Director Wayne Gallasch says it is the only business of its kind in the world. He founded it 30 years ago (1966), taking still photographs of fellow competitors at bodybuilding events. (He won the Australian power-lifter title four times in the mid to late 70s.) Gallasch graduated into photojournalism for bodybuilding magazines, branched into film in 1969 and, in 1982, quickly adapted to the emerging medium of videotape.

In 1985 he met his business partner and wife-to-be, Tina. Today they run an international business from a small city office. In addition to supplying customers world-wide, several times a year they travel as official producers for body-building events in Germany and Britain.

Since 1970, Gallasch has been the official film producer for Britain's annual Mr. and Miss Universe body-building contest. This year, the event, which began as the Mr. Universe contest but was renamed to include women, celebrates its 50th anniversary. GMV will make a commemorative video.

GMV frequently supplies footage to TV stations for news and documentaries. Gallasch says his experience in the sport is the key to his success because he can sense what an athlete is going to do during a posing routine. "Camera operators who don't know the sport are often, for example, focusing on an athlete's thighs when he's flexing his biceps, so they miss the important shots."

Tina Gallasch does the interviews for GMV's profile productions. The company makes various types of program, ranging from full live events or collations of a dozen champions in competition to tapes featuring one bodybuilder demonstrating techniques and talking about everything from training tips to daily diet.

All footage is meticulously indexed. The library is a source of added income because footage on a particular bodybuilder can be put together from various tapes. Gallasch says: "Often we first shoot people as teenagers starting out in the sport, and many years later, when they become world champions, we produce a video showing their development over the years."

Although individual tapes rarely sell in large quantities, the vast production list ensures a steady stream of orders - many are from long-term customers - as long as 20 years. Even some of the earlier productions still sell steadily. One coup was to engage a young, unknown Austrian to make a demonstration tape for GMV at Surfers Paradise 26 years ago. His name was Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to providing a steady stream of sales, the connection gives GMV instant credibility wherever bodybuilders gather.

Customers include fans of the sport, competitors who want to study their own weak spots, and rivals who are often the first to order a production of a new champion in action. Although there are contests for women, the trend is away from the female physique bulging with bizarre muscles. Tina Gallasch says: "There is a backlash against super-muscularity in women and the new trend is for fitness events, which combine physical development with agility. People prefer a woman who is firm but still feminine, such as Patsy Tierney, Australia's aerobics champion, who is now also the current Australian fitness champion."

Each year, the couple go to Germany as official producers for FIBO, the world's biggest bodybuilding and fitness-equipment show. In return for supplying the organisers with a master tape for German commentary, GMV retains the English-speaking world rights. Manufacturers of equipment and food supplements employ leading bodybuilders to perform on their stands to attract the crowds, and GMV can usually make several video productions from the event.

Because the company has its own elaborate duplicating studio, tapes can be produced in the quantities needed. The suite also provides additional income from mass dubbing of tapes for other producers, including transposing into NTSC and SECAM formats for overseas use.