Wayne Gallasch – Biography with photos as at 8th July, 2019.
PART 1.
Public Service to the community
For 30 years, 1982 to 2012, I served as a volunteer on the South Australian Bodybuilding Committee (SABBA) in various positions from committee member to President. We ran two contests every year, The Adelaide Classic and the Mr. South Australia State Championships. Every $ received was used to send our top athletes to Nationals and International events.
During these 30 years, I also had the privilege of helping our SABBA State BB Committee organise 3 NABBA Australian National Championships in my home city of Adelaide, South Australia. The years were 1986, 1994 and 2003. The proceeds we raised paid for the various overall winners, men and women, to represent Australia overseas.
I have represented Australia as their bodybuilding official and or international judge at many overseas contests. I have also acted as our Australian representative at various fitness conventions and conferences overseas since 1970.
I have a strong interest in preserving the environment and in Nature-based Tourism in our state.
I served on the Friends of Belair National Park Committee from 2016 to 2019.
Joined the committee of Friends of Old Government House in 2016 and became Vice President of the Friends of Old Government House, Belair in 2017. We are dedicated to restoring and preserving the history of this historic South Australian Vice-Regal residence and garden. I am also the OGH official photographer and joint webmaster.
WildEarth Guardians:
I help and support the WildEarth Guardians, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. They protect and restore the wildlife, the environment, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West. http://www.wildearthguardians.org
Most Septembers I provide this wonderful group with a complimentary video production and photography of their Annual Gala Fund Raising Event in Santa Fe. I have done so since 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKm8Lz2qVK0
I have been a Member of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS in UK) since 1996.
Arnold Classic Sports Festival & the Arnold Schwarzenegger connection
1. Having been a cameraman on the Olympia camera team since 1998, it was in late 2000 that I felt that the Arnold Classic should also have a full coverage video (or later DVD) that showed all of the men’s Prejudging and Finals, with maybe some pump room and Expo scenes. In many ways this is similar to the official Olympia videos. I put this suggestion to Jim Lorimer and after some brief negotiations I was filming at my first Arnold Classic in Columbus Ohio in 2001. I was covering on video all the men’s and women’s classes. Clive Jaques flew out from UK to assist me as interviewer and photographer. This was the year of the inaugural Arnold Strongman event, won by Mark Henry.
2. In 2002 I was back again with a larger team of 3 extra helpers being my wife Tina as photographer, Clive Jaques as interviewer and photographer and Dr Dick Rossan as assistant and team manager. My videos included all the women’s classes as well as the men. I also made a separate video on the Expo highlights and inaugural Arnold Strongman Classic event.
3. I could not manage to attend in the years 2003 to 2005 inclusive. I greatly regret that situation now, missing the final two Jay Cutler victories and Dexter Jackson’s victory in 2005.
4. In 2006 I came back again, primarily to shoot in the pump room and do the women’s contests on DVD, as Andy Olson’s Magna Media had the rights to do the Arnold Classic men’s DVD. Andy was happy for this arrangement, with our personal business connection going back to the 1985 Olympias.
5. In 2007 Andy did the Men’s DVD production only and we shot and produced the DVDs of all the women’s contests.
6. In 2008 I took over shooting and producing all of the DVDs for men and women plus Strongman, through till 2010 inclusive.
7. Then in 2011 and 2012 the DVD rights went back to Andy Olson’s Magna Media for these 2 years.
8. From 2013 onwards to the present day, the official DVD production rights of all DVDs, amateur and professional, came back to me and GMV. In some of these years I was present to shoot my own footage, extra footage, interviews or pump room footage to make an even better total coverage of the event. However from 2013 onwards we have had all of the footage we required from the house cameras from Live Technologies-Real Live Pros, thanks to a combined joint cooperative effort between Bob Lorimer, Shawn Loevenguth and all of us.
9. I have given Bob Lorimer an assurance that I will continue to do this work for them (ASF) every year, for as long as I am around, and when my time is up and Ollie takes over GMV, he will continue my tradition with the DVDs. Bob Lorimer likewise confirmed this year, 2018, that we at GMV remain their official DVD producers/historians.
As at 2019 I have enjoyed an 18 years connection with the Arnold Classic USA, and shared a connection of 49 years with Arnold. We currently produce 8 different DVDs from each USA Arnold Sports Festival.
