2008 Olympia Blog

Expo Review, 2 days in the making…

We caught the shuttle from the hotel over to the convention center. We had gotten some VIP wristbands with our ticket package so we got to avoid the ticket lines and made a beeline for the entrance. Wanting to see the whole expo we decided to start to the right and work our way around. We first noticed the Thermolife booth and their topless girls (their breasts were spray painted with tigers, oh my!). This startled the mom next to us, who was quick to cover her child’s eyes.

Next we were off to see the BSN booth, never to be out done they had some of the hottest booth girls around, on Friday they were in these silver little space-like outfits, I even got Richard’s friend Will to take a pic with them. The girl who we talk to explained what exactly Endorush does and loaded us up with some full size samples; this is heaven for a caffeine addict like me. You couldn’t walk through the expo without seeing the sparkly silver/red bags.

The Promax booth had some wonderful samples and well informed booth girls, nothing turns a consumer off more than asking a question about a product you’re putting into your well tuned body than the person looking at you and saying, “ask the person over there. I bought a box of their cookies and cream bars for my post workout meal. They also were giving out samples of their product Oat-Rageous bars.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/promax/promax.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/promax/oat.html

There are 2 kinds of people that attend expos, people who LOVE all the free samples and leave with 2-3 bags full of goodies. Then there are people like me who already push the weight limit on my bags when I fly so I only go for the samples of things I already use or if it interest me as a future product.

One such future product I found not for me but for my fianc©, was New Whey Liquid Protein, it comes in 25 grams and 42 grams servings and with a range of flavors. They are in what looks like shooter tubes and actually taste pretty good. I threw a couple in my purse for the judging that night and when you need to eat every two hours like he does they made going out even easier.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ids/new.html

Who could miss the Women’s prejudging going on in the back of the expo.  They looked awesome and it was great too see how the general public reacted.

Next I had to look for the booth my trainer, Ali McKnight, was working, Ultimate Nutrition. I had to let her know I had just seen her face on the outside of the transfer bus we came over on.  The booth looked great! All of the reps behind the counter were well informed on their products and even showed me a few I have never tried.

I tried to get into the EAS booth “arena as it had been one of my favorite booths at Europa, but that wasn’t happening. Needless to say with the dancing girls on the platform in the back throwing t-shirts it was a fan favorite.

Twinlab came to the rescue with giving me a few new shakers after the evil TSA lady took mine while flying out here. I got the chance to sample their new citrus flavored energy drink, I really liked it. Kind of reminded me of like a Sunkist soda flavor.

The Bodybuilding.com booth was awesome, I got the chance to meet up with Richard and Ian again and take some cool pics. I also got an awesome license plate cover that said ” Kiss my abs this thing is totally going on my new car.  They were also giving out 10% off coupons for their store, anyone who orders knows with their already low prices this is a deal! I got the chance to meet and take some pictures with Bob Cicherillo!

Another product I discovered was Syntrex Nectar “to-go size, basically single serving size. My favorite protein ever is the Fuzzy Navel flavor so the idea of being able to mix it in a simple water bottle really excited me! Needless to say this was a booth I hit both days!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/syn/grab.html

Last but not least on new products, Java Fit. They make a gourmet coffee that also has an additional fat burner and appetite suppressant. After trying a sample I had to have it and bought 3 bags! As a coffee lover, my eyes lit up like Christmas morning at the thought of a super coffee.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/jlu/diet.html

Many people are lactose intolerant so I was really excited about getting the chance to try Vyo-techs new “Oryx Goat Whey, It brags to be 300% greater absorption, 100% lactose free & sugar free, but the important thing was does it taste good, the true test was Bryan who hates all chocolate flavored protein and he actually thought it tasted good, me on the other hand, I have no access to chocolate so I thought it tasted awesome.

I was a little disappointed that they weren’t selling any, the rep told me it should be out in about 3 weeks, I will all over that. To top it off I asked her if she had any of the “GO GOAT shirts I had read about and she had two left and gave them to us. As a matter of fact I am wearing it right now as I type this up!

While I know I missed a lot of booths, give a gal a break, there were what seemed like over a hundred and all were well ran and packed!
  
Something that ran through my head on the shuttle ride back today was how much fun the expo was. All the athletes and booth personal were super nice. Even better was I always ask a salesman who carries their product or the easiest way to get it. 9/10 times I heard, oh you can go on www.bodybuilding.com and get it for a really good price!

In case you missed them, we have tons of contest photos and contest results already up, here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2006olympia.htm

…with more being added each night.  =)

I happened to arrive at the Orleans Arena right behind Ronnie getting out of his limo. So he and I walked down the hallway together and without anyone around. It was kind of interesting because you just don’t see the big guy by himself anymore.

Anyway it was me carrying all of my camera gear and Ronnie carrying his gym bag of stuff. Ronnie and I have talked before over the last few years and this time I asked him some questions and I said I would keep it between us. Nothing that couldn’t be repeated but that is what I said.

But I will say this, Ronnie did tell me without question that he will win. What do you think? You will be able to check out photos from tonight right here on Bodybuilding.com by about the time you finish reading this blog entry.

Hello everyone… Jeff here, reporting live from Vegas. After a hectic past 2 days, I have finally found some time (and a computer) to sit down and post a blog.
I arrived in LV yesterday and had some time to relax at the hotel before heading out to the Orleans Arena for the Meet and Greet.

