2008 Arnold Blog

One of my dearest friends in the biz and a straight shoot’n New Yorker, Tara Scotti shares her first encounter with 2008 Ms. Figure International Champ Gina Aliotti. It’s a rather amusing account of how she came to meet Gina. Tara then breaks down how she saw the Figure show go down. As a figure pro herself she gives you a unique perspective as she’s  "been there - done that".

2008 Arnold Recap - "Who’s Gina?"
By IFBB Figure Pro, Tara Scotti
Before I give my opinion on the Figure results for the 2008 Arnold, I wanted to preface it with the first time I actually met Gina Aliotti, the 2008 Figure International Champion.

September 23, 2006 in Anaheim California was the site of the 2006 Tournament of Champions. It was the last show of the year before the Olympia. I was coming along very nicely in my prep for the Olympia, so I decided last minute to enter the show. It was the first show of my career that my boyfriend (now husband) could not make the trip, so I was a little nervous. I woke up the morning of pre-judging, went to Jan Tana’s room to get my color, then my hair and makeup right after. When I got back to the room, I was looking at myself in the mirror in awe. Yes, I was sweating myself. Every once in a while a competitor has that moment when the pre-contest prep is going just as planned, your tan is the perfect shade, your hair is beautiful, your skin is glowing and all the planets and stars are lined up perfectly. This is what we strive for. This is when we want to step on stage. Only one other time in my career, the 2005 Olympia did I peak like this. Even though I did not place well at that contest, it was the best condition to date for me. Now here in Anaheim I at least matched that condition; maybe surpassed it. I was ecstatic. I headed over to the venue for pre judging alone in my usual get up, a Juicy Couture jump suit and a NY Yankee hat. I normally don’t talk much backstage, I just listen to my IPod and mostly keep to myself. I just want to see what the other girls look like. Even though we all play it cool backstage and greet each other warmly with smiles and kisses, we still want to size each other up. It’s the nature of competition. Anyway, it’s about 25 minutes to show time and most of the girls are warming up backstage and already in their suits. Of the 22 girls competing, I sized up 17 or 18 of them. Now I was feeling very confident. So I went outside to call my boyfriend.

The phone call went something very similar to this:
ME " Hey Babe, I am about to win my 2nd pro show”
HIM “Wow, that’s a pretty bold statement”
ME “Babe, trust me. I am peaking like I did at last year’s Olympia, and I saw almost all the girls backstage, I am not losing this show!! "
HIM “Simmer down cowboy. What about Gina Aliotti? "
ME "Who’s Gina?”
HIM “Gina Allioti, my sources in Anaheim tell me Gina is looking really good."
ME: "Who the f**k is Gina Allioti, and who the f**k are your sources?”
HIM: (laughing) Babe relax. You competed against her a few months ago in Colorado. You placed ahead of her. You don’t remember her? "
ME: "I have no idea who you are talking about. And if I already beat her, why would I lose to her now?"
HIM: “Gina is one of the new girls. She is very young, very pretty, has a great physique, flowing lines. If this kid can get her conditioning down, forget it, lights out. She is the future of Figure babe. It is what it is. Just relax. Just do your little thing on stage, and let the cards fall where they fall. You’re going to do fine, you always do.
ME: " Jesus, by the way you are talking, you sound like you are the president of her fan club. Why don’t we just break up and you can start dating her yourself."
HIM: “You know what, that’s not a bad idea. See if you can get me her number when you talk to her."
ME: (CLICK)

This jerk is trying to take the wind out of my sails. So I hung up on him and turned my phone off. So now I went from confident to shaky. My mind is starting to race. Who the f**k are his sources? Probably that nut case Isaac Hinds. Wait till I see him.

So now I am heading back to the dressing room area and there she is. I obviously didn’t see her before. I recognized her from the Colorado Pro Show a few months back. She is one of the newer girls I really didn’t know. I think I was even introduced to her for a quick minute, but there were so many new girls rising up in the figure world about this time, I just did not know who was who. She was exactly the way Dominic described her. Great lines, great symmetry, and to top it off, she was pretty. Why did this bitch have to be pretty? Why did she have to be so young? I mean this girl was born the same year I was listening to Madonna records in my bedroom back in Queens, NY. If Dominic attempted to take the wind out of my sails, seeing this Gina chick backstage did the trick. I went from confident, to shaky, to defeated. All in a 10 minute time period.

