Here are the pics, from Isaac Hinds, of the Men’s prejudging, with Troy Alves, Darrem Charles and Hidetada looking like they will place in the top three. The link of the pics is

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/10782/event/1/

Here is the link for the pictures from the IFBB Pro Figure prejudging

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/10782/event/3/

Here is the link for the pictures from the IFBB Pro Fitness prejudging

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/10782/event/4/

From Joe Wheatley, the promoter of Muscle Beach Venice.  

It all started in 1934 when a group of health and fitness pioneers brought fame to Santa Monica Muscle Beach with their feats of weightlifting, strength and gymnastics. In 2009, Muscle Beach Venice marks the 75th Anniversary of the world renown home of bodybuilding.

This historic occasion will be celebrated on July 4th 2009 at the Mr. & Ms. Muscle Beach Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Competition. Icons from the industry including Hall of Fame Inductees will be on hand with City of Los Angels Officials to recognize this great history. 

Bodybuilding.com, Muscletech and Ironman Magazine are three of the main sponsors of this event. More information coming soon…

Bodybuilding.com, the Internet’s most-visited bodybuilding and fitness site and largest retailer of nutritional supplements, held its 8th Annual Bodybuilding.com Fitness Expo April 3rd at the Knitting Factory Concert House in celebration of fitness and health, and in true BFE fashion it was bigger than ever! Free admission, free supplements, and the promise of a night to remember drew in a record crowd for the event. For those who weren’t fortunate enough to attend (or were stuck at the end of the never-ending line) here’s what you missed:

Mr. USA, Masters Champion, IFBB Pro and Bodybuilding.com-sponsored athlete Bob Cicherillo hosted the event with his usual flare, pulling the hottest stars on stage throughout the evening. Such celebrities included: Kim Lyons (trainer from The Biggest Loser); Mr. Universe Gunter Schlierkamp (seen in Warner Bros. “Beerfest”); UFC Light-Heavyweight Champ Rashad Evans and UFC Welterweight Champ Thiago “Pitbull” Alves; Pro Bodybuilders “X-Man” Toney Freeman, Trey “Phenom” Brewer, Hall of Famer Kevin Levrone and Flex Lewis; 2x Ms. Figure Olympia Jenny Lynn; and many more!

The Bodybuilding.com stage was packed with live entertainment. Pro Bodybuilder Marika Johansson (“The Viking Queen”) kicked off the night with a stunning posing routine, putting most of the men in attendance to shame. World champion competitive jump rope team The Summerwind Skippers took the stage next, performing an action-packed jump routine. Pro bodybuilding superstar Flex Lewis showed off his winning posing routine, and handed out a year’s worth of supplements to the 115lb, 5’10” winner of the ever-popular Mr. Puniverse competition. To follow up the puniness, there was an Exhibition of Strength performed by champion strongman competitors Corey St. Clair and Grant Higa.

The Miss Bikini BodySpace competition kept the crowd entertained throughout the night, as members of BodySpace (Bodybuilding.com’s social network) competed for the title. Bodybuilding.com spokesperson Crystal Matthews and bodybuilder Jerome “Hollywood” Ferguson hosted this inaugural competition, and it was a close race with 12 beautiful, fit contestants. Lacey Gale (BodySpace Name: LiveandLove) took home the 1st place trophy along with a $500 prize; Laura Brooks (BodySpace Name: lcbrooks) won the 2nd place prize of $300; and Katie Horner (BodySpace Name: KatieHorner) took 3rd place, winning $200. All 3 winners received a giant bouquet of long-stem roses from ProFlowers, and all contestants took home Bodybuilding.com gym bags filled with women’s supplements and the latest from Bodybuilding.com’s women’s clothing line.

Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan DeLuca took advantage of the opportunity to announce the winners of the 2009 Bodybuilding.com Employee 12-Week Transformation Challenge, as well as the Bodybuilding.com Employee of the Year. Ryan Suydam lost 38lbs of body fat, taking home Transformation of the Year and winning an all-expense-paid trip to the 2009 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas. Ever-humble Human Resources Manager Staci McCulloch won the well-deserved Employee of the Year title, taking home a commemorative trophy and prizes.

This year’s most inspirational performance came from Bodybuilding.com athlete and wheelchair bodybuilder Nick Scott. Originally diagnosed as a paraplegic after a tragic car accident in 1998, Scott became depressed and basically gave up on life, letting his weight balloon to 300lbs. Scott then decided to prove his doctors wrong by learning to walk again. He didn’t stop there though; he took his rehab to the next level to become the 2009 Heavyweight Wheelchair National Bodybuilding Champion. “Once I started competing I fell in love with the sport. Seeing the other competitors on stage overcoming their disabilities, I don’t know…I just wanted to take it to that next level. To do that, I wanted to lead by example,” said Scott. He did just that at the BFE, with an amazing posing routine in and out of his wheelchair. Everyone in attendance went home a Nick Scott fan.

Bodybuilding.com knows how to put on a show, and the 2009 BFE was no exception. After putting on an even this great, the only challenge they face now is topping it next year. In response to this, Director of Marketing John Shumate said, “The show may have just ended, but Bodybuilding.com is already looking at new ways to make it even bigger and better in 2010, so stay tuned.”

UFC® JOINS WITH AMERICAN MEDIA INC. (AMI)
Las Vegas, Nev. (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization and American Media, Inc (AMI), today announced a partnership to publish a special UFC 100 commemorative edition magazine that will be available at newsstands across North America and in some international markets.

“The UFC 100 magazine will highlight the 15-year history of the UFC in a way that no other medium could,” said UFC President Dana White. “And with unrestricted access, this issue will truly capture this symbolic moment in our sport. We’re happy to do this special issue with AMI because they’ve believed in UFC’s potential since we bought the company in 2001. We’ve worked successfully with them in the past, and many of their best-selling issues have featured our fighters on the cover.”

The UFC 100 commemorative edition magazine will arrive at newsstands on June 29, 2009 and is timed to coincide with a pay-per-view event that is expected to be one of the biggest in UFC history on July 11. In the special issue, fans will get a preview at what’s ahead for this event, and it’s intended to be a keepsake that will provide a memorable look back at this UFC milestone.

“When you combine UFC, great stories about its fighters and put practical information about the sport of mixed martial arts into the readers’ hands, you have their undivided attention,” said AMI Chairman David J. Pecker. “These readers speak the language of UFC and this commemorative magazine will be about them and their relationship with the fastest-growing sport in America.”

AMI titles including Men’s Fitness, Flex and Muscle & Fitness have featured top UFC fighters, as well as UFC President Dana White and UFC® All Access™ show host Rachelle Leah, on past covers and enjoyed a surge in newsstand sales, with several UFC covers breaking all-time sales records for AMI. “We’ve enjoyed working with Dana and his team and look forward to taking our association to the next level,” added Mr. Pecker.

With a diverse, loyal fan base of millions of customers in the United States and abroad, the UFC100 Special Commemorative Issue is expected to be an instant collector’s item and one of the most popular, best-selling titles of the year for AMI’s magazine unit.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com or UFCespanol.com.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand

Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

About American Media, Inc.
American Media, Inc. is the leading publisher of celebrity journalism and health and fitness magazines in the U.S. These include Star, Shape, Men’s Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, and National Enquirer. In addition to print properties, AMI maintains web sites for all of its brands. AMI also owns Distribution Services, Inc., the country’s #1 in-store magazine merchandising company.