"Publisher's Page" by Doug Schneider

"We Will Catch You!"

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Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider

Created: 01 May 2011 01 May 2011

The IDFA’s 2011 Montreal Classic was held on April 9. It was there that Brian Robitaille stood in front of a room full of competitors and explained the IDFA’s extensive doping-control procedures. Near the completion of his speech, he paused for a moment and briefly looked down, then raised his eyes to meet those of the competitors and said clearly: “If you are using drugs, we will catch you!” His comment resonated with the dozens of competitors who were happy to hear such a strong anti-drug stance, because they were obviously there to compete naturally. If anyone was there to “beat” the test, their dream would soon be shattered.

If you don’t know who Brian Robitaille is, a little background is in order. He started training in the ‘80s for the fun of it. In the ‘90s, he began competing and was successful at it, but he quickly dropped out of competitions because of the lack of drug-tested ones. He never had any interest in steroids; he’s a lifetime, drug-free bodybuilder. In the year 2000, though, Brian decided to make a comeback because of a rise in popularity of drug-tested events. He won two national-level titles, and he even represented Canada at the IFBB’s world championships. Throughout his competitive career he was tested a number of times and, obviously, always came up clean.

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IDFA Everywhere!

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Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider

Created: 01 May 2010 01 May 2010

Bodybuilder Bernard Issogola Amaya is featured on our cover this month. Bernard was born in Cameroon, Africa, and now lives in Paris, France. He flew to Canada last October to compete in the 2009 IDFA Eastern Canadian Classic that was held in Montreal, where I shot the photo. Bernard won his class at that event and earned an IDFA pro card. In November, Bernard flew to Canada again and competed in Toronto at the IDFA’s Pro Universe contest where he took third place behind Dickens Lambert and Erik Alstrup, who placed first and second respectively.

Bernard isn’t the first bodybuilder from outside Canada to compete in the IDFA. I’ve seen competitors from the United States and even from the Cayman Islands on its stage. But he is the first from Europe, and his arrival in Montreal last year signals that the organization is now becoming known overseas and that athletes are willing to travel to Canada to compete. We’ll likely see more competitors from Europe and other places in future shows. And when a whole slew of competitors arrives from overseas, the IDFA can lay claim to being a truly international organization, which is what the "I" in IDFA means. That’s an amazing accomplishment for an organization which started in 2005 with just one event.

Shaun Campbell and Desmona Cole with Bernard Issogola Amaya

The IDFA is also spreading its influence in other ways that are unique. It has a number of initiatives in the works, but the one I can tell you about right now involves a new clothing line that the IDFA is going to debut at its IDFA Novice Classic competition in Toronto on May 15. The association has many styles of shirts for men and women in distinctive but attractive colors, and it also has other things available like tote bags that can be handy for carrying stuff around. The items were designed by Desmona Cole, an accomplished graphic artist, who is one of the IDFA’s founders and currently serves as vice president.

Of course, this new clothing is going to be marketed to fitness enthusiasts, but the IDFA will also be presenting the items into the mainstream for people who are active and want nice clothing to complement their lifestyle. IDFA president Shaun Campbell got the idea after he realized how popular some of the new shirt designs that debuted in 2009 were when he started seeing people around town wearing the shirts, even though they obviously weren’t bodybuilders or figure competitors. One day, Shaun sent me a picture he found on Facebook of a skateboarder in Western Canada who was wearing an IDFA shirt.

Shaun and Desmona are currently preparing a marketing campaign for these new items and I’m particularly excited because I shot the photos for it. Most of the shots feature IDFA fitness model winner Jennifer Lambert Foster, who is also a member of the SAF Elite group of fitness models. Jennifer is featured in our "Hot Shots" section this month. Jennifer is a fit girl, obviously, but the photos weren’t created to show off her physique the way you would see her in a fitness magazine. Instead, they’re the kind of thing that you might see in Rolling Stone or Spin. I'd show you them if I could, but the IDFA has sworn me to secrecy until the launch on May 15. Wait and see!

Without a doubt, the IDFA is the fastest-growing and most progressive physique organization in Canada. It's holding more events than ever this year (a new event has been added in Ottawa for 2010, bringing the total number of annual contests to eight), the quality of its shows is constantly improving, and it's attracting competitors from faraway countries. Its bodybuilding base is obviously expanding, but so will its presence in the mainstream if this new clothing line takes off. The IDFA is everywhere and we’re happy to watch the organization grow!

. . . Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com.

The Sport of Bodybuilding

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Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider

Created: 01 November 2010 01 November 2010

For years people have asked: Is bodybuilding a sport? In my opinion, the answer is no – at least not the way most organizations present the competitions right now. First, most events aren’t drug tested and, as a result, the competitions are rife with drug abuse. Forget the BSers who tell you that drugs in bodybuilding are no worse than in any other sport. They are. It’s not a problem of “drugs in sport” like it is with, say, baseball or track and field; rather, when it comes to bodybuilding, drugs are the sport, which is exactly why I can’t call it a sport at all. One of my friends, a former top-level national competitor, calls bodybuilding “home to doping.” In non-drug-tested competitions, oftentimes it's the guy who is rich and crazy enough to take the most stuff who wins. In the end, though, one has to ask: How can anyone think that chemical warfare using your body resembles anything close to a sport? 

Second, the presentation of the competitions is off. For instance, there are organizations that allow their competitors to dress up in costumes for their posing routines thinking that it will “entertain” the audience more and make for a better show. I’ve been to these shows and seen guys dress up like warriors, and I was even at one show where a competitor wore a Zorro outfit, complete with hat, cap and sword. Foolish? You bet. That kind of stuff isn’t entertaining; instead, it’s downright silly to the point of being embarrassing. After all, they’re supposed to be competing not looking like they’re auditioning for the Village People. 

Then there’s the routine itself – costume or not, does it make sense to have a choreographed posing routine when no organization that I know of even judges it? In addition, almost all of the competitors’ routines are so bad that they’d be laughed off the stage at a local talent show. Best Poser awards usually go to the guy who is the best dancer. If he moonwalks the crowd goes nuts. In what other sport are “athletes” expected to double as “entertainers” when they compete? 

I could go on and on about other problems in competitions, but suffice it to say that the way bodybuilding is presented today, it’s about as close to a real sport as a hula-hoop contest is. But it doesn’t have to be that way if just a few things are changed. 

Francois Beauregard is a natural competitor who enjoys competing with the IDFA because the organization only puts on drug-tested events and they treat their competitions like a sport.

For bodybuilding to be a sport, the problem of drug use has to be addressed seriously, which is simply a matter of an organization being willing to put into place a rigorous drug-testing program like real sports have. By doing so, however, the freak-show element will be gone. No longer will competitors be 250 pounds or more. At natural shows you’ll be lucky to see guys who are 200 pounds. But if everyone is on a level playing field, I believe the crowds will still like it. After all, it’s a competition to see who beats whom, not to see who is the most grotesque. 

The other main thing to address is the presentation. No more goofy posing routines and certainly no costumes should be allowed. In fact, there probably shouldn’t even be a posing routine whatsoever – the compulsories, yes, but not a posing routine that’s choreographed to music. This isn’t American Idol; it’s supposed to be a sports competition. So treat it that way on game day. 

These ideas might seem far-fetched to most people, and I suspect that many think these changes could never happen. But think again. Over the last two years, International Drug Free Athletics (IDFA) has stepped up their drug-testing program significantly, which has resulted in what I believe is the “cleanest” competitive stage in the country, and they’ve eliminated the posing routines for all of their amateur shows. This was the result of IDFA president Shaun Campbell recognizing the pitfalls inherent in most bodybuilding competitions today and making the changes necessary to improve his events. It’s worked. 

The increase in drug testing has allowed drug-free competitors to compete on a level playing field and, in turn, has brought in more competitors to the organization. The eradication of the posing routines has resulted in shows that are faster paced and more exciting for the crowd. Competitors seem to like having no posing routine, too. Instead of them being tasked with performing a routine, which isn’t judged anyway, they’re simply given a short amount of time to hit their favorite poses for the crowd. No costumes, no lousy posing, no worrying about the sound guy playing the wrong music for the competitor onstage, which happens time and time again at almost every competition. The shows run quickly and efficiently with a focus on its competitive aspect, not cheap crowd entertainment. 

