- Details
-
Written by John Romano
In about 72 hours, seven male and four female bodybuilders will have earned the right to carry a brand spanking new IFBB Pro Card in their wallet. This year's litter will be borne out of an arena of top national-level competitors, with physiques that continue a trend of bigger and better bodies. The weight classes will be deeper and more hotly contested than the previous year. All the men being spit out of the NPC incubator and into the IFBB big show will join an elite alumni that includes Lee Haney, Kevin Leverone, Victor Martinez, Jay Cutler, Mike Liberatore, Kevin English, Evan Centopani, Johnny Jackson, Branch Warren, Toney Freeman, Jason Arntz, Don Long, Paul DeMayo, Rich Gaspari, Mike Christian, Lee Labrada, Gary Strydom, Tom Prince, King Kamali, and..... ummm..... Let me think... Oh yeah, Rodney St. Cloud... Chris Duffy, he's another one.... annnnnnnnd.... Ummmmm....... I know I'm forgetting someone important..... Ummmm...... Oh! Oh... I got it... I got it... Shawn Ray! How could anyone forget Shawn? .....He sure makes sure you don't.
All kidding aside, the Nationals has notoriously been a battlefield for amateurs yearning for pro status. Today's NPC Nationals are so deep in talent that it really makes me imagine and woner what the next decade is going to look like. I can't remember another year when so many bodybuilders became household names in the weeks leading up to a show: Steve Kuclo, Trey Brewer, Malcolm Marshall, Branden Ray, Lee Banks, Cedric McMillan, Robert Burneika, Kirk DeFrancesco, Fred "Biggie" Smalls, Abbas Khatami... I'm sure I'll think of more... This year the NPC Nationals can boast an all-time record number of entrants, as well as unprecedented depth of field. Ladies and gentlemen, this weekend you're not only going to witness history, you'll also be looking into the future.
Super Heavyweights..... Cedric McMillan. 6' 1" 260, came out of nowhere and, after posting some precontest photos, is finally being taken seriously for the freak that he is. He definitely has classic bodybuilder lines with almost Haney-like muscle. If he shows up in top condition, he could be the suprise of the show!
Steve Kuclo has "pro" written all over him. Nothing is missing from his six-foot frame. He's had an entire year off to train since the 2008 Nationals. What will that year have added? Or maybe taken away? History has proven that a year off doesn't always make a better physique. If he brings more muscle and nails his conditioning, Kuclo could be a favorite.
"The hard work is done," Steve told me on the phone. "I've put together my best Steve Kuclo and I'm bringing him to the stage. And that's all I can say. It's going to be an incredible show. It's stacked! There's lots of well rounded physiques, not only in this class, but the lineup in every class is deep."
Trey Brewer is also feeling the pressure. In spite of his 4th place finish last year, RX Muscle, under contract with BSN, generated enough interest in Trey that Muscular Development magazine signed him to an exclusive contract! So, add Trey (along with Lee Banks) to the list of competitors that are getting paid not to talk to RX Muscle. There's nothing I love more than when a brother gets paid, especially when its not us who's paying him! That said, big things have been expected from Brewer ever since he won the super heavyweight and overall titles at the 2006 NPC Excalibur Championships. If he puts some of that muscle back on and comes in sharp, Trey could prove his point quite handily. Brewer needs to strike the right balance between condition and fullness to challenge Kuclo for the top spot.
Then you've got the gigantic Robert Burneika, who will have the size advantage over everyone. If he shows up razor sharp, he might steal the entire show. There's also Kirk DeFrancesco who could upset things if he nails his condition, as well. And lets not leave out one of the biggest freaks, Malcolm Marshall. Incredible structure with a tiny waist; he could also be devastating in top shape.
Heavyweights.....In the heavyweights, all eyes will be on Lee Banks. He took a close second to Mark Alvisi at the NPC USA making the Nationals his contest to lose. When I called him for a quote, he politely informed me that he couldn't talk to me because he had just signed a contract with MD. How cool is that? Both of these guys getting signed before the contest! That just goes to show you how good they are! Banks is alwasy hard as nails and he's got the comfort of competing in his own backyard too. But, he also has a little thing to worry about called Fred "Biggie" Smalls.
Smalls ain't small, not at all. He's got lots of well distributed muscle and he's got some killer wheels. Jeff Long plans to be a heavyweight once again and if he pinpoints his conditioning, all bets might be off for the other competitors. All things being equal, Banks is going to have his work cut out for him.
Light Heavyweights.....
The light heavyweight class looks to be the deepest in history with so many good guys it's hard to imagine. The PR machine has made it the Branden Ray and Tamer El-Guindy show because they went one and two at the USA. But there are a few guys that are going to give these two a battle. Darron "Hollywood" Glenn who won the Jr. USA, Seth Feroce, who some call the mini-Jay Cutler, and a very lethal Al Auguste. This is Branden Ray's time to put up. After two second place finishes and a ton and a half of hype from MD, Brandon has the most pressure on him. MD went so far as to compare him to a young Shawn Ray. With all of that going in, if Branden can only manage a third or fourth he could easily be written off. Is he a superstar? Branden looks great from the front-- classic X frame with thick round muscles; however, he needs to come in dry and hard,, especially from the back. We always say that bodybuilding contests are won from the back, and in Branden's case this could be an issue. If Branden is going to pull this off, he's going to have to make the most of his shape and proportion by coming in big, full, hard and dry.
Breathing right down Brandon's neck is Tamer El-Guindy. Tamer was the most shredded guy on stage at the 2009 NPC USA. He's got a tiny waist, with near perfect symmetry. And he gets that grainy onion skin - thin skin that makes him look transparent - like an anatomy chart. Chulsey Graham, who was third last year and sixth at the USA, has made some big improvements and is heading into this show on fire. The top five in this class may go down in history as one of the tightest.
Middleweights.....
In the middleweights, unless someone comes out of nowhere, the prevailing idea is that the battle for the top three is going to be between Ronald Torres, Kam Gallman and 2008 NPC USA Champ Nathan DeTracy. If DeTracy shows up in the condition we saw in 2008, the rest of the class better watch out!
No matter how you slice it, it seems as though this year the battle - in every weight class - is going to be fierce. The overall is going to depend on how the weight classes turn out. If Kuclo wins his class, he could win the overall. So could McMillan and Brewer. We'll have to wait and see. At the end of the night seven men and four women will be receiving pro status . Who will they be? Stay tuned right here on RXMuscle.com for up to the minute news, gossip, information, paparazzi shots, contest photos, interviews, prejudging play-by-play, and instant results.
LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY THREAD
CONTEST PHOTO GALLERY
See you in Hollywood!
