Southern States contest promoter Peter Potter has outdone himself again by putting on an incredible show this year, although I almost didn't get in to cover it! Since the show is literally in my back yard (You can see the roof of my house from the auditorium), and because I've known Peter Potter for years, I didn't think to ask for a press pass well enough in advance. I just called Peter last night and left a message.
CHECK OUT DAVE PALUMBO AND TRIPLE H IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF MUSCLE & FITNESS MAGAZINE! You read that right! Our own Dave Palumbo (in the bright neon green "SPECIES" tank top) throws down, hardcore, old-school chest and back with WWE Superstar Triple H in the September 09 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. Dave has been working with Trip since well before his World Wrestling Championship victory over Randy Orton at Wrestlemania. And, the work is paying off! As you marvel at the incredible size and condition of the WWE superstar, remember that he is subject to perhaps the most stringent drug testing program in the country. Trip has been following Dave's high protein, low carb, moderate fat, ketogenic diet for over a year now and he's always in killer shape.
There is little doubt that bodybuilding enjoyed a wonderful and historic golden age out in Venice California. Back in the day, before exclusive magazine contracts, websites, DVD sales, supplement company endorsements and scandals involving performance enhancing-drugs, there was a little community of us, minding our own business, throwing down hardcore in a little gym down by the beach. We wore "gym shorts" and tank tops and sometimes even trained in flip-flops. Surely such attire would seem comical by today's standards, but style side down, we had it going on. We liked each other. We looked forward to training and looked forward to hanging out with each other after the work was through. Bodybuilding in Venice Beach was about as good as it could get if you had a mind to build your body and bask in the warm sun 365 days a year. Even dead-ass broke there was no better life, and every glance in the mirror proved we were the richest people in the world.
Bodybuilding icon Kevin Levrone's appearance on Heavy Muscle Radio this past Monday night, June 29, 2009, comes at the end of the fifth week of an amazing transformation "experiment" that he's taken on. So impressive are Levrone's recent gains in muscle and reductions in bodyfat, Dave Palumbo and I actually accused Kevin, on the air, of taking performance-enhancing drugs in order to realize these superhuman changes. Levrone vehemently denied any such allegation and put it out there, publicly, that he'd be willing to submit to drug testing; any time we wanted. In fact, Kevin requested that he be tested as soon as possible so that no one can accuse him of using fast-acting steroids that would clear his system before we got a change to check him out.
If you don't realize that the entire bodybuilding world is directed, driven and controlled by the sports nutrition industry, then you just might be sleepwalking your way through life. To start with, bodybuilding contests, from the local level all the way up to the Olympia, are funded through supplement company sponsorship. Ticket prices would never even come close to covering the rental fee for the venues.
