A Special Addition:The Ruthless Report 14: Working for Joe—Memories of a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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For those who knew Joe Weider only as a figurehead, the face on the publisher's page or an old man who came out onstage at the Olympia, here are some personal memories of the human being behind the icon.

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The Ruthless Report 13: Fitness Follies of 2013…and More

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The ascension of Tanji Johnson to the head of the class at the Fitness International on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio, set up a dramatic scenario for the Olympia that none of us could have imagined six months ago—or even five months ago, after Adela Garcia had won the Fitness O for the seventh time and then lost to Oksana Grishina two weeks later at the Arnold Europe.

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The Ruthless Report 12: Wham! Bam!… Plus Celebrity Notes

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887rb0902 copyThe Ruthless Report 12: Wham! Bam!… Plus Celebrity Notes

 

Wham! Bam! That's Some Bikini, Ma'am

We often talk about a competitor who has “burst on the scene,” but in the case of Arizona bikini bombshell Bam Bridges it was more like an explosion. The 5'2 3/4" mother of two from Scottsdale came out of nowhere in 2010 to take first in figure at the NPC Brown Chiropractic Arizona Open—Bam!—a feat she has duplicated in most of the contests she's entered in since then, including the recent ’13 NPC Iron Man Naturally Championships at the Los Angeles Fitness Expo, where she dominated the A-class and masters bikini lineups

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The Ruthless Report 11: Adela and Lisa—Redemption and Reinvention

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This month's Report updates a couple of fitness stars who have a lot in common besides the fact that they both competed at the ’02 Olympia.

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The Ruthless Report 10: Darrian's Whirlwind Flight Into Fitness

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DSC 9734 SAGQMJTKYXThe Ruthless Report 10: Darrian's Whirlwind Flight Into Fitness

 
It's no secret that I love the sport of fitness. I covered it in its infancy back in the late ’80s, and I was present in Santa Monica, California, in 1999 when now-seven-time Fitness Olympia champ Adela Garcia beat out some 40 women to win the overall at the NPC USA. Of course, that was back in the day—before figure, before bikini, before women's physique.
 

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The Ruthless Report 9: The Money Shot…and More

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DER 1350 copyThe Ruthless Report 9: The Money Shot…and More
 
It was a September to remember for this intrepid physique-world reporter. The Olympia Weekend in Vegas at the end of the month was of course a major highlight, but I also got to travel cross country for a unique assignment at the Johnny Stewart Fitness Championships in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: recording an Olympia predictions video with eight-time Mr. O Lee Haney. More on that—and Johnny's fabulous event—below. But first a word about the absolute queen among queens of the 2012 IFBB Olympia competitions.

 

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The Ruthless Report 8: Ruthless at the O—Saturday

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Riding the bus to the Olympia Expo with the newly recrowned Ms. Olympia, Iris Kyle, was a great way to start off the day. We talked corsets and competition. "Get an expensive one," she advised, regarding waist-cinchers (not bodybuilders).

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The Ruthless Report 6: Amanda and Michelle: The Yin and Yang of Persistence

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groupThe Ruthless Report 6: Amanda and Michelle: The Yin and Yang of Persistence



On the list of qualities that make a good physique athlete—and by that I mean everybody from bodybuilders to bikini gals to, well, physique athletes—persistence, if not downright stubbornness, has got to be at the top. A couple of my favorite athletes who have been in the news this summer personify that quality, times 10, which, perhaps is the reason their doings are newsworthy. Interestingly, they come from the far ends of the NPC/IFBB spectrum.

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The Ruthless Report 5: Candy Is Dandy…and More

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Some competitors get their pro card, jump into a show and make the top five, if not the winner’s circle, right away. Others jump into a show and then take a while before suddenly popping into the spotlight. That's the story on Candice Lewis, who jumped to the top of the lineup at the Omaha Pro Figure on June 8, almost a year to the day after her sensational overall victory at the ’11 NPC Junior Nationals. Seventh at the ’11 Fort Lauderdale Pro last fall, sixth at the ’11 Border States and again at the ’11 Kentucky Pro Muscle, seventh at the ’12 Pittsburgh Pro in May.

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The Ruthless Report 4: Waiting for Julianna…and More

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DSC 2029 LYTACEHSNP copyThe Ruthless Report 4: Waiting for Julianna…and More

 

Anyone who was surprised that Julianna Malacarne won the New York Pro Women's Physique Championship in her first stab at WPD on May 19 was not paying attention back a year and a half ago when NPC and IFBB officials were creating the new women's sport. To a man (or woman), when pressed to name someone who might be an idea WPD candidate—someone who was too big for figure but not as big as a bodybuilder—they cited Malacarne, a Brazilian-born bombshell and mesomorph who never found herself in the winner's circle in figure. So it was only natural that if Julianna decided to get back onstage in physique, she'd do extremely well.

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The Ruthless Report: Cheryl Brown—Calm in the Eye of a Storm

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You never know what's going on in people's heads, even in the obvious situation of an athlete competing at a major event like the Arnold Sports Festival. Take figure pro Cheryl Brown. The trainer, nutritionist and mother of three from Lake Mary, Florida, who won three contests in 2011, was her cool, calm and collected self when I snapped the accompanying photo at the expo—and happy with the eighth-place finish she'd achieved in the lineup of 29 the night before. Not an inkling of the challenges she was facing on the home front.

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The Ruthless Report: Sonia’s Surge and Unintended Consequences and More

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Time-warp note: Speaking of how our lives travel at the speed of sound,after I turned in this column and before it was posted, the IFBB Pro League took steps to correct the situation discussed in the first item—much more quickly than my source had indicated. So, in case you’re wondering why the Pro League and Olympia promoters just added a points system to their recent rule change for Olympia qualifications…

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