Isaac Hinds - LIFTstudios Blog

PHOTO - Catherine Holland and Teresa Gillian - 2 new pros

liftstudios — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:15:40 +0000

Check out one of the many awesome photos we got the day after the competition in Chicago.

Catherine Holland and Teresa Gillian heat things up.

Senator Obama eats Met-RX Protein bars

liftstudios — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:32:57 +0000

In a recent interview with the New York Times, presidential candidate Barack Obama’s personal aide mentioned he eats Met-RX chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars. Talk about a great plug for MetRX! This is the type of publicity advertising can never touch. Product mention like this is invaluable for companies. You can read the entire article on the New York Times website.

NPC JR NATIONALS FEMALE WINNERS

liftstudios — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:23:47 +0000

Congratulations to all the winners at tonight’s NPC JR Nationals contest. Below is a flash report of the winners for the women:

The six new female pros (there’s one more but missed the photo)

Fitness -
Short Class: Stefanie Irick and overall champion
Medium: Melissa Frederick
Tall: Betsy McNally Harris

Figure -
A Class - Sue Upson and new IFBB Pro
B Class - Julie Kulla and new IFBB Pro & Overall winner
C Class - Teresa Gillian and new IFBB Pro
D Class - Terri Turner
E Class - Catherine Hollan and new IFBB Pro
F Class - Jennifer Martin

Female Bodybuilding -
Middleweight - Heather Bayer
Light Heavyweight - Justine Dohring
Heavyweight - Amber Defrancesco and Overall Winner

Congrats to all! Today the vast majority of the women looked better than on Friday night. Most likely it was because they had some carbs. Ladies talk to the judges and get feedback. Many of the women I saw compete at JR USAs who competed here looked much better.

Female Friday - Jr Nationals Update

liftstudios — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:39:58 +0000

Day one is in the books and the competition will be some of the toughest the NPC figure has seen. Last night the men and women weighed in and had the ladies heights were checked. You will see a number of women moving around in height classes from last year. This year the classes were changed in an effort to even the numbers out, particularly the A and F classes. We’re still getting a feel for how this plays out on the National stage.

The schmonation is running strong and you will see a variety of the individuals I wrote about in my photographers post. Another item I’ll be writing about later is something I hadn’t given much thought, until last night. The “schmodels”. These are the women who thrive off the attention of posing, flexing, smiling for anyone who has a camera. Ladies if you’re a fitness or figure competitor and you’re flexing your biceps for a dude with a camera phone - YOU’RE A SCHMODEL. I’ll save this diatribe for another time.

The weather in Chicago is nice, not too hot and the crazy bugs from last year are no where in sight. I ran into a few familiar faces and some new ones yesterday. When I met up with the PR Team they informed their fearless leader, IFBB Carla Sanchez, was not let on the plane with them because she didn’t have the right credit card that the ticket was booked with. What a load of poo. The women forged ahead and were sporting matching outfits for their photo shoot with JM Manion.

JM photographing the Peformance Ready girls.

It as amusing to watch traffic come to a hault and random people stop to take photos of the scene. All five women looked great and in a conversation with Jamie Meade, who is making her first trip to the national scene, I was reminded of something. No matter where you finish in this show you should be proud and happy to be on stage. Why? She works with handicapped people every day who can’t walk or have disabilities that prevent them from doing every day things. I love her outlook and she reminded me to not loose sight of the big picture.

Then there is Liza Kampstra. Liza will be a force in the B Class and one to watch. She had some fun with the group and one point sported a blonde wig. Her altered ego - “Larrissa” came out for a few shots and it was comedy at it’s finest.

“Larrissa” wanted no photos from the paparazzi until he she was ready.
Just kidding it was actually hilarious.

At check-in I caught up with a number of women, all of which mentioned HARDBODY.com. Thanks for the props and thanks to all of you for visiting regularly.I “officially” met Khristy Poteat and we chatted a bit. She tells me she is coming in a bit softer than JR USAs and I could tell in her face she wasn’t as hard and drawn in, this should suit her well. Very stunning woman and watch for her to move up from her last placingSara Hurrle was trying to stay calm over the airline loosing her luggage. This is Sara’s first national show and looking to keep her winning ways alive in the D Class.

One woman I’ve know for a few years and honestly did not recognize her was Betsy Harris. Betsy ain’t play’n no games and came to do damage in Chitown. She competes in fitness and the last couple of shows hasn’t fair as well as she would like due to her conditioning or lack their of. I can tell just from her face that this won’t be an issue for her this show. I’ve never seen her so lean and if she can muster up enough energy to bring the noise to the stage tonight, WATCH OUT! I’m anxious to see how she looks on stage as her routines are solid and with a conditioned physique she puts herself in the mix to turn pro.

