What a freak show. This is my first event like this so I’m pretty amazed by all the sights and sounds. I sat by Nasser El Sonbaty on the plane and we talked for close to four hours. Interesting guy, very honest, intelligent and genuinely friendly- a true standout. I gave him a couple of T-mag shirts in exchange for his video. Nice guy. Chyna, the wrestling “chick”, was on my plane too, so I guess she’s doing something here this weekend.
Our booth looks great. The three biggest are probably Biotest, EAS, and Weider. We’re giving away magazines (issue #4), shirts, and Grow! samples and selling some products as well, including the new Advanced Protein. John and Steve Berardi, Cy Willson, John Koenig, TC, and several Biotest guys are here so far. Met a lot of readers (special thanks for the Grow! pie two of them brought; it was about the only lunch we had we were so busy), took a lot of pics with them, and stared at a lot of bodacious hoochies. The women here are unbelievable, pure comic book sexuality, so perfect and petite you could eat them with a spoon (whatever that means.) I haven’t seen a real pair of boobs in 48 hours.
Seeing all the “stars” is interesting. You see these people in magazines and it’s odd to see them in person. I waited for an elevator with Monica Brant, bumped into Amy Fadhli (literally) and got within three feet of Arnold himself. (He walked through briefly flanked by about a dozen armed guards.)
I’ll post more tomorrow. Tonight I think I’ll actually sleep. Saturday is supposed to be busier than today. If you’re in town, be sure and stop by. - Chris
Chris: I’m VERY curious…How did the former Ms.Olympia, Kim Chizevsky do in the Fitness International? She worked her BUTT off to slim down, learn gymnastics routines, and to adopt the fitness lifestyle…seems as though she deserves at least a “T-Mag” nod for giving it her best…
I was at the arnold today. It was a great seeing the t-mag crew this year. I talked to T.C. and he was really cool. He could barely shake hands with people because of his pec tear but he stayed at the booth all day none the less. T-mag and the Arnold classic rule!
Mufasa- Working the booth we actually miss a lot of the big shows, so I didn’t see Kim. Good to see her make the change, I’ll admit, though honestly, I could care less. One note: there are tons of “man-face”, scary, men-in-drag looking, walking side effect women here and not just competing. I’m just surprised given the fact that pro women’s BB is almost a dead “sport”. But as Bill Roberts would say, “Once the side effects appear, they’re irreversable.” Most of these women seem to be over 30 so maybe they’re just stuck with the look while the younger babes stick to the money maker- fitness comps and modeling. Just a thought.
Show went well today. Very busy. We’re giving away something like 15000 mags this weekend and countless packets of Grow! and T-shirts. Talked to a lot of hardcore readers and enjoyed it a lot. Most people haven’t heard of us though, which is no surprise really since we’re just now starting to show up on the news stands. It’s kind of fun trying to explain to them who we are. I mean, we’re a BB mag that doesn’t cover pro bodybuilding, talks about steroids openly and scientifically, has real info, real articles and not just “bytes” and doesn’t give a rat’s fuzzy ass who we piss off or offend. Most are shocked and walk off flipping through the mag, trying to figure out the article about Monica Brant’s ass. It’s kinda funny. Most are thrilled though, once they understand us. There are a lot of MM2k castaways out there that haven’t found us yet.
I interviewed Pavel “The Evil Russian” today. See my “Evolution of Ab Training” article if you don’t know who that is. Quite an interesting interview. Some of his info and ideas about training will leave you with your jaws dropped. I hope to get it typed up soon.
Rob- I asked Nasser if he’d like to do an interview, like the one we did with Lee Priest. He said Weider wouldn’t let him. We talked about everything and honestly, he was much more open than even Lee was. I have to say again, he’s a bright guy and not a “meathead” in any way in person. I felt a little bad for him hearing what all these guys have to go through, but then again, it’s their choice.
The best thing about this weekend is getting together with all the writers and contributors and behind-the-scenes Biotest guys. What a great bunch of people. Or maybe I’ve just got a beer buzz going.
It’s around 1AM, so time for bed. Monica Brant is waiting… (Ha!)
Just got back from 2 days at the Arnold Fitness weekend. It was GREAT! I second Chris’ opinion of the fitness women there - it was a fantasy come true, the quantity and quality was unbelievable. Not only did I get to see stars like Timea Majorova and Monica Brant, but I got to talk with them and even get a photo and a hug from each to boot. Kim Chizevsky (the new transformed version) actually looked quite good in the fitness competition. Her fitness routine could still use a little work, but she still ended up in 6th place - not bad for a first timer. I got to meet most of the T-mag staff and talked with TC and John Berardi for a quite a while. Thanks guys for answering all my questions. I can’t wait for next year-I’ll definitely be back.
I know you guys will do GREAT! Wish I were there! But what’s up with EVERYONE(who doesn’t support Biotest/T-Mag)getting issue #4 before your loyal followers & purchasers of your supps.? Doesn’t seem right.Subscribers SHOULD come first!!!
Yes, I saw Charles at the Beverly site selling his new book. Surprising, as crowded as just about every other area was, there was no one hanging around Charles. He actually looked kind of lonely sitting there by himself.
I met Cy Wilson at the expo, great guy, gave me a T-shirt. I was real impressed with the arnold, and with the Bio-test boot in particular! Wilson looks about 28 years old, a helluva of lot of knowledge for such a young guy & great in person. Kudos T-Mag!
