Global Gossip

This will be a big weekend in Oahu with the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding and Fitness contest.  Gunter and Arnold have planed on bringing several top guest posers and this contest always draws a big crowd with it being a month before the USA in Las Vegas.  Superheavy has a local cop Ernest “Mongo” Chang who is sponshored by Vitargo and his last few shows have walked away with best poser.  I spoke with Mongo yesterday and he is really looking at the USA next month but hopes to be able to use this contest to qualify for the USA.  Mongo is favored to take the show from what I heard in Cali but Im sure you will have a great time watching the mix of guest posers.

Farrah Fawcett rocked a hardbody for many years but sadly passed away this morning at the age of 62. Farrah was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and she documented her struggles with Farrah’s Story. The documentary was viewed by nearly 9 million viewers when it aired last month.

She was one of the leading ladies in the original Charlie’s Angels and scored a slew of other roles over the years. In 1995 (she 48 years old at the time), Farrah posed topless for Playboy and the issue sold over four million copies. It was the best-selling Playboy of the 90s.

Rest in Peace Farrah.

Last night while stoping by Golds Venice I saw my good friend Johnny DeBeer who is from Holland and living between Cali and Las Vegas.  He told me that our mutual friend the massive Gary Strydom had just got to Los Angeles and would be here visiting for about 1 month as he was selling his condo here since his move to Thailand.  Johnny said Gary looked big and thick as usual and said his new supplement line is going crazy in Southeast Asia.  Check back in a few days for an update with pictures.

Meridian, ID (Bodybuilding.com) June 24, 2009 — A bizarre little story unfolded today, as it was revealed that Hardbody.com owner Isaac Hinds up until today had never before tasted peanut butter.

Isaac’s “Peanut Butter Virgin” status was inadvertently made known during a routine visit to Bodybuilding.com headquarters in Idaho this afternoon.

Click for larger image.

When asked about his unusual former status, Mr. Hinds had no comment.  Upon leaving the building, however, several staff members noted a wide grin upon his face.

UPDATE: Rumor has it that Isaac subsequently made a run to a local convenience store to acquire some chunky peanut butter for an impromptu taste test before heading off to a BB.com softball game.  Creamy remains his favorite, however.  Welcome to a bold, new world of flavor, Isaac!

On the beautiful Island of Oahu for over 20 years now the Austrian Oak himself Arnold Swaganeezer along with nutrition store owner Mitz and his wife Dot have been holding the Hawaiian Islands bodybuilding contest. It’s a national qualifier and about 4 weeks before the USAs.  This show always have a great turn out with top guest posers.  Hawaii is very supportive of it’s athletes who represent the state.  This was my second contest I had competed in and won the overall so along with winning it also opened alot of doors for me with sponsors and help getting ready to take myself up to the national level.  

Sad to say Mitz wife passed away and Mitz also lost his daughter unexpected.  Mitz and his family have always been very close with Arnold and he was very supportive to Mitz with his two loses.  Trying to help out and both Mitz and Arnold and just loving Hawaii in general, Gunter and his wife step in for Mitz with a joint venture with Arnold to be the new promoters for the Hawaiian Islands contest to be held next weekend 6/27/09.  Something new starting just this year that Gunter wanted, is to help the overall winner to be able to compete on the national level.  With Hawaii being a 5 hour flight just to California alone to help the athlete Gunter and Arnold will pay the way for the winner to go to the USA in July

IFBB Figure Pro, Meriza DeGuzman was quite happy when I saw her in the lobby at the NPC Junior California. No, it wasn’t because I was there. She was smiling pretty because of the beautiful engagement ring on her finger. The lucky groom-to-be is NPC Bodybuilding Pete Ciconne. Congratulations on your engagement!

P.S. yes fanny packs are on the comeback!

Ron Avidan

If you happen to train at Golds Venice in the late evening then I’M sure you have seen Big Reginald Brantly as he’s a regular site at nights.  Reg didn’t know is actual weight when I ran into him last week but thought it was in high 250 or maybe 260.  Which ever one it was he was looking thick as usual for him.  Reg is 38 years old and original from Texas but moved here to Venice where he has been training for the past 15 years.  He has worked for the last 7 years as a trainer at a local Ballys.  Reg has competed the last few years on the national level and is now training for the 2009 USA where he hopes to walk away this time with his Pro card.