(The Complete ARNOLD CLASSIC DVD & DOWNLOAD COLLECTION (USA) - http://bit.ly/2Z26tOR )
10. At the 2019 Arnold Classic USA, Richard Baldwin and I interviewed Arnold, and several days later I interviewed Jim Lorimer at the ASF offices.
11. Videotaping of the ISHOF Awards -
Each year at the ASF, I record this annual event, along with many other official cameras, and include the full awards video in the Arnold Classic set of DVDs.
Founded by Dr. Robert Goldman, the International Sports Hall of Fame Awards (aka ISHOF and SPORTSHOF) was established in 2012 to honor the world’s greatest athlete legends in all sports. The induction ceremonies are held annually every March at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus.
Dr. Bob Goldman is a world champion athlete with over 20 world strength
records. He is also passionate about preserving history, as I am. Dr Bob
donated the wonderful 8-feet tall bronze statue of Arnold (pictured below).
It was unveiled in 2012 outside the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, where
the 1970 Mr. World competition was conducted.
The statue has now been moved to its current location outside the
Columbus Convention Center (right), present home of the Arnold Classic.
12. Arnold Australia - In 2015 we continued our long video association with Tony Doherty, under the Arnold Classic Australia banner. We have done all of his Pro Show videos and DVDs since he commenced in 2001 with the Australian Pro GP, won by Chris Cormier. (The 30 Years USA Arnold winners’ reunion photo is at the very bottom of this bio.)
Association with Arnold Schwarzenegger
1. In early 1970 I had the strongest sense that Arnold was going to be something very special as a bodybuilder as well as an outstanding person. He had won 3 consecutive NABBA Universe titles and later that year was coming up for his 4th NABBA Universe victory. He had moved to USA from Austria, and it was also likely that in 1970 he would reverse his runner up placing versus Sergio Oliva from the 1969 Mr Olympia. He subsequently won both these big contests in 1970.
This feeling about Arnold and his future success was my motivation to start my international filming career, commencing with the shooting of the 1970 NABBA Universe in September. It was also widely known that this London contest would be Arnold's final NABBA Universe appearance.
This connection with Arnold presently goes back 49 years (as at 2019) to that 1970 Universe when I recorded on film Arnold’s final victory at the NABBA Pro Mr Universe in London, and a year later in 1971, his second Mr Olympia victory in Paris France. This is the only known film of these 2 historic contests from 1970 and 1971.
2. In February 1972 when Arnold was making his first guest posing tour of Australia, at Surfers Paradise in Queensland at the 1972 IFBB Southern Hemisphere Mr. Universe, I negotiated the following with Arnold. We would shoot a poolside pumping and posing film with him and Franco on the morning after the contest. This film, along with contest footage and guest posing that I shot of Arnold throughout his amazing career in the 1970s became the basis of my doco on Arnold called “Arnold the early years”. I was fortunate to be in the right place many times during his career. Incidentally the contest was won by Australia’s own Frank Colombera. (My 1972 photos with Arnold are seen below.)
In 1972 I had my European cameraman attend the Mr Olympia contest for me in Essen, Germany where Arnold had his historic victory over Sergio. This priceless footage he sent me now appears in my video “Arnold the early years”.
Then in 1975 Arnold came to Australia to guest pose at the Mr Australia in Melbourne, promoted by Frank Burwash. Arnold looked sensational, and the Australia title was won by Roger Walker, who later placed 6th in 1980 Mr. Olympia.
3. In 1980 I had front of stage filming rights from Paul Graham to shoot the 1980 Mr Olympia event, with Arnold competing and winning his final Mr Olympia contest, his 7th. This was at the Sydney Opera House. I negotiated these rights as part of a deal to also be a major sponsor of that Olympia through my supplements company “Nutra-Life” and our company of Gallasch and Coffey Pty Ltd. Just a little additional history you would not be aware of. So my association with Arnold and his bodybuilding career and later the Arnold Classic has been one of the main highlights of my 55 years.
4. My on-going connection with Arnold, and the Lorimers, is continued by my producing the Arnold Sports Festival USA DVDs each year, starting in 2001. At the Columbus ASF this year, 2019, we interviewed Arnold backstage.
Richard Baldwin and I are pictured lower below after the interview with Arnold. The 2019 photo is by Daniel Ketchell.
TO PART 2.