During prejudging, Gina and I were called out in first call outs in both rounds. We were also positioned next to each other. I knew the judges had us 1 and 2. Actually, I also knew the judges specifically had her 1 and me 2. While we were standing back in line watching the rest of the call outs, we were both smiling. Only her smile was sincere and mine was fake. She was genuinely happy that she is going to win her first pro show, and I was not happy I was being denied my 2nd pro victory. I knew I would be retiring soon and it would have been a great way to go out. So now I was figuring out a way to overcome this. Maybe after prejudging I could sneak into her hotel room and poor ex lax in her water. Or maybe I can invite her to lunch, kidnap her, keep her locked up in my car trunk until the show is over. She can’t win the show if she doesn’t show up to the finals, right? Ok, calm down people, I only had these thoughts for like 30, 45 seconds tops. I am standing on a stage under blaring lights, dripping orange paint off my body, I am dehydrated, and I haven’t had any water or real food in my system. Cut me a little slack. I still cant believe I have to call Dominic and tell him Gina won, and I took 2nd. I hate when he is right and I am wrong.

The finals came and Gina Aliotti won her first IFBB Pro Figure Competition deservingly. I took 2nd place and 3rd place went to another new girl I did not know, Sonia Adcock, who coincidently, was competing in her pro debut. Gina turned out to be a sweetheart. She is very nice and we always have time to chat when we run into each other.

Now onto the Arnold Figure…

Arnold Figure
As I sat in for the Figure pre-judging, you could tell there was a little more excitement in the air from previous years.  With Monica, Valerie, Jenny and Mary not in the lineup, this was definitely going to be a top 6 unlike any of the last 4 years.It was wide open at this point. I was very surprised at some of the call outs.  For the most part, the judging seemed consistent, except for a couple of surprises.

Actual Top 10
Gina Aliotti
Jennifer Gates
Amy Fry
Chasity Sloan
Sonia Adcock
Paola Almerico
Latisha Wilder          
Catherine Anderson  
Natalie Benson                                  
Krystal Richardson

Tara’s Top 10
Gina Aliotti
Jennifer Gates
Chasity Sloan
Amy Fry
Paola Almerico
Catherine Anderson
Juliana Malacarne
Sonia Adcock
Krystal Richardson                              
Latisha Wilder

Gina Aliotti has a perfect balance of muscularity and symmetry for the Figure division. Gina is THE girl to beat right now in Figure. I can’t wait to see her on the Olympia stage this year. At 23 years old, she has not yet peaked. I can only imagine Gina at her best.

This was the first time I ever laid eyes on Jennifer Gates. I was very impressed. She was put together well. Her suits looked great, overall very complete package.

I had Chasity Sloan in 3rd. Chasity is a seasoned competitor. I have been competing with Chasity since my pro debut in NY in 2004.  Chasity continued to improve over the last couple of years and I think she is at her best or near best right now.

I think the biggest surprise was the judges placed Juliana Malacarne 12th. That’s a bigger mystery to me then the tattoo’s on Lee Priests face. Juliana was the most conditioned girl on stage in Columbus and probably the most improved competitor in the last year. The judges asked her to lose some of the muscle and she did. She is still a little bit too muscular for Figure, but not enough to have her out of the top 10. This girl has crazy genetics.  If she tones it down a little bit more, she will be a top 5 competitor on the smaller shows.

I have been reading a lot about Sonia Adcock and her winning ways lately. I was looking forward to seeing her and I was expecting to be very impressed. I have to be honest; I wasn’t seeing what the judges were seeing. I did not like the cut of her 1 piece suit; it made her midsection look blocky. So I found myself mostly staring at her midsection while she was doing her quarter turns. I think she needs her suit redesigned because she did look better in the 2 piece.  But I also would like to see her with a bit more conditioned. She is very pretty; I just think she can improve significantly.

Latisha wilder is one of my favorite competitors. Like Chasity, I been on stage more times with Latisha than anyone else I think. I was always neck in neck with her. Her beating me a few times and I beating her a couple times.  This was the least conditioned I ever saw Latisha, so I had her lower than the 7th place the judges had her. Latisha has so much poise when she is on stage, it clearly shows. She walks, and does her quarter turns with a coolness that no one else has.  Her skin is perfect, she is very pretty, and is always a threat when she competes.
        
I think it was a great Figure show overall, and with the new faces, this could be the best version of the Figure Olympia to date. Stay tuned.

