Iron Man Pro 08 Report: A View from the First Row
By Howard Feintuch

Phil Heath strides on stage for his compulsory poses with a huge, confident smile on his face. There is an immediate rise in the noise among the crowd as they take in his physique from head to toe. “The Gift”, as Heath is called, hits a double biceps and his presentation just flows from top to bottom: the massive arm muscles flexing to full size; chiseled abs tensing in etched detail; deep muscle separation in the quads. The buzz in the crowds rises a notch further with each subsequent pose. The word champion immediately comes to my mind. This is my first time seeing Phil Heath live: he has a big, cut, sculpted physique, with muscles that burst from every area as he flexes. He is a combination of both impressive size and picturesque aesthetic detail. At just 28 years old he is the second youngest pro in the IFBB.

I couldn’t have a better view of Heath and the other pros flexing. Thanks to Wayne Gallasch of GMV Productions I am in the front row, aisle seat, arguably the best seat in the house, a good twenty yards closer to the action then the judges themselves. I am shooting second camera from a tripod for the Iron Man DVD, which Gallasch is producing. Gallasch has been shooting muscle videos himself since the late ‘60s and has filmed all over the world.  He promoted on his website the bodybuilding training documentary DVD I shot, Sculpted by Choice, and he now giving me my first opportunity to shoot at a contest. What a way to start my newest video adventure, the third biggest pro show of the year! There is a loaded line-up of musclemen, including defending champion Toney Freeman, Gustavo Badell, Silvio Samuel, King Kamali, David Henry and a host of massive European bodybuilders looking to make their mark in the US.
My assignment for GMV is to capture tight shots of the flexing muscles that will be edited in between Gallasch’s main, wider camera view. My first row seat provides a unique vantage point for watching the show, as many of the bodybuilders I have seen over the past year in MuscleMag come to life so close that I see every bulging vein and striation to a degree I have never experienced before. There are 32 competitors in all, and after viewing each, three stand-out prominently: Phil Heath, Gustavo Badell, and Silvio Samuel.

Badell is the physically biggest of the trio and the most in-shape big man on stage. He has a commanding presence and exudes an intense energy, whether flexing or standing tensed. With each pose he strikes during his compulsory routine, Badell bellows a loud scream and cinches in the shot, holding for a few seconds longer than most of his competitors do. It works for dramatic effect when you are this ripped and thickly muscled. Badell tenses a specific muscle area and the veins pop. My lens fills with the awesome image.

Silvio Samuel, who made his first big splash on the scene at this same show last year, displays the usual full, bursting muscle mass and ripped condition that led him to a top ten finish at the recent Mr. Olympia. There are some other massive bodybuilders as well that garner attention, though they will not be contending for the top spots.

Gallasch instructs me prior to the pre-judging to pay special attention to “freaky” body parts in close-up shots, as they will make good insert footage. He tells me in particular to get some good shots of Neset Icli, a Mr Universe newcomer from Holland that was being talked about at the press conference for his massive size. He has a thick frame packed with muscle and his sheer bulk draws a reaction from the crowd when he first comes through the curtain. His quads are full of bulging veins that lift prominently off the  surface of the muscles. Freaky indeed. I’ve never seen such quad vascularity live. He is equally big in his upper body, but as he flexes it is apparent he lacks the detail and cuts to match his awesome lower body. In the end it will prevent him from cracking the top 15.

Paul Baker, a former Caribbean Champion from Jamaica, is another impressive newcomer who I find my camera focusing on quite a bit at the pre-judging. He has thick powerful looking muscles with lots of vascularity. Baker clearly outsizes most of the other competitors. He also has good definition, proportions and a strong stage presence. He is somehow unable to place in the top 15, but causes a buzz nevertheless with the audience who seems to be a bit partial, as always at IFBB shows, to the bigger guys.

As the pre-judging comes to a close the talk among the crowd seems split between Heath and Badell as the winner. The general consensus is that the competition will come down to whether the judges lean towards Badell’s larger frame or Heath’s stunning aesthetics. In turn, it would provide an insight perhaps into the judging criteria for the upcoming IFBB season.

As the female figure models file on stage for the next show, I rush out of the auditorium to attend a seminar upstairs by the legendary Robby Robinson, the first of several bodybuilding seminars to be held in conjunction with the weekend events, which also includes the LA Fit Expo and MMA card.
Robby Robinson was one of the top bodybuilders of the 70s. He is a former Mr. Universe and twice runner-up at the Mr. Olympia. “The Black Prince”, as he was dubbed, was perhaps best known for his massive peaked biceps. Three decades later Robinson is still in great shape, works out five days a week with the weights, eats clean, does intensive cardio, retires at 8 pm and rises at 5 am. This is the same routine he followed back in his competitive prime.
Robby tells the audience that he first got interested in bodybuilding when he was 13 and saw a Steve Reeves movie. It spawned a desire to have a big, muscular, fit physique. Thus began his bodybuilding journey. In 1975 newly turned pro Robinson moved to Venice Beach from South Florida and began training at the legendary Gold’s Gym.

