line back to it's 1996 USA 31 inches for the show.
The Ironman was as follows;
- Dexter Jackson - won as soon as he took his shirt of back stage.
- Lee Priest - Second for sure, upper body far too massive for the rest of pack.
- Gustavo - Excellent conditioning and deserving of third.
- Ahmad - Looked like Ahmad always does. Nice abs, great lines.
- Titus - Film of sub Q water that washed out mid section causing me to move into fifth. Very hard pill to swallow won't happen again.
- Well, the day of revenge came two weeks later at the Arnold Classic! Chad Nicholls brought me in the best shape of my career and to be honest with you, I had me in front of Gunter for sure, no doubt! Ahmad and Gustavo were nowhere to be found - genetically superior, Flex? I don't think so brother man! I had the show as follows;
- Dexter Jackson
- Chris Cormier
- Jay Cutler
- Markus Ruhl
- Craig Titus
- Gunter Schlierkamp
That's my opinion and I have to stick to what I believe. Dexter was conditioned to perfection from head to toe & front to back with full muscle bellies. Chris Cormeir looked awesome but still had a thin film of water just beneath his skin that took away from the war between himself and Dexter. Jay Cutler; my buddy was way over dieted and looked like he lost a lot of his mass not to mention his legs were straight up and down and the decrease in his right arm size really made it hard for me to put him in the first place spot. If you look at the front page of my web site, craigtitus.com, you will see a picture of the pose down from the night show. Anytime that Craig Titus looks as massive as Jay Cutler on stage in any angle, something is seriously wrong with Cutlers prep for that day. But, Jay is one of my closests friends and Kelly and I are very happy for his continued success and wish him and his beautiful wife Kerry all the best! Even though I had him in third, Kelly and I were very happy he won. Markus Ruhl was ready to rumble and I thought this was one of his best showings to date, he was large and in charge. Now here is where I thought Gunter should have been put into sixth and myself moved into fifth. It's been really nice hearing from the fans who watched it on Pay-Per-View that they had me in fourth or fifth. The only thing I can say is that the score sheets say it all. I want to beat Gunter so bad I can taste it, and I'm telling you right now it's going to happen very soon - can we say GNC Pro Show?
- The Pinnacle - Muscular Development "Physique Columbus 2" After Party went off with an attendance breaking bang. There were 1687 people that attended the party which made it bigger and better than last year. Everyone was there with way too many celebrities to mention but I will say that Emperor Entertainment had almost 20 sponsors with prize money being handed to athletes that placed 7th-10th by Bulk Nutrition and Gerstner & Associates. I thought this was a great gesture and even though most of the athletes did not show up to collect their money, Gerstner is still going to mail them their checks. Next year, the party will be at the same place, 405 Neil Avenue at the Promowest Pavilion. Kelly and I wanted to take some of the proceeds and give out a fitness endorsement contract from our company. Unfortunately because I let way too many people in for free (474), the profit was little to none from this party. Just a word for all future party goers; If you're not an IFBB Pro or a Sponsor of the party, you have to pay the cover charge, PERIOD! If you don't have enough money in your pocket to pay $20 - $25 then I suggest you find a different job for God's sake. That's it, from now on don't call me up to the door trying to weasel in not paying the cover, it will not happen. You're only hurting an IFBB Athlete who could use an endorsement when you weasel your way into the party for free.
- First, let me start by getting this off my chest before I explain the whole "Down Under Experience".
Tony Doherty and his wife Amanda are absolutely 100% wonderful people that took great care of me while I was in Melbourne.
My time in Australia was not at all what I had expected. I was harassed for 4 hours when I got off the plane, placed out of the top five when the whole show was based on and promoted around the rivalry between King and I, and ended up costing me more than I made. In the future, I will definitely not compete in any Grand Prixs without my expenses being completely covered and a $3,500 fee for me to compete in the show. My ticket to Australia was covered by the promoter but the cost to get ready for the show far outweighs not making any prize money. This is not personal, it's just business and for me business wise, it just doesn't make any sense to put myself through that type of ordeal ever again. I don't see how guys can just keep competing in shows over and over again without making any prize money.