Sitting here in Venice Ca, Im talking with  competitor Ernie "Mongo" Chang who just arrived from Ohio where he was attending the Arnold with close friends Brandon Curry and Brandy Leaver who most bodybuilders know from the magazines  the Nationals or the USA. Mongo who is living in Oahu, Hawaii competed at a weight of 280lb in the Hawaiian Strongman competition from 1998 thru 2001. Then in 2002 Ernie started training with IFBB Pro Mike Dragna and decided to switch over to bodybuilding so in 2005 did his first show as a Heavyweight where he took his class along with the overall title and Best Poser award.

As we discussed the women’s bodybuilding division Mongo said he didn’t see the complete show but did see the overall and felt that Cathy LeFrancios should have been around third place.  Myself, I saw Cathy 1 week out as we filmed her DVD and her condition was on with cross striations on her triceps, quads and even calves.  When I spoke with her boyfriend Scott the day before he said some of the past top pros who stop by the room to see Cathy said her shape and condition was there and things looked good for Cathy.

Moving into the mens class Mongo thought the Phil Heath should have taken 1st place with being both bigger and harder then Dexter.  However, Dexter was unstoppable with his shape and tie-ins.  Speaking with several others I was given the same impression that the judges said if Dexter gave in with the same shape and hardness but bigger then he would take the show.  Moving to 3rd place was Kai Greene which was a fair placing for Kai, however his leg development is on the verge of passing his upper body development.  A great posing routine even though they cut his music, a great performer Mongo said.  At 4th place was Branch Warren with huge size and as hard as nails with legs that look crazy.  Even though he has improved his shape he just doesn’t have the lines or shape as the guys winning.  With 5th place was Silvio who looked good and was ripped but his legs just overpower his upper body and still needs more lat width.  But great arms, serratus and abs and when your up close very thick, cut side delts and this should of had him in 4th place instead of 5th.  Gustavo had 6th place and didn’t try to hide his disappointment to fans or the judges as usual.  Yes, he has a lot of muscle but the shape is not there unless you like the blocky look and his condition was not on for this show.

From the contest most people headed to the afterhour party that was a big hit where there two floors with several DJ’s spinning with dfferent music to choose from.  Mongo said there were about 600 people or so there.  The hit of the night is when the "Real Deal" Commier pulled Ernie "Mongo" Chang to the floor and tried to show Mongo how it’s done on the West Coast but with Mongo not being shy himself and always winning Best Poser award decided to show the Real Deal how it’s done in the Islands.  This in itself was worth being at the party.

The women’s show took place last night and there were a few surpsises. Let’s start with the women’s bodybuilding…

The biggest news hit fans when defending champ, Iris Kyle failed to make the top six. Iris finished in seventh place when the dust cleared. You may be wondering why the defending champ fell so far down in the placings. It was obvious when I shot the prejudging that there were more than a couple indications Iris could and should be knocked down in the judging. Why? Well, despite her being called out in the top 3-5 at the prejudging, the judges felt they needed to send a message. What message? I spoke with a couple judges after the show and they informed me that Iris was out of the top six because of the marks on her physique. If you look at the photos, pay attention to her shoulders and her buttocks… You’ll see what I am talking about.

Congrats to Yaxeni for winning the Ms. International. When I saw her at prejudging, I had her pegged as the champ. She looked great and brought the physique we have grown to love when she brings it. She was in excellent condition and brought great symmetry combined with just enough mass, to the stage.

As predicted, Gina Aliotti walked away with victory in the Figure International. I’m a huge fan of Gina’s and she never looked better than she did last night. She presented a balanced physique with just enough hardness to reign supreme. Jennifer Gates showed that a competitor can change drastically in three weeks. I had a sneak peak at what Jen was looking like before the show and I thought she was behind in her prep. I ate my words of predicting her fourth and knew when I saw her at the check-in Thursday that she was ready. Jenn presented a very balanced physique and look amazing. You can see her on the next issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers in a couple weeks. Paola Almerico grabbed a top six placing which was a tremendous accomplishment from her. The most overlooked competitor had to be Juliana Malacarne. I know the judges probably thought she was still too muscular but overall, she is still the most balanced competitor on the figure stage. She has it all from top to bottom when it comes to rock’n the figure stage. Amy Fry landed in third, as I predicted, and looked great. She towered over her competition but showed why she is one of the best competitors in the biz today by bringing a balanced physique to the stage.

