Several customers have queried me over the diverse content of the recently released 2001 Mr Olympia - Men at the Expo and Behind the Scenes. In particular the mention of LARRY SCOTT has created much interest. An in-depth description and explanation of this video should now make most interesting reading.

 It was just good luck that we came across Larry at the Expo and so naturally an interview was an absolute bonus. I have not seen any interviews with Larry on video in recent years so this was a coup for GMV. Larry was the first ever Mr Olympia back in the years of 1965 and 1966. In the interview he discusses his career and tells how it was so different back then in the early days of pro bodybuilding. For example there was no prejudging as we know it today. He explains how the judging was done, who he competed against and many other fascinating facts and reminiscences. Much of what he says will come as quite a shock to modern day fans of the sport. Things have really changed.

 While Larry is telling his story I show video clips of him guest posing in 1965 and then a short segment of him at my Legends Reunion of 2000 posing his still very impressive peaked bicep that still looks like 18" at his age then of 62. It is even more incredible to think that in 3 years time, in 2005, the Mr Olympia title will be 40 years old. I suspect big celebrations will take place that year.

 I plan to research the male competitors of the Olympias to see how many different guys have competed in the Mr Olympia contest over the years from 1965 to 2001. Maybe someone reading this has the answer? Perhaps the answer is on some Olympia web site, so please let me know if it is so that I can share these details in Hard News.

 On an historical note, the first Mr Olympia event I attended and filmed was the 1971 Mr Olympia in Paris, staged by Serge Nubret. Not much is ever written about this particular Olympia, so I will share a few thoughts and facts with you. It was the first Olympia held outside the New York area and was held in conjunction with the 1971 IFBB Mr Universe. It was a strange year as there were only 3 entries for the Olympia being Arnold, Franco and Sergio Oliva. So let's examine the possible reasons why.

Firstly Sergio was banned from competing as he had just competed in the NABBA Pro Universe the week before on September 18th in London where I watched him place 2nd to Bill Pearl. In Paris it was agreed that Sergio could appear as a guest poser at the Olympia that day, September 25th. That left just Arnold and Franco to compete for the US$1000 prize. They had height classes, not only to make the contest longer but it was an IFBB rule at that time. It also enabled Arnold and Franco to pose down for the overall title which was a great crowd pleaser. It was a foregone conclusion that Arnold would win, which he did with ease. However Franco also looked in fantastic condition, so no disrespect to him just because he was much shorter. This was only Arnold’s second Mr Olympia victory.

 We should ponder for a moment as to why no other Mr Olympia competitors were present. This was only the 7th ever Mr Olympia and there were not that many pro bodybuilders on the scene at that time. Secondly most of them were USA domiciled and this was before the days of generous sponsorship deals from supplements companies. So I expect that being the first Olympia held outside USA, the other pros just could not afford or justify the cost of attending in France. Some were possibly also daunted by the presence of Arnold who was clearly in a class of his own. If any readers of this report were present that day in Paris I would love to hear your thoughts on this event. It was 31 years ago and my memory of the contest is not quite as sharp as it was. But I clearly remember Arnold checking the check to see it was correct before holding it up to the cheering crowd.

 Now back to the Expo video after my brief historical digression.

 The video continues with a brief interview and posing by DEXTER JACKSON.  Similarly with MARKUS RUHL, GUNTER, NASSER and ORVILLE BURKE.  This was mostly shot at the “Meet The Olympians” night, a huge event for the fans each year.

 I have asked WAYNE DeMILIA, the Olympia head honcho, to give me any 2002 Olympia news and updates to include on our site. I hope he agrees to this as we get over 31/2 million hits per month. GMV are great supporters of the Olympia weekend using our largest crew with top people drawn from around the world.  It is now only 3 months to the Olympia, so the count down has started.

Then the video moves to a very special interview with the DENNIS JAMES family as we chat to Dennis’s American father and German mother.  Dennis grew up in Heidelberg, Germany where he excelled at many different sports before finding bodybuilding.

 Next the action moves to the Expo floor as we interview rising NPC star CHRIS COOK and Australia’s top resident pro LUKE WOOD.  They both hit poses for our cameras.

 Back to the Event Centre where the evening shows are held, as our long time interviewer Clive Jaques gives a brilliant description of the new, space-age stage set designed by Charles Blake.  Charles is the genius behind the stage set each year and even provides our carpet we use in the pump area.  He keeps a low profile but makes a huge contribution to the Olympia each year as Wayne’s partner in production.

Other stars shown briefly include SHAWN RAY, KING KAMALI, TOM PRINCE, CRAIG TITUS, RONNIE COLEMAN, LOU FERRIGNO and GREG KOVACS.  It was a pleasure to meet and shoot a segment with YOHNNIE SHAMBOURGER at the Expo as he tells us about his new video and then flexes for us.  Saw my old buddy TOM PLATZ on a booth nearby.

 FRANK SEPE talks and then poses his famous abs and top NPC guy DOUG JABALEE hits some arm shots showcasing a most impressive physique.

 Mr Everything, ROBBY ROBINSON brings us up to date on what he is doing these days and then poses.  He looks absolutely fabulous with huge arms at his age of 50 plus, and competes in the Masters Olympia every year.