If you have ever spent time training at Golds gym in Venice Ca then I’M sure you’ll remember how many people seemed to be in good shape.  For us who live here I think we take that for granted as we see it every day.  This was the case two weeks ago when I met a bodybuilder from Japan who came here to train for a contest and was in great condition being in the lightweight class I would guess, this guy was ripped.  Im not sure what show he was training for as he didn’t speak any English at all.  We seem to have at least 2 or 3 guys per month that will come here from another state or country that look great but no one has ever seen or heard of this person.  It just shows you how many people are into bodybuilding or fitness now.

It seems like in the past Jerome Hollywood Fergusson has gave the judges everyone they have ask for but still hasn’t came out on top.  If the judges wanted more size then we saw how massive Jerome got with keep his great shape.  Then the judges wanted a tighter look so with the help of people like Chad, Tom Prince and Charles Glass Jerome has managed to give the judges what they have ask for.  Getting ready for this years USA Jerome seems much more serious than in the past.  He has started training with Nola, who is competitive in fitness and bodybuilding and was also Hide training partner.  Maybe this is what he needed as Jerome seems less stressed than in the past years.  Best of luck Jerome from all at Golds Venice!

ASC Pro Strongman Live Chat Jun. 12, 2009 - 1:00-2:00 p.m. MST

Come chat with Strongman and Personal Trainer Corey St. Clair

Learn about training, diet, supplementation and contest preparation of a Strongman.

Corey St. Clair is a Personal Trainer and Professional Strongman out of Eagle, Idaho.

Learn more about Corey here.

The July/August issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers is on stands now with Kim Kardshian on the cover. Now before you go complaining about a celebrity being on the cover over a competitor, stop and think for a minute. Kim Kardashian looks good. Is she the fittest person ever to grace the cover? No. Will she introduce more people to the industry by being on the cover? Absolutely. The more NEW people we bring into the industry the better and she’s doing that.

You can see some of your favorite competitors in the issue as well. IFBB pros, Christine Pomponio-Pate and Kristi Tauti have featured workouts. Of course you’ll want to check out the “Twist & Turns” column, which is written by yours truly.

About 10 years ago if you competed in the World Championship or any shows at that level I’m sure you’d remember the great shape and ripped condition that Josef Adlt brought to stage with him.  Josef was from Czech Republic where they don’t have the same great equipment or food that we have here in the USA, but that still didn’t hold Josef back.

Josef gave up competing but kept training and opened a gym up in Czech which did very well so at the same time Josef found his new passion with taking pictures of both fitness and bodybuilding. After several years of doing both the gym and pictures Josef chose his career in taking pictures where many have graced the covers of Flex, Muscle Mag, Muscle and Fitness and many European magazines.  I was introduced last year by IFBB Pro Armin Scholz of Germany.  At that time I did a photo shoot with Josef and was very impressed with how good he treats the model. Me along with my friend Dave Reinprecht who is 30 years old and is a fitness model and also just started a TV reality show call “superbodies” just finished shoot last week with Josef.

So if your looking to do some great photos try contacting Josefadlt.com and I’m sure you will be happy with the work he does.  Since he once was a bodybuilder he knows were the competitor comes from but also he has a different insight as the photographer.

If you were to go back into the 90s and went to Golds Venice you would see it had a family attitude.  In the morning hours you would see both men and women top pros and amateurs training along side one another pushing each other.  After that training session you could always catch a handful of them eating a meal or two together before their afternoon training session.  Those days have passed with many bodybuilders moving away due to the high cost of living in Los Angeles.  The ones that have stayed have become very close.  This is where Jen Richards figures competitor comes into the picture.  Jen who is 31 years old and from St. Louis, Mo has only been training 9months for her 1st national show which is the Jr. USA’S.  When Jen and I spoke she said she had wanted to come to where all the pro’s train.  Although Jen is right in some ways with a lot of pros training in Venice it’s still is up to you no matter where you are to put the hard training in if you want to make it to the top.  But then again it never hurts to be able to turn around and ask Silvio or Charles Glass for some advice.