When I first entered the Arena I was in shock as I saw a line that reached from the Arena all the way to the Casino! Being my first meet and greet, I had no idea what to expect. I thought that maybe there would be a small line, but I was wrong. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I made my way up the escalator and walked in the the hallways that were lined with all the IFBB athletes competing in the Olympia. In one word, to see all those people, it was amazing. You could literally walk up to anyone and pose for a pic (to be posted soon) and chat with them, and even get an autographed picture (for a small donation). I walked around in amazment about 2-3 times taking pictures and meeting athletes. As I was about to head back to the hotel, I ran into a couple of the other bloggers (Richard, Vince, and Ian)… so I hung out with them for a bit and took some more picutres. Overall, it was a fun night.

As for my thoughts… I was impressed with every athlete that I saw. Ronnie and Jay had the biggest lines, naturally. I got a chance to see them up close, and each of them looked huge! Picture do not do justice for them. The veins on their arms look bigger than a pen or pencil…. again, it was amazing. Everyone from Dexter to Branch to Melvin all looked in top shape for their pre-judging the following night. And for anyone who thinks that the athletes would be in a bad mood because of their diets and lack of energy leading up to a show like this, is wrong! Every athlete I met was more than happy to go out of their way to make the fans happy. This is truly something great that still exists in this sport. The good attitudes make the fans come back, and that is something that the IFBB needs.

Well.. my internet cafe time is running out, so I will sign out in hopes of returning here tomorrow to write about my expo experiences… stay tuned!

I posed the following question to several familiar faces at the Expo today, and their answers are quite funny…

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen here so far?”

Fitness Model, Christina Lindley: “Mike Summers lifting me up onto his shoulders.”

NPC Figure Competitor, Halcyon Duarte: “The girls in the booth over there that are almost naked.”

VPX Girl, Crystal Matthews: “The ARLI girls dancing and their tops fell off.  I saw full breasts and nipples.”

IFBB Pro, Phil Heath:  “No comment.  LOL.”

IFBB Figure Pro, Carla Sanchez:  “The woman I saw wearing short, short, shorts that really should’ve been wearing pants.”

NPC Fitness Competitor and Model, Gina Ostarly:  “A real Las Vegas pimp - outside last night, not here at the Olympia.  I took a picture with him!”

IFBB Figure Pro, Tara Scotti:  “I’m a New Yorker, so nothing shocks me.”

Fitness Model, Gina Lara:  “A man in a skirt.”

NPC Figure Competitor, Ginger Redeker:  “A huge lady in ‘daisy dukes,’ yuck.”

IFBB Pro, Quincy Taylor:  “The topless girls are too much.  I mean, as a man, I like seeing that, but as a father, I don’t want to see it.  There are people here with young kids, and maybe some short shorts and some cheek is okay, but they really should’ve put shirts on.  I have daughters, and I don’t want them to have to see that.”

Looking for somewhere to grab a good and hearty bite to eat before the show tonight and on Saturday? We asked our cabbie for the best place to get “all you can eat” but not have it be totally fried, Who would have guessed he would have suggested the “French Market Buffet” located right in our hotel, The Orleans home of this years Olympia.

Having to check this out for our selfs after a long day at the expo we were shocked to see a few dozen XL gym nuts in there filling up. So if your looking for a place to eat and happen to “eat like a bodybuilder” this is your place. Its 12.95 a person and the dinner hours are 4-10.

I started out today with a quick visit through the Expo, this is really a well done show, lots to see and the exhibitors are giving away a lot of stuff. Bodybuilding.com has a new and expanded exhibit, it looks great.

Then I went on to shoot the first rounds of judging for fitness, figure and women’s bodybuilding. You can sure tell that these are the Olympia women, they are the best. Watch for the galleries of photos a little later. And tonight we will be shooting more. Stay tuned!

Okay so what is there to do after the contest lights have gone out? Not wanting to lose too much money to the poker tables? If you like some of the people I talked to last night and are staying till Monday try and get the chance to see KA, at the MGM.

My fiance and I went to see it after the “Meet the Olympians” last night. All I can say is WOW. I am a huge fitness fan, I admire these girls on stage more than anything. So you can imagine my surprise to see a vertical battle! I don’t want to ruin the show for anyone but I will let you know it invovled wushu kung fu. Nothing like a weekend of Olympians and a battle to make you want to train for your next local fitness contest!

Here’s a link to the press conference photo gallery from Thursday afternoon, photos courtesy of SecondFocus!   =)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2006olympia_press1.htm

We are off to the real start of things. Today we had the press conference with all of the athletes. It was hosted by our own World Champion Bob Cicherillo, co-host of Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Dan Solomon, and also a totally hot Kim Lyons.

The athletes threw verbal shots at each other and answered questions and comments from the press and fans in a packed room at the Orleans Hotel. And the big guy himself, Ronnie predicted nothing but an easy win for himself. More to follow…

Okay so I have checked into my room at the Orleans and the first thing I see if this place is crawling with muscle, people at the airport were in aww of the men and women with a little bulge in all the right places.

Something that my fiance noticed when we got into our room was there was a special menu laying on the desk…. SPECIAL MENU FOR OLYMPIA WEEKEND: all items are prepared without the use of salt, oil or butter, minus the fact that 6 egg whites end of costing about 11 bucks… Oh well time to get ready to go to the Meet the Olympians! I’ll post pics later!

Hey everyone, got some new pre-contest pics (just days out!) for ya. 

Dennis James, 3 days out!

Ronnie Coleman, 2-3 days out!

David Henry, 2-3 days out!