Intro
The first show of the year kicked off with a boom. While Mother Nature
provided rain and thunder outside - promoters, Ironman Magazine, rattled
things inside.
This was the first year that the Ironman Pro included
seminars and the Fit Expo. Everyone from waiters in local restaurants to
rental car reservist seemed to know about the Expo happening in their state.
If this show is any indication of the season ahead we're in for a helluva
ride. Next stop the Arnold Classic - in the mean time take a look at my
report on the show.
Friday - Feb. 20th
I flew into LAX leaving the snow-covered mountains of Denver behind in
search of sunny skies. Sun? Not so much. I was greeted with drizzle and
over-cast weather. Speaking of drizzle, this sums of the first day of the
Fitness Expo. I contribute the low turn out to a) Friday and most people
were at work and b) the weather sucked and kept people from venturing out.
Familiar faces could be seen at the various booths and walking around.
Photographer Terry Goodlad (bodysport.com) assured me that wife, Elaine
Goodlad would be ready for the Arnold Figure Classic.
Newly signed IFBB Pro,
Kristen Nicewarner, was the lone GNC athlete in
attendance. The entire cast will be on hand at the upcoming Arnold Classic.
Fitness all-star Bridgette Newell Tony Freeman, Lea Waide, along
with many others held down the VPX fort.
Left: Bridgette Newell.
Right: Crystal Matthews & the VPX Girls.
I don't think a single soul left
without a VPX bag. Amanda Lexx and Rebecca Ryann could be found at the
Ultimate Nutrition booth signing autographs and looking beautiful as always.
The women at Bodybuilding.com were a hit with the fans as was Bob
Cicherillo. Bob was in a great mood, and who wouldn't be next to girlfriend
Brenda Kelly, on the eve of the show.
Things seemed bleak for the first day
of the expo until Carmen Electra showed up to promote her new strip aerobics
video. Everyone who was at the expo swarmed to catch of glimpse of the cover
model. I, like everyone else, was in awe. She looked like a fragile
porcelain doll. Much smaller and less voluptuous in person but every bit as
striking as you could imagine.
She was very friendly and cordial to her
fans. The most bizarre moment of the day was an odd little man in a speedo
giving yoga instructions to a younger shirtless man. Fortunately for
everyone I didn't have my camera to document the moment. The dance expos
were funky and fun.
I didn't attend any of the breakout sessions held
throughout the day but many people spoke highly of them. I met a number of
very nice people and it was a great opportunity to talk with out hordes of
people around.
Overall the facility was nice and the expo was well laid out.
After a workout and a nice Italian meal it was time to retire for the night.
Saturday - Feb. 21st.
Rain, rain and more rain. The weather didn't keep any one inside today. I
arrived around 10:15am to masses of people waiting in line for the
prejudging. After standing in line for over 30 min. I was certain I'd miss
the entire judging.
Fortunately they let everyone waiting to buy tickets
into the show so this didn't happen. Finding a seat just in time for the
callouts, I was impressed. The crowd favorites were definitely Lee Priest
and Dexter Jackson. It was obvious Dexter was the winner standing amongst
the others.
Left: Dexter Jackson (1st) & Lee Priest (2nd) busting out a front lat spread.
Right: Dexter Jackson & Lee Priest showing a rear double bi.
In prejudging, my guess was Dexter, Lee, Gustova, Craig followed
by Ahmad for the top 5. Dexter was razor sharp and on the money. Lee had the
big guns on display and clearly bounced back from his Olympia showing. It
was a good show and it's clear Dexter is the man to beat when Ronnie's not
on stage.
Left: Gustova Badell (3rd), Craig Titus (5th), Ahmad Haidar (4th).
Right: Ahmad Haidar, Craig Titus, Gustova Badell.
The expo saw a significant increase in attendance. More familiar
faces could be seen. Raye Hollit a.k.a. "ZAP" was on hand promoting her
upcoming show.
Ronny Rockel, Bob Cicherillo, Johnnie Jackson, Idrise Ward-El, Jason Arntz.
Big Dave Palumbo was displaying his freak physique. USAs
Superheavy weight winner, Chris Cook could be seen signing autographs and
being his friendly self. It was good to see the large crowds in attendance.
There was a brief strongman demo before the Ironman Figure prejudging. These guys are brutes and but on quite the display
of strength. The figure had a number of great competitors in every class.
Left: Odd Haugen. Right: From the strongman expo.
E-mail will@bodybuilding.com if you know who is on the right.
I
was disappointed in how the prejudging was set up. The stage had very poor
lighting and didn't do the women's physiques justice. I would have liked to
seen stage lights set up on the sides at least.
The women were judged in
their two pieces only. There were familiar names and faces from national
level shows. It was a great showing for the first competition of the year.
If this show is any indication of the year ahead, ladies come prepared
because there were several competitors in this lineup that could soon be
pros.
From the Ironman Figure Short Class.
Patty Cottrell (5th
place), Moorea, Tracy, Abby, Elizabeth and then Brandy.
Special thanks to John (Patt Cottrell's trainer) for the names of the competitors.
The evening show started on time and was a well-run event. MC Lonnie Tepper
contributed the color commentary as usual. The women were judged in their
one piece and you could see an improvement by being on the main stage and in
being in better lightening. The men's routines were okay, nothing great.
Three competitors from the Ironman Figure Masters. Karla Ray, Michelle Wauro and Erica White is on the end in the red.
E-mail will@bodybuilding.com if you know who these people are.
I have respect for anyone who is a pro, however I was embarrassed for Ken
Jones. Anyone dancing repeatedly across the stage sporting a leather jacket,
hat and white glove to Michael Jackson clearly has no respect for the art of
posing. The top five men gave a great pose down and jumped into the crowd to
show off their hard work.
The crowd ate it up. The overall women's figure
came down to Abby Duncan - short class, Marcy Porter - medium class and
Michelle Troll - tall class.
The overall title went to Abby Duncan who
looked better as the day went on. Trained by Kim Oddo, Abby is on her way to
a bright career in figure. She has great lines and with a little more muscle
maturity she'll be on the pro stage before long. I was impressed with Marcy
Porter's and Michelle Trolls' physiques as well.
There were two tributes
given one to photographer Chris Lund and another to Joe Weider. When the
placings were announced for the men, you could see the disappointment on
Craig's placing, I think he probably had himself at third but ended up 5th.
The rest fell into line as most expected from the prejudging with Ahmad 4th,
Gustova 3rd, Lee 2nd and Dexter winning. I agree with the placings and felt
it was a well-judged show.
Sunday - Feb 22nd.
The third day of the expo was much like the first, not many people in
attendance and more rain outside. Many people were excited to be there but
looking forward to the upcoming Arnold Classic and the shows in the coming
year.
Chris Cook & Jay Cutler.
The Ironman was a well-run show with great competitors. I'm not sure how the
promoters can draw the crowds in on Friday and Sunday if they keep the expo
next year. Everyone I spoke to liked the expo and all the added events. I
left the show back on the 110 to catch my flight back to Denver.
Little did
I know 3 hours early wasn't enough time for the LA traffic. 2 1/2 hours of
sitting in traffic lead to missing my plane and spending some quality time
in the LAX airport, but hey if I hadn't missed my flight I never would have
got to see Fabio in person.
Thanks,
isaac@liftstudios.com
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