Chris, I just met you today at the expo and I have to say you guys did a hell of a job. I’m the police officer that talked your ear off. I hope you and John get your voices back. He sounded like he was dying. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciated you and John taking the time to talk to me. You guys were really in demand there, but both were very frendly and helpful. I also wanted to clarify one thing I said. You asked if I thought that anything in the magazine could change. I think I told you that you should have more articles geared towards competitive bodybuilders. That was a bit of an overstatement. What I meant was that I think there are people like me that would like routines geared towards getting very lean. I realize that most routines can be used for that very purpose along with a change in diet, but I also think that a cycled approach may be more effective. Perhaps Mr. King can attempt something like that. I just think you have two segments of the bodybuilding public that are usually catered to. Those that gain muscle easy and those that have a hard time leaning up. For instance I can gain muscle easy, but when it comes to getting below 12% bodyfat I have to sacrafice alot of muscle. It seems that the first group is the one that bodybuilding magazines write for. You guys have done a great job covering both, especially in the area of diet. I just would like to see more as I described above. Anyhow, I know this is long winded, but thanks again for your time. Dave
I got to meet Chris on Sunday, the only day I could get off of work, by the way for those of you who haven’t commented of the girls that were working at the booth, I now know that all those jokes TC made about his interns are actually true to life stories. By the way I don’t know how she finished in the fitness competition but of all the girls I saw at the convention Lisa Lowe was the hottest.
Just got in. One of my flights was cancelled so I had to spend an extra night in Houston. I think my luggage is still there 'cause it damned sure didn’t come home with me! Anyway, here’s what I wrote but couldn’t send last night:
Today was the last day of the Expo and Freak Show. Great day. I met Arnold No-Last-Name-Required twice today. We chatted about the mag and he offered some advice for breaking into the markets. He also said Weider used to pay him for his contributions to the mags about 5 months late and advised us wisely not to do that to our writers.
John and Steve Berardi (known as the Flying Berardi Bros) and Cy Willson gave a couple of mini seminars yesterday that attracted a good crowd. We had a few push-up contests and gave away prizes, and Lee Priest, Ed Coan and others stopped by to say hi. Dorian Yates came by today and stayed about an hour talking shop with Jeff McCarroll from Biotest and T-mag contributor John Koenig. (John looks like he might snag an interview.)
We gave away every packet of Grow! we had, all the T-shirts, and 15,000 mags. God, my feet hurt. John Berardi and I both lost our voices by the end of the weekend. It was fun, though. Had a blast. Got a lot of good flirting in.
Dave, thanks for input and feedback. We appreciated all of it, especially the suggestions we get from long time readers like you guys. I’ve talked to Ian King before about a new program geared towards those who have a hard time losing fat just with diet. Maybe he’ll get us one soon.
Logan, the mags have probably been shipped to subscribers, but it’s the mail system that slows things down. Also depends on where you live in the country. Call customer service for more info. That’s not really my department.
Nate, our fitness babes that helped us at the booth were actually the wives of staff members, so watch it, buddy! Just kidding. It was great talking to you there.
We’ll probably posts some pics soon at T-mag of the whole event.
Just wanted to say I had a great time at the Arnold talking with the Beradi brothers, Cy, TC, Chris, John K and the rest of the crew. All were very friendly and down-to-earth. They had quite an impressive “booth” set up with lotsa free giveaways too. Great job guys!
I also had a good conversation with Pavel Tsatsouline. The Evil Russian has some really interesting training ideas, and I’m looking forward to the T-mag interview with him. Talked with Charles Poliquin for quite a while too since he wasn’t drawing much of a crowd. Buster, CP did look kinda lonely, didn’t he? Oh and for those that weren’t there, the Arnold Expo has got to be the largest assembly of fake tits known to man.
Oh yeah, the Arnold Classic itself. (Almost forgot there was a BB contest.) Here are the top guys- remember that Nasser, Priest and others didn’t compete.
The contest was first class. I purchased the VIP package. This included tickets to all the events, a buffet, and a photo with Arnold. The photo was a polaroid, but what the hell.
The Biotest booth was great, and all the writers with whom I spoke were very cordial. There was definately more silicone and leather at the Classic than anywhere I’ve ever seen. And the size of the bodybuilders was inspiring. I feel like I’ve just returned from a religious revival: that’s how inspired I am. Another great part about the convention is that with so many muscle guys around, I felt at home. I’m a solid 210 lbs., so around my hometown I’m sorta big. But there I was just AVERAGE. You definately put things in perspective when there are so many big guys whom to admire.
Lastly, I disagree with TC’s latest Dog column. I saw Craig Titus at the buffet party. He could really dance. Afterwards, I went to a local bar where there were several bodybuilders (IFBB pros, but none of the big names). Most of these guys could move. So don’t think that ALL big guys are show dogs.
In conclusion, I was suggest anyone interested in bodybuilding attend the next Arnold Classic. It is truly an amazing event.
Maclar- Yes, the Met-rx Extreme or Drive line or whatever they call it, had a booth. I think I saw Frank “way too pretty to be a real man” Sepe there and a bunch of fitness babes.
Chris,
Glad you liked the Grow Pie my buddy Erik and I concocted for you! Had a blast meeting you at the Arnold. Maybe next year we will get to hose down Cori and Monica with our Grow-filled-super-soakers! Started the Finasol this week and will keep you posted about my progress. I will email you a couple of pics Erik and I got at the T-Mag booth. Thanks for being so cool!