Pro/Am Contests Blog

IFBB New Zealand Grand Pro/Elite 2008
By Darren Navisotschnig

A sunny day greeted The Trusts Stadium for the start of Auckland’s first ever Pro show.  With the Elite division (taken out by Robert Piotrkowicz) providing the perfect warm up to this premium 12 man Pro line-up.

When the Pros first came out on stage for Pre Judging they really held the New Zealand crowd, of at least 600+, in awe.  Never has this kind of size been seen in New Zealand since Ronnie Coleman came down here in 2001.  This line up was easily the equal of any Pro show with the exception of the Arnold and Olympia, with Dexter Jackson, the favourite to win.

Most of the athletes really brought there top game to the Auckland show with Melvin and Rockel really standing out for me.

My Rundown of the Bodybuilders:

Olivier Adzieski:
This huge Swede was the first Pro onstage and gave us a view of things to come, but unfortunately he didn’t bring much else to the party except his size and took 9th place.

Con Demetrious:
This being the Australian’s 2nd Pro show he could be forgiven for being swallowed up by the other pros in the line up.  He did however bring a quality physique but lacked the overall size to do any damage and he took the 11th place for his efforts.

Dexter Jackson:
The star of the show didn’t let down the eager crowd, who clapped, yelled and whistled when he came onstage.  Despite the pleas of the MC that he was in the condition of his life, he was noticeably off from his Arnold showing but held his conditioning nicely from the Australian show last week to take home 1st place and the $10,000 pay check.

Jaroslav Horvath:
This man brought a very complete package down under to the show.  He had no real weaknesses or strengths for that matter, but he had softened up by the time the Finals show came around and for that got kicked from the top 6 and walked away with 7th place.

Melvin Anthony:
One of the most well known bodybuilders in the world and friend of promoter Moe Moussawi didn’t disappoint the NZ crowd.  Combining size and aesthetics with good conditioning and a 2nd to none posing routine, this man really got the crowd going.  He also managed to steal the microphone a few times and knock out a couple of one-liners that only added to his incredible stage presence.  In the end he only lost to Dexter and took home the Best Poser Award.

Michael Kingsnorth:
This New Zealand local in his 2nd ever Pro show had a great physique but unfortunately lacked the size to hang with the big boys.  Also he appeared to be holding some water in the Pre Judging but had lost it by the night show.  But his Star Wars based routine was loved by the crowd.  Unfortunately he was given 12th place, but with such a big name line-up he handled himself well onstage.

Oscar Dexter:
This Tahitian Superman was huge and was the biggest man on stage at 286lbs (130kg).  But he lacked that size in his quads and his lats looked out of place on his huge torso.  But he brought his conditioning up a bit in the night show and his comical Island routine earned him 8th place.

Ronny “I got screwed again” Rockel:
This German was absolutely devastating from the front, but when he turned around he isn’t as thick and his hams were a bit soft.  Even his emotional turned grandiose posing routine couldn’t save him, and he finished out of the money in 6th place, which is a shame as I easily had him in 4th place.

Salah Ibrahim:
Another New Zealand local who brought a real quality physique to the stage but again he was outsized by the big boys.  He was a bit off in the Pre Judging but brought it up in the Finals and was given 10th place for his troubles.

Sergey Shelestov:
This massive Russian was big and thick from both the front and the back this coupled with excellent conditioning made him lethal onstage.  His combination of massive mandatories and stunning classical shots at the night show got him a 4th place finish and a ticket the Mr. O this year.

Toney Freemen:
The “X man” was looking massive onstage; he was wide as hell and had a 2nd to none hamstrings which really complemented his side shots.  But he looked like his conditioning was a bit off, especially on his upper body and didn’t really improve at the night show.  But in the end he took 3rd place which I suppose was fair.

Troy Alves:
The last man on my list lacked the serious size but made up for it with a very classy physique that really got the crowd going.  But I felt he lost a bit of his conditioning going into the Night show but he still took home the 5th place prize.  But credit to him for really getting involved with the fans both onstage and off, he even managed to drop his 5th place trophy numerous times in the space of 5 minutes, much to the amusement of the crowd.

The 2008 NZ Pro was truly memorable and full credit goes to promoters Mark Stewart and Moe Moussawi for being such amazing physiques down to New Zealand.  Hopefully this will turn into an annual event with Mark announcing last night that next year the prize money will be boosted to $30,000 and that he promises even more quality physiques next time round.