Fitness super star Kim Schiedler rocked the stage in Columbus. I hope I spelled her last name right as her father corrected me a couple times backstage on her name. Those who aren’t aware, Kim has had a number of personal issues to deal with while prepping for this show. I won’t go into great detail but long story short, she is getting a divorce and dealing with the stress attached to that. Kim’s physique was much improved from the Olympia and you could tell she was much happier. Her routine was reflective of where she’s at in her personal life, check out the webcast to see it. Jen Hen was in second and I love Jen but I honestly wasn’t that impressed with what she brought this time around. She looked good in the physique rounds and her routine was funny and full of high energy but had too much dancing and booty shaking for my liking. I’d like to see more strength moves and less dancing out of her, but it was still fun to watch and photograph. The biggest gift in the show was given to Julie Palmer in my opinion. I love Jules as a person and this no knock on her but she was not a top three competitor in this show, at least from my vantage point. Her physique was good in prejudging and she placed well in those rounds. I thought her routine had too much set up and was a little hoaky. I didn’t feel as though her routine was that good and I would have her out of the top ten when it came to the routine rounds, but I’m not a judge and making those calls. The judges liked what they saw and placed her high in the routines. Julie Lohre has never looked better and brought a great routine and physique to the stage. She should have been second in my opinion but again I’m not a judge. Oksana was highly favored by many going into this show and while she performed a great routine her physique looked the worst I’ve seen from her since hitting the pro show. Her waist is a little too wide and it looked like she was overdieted. I’d like to see her add some size to her shoulders and improver her lats to give the illusion of a smaller waist.

I’m off to the expo to do some more videos with some of the IFBB’s hottest women. Check back for more info, photos and videos through out the weekend.

Governor Arnold just walked through our backstage room and busted Webmaster Will for sitting in the same chair and eating the same slice of pizza that he was eating last year at the Arnold!

LOL

LIFT Studios Launches HARDBODY NEWS Text Messaging Service
Female bodybuilding, fitness and figure news, gossip and NPC & IFBB Pro contest results delivered directly to your phone, within seconds of them happening.

DENVER, Colorado, February 27, 2008 – LIFT Studios (www.liftstudios.com) announced today that it has launched HARDBODY NEWS (www.hardbodynews.com), a new text messaging service for female bodybuilding, fitness and figure fans. HARDBODY News, like Muscle Phone (www.musclephone.com) for the men’s side of things, alerts subscribers of the latest industry news, gossip and NPC & IFBB contest results.

“Muscle Phone broke new ground for bodybuilding fans and it was time to provide a version for the women’s side of things. Those who sign up for the service will receive the 2008 Ms. International as well as the Fitness & Figure International results via text message immediately after they are announced,” said Isaac Hinds, Owner of LIFT Studios and Creator of Muscle Phone. “Fans of the female side of the industry no longer have to be glued to their computers or rely on friends for the latest NPC & IFBB contest results or industry news and gossip. Strategic partnerships have been formed with the IFBB Professional League, Pro Bodybuilding Weekly, Sprayflex, Getbig.com, Hardbody.com with more to come,” Hinds goes on to say.

Fans can access HARDBODY News, by texting the word HARDBODY to 64274 or visit www.hardbodynews.com, standard text messaging rates may apply. There is no charge for subscribing however standard text messaging rates may apply depending on your text message plan.Currently the subscription is not available outside of the United States but plans are being made to expand globally.

About LIFT Studios
LIFT Studios provides branding, consulting, design, interactive, marketing, mobile content, photography and video services. Founded by Isaac Hinds, LIFT is located in Denver, Colorado, with an emphasis on Sports, Fitness & Health-related clients. LIFT currently works with the top competitors in the bodybuilding, fitness and figure world. Adela Garcia, Monica Brant, Oksana Grishina, Dina Al-Sabah and Phil Heath to name a few. Isaac’s photographs have appeared in IRONMAN, FLEX, Planet Muscle, NPC NEWS, Oxygen and many other publications.

Media Contact:
Isaac Hinds
Ph: 303.908.3998
Isaac@liftstudios.com or Info@hardbodynews.com
www.liftstudios.com
www.hardbodynews.com

I was at the Grand Opening for the MAX MUSCLE Denver, where Phil Heath stopped by and said hello. Gunter and Kim were the special guests but a few visitors got an added treat when the IRONMAN champ showed up.

Check out the video interview with Phil on FLEXONLINE.com.

The hunt is still on for the second season of American Gladiators. Competitors and Gladiator hopefuls will get a chance to try out this weekend in Columbus.