And Shaun’s not done yet. He revealed to me the other day that he’s working to improve the judging system – he feels that certain things can be done to move away from purely subjective judging to having a system that’s more objective and where the judges are more accountable. Shaun won’t yet reveal what some of those changes might be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in 2011, we saw a judging system put into place where judges openly disclose their scores and are answerable, publicly, for their rankings. This is in stark contrast to almost every other bodybuilding competition where the judges’ scores are held secret, something that’s completely unfair to the competitors and the spectators and runs contrary to what is done in real sports. 

For the reasons I mentioned earlier, I don’t consider bodybuilding a sport. But that’s changing, largely through the effort of the IDFA and the changes they have already put into place. And if the IDFA moves forward with some changes to the way the events are judged, making the events more objective than subjective, then that might be enough for bodybuilding to be called a bona fide sport. I’m happy about that. As far as I’m concerned, let the rest of them have their hula- hoop contests, at the IDFA it’s about the sport of bodybuilding, which is precisely why it is the only physique organization I endorse. Stay tuned.

. . . Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com.

The IDFA's Natural Novice Knockout!

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Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider

Created: 01 June 2010 01 June 2010

I wasn’t able to attend the first IDFA show of the season held at the beginning of May in Calgary because I was out of the country. I heard that it was the best one they’ve had there yet. But I was able to attend the second event of the season, the Natural Novice Classic, held May 15 at the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre in Toronto. Shaun Campbell, president and founder of the IDFA, is very proud of the Natural Novice because, traditionally, it’s always been one of the organization’s most exciting events – it’s open to first-time competitors as well as those who may have competed before, but didn’t place high and feel like they might need another competition before they hit the big leagues. As a result, there’s tremendous excitement not just for the competitors, but for the friends and family members there to cheer them on, often for the very first time.

Over 75 men and women presented themselves at registration for this event, making this year's Natural Novice the biggest one ever. What's more, the quality was so high overall that you’d be hard-pressed to guess that many of these competitors are new to the scene.

I thought this year’s Natural Novice was a knockout event not just because of the overall quality and quantity of competitors, but because of three other things that stood out to me. First, the theater they held the event in is gorgeous, which is a hallmark of the IDFA since they pride themselves on putting on first-class competitions in fitting facilities. This is in sharp contrast to the many contests I’ve been to put on by other organizations that are held in dingy auditoriums, or sometimes even high school gyms. The Natural Novice might be a "beginner" show, but it was held in facilities suitable for a pro.

The Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre in Toronto.

The next thing had to do with how much excitement there was inside the auditorium and outside in the lobby. The event sold out about two weeks before the show date so, obviously, the auditorium was packed. But so, too, was the lobby where plenty of vendors lined the tables and the overflow crowd hung out while the show inside was going on. During intermission, the IDFA also had two autograph signings to showcase its stars. One was by Jennifer Lambert Foster, a successful fitness model and an IDFA champion who is now the image of the IDFA’s new Apparel line of clothing. The other signing was by IDFA pro Erik Alstrup, a feature writer at SeriousAboutMuscle.com and one of the most impressive natural competitors on the scene today. Having champions like these and showcasing them at IDFA events is another reason this relatively new organization is developing such a strong following.

Alstrup and Lambert break from signing and entice the crowd with giveaways!

Finally, the competition itself was very exciting, right down to the posedown for the overall men’s bodybuilding title. The three men being judged at the end were Denis LeBlanc, George Jaroszenko and Darek Peszt, who won the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight classes respectively. All men are from Ontario, Canada. I favored Darek Peszt who had very wide shoulders, a small waist, and excellent definition, but was a little weak in the legs. The judges picked Denis LeBlanc to be the overall winner. Denis wasn’t quite as ripped as Darek, and his shoulders and waist weren't as impressive, but he had better overall proportions and stronger leg development. All in all, it was a good decision and the crowd seemed to agree. 

Peszt congratulates LeBlanc on his win.

The IDFA’s next two events are on July 10 in Montreal and July 17 in Toronto. These are the Montreal Classic and the International Championships. I will be there covering both events, and from what IDFA president Shaun Campbell tells me, he anticipates that the July 17 International Championships show in Toronto will be even larger than the May 15 show, and with even more excitement because it will feature the IDFA’s first pro show of the season that will see the best of the best on the stage. IDFA pro Erik Alstrup has already committed to competing in it. Will reigning IDFA Pro Universe winner Dickens Lambert be there too? Time will tell – the competitive season is only starting.

. . . Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com.