 Next it was England’s greatest physique, DORIAN YATES as he confirmed he definitely won’t be making a comeback due to the many injuries he sustained during his career.  To remind some of our younger GMV viewers just how good he used to look, I included an insert of his posing at an English Grand Prix of some years ago, while we hear his interview.

 Wayne DeMilia explains a few pertinent facts regarding the prejudging and why JAY CUTLER  placed 2^nd.  RONNIE COLEMAN at his Sunday seminar describes his Mr. Olympia preparation and tells how he improved between prejudging and the evening show. As he needed to!

 The action now moves back to the photo booth backstage with DENNIS JAMES (recently married), DEXTER JACKSON and J.D. DAWODU, followed by big Ronnie with Joe Weider in both formal and informal fun shots as Ronnie is worked to the point of exhaustion.

 Next scenes are poolside on sunny “Olympia Weekend Sunday” for short posing segments by MARKUS RUHL and PAVOL JABLONICKY.  We will do a lot more video at poolside this year.  Back to the Expo and assorted fans with great biceps hit poses for us with one guy having arms that peaked at more than 22”.  Too bad I didn’t get his name.  Perhaps you will recognize yourself in the video and contact me!

 Finally DAVE PALUMBO, LUKE WOOD and several other top competitors posed arms for us, followed by ROLAND KICKINGER and LEE PRIEST.  This was the best and funniest Lee Priest interview I have ever heard.

 This Expo extravaganza video concludes with Wayne DeMilia telling his own story in bodybuilding, how he got started as a pro show promoter through to running the Olympia Weekend as we now know it today.  It’s a fascinating story and I “illustrate” it with video clips on famous people he mentions in the interview.

 Totally based on the men at the Mr. Olympia Expo and behind the scenes, this is probably the most diverse and interesting 90 minutes I have edited in years.  A similar type video in presently being edited for the women.

 I have just returned from the NABBA World Championships held in Thessaloniki, Greece.  My brief report is as follows, and see our results section for the complete results of this and also the WFF Universe from Germany.  Next month’s Hard News will contain the WFF Universe report.

 The Worlds moved to Greece this year, superbly run by Stratos of Beauty and The Beast fitness store.  Held in historic Thessaloniki, home of Alexander the Great, the crowd enjoyed a huge number of athletes from around the world.  This year’s entry was equal to the largest ever number of competitors at around 130.

 It was a great year for Brazil (apart from winning the World Cup a few weeks later).  Richard Da Costa won the Junior Class with an extremely symmetrical physique.  The first of many victories for Brazil.

In the Masters class, what a wonderful surprise to see NABBA's all time greatest title winner, John Citrone come out of retirement.  At 59 he took the Masters title from 2 outstanding physiques in De Andrade from Brazil and Van Der Dussen of Holland. John’s most muscular pose still ranks with the best in the world. John won titles as a teenager and the way he is going he will also win titles in his 60s.

 Class 1 (tall) Men produced a surprise victory for Mikhail Bekoev of Ukraine.  We don’t see many physique stars from that country. His was a very emotional victory.

 Class 2 was won by Giuseppe Cozzi of Italy from the superb Erik Overdevest of Holland. Not much between them.

 Class 3 went to a huge Edson Prado of Brazil.  This Mr. Universe winner was massive but had not quite the condition to make him a threat for the overall title.  A massive Neset Icli of Holland took 2^nd.  For those of you who know of Paco Bautista, Icli is a clone in physique style!  That says it all I think. 

Class 4 (short).  This must have been the easiest class to judge as current Mr. Universe class 4 winner Kamal Elgargni was miles better than anyone else.  As soon as he came on stage I felt I was looking at the overall winner.  And so it proved to be.  He was bigger than last October, ripped, superbly proportioned, posed well and looked like a real professional.  If you are not familiar with Kamal, see his recently released video and photos in our Gallery.  He said he would make his pro debut in a year’s time. This was his last contest as an amateur and his crowning moment preceding his pro career.

 THE WOMEN

The freakishly muscular German, Gabrielle Heidecker decimated the field.  She has huge arms but great proportions as well.  She seems unbeatable at the moment. 

Figure Class 1 (tall).  The beautiful Brazilian Patricia Mello had too many guns for the outstanding Sylvie Esmenjaud of France.  Mello also had the briefest costume. This possibly helped!

 Figure Class 2.  Nanda Gunneweg of Holland took this large class with her very lithe but muscular physique.  In the overall title, she triumphed over Mello but it was extremely close with only a point in it.  Mello’s slipping costume was evidently not quite sufficient to sway the overall decision in her favour!

 I am indebted to the brilliant English physique photographer GILES THOMAS for my photos from this event as I did the event on my own. Please check out his new web site that will be up and running this week at http://www.uk-muscle.com/ as you are in for a treat. You will also find it shortly in our links section so you can refer back to it regularly.  Here are the video links.

GMV-477 The Men's Prejudging:  

GMV-478 The Men's Show; and 

GMV-479 The Women's Prejudging & Show.

 Welcome back to GMV to Tracy Kinna. Many of you will recall her working for us in the past. She is our new office manager in the order department and my personal assistant.

 Congratulations to Ian Dowe on recently winning the IFBB World Masters Championships.  We produced a video on Ian a few years ago which showcases his superb size, shape and symmetry.  See GMV-043 for details.

Until next month, keep pumping!