Betsy Harris leaner than ever and ready to take the stage.

I had a chance to chat with Paola Almerico and her husband Nelson a bit yesterday. Two good peeps who are always fun to be around. Paola just finished shooting for OXYGEN magazine in Canada. The husband/wife duo prepped two figure competitors for this show. You may recall, they worked with the overall champ from JR USAs, Lenay Hernandez. Paola was chatting with a variety of people including “the man with the big book” John Stutz. She also smiled pretty for a dead ringer of IFBB Pro Mary Lado. Yes, there is a Mary Lado lookalike at the show and she calls Dallas home. Monique “momo” is stunning and you have to do a double take when you see her as she is a spitting image of Mary. Keep an eye on her in the coming shows, she isn’t competing in this show but is a striking woman.

Poala with Momo, the Mary Lado lookalike.

I’m off to get my cardio on and hit the second check-in that will be held at 9am this morning. I’ll squeeze in a couple photo shoots before tonight’s prejudging which starts at 5pm. Tonight it’s all about the women and good luck to all of them.

Photo of the Day - Enter the Night

liftstudios — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:24:24 +0000

This is a shot of Vladimir Vuckovic making his entrance for the Ring of Fire fight. He came up on the losing end in a bought against Mike Nichols. Check back for more photos from this event.

Enter the Night.

Loose weight with Nintendo’s Wii Fit?

liftstudios — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:37:58 +0000

I ran across this blog that starts with… " I’ve Lost 16 lbs In Six Weeks With Nintendo’s Wii Fit" - Could the Wii Fit be helpful in helping with weight-loss? It is appearing this gamer think so here are a couple interesting parts to his blog:

I’ve never been on a diet, have never joined a fitness club. I’ve never lifted weights. When I was a teen I took up sailing and archery and both did enough for my shoulders and chest that I’ve often been accused of being a weight lifter. If it wasn’t for Wii Fit I don’t think I would ever take up Yoga or a daily exercise routine. Wii Fit and its video game culture appeals to me and if Nintendo can keep the idea fresh (some new add-on packs with more unlockables would be nice) I’ll probably continue to use.

—-

I’ve heard several critics mention that, instead of spending $90 on a video game, users might be better off buying a real hoola hoop and yoga mat. Well, a hula hoop is never going to call you a Yoga Master and jump around cheering when you reach your fitness goal.

This is pretty interesting concept to weight loss. Read the full blog here: http://krisabel.ctv.ca/blog/_archives/2008/6/16/3747392.html

Viral Marketing - PROMOTE BABY

liftstudios — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:43:47 +0000

Rarely do I click on banner ads but once in awhile ads will catch my attention and I’ll click through. Today I ran across a cool designed ad with Don King on it. Most banner ads suck and try to cram too much into a tiny space. This is the ad that caught my attention:

Once on the site it has the same look and feel as the banner ad. Many times if I do click on the banner I get to the site and leave. This one actually kept my short attention span. I clicked around and ran across a spot where you can create your own posters and download them and post them, like I am doing here. You’re creating your own customized content but in the process you’re promoting the product. What it is? You may not be able to tell but it is designed in such a way it catches your attention to find out. I created one for my mobile marketing company MUSCLE PHONE. It looks pretty cool.

Photographer of the Year mention in MuscleMag

liftstudios — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:31:36 +0000

A segment in the July 2008 Issue of MUSCLEMAG, with Arnold on the cover, highlights yours truly. Thanks to the people at MuscleMag and Larry Pepe for the nice write-up. The photo was taken by Ron Avidan during a shoot I did with IFBB Pro Amy Peters.

In the News - July 2008 issue of MuscleMag.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Big congratulations go out to Isaac Hinds of Lift Studios for being named the 2007 Photographer of the Year in the annual Bodybuilding.com awards. Isaac covers virtually every major NPC and IFBB contest plus a good number of not-so-major ones along with doing more photo shoots with both top and up-and-coming athletes than I even want to think about. He has shot several friends of mine, like IFBB pros Will “World” Harris and Chris Faildo, both of whom raved about how easy is to shoot with and the quality of the photos he produces. His work appears in many worldwide publications and on Web sites such as Bodybuilding.com, Hardbody.com and her personal site, LiftStudios.com.

Happy Father’s Day

liftstudios — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:20:52 +0000

A big shout out to all the fathers out there. Enjoy your day!

Charlie bit my finger - again !

Colette Nelson as the “Incredible” McCain girl - Hulk Spoof

liftstudios — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:49:32 +0000

I ran across this on youtube.com today. Pretty funny. IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, Colette Nelson is the Hulked up version of the McCain girl…

INCREDIBLE McCAIN GIRL - HULK SPOOF