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Bryan Neese, former U.S. Strong Man Champion, will be on hand at the expo's trade show to discuss functional training as well as equipment made by his company, Mastiff Strength Equipment.
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Bodybuilders, wrestlers, power lifters and other
world-class athletes as well as experts in nutrition and fitness will be out in
full force this month at the first annual GNC/Physical Magazine Show of Strength
Competition and World Expo at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Nov. 8-10.
The three-day event, which is expected to attract tens of thousands
of people from around the country, features physical competitions, demonstrations
and a trade show with hundreds of exhibits touching on nutrition, sports equipment
and more. Fitness and lifestyles management expert Mackie Shilstone, who was
instrumental in bringing the expo to the city and whose General Nutrition Centers
is a sponsor, says he believes New Orleans will become the permanent home for
the world-class expo, boosting the city's economy and national prestige and
heightening awareness of fitness and nutrition issues.
"I'm excited about bringing the largest fitness
show ever to be in the city," says Shilstone, executive director of the Mackie
Shilstone Center for Performance Enhancement and Lifestyle Management at Ochsner
Clinic Foundation's Elmwood Fitness Center. "It represents a landmark in that
this convention will be housed here permanently. It will represent elite people
in the fitness industry."
Top fitness athletes and professional men
and women bodybuilders from around the world will converge on the convention
center to compete for a prize purse of more than $250,000. Competitive events
include bodybuilding pro championships in both men's and women's divisions,
fitness pro championships, the World Powerlifting Organization's semi-finals,
an arm wrestling challenge and a Show of Strength Strong Man competition.
A highlight of the spectator events is the
Kurt Angle Classic USA vs. the World Wrestling Tournament. That event will be
presided over by Angle, an Olympic wrestling gold medalist and World Wrestling
Federation champion, and will spotlight Olympic and world champion athletes
participating in three Olympic wrestling styles: women's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman
and men's freestyle. Under the America vs. the World premise, U.S. champions
will battle all-star teams from across the globe in matches that will be spiced
up with music and interviews of the athletes.
Other competitions that focus on strength
include an arm-wrestling challenge and a Strong Man contest. Bodybuilding competitions
will include appearances by Lee Priest, King Kamali, Cathy LeFrancois Priest,
Gunther Schlierkamp, Vickie Gates, Craig Titus, Jenny Worth and others. Plus,
more than 200 athletes who specialize in strength will compete for prize money
and competition titles during the expo.
"Some of the top body builders will be involved
in the event," says Shilstone, a partner in the local GNC franchise, named Franchise
of the Year in the country. "This convention will probably be the third most
sought-after bodybuilding title in the world. The Sports Foundation has adopted
it as an event. It is going to eventually pull 30,000 to the city, probably
in the second year."
On Nov. 10, conventiongoers can attend a "Train
with the Champions" seminar conducted by the bodybuilders who won the competition
the night before.
"Having the top athletes in the sport assembled
under one roof, competing for the unprecedented crowning title will be an unbelievable
experience," says Tammy Simpson, event director for the expo. "With all the
other planned activities, fans will be completely entertained from open to close."
Every day the Show of Strength Expo Stage
will feature prejudging of men's and women's bodybuilding competitions followed
by live entertainment.
Although professional wrestling on television
has drawn huge numbers of loyal followers in the past few years, some of the
strength and bodybuilding competitions, especially those involving women athletes,
are not as familiar to the public, but the popularity is increasing, Shilstone
says.
"They're not mainstream yet," he says, "but
I think there's a very strong following here and also outside the city in Lafayette
and Houma. You'll be surprised at how many people are doing (bodybuilding).
"It's something that people ought to come
to. You're going to see world champions everywhere. It's a golden opportunity
for the public to see some of the top bodybuilders in the country and a chance
to see some of the future Olympic champions in wrestling."
Another large draw is the bench press competition,
expected to draw the largest contingent of lifters in the United States because
it can qualify athletes to compete in the Bench Press World Champsionship at
the Arnold Schwartzenegger Strength Classic in Ohio in March 2003. Among the
contenders is Josh Ward, a 15-year-old athlete who is the youngest ever to press
more than 500 pounds.
The trade show will include hundreds of products
-- nutritional, equipment, clothing and more. Some of the booths will be manned
by former and current athletes such as 1999 U.S. Strongman Champion Bryan Neese,
currently ranked among the top 10 strength athletes in the United States after
working through a severe injury two years ago. He still is competing and also
gives functional strength seminars as well as preparing a certification course
in functional strength training.
Other athletes on board to help explain products
include Tani Johnson, a 2001 multiple title winner, and Don "The Beast" Youngblood,
who are representing The Beast Sports Nutrition at the trade show. Johnson last
year won the NPC Nationals Overall Fitness title, NPC Northwest Championships,
Washington State Ironman, Washington State Championships, Emerald Cup Figure
and earlier the 2000 Fitness Texas Champion. In August, she took second place
at the JanTana Pro Classic. Youngblood, who is competing with a young man's
physique at age 47, last year placed second in the IFBB Masters Olympia and
plans to go back this year to capture the crown at competition in Las Vegas.
Earlier this year, he won the 2002 Master IFBB Mr. "O" title at JanTana Pro
Classic.
The event is sponsored by General Nutrition
Centers, the largest specialty retailer of nutritional and sports supplements
in the country, and Physical magazine, a monthly that is considered the
leading publication in the sports nutrition realm and the official magazine
of the Arnold Fitness Weekend, which is staged in Columbus, Ohio each year.