An audience member asks how he thinks the champions train differently now than in the ‘70s. Robinson grins and looks around the room slowly, as if he’s about to let us in on a closely guarded secret. He chooses his next words carefully. He makes it clear he means no disrespect to today’s current crop of  pros, but he adamantly believes the guys from his era trained harder and loved every minute to boot. He fondly recalls the day-in day-out intensity of the bodybuilders at Gold’s, including himself, Ed Corney, Ken Waller, Franco Columbu and, of course, the leader of the group, Arnold. “We’d train 20 sets for each body part,” said Robinson, “and push ourselves to the point of almost collapsing. Everyone wanted to outdo the next guy in terms of intensity. It was a great environment to train in.”

In the response to several audience requests, Robinson peels off his shirt at the end of the seminar and goes through a series of poses. He reveals a ripped, muscular physique with defined abs and the same awesome peaks to his biceps that wowed fans three generations prior. “How old are you?” inquires someone in the front row. “I’m 61,” says Robinson in a soft, deep voice, hitting another double biceps pose. “You look great for any age,” yells out an older woman in the audience while snapping a picture of “The Black Prince”.

Phil Heath is the speaker at the next seminar I attend. He opens by talking about how he made the transition from Division 1 college basketball to competitive bodybuilder and the challenges he faced in preparing for his first contest surrounded by negative influences. Health believes that the mind is one of most powerful tools, and we can use it to achieve success in all areas of life. During the course of talking about his own life, Heath relays many messages designed to inspire people to be their best. “Take the energy you put into something  you are good at it and apply it to something else you are struggling with and watch the improvement,” says Heath. He adds he instilled this philosophy in his 14 year old step son who used it to improve from a C to a B student.
Health also stresses the importance of competing with yourself as opposed to competing with others when it comes to bodybuilding. He says to not compare yourself to others and become discouraged, as some people will just grow faster and be better developed than others. Work to be the best you can personally be and push yourself to achieve your own goals. That is true success, according to Heath. He mentions an excellent way to chart your improvement is to take digital photos of yourself every few months.  Full of positive energy, a very personable demeanor, and youthful appearance, Phil Heath speaks to the audience with the same passionate drive with which he poses on stage. I left his seminar thinking what a wonderful, enthusiastic representative of the bodybuilding community he would make to speak to a mainstream audience.

The final seminar I attend features Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler. This is the third time I have heard Cutler speak and he always comes across very humble and low-key. Wearing a tank-top and weighing 300 lbs, but by no means looking out of shape, Cutler is one of the thickest individuals you are ever to likely see in your life.  Just mind-bogglingly massive in person.

Cutler’s advice to the aspiring champion bodybuilders in the audience is simple and to the point: train hard and consistently, while consuming five to seven meals a day of healthy foods. He advises those that have a busy lifestyle to do as he does: cook all meals the night before and carry around a cooler.
He acknowledges to the audience that he wasn’t his best at the prior Olympia and is looking forward to defending his title with a resounding victory in September, 2008 to silence many of his critics. Cutler said he isn’t focusing on beating any one competitor per se, but rather on bringing himself to his own best condition. He closes his seminar by thanking the audience for supporting bodybuilding and attending his seminar.

The finals for the Iron Man were held Saturday evening and promised to hold a few surprises, as IFBB contests always tend to. While it is genuinely agreed that Heath and Badell will be battling for a top spot, the remaining three Olympia qualifying spots seemed to be up for grabs to one of a number of competitors. In a change from last year, all 32 competitors did their posing routines. Some do straight forward routines, hardly moving from one spot, while others like Phil Heath roam the stage as if it is their own, flexing to each side of the audience.

It comes down to six in the pose down: Health, Badell, Samuel, Johnnie Jackson, Desmond Miller, and dark horse Moe Elmoussawi who bests better-known competitors Troy Alves (7th) and Toney Freeman (8th). Over a thousand pounds of the muscle consume the stage to the delight of the crowd, hitting pose after pose showcasing their physiques for the final time of the evening. Then the competitors line up and wait for the placement announcement.
Will hyped newcomer Heath grab the title? Will Badell outmuscle his charismatic younger competitor? Will Samuel knock them both off?

The placings are read slowly, 6th Miller…5th Jackson..then an even longer pause…4th Samuel. The crowd boos. Third Elmoussawi… who comes out of  virtual obscurity to get his first Olympia qualification.  Badell and Health remain center stage, muscles tense waiting for the final word. 2nd place…Gustavo Badell. A clear look of disappointment spreads across his face, something indeed expected from an intense competitor such as he is. A look of pure delight flashes on Heath’s face as Jay Cutler hands him the winner’s trophy. The eyes seem to lock for a split second, perhaps foreshadowing a showdown on the Olympia stage come September. It is the biggest win of Heath’s career and a decision that pleases the audience in the packed house who chant his name. In his acceptance speech he announces his plans to compete at the next Mr. Olympia, his first time doing the show. The Iron Man Pro proves to be an excellent start to what promises to be an competitive year in the IFBB.

• Howard Feintuch operates Musculargalore.com, which promotes healthy living through bodybuilding workout DVDs and bodybuilding-related documentaries. He can be contacted at howardfeintuch@musculargalore.com

• Howard’s DVDs are also available from GMV Productions.
Click here for JAMES KOHLER – MR NATURAL CALIFORNIA: SCULPTED BY CHOICE A-1142DVD
Click here for SHAWN STASIAK – DETERMINED: A DOCUMENTARY ON A FAMOUS WRESTLER A-1143DVD