Pro/Am Contests Blog

Joe Wheatley’s Mr. & Ms. Muscle Beach July 4th show was FAnominal!  The show began promptly at 10 am… The classes for each division were a lot larger then the Memorial Day show.

I was happy to see a good friend of mine, Dena Anne Weiner, back stage.  We ended up competing against one another in the Overall Competition… We were so excited about standing next to one another… we grabbed hands immediately!

Photo courtesy of SecondFocus.

To my surprise, I won the Overall trophy… and when I say trophy, I mean it.  It’s a TALL trophy!  I had to have a friend ship it back to me… it wouldn’t fit in my luggage! And my hands were full with the long-stem roses I received!

I absolutely love this show!!! It’s a great place to people watch.  I probably won’t compete in it again this year, but would love to return to watch!!!

Abby Marie
AbbyMarie.net

So who else comes on out to Muscle Beach for the July 4th competition? Well after Arnold came biking through, there was still more. Victor Martinez for one and you should not doubt this guy’s popularity! I have not seen a pro bodybuilder generate as much excitement as Victor in a long time. I am amazed and how many people know who he is and want to meet him and take a photo with the man who won the 2007 Arnold!

Next up and no slouch in the fan favorite department was Silvio Samuel. Silvio is always ready to get out on stage and show some muscle. He is always a humble guy and very thankful for everything that has gotten him this far.

And both guys got to share the Muscle Beach magic with one of the true greats of the sport, Franco Columbo. Two time Olympia winner and holder of more titles than even he can probably remember, Franco was inducted into the Muscle Beach Hall of Fame.

And not to be upstaged by anyone and despite his march along senior citizen status, Franco did the same stunt he has been known to do forever. He blew up an actual hot water bottle until it burst! Try that at home at any age!

Roland Kickinger was on hand to give out some hardware. Roland was the star of “See Arnold Run” and actually won a show at Muscle Beach 13 years ago.

Now I am going to give you a sneak peek. Muscle Beach is going to have it’s own walk of fame. That’s right; on Labor Day it will be official that Bronze Plaques will be laid along the “Pit” and be there forever to honor the most famous in bodybuilding. And you might catch in the upper left corner of the plaque who is behind getting it done with Joe Wheatley the producer and the father of all that is new and great at Muscle Beach. That is right, BodyBuilding.com.

So plan on being at Muscle Beach Venice on Labor Day. You can only imagine who will be there on that day, I can assure you.

Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More…?"

Another Summer day and the Mr and Mrs Muscle Beach competition at worlds famous Muscle Beach. Now you never know who you might see on the boardwalk in Venice but one person you can see very often is Arnold. Since he got his start he has always been around Muscle Beach and July 4th was another bike ride for him, which he does often when he is in town.

This time he came along just when the bodybuilding competition was getting started. And a shocked crowd and tourists was amazed that the Governator was just out and about for fun. Arnold stopped and talked with a few and then was on his way.

The people around were really caught off guard and many of them were asking me “Was that really Arnold?”.

Well it was Arnold, I know that for sure!

More from July 4th at Muscle Beach shortly with more big surprises!

Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More…?"

Joe Wheatley’s 2007 Muscle Beach International Classic was held last week on Memorial Day in Santa Monica, California, and we’ve got lots of coverage here on Bodybuilding.com of the event.

IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, Günter Schlierkamp.

Lots of fitness industry celebs were in attendance, including:

• Gunter Schlierkamp
• Bob Cicherillo
• Brenda Kelly
• John Balik
• “The X-Man” Toney Freeman
• Ian Sitren
• Cathy LeFrancois
• “Hollywood” Jerome Ferguson
• Abby Marie
• Chris LaCascia
• Adam Kirby
• “Marvelous” Melvin Anthony
• Roland Kickinger
• Timea Majorova
• Russ DeLuca
• Tony Pearson
• Sherry Goggins
• Justin Hunter

NPC/INBF Figure Competitor &
Figure Short Class Winner, Abby Marie.