It seems after the New York Pro show Hide’s visa was about to expire so he return back to Japan for a few months and then will try to return to America.  The last few months things were going good as Hide was making great improvements. Was this due to his new personal trainers Paul or his new Women’s Ifbb Pro Cathy Priest/Le Francois.  We cant really be sure as both them seem to be making good gains.  We hope to see Hide back soon and now the question remains, When will Cathy step back on stage?

Nourish America Honored by Texas State House of Representatives
From:Michael Morton

Dear Friends:

Last week I attended a session of the Texas State House of Representatives where Nourish America was honored with a resolution for helping to provide critical nutritional foods and beverages to over 10,500 families in the Northwest Houston area after Hurricane Ike’s winds devastated the area and knocked out power for 2 million people. During the effort, Nourish America partnered with Robin Read, CEO of the National Foundation for Women Legislators, Mary Wong, President of the Office Depot Foundation and Representative Debbie Riddle (R-TX) to help organize and supply food, beverages and sanitary items for 4 pods, one of which had a line of cars six miles long filled with families waiting for provisions. The effort was fueled by 700 local volunteers. Except for some ice supplied by the County and by FEMA, all the supplies were provided without federal help and at no cost to the taxpayers.

The National Foundation for Women Legislators and the Office Depot Foundation were also honored with resolutions during the session. Present during the event was Michael Morton, Executive Director of Nourish America, Mary Wong, President of Office Depot Foundation and Kevin Robertson, CEO of the Chance to Give Foundation. Representative Debbie Riddle spoke for several minutes about the important contribution Nourish America made during the crisis. It was quite a humbling moment for me and a proud moment for Nourish America.

After the ceremony, the resolution honoring our charity was signed by the Speaker of the House. Please find below an exerpt of the resolution. Click here to read the entire resolution.

“….Whereas, Times of great crisis often inspire noble actions, and Hurricane Ike proved to be no exception, as evidenced by the generous support offered by Nourish America; now, therefore, be it resolved that the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature hereby honors Nourish America for the important role it played in the Hurricane Ike relief and recovery effort and extend to all those associated with the organization sincere gratitude for their hard work and dedication; and, be it further resolved that an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Nourish America as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives…”

We at Nourish America wish to deeply thank all of our supporters who made our Hurricane Ike Relief effort such a success and who made this honor possible, particularly: Connie and Dr. Julian Whitaker of Whitaker Wellness Institute, Raj Chopra of Tishcon Corp, Stephanie Rudat of the Alliance of Youth Movements, Tammy Faridi, Diana Blankman of Wyeth Healthcare Consumer, Thao Pham of Clif Bar Family Foundation, Joseph Salzone of Natural Organics, Sara Newmark of New Chapter, Bruce Sweyd of Alacer Corp, Anne Kazemzadeh of Kay’s Naturals, Maria Emmer-Aanes of Nature’s Path, Mary Wong of Office Depot Foundation, Robin Read of National Foundation for Women Legislators, Representative Debbie Riddle, Representative Patricia Harless, Carole Little of Northwest Assistance Ministry, Bobby Hanna of Univera, Susan MacGlaughlin of The Vitamin Shoppe, Dr. David Maccallan of Ideal Health, Mary Waldner of Mary’s Gone Crackers, Sarah Keck of American Nutriceuticals, Doug Jon es of Pharmavite, Al Powers of NOW Foods, Len Monheit and Jason Butterfield of NPIcenter, Dean Pipher of Muscle Tech, Joe Gilliams of BodyBuilding.com, Keane Tsu of Au’Some, Inc and Marsha Koehler of Protos, Inc.

You all helped relieve the suffering of thousands during a historic crisis. Thank you.

As this is the first day of 2009’s hurricane season, it reminds us at Nourish America to stand ready to provide assistance again to individuals or regions that may be affected by any future disasters. Nourish America is prepared and has continued to succeed with rapid disaster response time and time again.

With Best Regards,

Michael Morton

Executive Director

Nourish America
P.O. Box 567
Ojai, CA 93024
(805) 715-693