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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…

While the NPC and IFBB Europa Show of Champions is being held in Orlando on April 18th, in the West coast, in Bellevue, Washington (near Seattle), the largest local NPC competition in the USA, the 2009 NPC Emerald Cup will be held on the same weekend.  Close to 250 NPC competitors will line up the stage in 2 days. Here is the information if you wish to check it out. We will be there, taking pictures and updating info on both sides of the coasts.

We have updated the pics that a few of us (Isaac Hinds, Ron Avidan, Mark Mason) have taken over the last few weeks from various contests that we post on bodybuilding.com and other places.  In the pictures section, here is a list of many of the pictures that you might of missed seeing. To check them out, just click on the link below. Getbig’s Picture Section

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…

The Olympia weekend’s prize money just got bigger, to an incredible $800,000, an increase of $45,000 from last year’s prize money. And what does the winner of the 2009 Mr. Olympia get? $200,000 – currently of which their is no clear front runner, although Dexter Jackson has the title and will be defending it against a myriad of top bodybuilders, including Victor Martinez, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, and Kai Greene. Thanks to our friends at flexonline.com, who gave us the heads up of the total prize purse.  It times of a recession, and some of the toughest days, it is great to see AMI supporting and putting more money into the best bodybuilding contest! To purchase regular or VIP tickets for the Olympia, please go to this link http://www.mrolympia.com/2009/tickets.html

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…

Marcus Ruhl has posted a video of himself 7 weeks out from the NY Pro. He claims he is at 300lbs in the clip. One thing is for certain he is a straight up freaky bodybuilder. Marcus is currently sponsored by

Sunday afternoon, I received the news from Lonnie Teper that Irvin ‘Zabo’ Koszewski has passed away, at the age of 84.  While I didn’t know Irvin, I had heard his name a number of times from the past, as he was considered a great bodybuilder. Here, from the ifbb.com website, is all about the Bodybuilder Hall of Famer. Irvin ‘Zabo’ Koszewski was born August 20, 1924 in Camden, New Jersey. In the history of our sport, perhaps no one has been identified with – and applauded for – a particular Bodypart more than Irvin “Zabo” Koszewski; so much so that his nickname is better known and more used than his proper first name. Throw in the fact that he has been a Muscle Beach fixture for more than 50 years, and it is clear why he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Zabo’s quest for a perfect midsection began at the age of seven, after seeing photographs of Eugen Sandow’s abdominal development. This early determination would serve him well later in life, when he would seldom fail to win best abs in the contests he entered. While in high school, athletic Zabo lettered in track, swimming and wrestling, and…

I will heading down to the evening part of the 2009 NPC Max Muscle Natural competition this weekend, on Saturday, March 28th.   While last weeks NPC San Diego had over 130 competitors, this contest already has 100 competitors, which is a new record for this competition.  It is in Los Angeles, aka Culver City, at the Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium.  As for the emcee in the evening, it is none other than the best one in the business, Lonnie Teper himself, one of the ‘Experts’ at the mike! See you there…

The NPC San Diego contest was the first NPC show in California to feature the new NPC Bikini division, and a lot of people were anticipating to see exactly what were they look for, and what the differences would be between Figure and Bikini.  This was a big local show, over 130 competitors, and there were some surprises, plus some promising competitors that will do quite well this year.  There was also a lot of novice competitors, and it was nice to see people go up on stage and feel good about themselves, through training, diet and discipline. Here are some pics and the results from the event… Results http://contest.bodybuilding.com/results/6922 Men’s Bodybuilding Pics (Novice and Open) http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/1/mode/will/ Women’s Bodybuilding Pics http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/2/mode/will/ Figure Comeptitor Pics http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/3/mode/will/ Bikini Competitor Pics http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/6/mode/will/ Misc Pictures from the event http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/mode/will/page/756 Thanks for making it a great show!

It was a sold out venue here in San Diego as promoter Jon Lindsay had another spectacular event with over 130 competitors, and a standing room only crowd that spilled into the expo area. Here is a picture of the overall competitors, including Rob Pyfer, Jennifer Nixon, Michelle Gullett, and Ron Sargeant with promoter Jon Lindsay. Diana Feather (women’s bb) is not pictured. Here is a picture of Super Heavyweight Ron Sargeant, Heavyweight Jamie Grote, and Light Heavyweight Rob Pyfer at the final comparisons. Here is a picture of Middleweight Craig Jones, Lightweight Enrique Ortiz, and Bantamweight Tyler Anderson in the final comparison round.

The first NPC California show of the season, and the competitor that brought out the biggest buzz from the audience was Ron Sargeant, a massive 280 pound guy who was competing in his FIRST show.  Ron won the overall novice, and when you look at the picture of the novices, he dwarfed them all, buy height and size.  Ron told me that he isnt even in shape yet, that he is preparing for the NPC Orange County Muscle Classic, where he will be ready, and just wanted to get on stage here in San Diego to see what it was like. Here are some pics of Ron.

