I was making the 5 hour drive from Tampa to Miami this afternoon, and I resorted to Twitter for my entertainment. I can’t say this is the safest way to entertain yourself on a long drive, but it generally works for me.
I was driving along when I (@aaronsingerman) got a tweet from Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler (@mrojaycutler) asking, “r u competing this weekend, monster”.
I’m sure Jay was devastated when I replied, “Too huge to compete. Nah, sitting out this one. Focusing on the business of BBing now!”
To that he replied, “Wow. Ok. That’s good tho. $$$ is everything.”
Everyone knows Jay is a consummate businessman, but I delved further, “U sure u aren’t part Jew, Jay?”
He countered with, “Jason Isaac Cutler. U do the math.”
The first Jewish Mr. Olympia?! I said, “A fellow tribesman. My brotha!”
Jay then confirmed it, “We are Jews.” I went on to say he was one huge Jew, and he let me know he had trimmed down to 265. Still a very sizable Jew. Could it be possible? Have we had a Jewish Mr. Olympia all along and never even knew about it?
Well, I arrived in Miami and I’m getting ready for an extremely busy weekend. Just a few days ago the industry was shocked when they found that that the NPC Nationals would host 800 competitors down in Miami. Yesterday, that number had risen past 900; and today, it exceeded the 1000 competitor mark. For the NPC, these numbers are incredibly exciting as they confirm that the sport is, indeed, growing. For someone covering the show, these numbers are more than slightly intimidating! If you are in the press pit taking pictures or doing PLAY-BY-PLAY, it’s downright frightening. I asked Isaac “Hardbody” Hinds if he was nervous about taking thousands and thousands of stage photos.
He told me, “I don’t think it’s going to be that bad, because of the superb expediting crew and the movement of the Mens Physique division to Friday night, basically splitting prejudging exactly in half. Plus, I’ll be sure to have an ass cushion, food, and a positive attitude.”
Isaac has been to almost all of the national level shows over the past 5+ years, and when I asked him why he thought this one had so many more people than the previous record holder, 2011 NPC USA, he matter-of-factly said, “It’s South Beach; plus there are more pro cards available for physique.”
When I think about what this amount of competitors means business-wise, it’s definitely a good omen for our sport and industry as a whole. It has to look promising to nutritional supplement companies, as well. And I know it certainly bodes well for Rx Muscle, as all of these people and their families will want to see the contest pictures and videos!
One of Rx Muscle’s own will be competing in the Mens Physique Division and it isn’t me! Pete the Intern recently qualified (twice) for Nationals, and with approval of Boss #1, Dave Palumbo, tomorrow morning he ‘ll be on his way down South to hopefully do some damage. I know Dave was hoping that Pete and I would go head-to-head at this show, so I asked Pete if he was disappointed I wasn’t doing the show. He told me, “I thought it would be good entertainment for the people on Rx, so yeah, I was looking forward to it. Plus, I wanted to beat you!”
Some of you may already know, Mel Chancey recently tied the knot to his longtime girlfriend (then fiancé), Melissa AKA Lil Mel. What you might not know is that because the wedding was literally planned on a whim, the Chancey’s never had the chance to celebrate with a real wedding party. When many of your best friends are top IFBB Pro bodybuilders, what better place and time, then Nationals in Miami to celebrate! I’m expecting Saturday night to be wild! I’ll let you all know what goes on there… Or at least what’s fit to print!
If you have any news, gossip, tips, feedback, or you would like to advertise on RxMuscle.com please email me at [email protected]!
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