As recently as three years ago, bodybuilding media outlets were locked up like Fort Knox. No one came in, and no one went out. Job security was at an all time high, and very little had changed for years. In magazines you had Joe Weider, John Balik, Steve Blechman, and Robert Kennedy. Those four names are still securely at the top of the heap, but all the players under those kingpins have changed. Starting with Peter McGough being replaced by Allan Donnelly at FLEX, continuing with the firing of Dave Palumbo and John Romano from MD, those changes were the first of many, and as of this week, the hits keep coming.
This will be banner week for shake-ups within the bodybuilding industry, and it started late last week with Robbie Durand resigning from Muscular Development (he will officially be done on November 1st). When Dave Palumbo and John Romano were fired, Robbie replaced both of them. In reality, Shawn Ray moved into the frontman position and Robbie was more of a behind-the-scenes guy. I saw him at almost every major show throughout the years, and he is generally thought of as a good, hardworking, guy. When Robbie originally quit, like most industry insiders, I thought he quit because he was overworked. When I spoke to Robbie he often complained that he had too much to do, and not enough time to do it. That assumption was incorrect.
While change was occuring at the Muscular Development offices and shake-ups were simultaniously happening at the Weider/AMI headquarters. Allan Donnelly, the editor-and-chief of FLEX Magazine, decided he wasn’t willing to relocate from California to New York. Additionally, money problems 
forced Weider/AMI to close it’s longtime historic offices in Woodland Hills, California. Ironically, David Pecker, CEO and Chairman of American Media, had planned to keep on Donnelly. This left a big hole in FLEX Magazine. It’s been widely known within the closed circle of bodybuilding media insiders, for a number of weeks now, that the heir apparent to Donnelly was Sean Andros. Andros was once the assistant to RxMuscle’s very own Dave Palumbo, and in several years became RxMuscle’s first vice-president.
Here is where it gets mashugana. After discovering he wouldn't be promoted to Editor-and-Chief at FLEX, Sean Andros unexpectedly gave his two week notice and quit. Where will Sean be bringing his skills you may ask? He's becoming the Senior Editor of Muscular Development Magazine and Online Editor.
With Durand heading to FLEX magazine and Andros going to MD, what will happen to Allan Donnelly? Who's going to replace Sean? I suspect those questions will be answered in an upcoming column!
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