EVENT:
The Arnold Classic

LOCATION:
The Greater Columbus Convention Center
400 North High St.
Columbus, OH 43215

DATES:
Friday 2/29, Saturday 3/1 & Sunday 3/2

American Gladiators have a booth set up all day Friday, Saturday & Sunday at the Arnold Classic Fitness Expo. They’re inviting everyone to come and meet one of our producers for a chance to appear on "American Gladiators", season 2.

NOTE: SHOW UP WITH A COMPLETED APPLICATION, WHICH CAN DOWNLOADED AT NBC.COM/CASTING

Big Will step on stage at the 2008 Ironman thinking that just maybe this would turn out to be his big day.  When the night was over things hadn’t worked out like Will had hoped they might.  Leading up to the show Will seemed to always be in positive attitude which is not so easy when your on a low carb diet. After Big Will competed in the 2007 Mr. Olympia he started to approach his off season training like there wasn’t a off -season, with keeping better condition thru the year Will realized he would be able to reach contest shape easier without risking loosing hard earned muscle while dieting.

After the Ironman on Sat night I went to train that following Monday at Golds gym in Venice where I ran into Big Will and we talked a few minutes between sets as Will worked with his Clients.  Will admitted he was disappointed with the contest results but that the show is over and he gave what he had. Will “World” Harris said he might take the rest of the year off to bring his body up to a new better level then what we’ve seen so far from him.    Will maintains a very busy scheduel with his personal training company as you can usually find him at Golds Venice from 8:00 am till about 8:00 pm working with clients.  I have had the pleasure with knowing Will for about 10 years and Will has always been a true and honest friend.  Last year after not training or competing I decided to step back on stage and Will was there to give me honest advice up to the show, even with his own busy scheduel.

I had planned to do the Masters Nationals in 2008 and after the Ironman Big Will came up to me and said "Now is your time so let’s do it" so Will started training me last week.  As a Registered Nurse and personal trainer who has my own fitness company I was very surprised after training with Will.  Will has a great deal of knowledge with training and Im now doing things I’ve never seen or did before in my training.

I guess Will is getting that bugg again because Sat afternoon Will said that maybe he’ll look at a show later in the year to do.  For all his fans Will just had a birthday on Sat but I still wasn’t to get his age out of him, let’s just say he’s timeless!

It’s now one week out from the Arnold so I spent a few minutes today with Charles Glass talking about Silvio, the Ironman and the Arnold next weekend.  Many fans thought Silvio should have placed higher at the Ironman here in Los Angeles, with myself being one of those who thought that. However, he only managed to walk away with fourth place at the Ironman.

Training at Golds gym Im able to see Silvio on a daily bases as he trains with Charles Glass at 12:00 in the afternoon 5 or 6 days per week. So, leading up to the Ironman Silvio seemed to be right on track with great condition, improved back and better overall posing and he just kept getting sharper as each week passed.  Silvio told me he like training with Charles and feels it will make a difference in his overall package.

Charles said Silvio will be tighter and sharper for the Arnold next week and hearing this straight from Charles then I know it can come true.  Silvio looks calmer now since the Ironman and appears to be his old joking self around friends.  But dont get the wrong impression as I called Silvio Sat night about 9:15 pm and he was getting ready for bed.

I think Silvio will be ready for battle come the day of the Arnold.  He’s going all out with his training and had been wearing a wrapp on his wrist as he said it has been injuried since the Ironman.  Another added factor to Silvios prep is the addition of his friend and training partner Big Joe Stubbs, talk about raising training to a complete higher level of intensity.

This photo was recently posted on GETBIG.com. It says the shot is three weeks out from the Arnold Classic. I’m a fan of Ronnie’s physique and what he brings to the stage. He usually fairs better at the Australian shows but perhaps he will crack the top ten next weekend. What do you think?

I caught up with Sonia Adcock at the Fit Expo last weekend and whoooo daddy does she look good. Watch out Arnold competitors, this is the best we’ve seen her. Sonia is now with GNC and was at the Fit Expo working their booth. Fans will be able to see her on stage in one week and she’ll also be working the GNC booth at the Arnold Expo. Don’t forget, she is also the new villain in the IRON SIRENS comic book.

Check out her video here.

I have heard from various sources how various athletes are planning to shape up for the coming Arnold Classic.

Marika was on the phone to nearly all of the female competitors yesterday for their status update.

Some of these people have packed on some serious mass, others are going the ultra ripped route.

I think its going to be an awesome showdown with some upsets. I have yet to get a couple more athlete updates so we can give a more accurate prediction come 1pm when we will be giving our live Justin.tv predictions.

Kris