Hidetada Yamagishi, Idrise Ward-El, Kris Dim, Brandon Curry and many others were in full force supporting and checking out the 2009 NPC San Diego bodybuilding, figure, fitness and bikini competition at the Scottish Rite Auditorum on Saturday, March 21st.  Hidetada told me that he currently is in better shape that he was at the 2009 Ironman, and will make the top three and qualify for the 2009 Mr. Olympia when he gets on stage in Orlando. Here are some pics.

FLEXONLINE.com reports that Moe El Moussawi joins a short list of IFBB Pros with publication contracts. Look for Moe on stage this Saturday where he looks to redeem himself from the IRONMAN Pro. Mo Elmoussawi signs contract with Weider Publications Weider Publications is proud to announce the signing of IFBB Pro League athlete Mo Elmoussawi. Elmoussawi, 34, recently placed second at the 2009 Ironman Pro and ninth at the 2008 Olympia. “Being a Weider athlete mean’s I’m one of the top guys,” Elmoussawi said. “It gives me positive energy to go all the way to the top.” Elmoussawi’s signing comes less than one week out from the Arnold Classic, which will be held this Saturday, March 7, in Columbus, Ohio. In Columbus, Elmoussawi will be looking to improve upon his performance at last year’s Arnold, when he placed 11th. Elmoussawi’s second-place finish at the Ironman was the highest finish of his five-year professional career. El Moussawi joins a list of athletes that includes Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson, two-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, Silvio Samuel, Melvin Anthony and Dennis James. “As far as my career it’s more of a prize of what I’ve achieved lately,” El Moussawi said of…

Many people are talking like the Arnold Classic is between three people. Victor Martinez, Kai Green and Toney Freeman. Don’t forget about one dude who will likely be the most muscular guy on stage, Branch Warren. Branch was looking good three weeks out and in top condition. Can he bring it to the Arnold Classic Stage next weekend? He looks great from the front but his back has held him,well back. If he’s improved his back he could cause problems for others. We’ll see what Branch brings to Columbus in a few days. Branch Warren back to the Arnold Classic.

Yes. Toney “X-Man” Freeman will be bringing his A-game to the Columbus next weekend. One week out from the Arnold Classic, Toney is on point and will be bigger and better than we’ve seen him. You won’t read anything about the X-man passing out from doing cardio. This seasoned veteran is ready.

Congratulations to Allan Donnelly. WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ — David J. Pecker, Chairman, President and CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI), today announced that Allan Donnelly has been named the new Editor-in-Chief of FLEX magazine. Since joining FLEX in 2006, Mr. Donnelly has been involved in all aspects of the magazine and website, rising from Senior Editor to Online Editor and, most recently, Executive Editor. His involvement with AMI and Weider Publications dates back to 2001, when he began as an Editor at Men’s Fitness and a contributor to Muscle & Fitness. Since its inception in 1982, FLEX magazine has been the world’s leading publication for bodybuilding enthusiasts. FLEX reaches over one million readers a month. 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 The National Enquirer. In addition to print properties, AMI manages 14 different web sites. The company also owns Distribution Services, Inc., the country’s #1 in-store magazine merchandising company. SOURCE American Media, Inc. 

Lonnie Teper is once again the 2009 Arnold Classic bodybuilding emcee, and a part of our little group of ‘experts’, in which we try to accurately predict who will place in the top 10 of various contests. In his current blog, LT details how Isaac Hinds, Ron Avidan and LT differs in their predictions. Who do you predict, and can you outpredict the ‘experts’? Here is the blog with all three of our predictions. http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/blogs/lonnie/?p=877

8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman recently shared in a radio interview that he gets $5-6,000 per guest appearance. DAYUM! That’s some solid cash for an appearance. Fans can see Ronnie guest posing this April in Illinois.

Monday morning, and a lot of rumors were started on the Getbig boards that Kai Greene, while training at Gold’s Gym of Venice over the weekend, passed out while doing cardio, and someone called 911 to get him help. Furthermore, they said he was taken to the emergency room too. Well, I received a few calls today on this matter to set the story straight.  According to various people, Kai was training and working on his third round of cardio. When he finished the cardio, he was quite tired, and laid down in the back of the gym to catch his breath.  Some member of the gym saw him back there, and ran up the to front desk, and told them that somebody was passed out in the back of the gym.  According to them, no one called 911.  Kai rested, then got up, walked to his car, and drove himself home.  Now, another confirmed source said that he DID pass out.  He was on a stairclimber, doing cardio, and missed a step, whereas he fell off and passed out. They did call 911, but by the time they got there, he was ok, and he left on his own. So until Kai…