Myself, along with about 7 other pro's landed in the Australian airport at approx. 10:30 AM. But as you know, I have a record and that just scares the hell out of everyone. You see I checked yes in the box that asked if you have been convicted of any crimes while others simply checked no. This is what I get for being honest; I figured they would ask me a few questions, check my bags and let me bring a show to their country. Nope! I was held in a detention center for 4 hours like I was carrying a dead body in my suit case or something. It was absolutely ridiculous! I was told that I would have to catch the next flight back to the USA and would not be allowed to compete in their country. After 4 long stressful hours, some lady tells me that their supervisor has decided, since I'm a high profile athlete that I can indeed step on stage at the Melbourne Grand Prix. They acted like I should have been grateful not knowing they just screwed up my entire contest prep setting me back 6 hours, raising my cortisol to muscle eating levels and just plain ruining my trip!
Finally I took a taxi to "Doherty's Gym" where everyone was carbing up and having a great time. I got my food from Tony's brother (thank you very much) and went to my hotel room in an attempt to catch up with my loading process. Well, by Saturday morning I was the best I could be with the exceptions of the all the distractions and actually I was pretty friggin happy to be honest with you. I was very round, separated and my waist line was nice and tight. Of course I wasn't in the condition I was in at the Arnold Classic but definitely good enough to place in the top five in this show for God sake. Anyway, the call outs were as expected with Chris, Dexter and Marcus being the center of attention. But, Kamali was on and that's a fact. King should have battling with Marcus for third and that's it, no question! Is that what happened? No.
We are overseas, where they see things differently, and Horvath got thrown into the mix. As pre-judging went on, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what they were doing with the call outs. I didn't know if I was in third or seventh, but what I do know is that King and I had no business being in 5th and 6th, it was silly and insulting to say the least. This was the best pre-judging on the history of the sport. That's not just myself talking that was all the pros that were standing on stage in Australia, mainly Dexter and Cormier. The last call out if I remember correctly was Titus, Ruhl, Horvath and Kamali. They had me and King on opposite sides of the line up, which I found very weird to say the least. So, I decided to move myself next to King during the Ab & Quad Pose to get the crowd going, they went nuts!! I honestly thought the roof was going to cave in from the fans response, it was awesome!! They put us back in line with the end of pre-judging drawing near when I heard Titus and Kamali again on the loud speaker.
We took front and center and the crowd went crazy yelling and screaming as we posed our asses off. King hit a back lat spread and yelled "lights out", then, I would hit another pose and yell something else. We both ended up hitting a most muscular from the fans' boisterous response while walking back into line. Needless to say it was one of the better moments in my career. King and I have been known not to get along in the past but I will admit that he earned my respect and I will say the guy was on in Australia. I honestly thought it was going to be close between him and Ruhl for 3rd, you have to give props when there due. Along with King hitting it right on money as far as his conditioning, his posing routine was one of the best I have ever seen in the sport. Not only was it vastly entertaining, King hit many poses during the routine shutting the mouths of a lot of critics who may of thought he never hit enough poses including myself. All in all, the show and the fans were awesome in Australia so I want to give a special thanks to Tony Doherty and all the fans that came out to watch the show, thank you.
- On April 3rd of this year, Kelly and I guest posed at the Capital City Bodybuilding & Fitness Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. I want to thank the owners of D&A Nutrition, Mr. & Mrs. Adam Ogden, for being so hospitable and making sure our every need was taken care of, they were great promoters! The show was incredible with a crowd that every IFBB Pro dreams of. I want to thank all the fans that were in attendance that made our guest posing experience awesome! I'll be in Florida for the Orlando Pro Show on May 1st and I'm hoping that many of you that were in Tallahassee will come to the show and yell your ass off for me. I will tell you one thing for sure; my conditioning will be the best it's been so far in my career! I'm not playing and I plan on kicking some serious ass in Florida! It's very simple, if I win the Florida show I will then prepare for the Olympia. If I take any other placing except first I will sit out yet another Olympia knowing damn well if I cannot win a show of Florida's caliber than I have no business being on an Olympia stage. After the pro show, Kelly and I along with some friends will be in Miami in South Beach until Thursday vacationing and just plain relaxing. This is a much needed vacation and rest and we're really looking forward to it.