NPC Bodybuilder, Chris LaCascia.

IFBB Pro Bodybuilders, Bob Cicherillo & Toney Freeman.

NPC Bodybuilder, Justin Hunter.

“Getting Cut With Glass” Star, Adam Kirby.

Pre/Post-Show Muscle Beach Coverage on Bodybuilding.com:

Muscle Beach Post-Show Recap And Show Footage by Chris LaCascia
Muscle Beach Int’l Info Page/Review by Ian Sitren
Muscle Beach Int’l Review by Brenda Kelly
Muscle Beach Int’l Results
2007 Muscle Beach Int’l Finals Photos
2007 Muscle Beach Int’l Miscellaneous Photos
2007 Muscle Beach Int’l Pre-Judging Photos
Chris LaCascia & Tracy Guarino’s “Back To The Beach” Video Series
Adam Kirby’s Training with Charles Glass

Muscle Beach photos courtesy of SecondFocus.

There is no other bodybuilding competition in the world like Muscle Beach over Memorial Day weekend at Venice Beach, California. It is perhaps the most news media covered bodybuilding show in the world, only exceeded by the Arnold and the Olympia. Where else at what other competition do you get the United States Air Force to fly over the massive C-17 Globemaster!

So much more went on during the day including trophies handed out by Gunter Schlierkamp and guest posing by Melvin Anthony. The overall figure winner is Erin Lutz and this was only her second show, having done Muscle Beach last year. And the overall mens bodybuilder is 40 year old Carl Matthews Jr. from Las Vegas.

Anyway I just got in from the beach, Muscle Beach that is. So time for a break. I will be posting some more fun stuff from this weekend at Muscle Beach, so keep checking back. And we will have the photo galleries up soon. Thanks!

Photos:
Pre-Judging Gallery
Finals Gallery
Contest Fun Gallery

And the first day of the Memorial Day weekend festivities got off with muscle! A record number of competitors came on out to Venice Beach including great bodies from our own Armed Forces and lots of great people from around the world who wanted to get on stage at Muscle Beach!

A cool morning opened up to a Summer sunny day at the beach here in Southern California. It was everything you think about; sand, the ocean, good looking guys and girls. Not only did we have the show pre-judging but also booths and bands for entertainment. Even big Toney Freeman, the “X-Man” himself, could not miss Muscle Beach.

Tomorrow on Memorial Day we will see the show start off with an Air Force flyover and then get on to a big day of finals. So if you are around, come on out! And look for me and the crew from BodyBuilding.com and say Hi!

Well, for once Lisa’s and Isaac’s predictions don’t stink.  LOL, J/K.

Here are my top picks* for this weekend:

Keystone Pro:

1. Dennis Wolf
2. Silvio Samuel Saviour
3. Johnnie O. Jackson
4. Darrem Charles
5. Kai Greene
6. Branch Warren
7. Desmond Miller
8. Leo Ingram
9. Craig Richardson
10. George Farah

California Pro:

1. Sonia Adcock
2. Chastity Sloane
3. Pauline Nordin
4. Juliana Malacarne
5. Zhanna Rotar

Muscle Beach (Memorial Day):

1.  Chris LaCascia
1.  Adam Kirby
1.  Tracy Guarino

(Each will win their own respective division/weight class, LOL.)

*Subject to change at a moment’s notice!

The 2007 Muscle Beach International Classic will be held on May 27th & 28th (this coming Sunday and Monday, Memorial Day) at the Venice Beach Recreation Center in Venice, California. This annual show is free to the public!

Here is a partial, tentative list of competitors:

Chris LaCascia
Tracy Guarino
Adam Kirby
Rhonda Richard
Dane Corder
Jan Fucik
Jack Scow
Lindi Ince
Bud Ravenscroft
Greg Ferrer
Jim Arrington

Find out more info on this show, here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2007musclebeach_info.htm

For additional info, visit MuscleBeachVenice.com.