- Kelly and I are very proud to announce that we just signed a three year deal with Olympic Tanning Products. Lou Druck, the owner and founder of Olympic Tanning, created something that is going to completely change the way athletes look on stage. The Olympic competition sunless tanner is probably the best contest color I have seen in a while. This color is a beautiful bronze tone with absolutely no green or yellowish tints to it once it touches the skin. We have a few of our friends using the competition sunless tanner at their shows right now, and so far the feedback has been amazing. Other athletes are constantly commenting on our friends' color asking, "What type of stain are you wearing, and you're color is so beautiful." I, myself, am really looking forward to wearing our new product at the upcoming Orlando Extreme Pro show May 1st. Along, with a competition color, there is an exfoliator ( face and body scrub) product, competition oil, the Olympic Gold instant bronzer (for photo shoots or daily wear), and last the Olympic Gold airbrush tan, available in three shades; medium, medium dark, and deep deep dark. Kelly and I will have this Olympic Tanning product line available for purchase on our websites, www.CraigTitus.com and www.KellyRyanFitness.Com, so check it out for yourselves and see why we are so impressed with this company.
Six weeks of tanning is a must before any competition, so we have also just made an arrangement with Rio Tan Tanning salons. In return for the exposure in our website, Home Gym Web-Cam workouts, Rio Tan is supplying Kelly and I with free tanning for all of our competitions. Remember that when in Vegas; hit the tanning beds at any Rio Tan near your hotel or casino. Rio Tan has high quality tanning beds and locations all over Las Vegas. They always have the newest and highest quality beds on the market. Make sure to tell them Craig and Kelly sent you and enjoy your sessions!
- I am also very excited to announce that I just re-signed for another year writing my "Titus Talks" column for Muscular Development Magazine. Special thanks to Steve Blechman for his generous contract for yet another term. I want to let Ron Harris know that I would like to put our differences behind us and move forward to another year of great writing for one of the best magazines on the stands, if not the best magazine, MD!
Kelly's new web site is www.kellyryanfitness.com. We've added a members section along with a live web cam so fans can actually watch her train and learn from on of the greatest IFBB Pro Fitness athletes of all time.
- The "2004 Official Night of Champions After Party" will be held at Deep Night Club located at 16 West 22nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue in New York City. The cover is $25.00 at the door and there will be NO free admittance unless you're an IFBB Pro. All IFBB Pros must show there 2004 current IFBB Pro card for free admittance, no exceptions! Call Strong & Shapely Gym for advance tickets @ (201) 896-1360. There will be a .08% credit card fee, Visa or MasterCard. The party is hosted by Craig Titus, Kelly Ryan, Bob Bonham and Rob Lopez. Please, just pay your cover and come in and have a great time. This party is brought to you by "Emperor Entertainment".
- Because of the tremendous response of myself stating I wanted to get Shawn Ray out of the position of athlete's representative, I will be starting a petition shortly after the Florida Pro Show to do exactly that. Shawn has seemed to take it upon himself to talk to the DEA on a regular basis. The one thing athletes do not need in this sport is a guy who has no problem getting a conspiracy started among our organization resulting in innocent people trying to make living form bodybuilding. I think Shawn, in his mind, has gone from athlete's rep, to the head of the IFBB. He has absolutely no right what so ever to be informing anyone about another athlete's private life, period. Also, has anyone ever noticed that Shawn always has to state in Flex magazine that I never deserve where I'm being placed, can you say insecure little weasel!
A few things I want to get off my chest.
Enough with reality TV already, it sucks and it's getting really old. Unless it's American Idol, that's the ONLY reality show worth watching!!
To all my fans that keep sending me e-mails asking why I'm not in Flex magazine anymore; Send the e-mails to Flex Magazine, sending them to me does no good at all.
What's up with the price of gas? It's absolute bullshit and move for everyone in the state of Nevada not to purchase gasoline on May 1st of this year. No one purchase gas on that day and see what happens.
What's up with ephedrine being banned if you can purchase tobacco and alcohol…….Can you say hierocracy?
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