anabolic extreme archives issue #2 dnp and insulin 2

October 1999
Issue #3

The 1999 Mr. Olympia
By Jason Meuller

It's 3 am Sunday morning in the city of Las Vegas as I write this. I been up since about 8 am Thursday and my head is spinning. Somebody stop this ride, I want to get off!

If you've never been to an Olympia, it's about time you got off your ass and made the trip. It's not about sitting in a stadium and watching 16 guys pose on stage. Oh no. The Olympia is a cultural event, a human zoo, a freak show, and a huge party rolled into one event. In this article I'm going to try and convey this experience as much as possible in the written word and give you my take on the show. Let's go.

First off, let me say one thing. To the piece of shit who stole my $700 digital camera, I hope you die. Scratch that. I hope you are gang raped by a group of syphilitic lepers whose recent ingestion of copious amounts of GHB has not only heightened their state of sexual arousal, but also made it impossible for them to reach orgasm. There, I feel much better now. I must apologize to the readers of Anabolic Extreme, as the theft of my camera will preclude me from including a lot of great shots of the Expo and both banquets.

THURSDAY
I meet my friend Rick at the Vegas airport and we proceed to the Paris, Las Vegas where we are staying. After a quick look at our new digs, we proceed over to Mandalay Bay to catch the press conference with the athletes. Initial impressions are that Marcus is big. From where I'm sitting, he appears to be the biggest man in the show. Fux looks very drawn and appears to be down in weight. It's hard to guess at anyone's condition as everyone is wearing dress clothing. The Ms. Fitness Olympia contestants are beyond stunning.

After the conference we stroll into the Expo hall. It's not officially open until tomorrow at noon but security assumes we are part of the show and lets us in. I'm lucky enough to run into Dorian Yates as he oversees the production at his booth. Normally Dorian is as accessible as the Pope, especially during the years he was competing. He is gracious enough to talk with me a while and I ask him about the recent goings-on with Paul Borreson and Biohazard USA. Dorian is definitely down in size, I would estimate him to weigh around 230-240 lbs. He appears to be happy with his new life and in terrific health.

After cruising the expo we hit the casinos. Hopefully everyone reading this has seen a professional caliber bodybuilder at some point in their life. Now imagine what happens when you release several dozen of these individual on an unsuspecting public in one location. Everyone in the casino is wondering what in the hell is going on. While Rick loses his ass on craps, I'm watching everyone else as they see bodybuilding in all of its glory for the first time. To my left I've got Marcus Ruhl in sweats walking the floor. In the distance I can see Denise Masino making the rounds with her husband. Holy shit, it's Kovacs. This goes on to late in the night and was a great source for entertainment.

FRIDAY
After a long night of people watching and contributing money to various casinos, it's time to hit the Expo. We walk over to the Mandalay Bay and arrive at about 11:00. I run into my friend Josh whose girlfriend is working the MHP booth, so we stroll in with him before the official opening at noon. Damn, they've done a lot of work since last night, the place looks fantastic. Met-RX has the best booth of at the Expo but MHP has the best women, their booth gets a lot of attention over the next two days.

Anyone and Everyone is at the expo. Denise Masino has her booth, Kovacs is at MuscleTech, Frank Sepe, Bill Kazmier, and Dave Palumbo sign autographs at the Met-RX booth. Max Muscle sports Melvin Anthony, Stan Macrary, and Dan Freeman signing autographs and giving away copies of their latest magazine. Flex and Lee Haney sign autographs at the BioChem booth. Amy Fahdli and a host of other beautiful fitness girls are in various booths taking pictures with fans and signing autographs. Bottom line is this. At the end of the Expo, I've mingled with about 75% of the big names in bodybuilding and fitness.

Friday night we attend the Ms. Fitness Olympia. I had gone into this show with very low expectations. I left stunned at the quality of the competitors and amazing display of athleticism I had just witnessed. For those of you who dismiss the Ms. Fitness Olympia contestants as a bunch of chicks who workout and jump around on stage, think again. Hey, I'm hardcore bodybuilding all the way. Nothing gets me more fired up than seeing Marcus Ruhl hit a most muscular. However, the poise, grace, and incredible routines of the fitness contestants leaves me stunned. I can guarantee you that this sport is in its infancy and is going to be huge, possibly bigger than the Mr. Olympia. It's easier for most "normal" people to accept and the contestants are definitely more marketable.

On the to the Ms. Fitness Olympia banquet. After the show, Rick and I hang around to schmooze with the various competitors and more famous attendees. After about 45 minutes of cruising around the outside of the venue, we head on down to the banquet. Rick and I have been enjoying quite a few libations at this point (read: we are drunk as shit) and are making the most of the party. Rick is actually gathering all of the contestants up for a variety of photos, ordering them around this way and that. Amazingly enough, they're following his directions! The thing that kills me is he's using one of those disposable Kodak cameras and they're treating him like he's shooting them with a $10,000 rig. We manage to piss off JR, the photographer from Flex, as we are getting all the shots he needs for the mag. Sorry bud, we'll send you some after we get the Kodak developed.

Every competitor we meet is a real sweetheart. Although Monica is obviously very disappointed with her 4th place finish, she seems in good spirits and is very gracious with her time. All of the competitors are very well spoken and intelligent, more than happy to talk to the fans at the banquet. Look for big things in the future for all of these women.

SATURDAY
Sleep? We don't need no stinking sleep! Bam, were out early checking out the pool at the Paris. Unbelievable, they've got a replica of the Eiffel Tower built over the hotel that looks terrific from the pool area. We cruise over to the Mandalay Bay and check out their pool. Even better. They've got a huge wave pool that forms the centerpiece of their outdoor swim complex. The whole damn thing is huge and is like being in Hawaii. We've wasted enough time, it's time to go check out the Expo.

We hit the Expo again and find it's not as good as yesterday. A lot of the competitors aren't there, probably exhausted after prejudging. Plus, there are twice as many people at the Expo today as there were yesterday, so we can barely move. We split out of here fairly early, since we' pretty saw everything yesterday. Let this be a lesson to all of you. Come early so you can hit the Expo on the first day. Flying in the day of the show will guarantee that you miss a lot of scenery.

Now, I must pause here for a moment. Did I mention the scattered ass here at the show? This is Las Vegas, I'm sure there are hot chicks running around day and night. However, we're getting stopped by bellboys at the various casinos, asking us what the hell is going on. They've never seen this many beautiful women in one place before. Now, I'm not easily impressed. My girlfriend is a professional cheerleader for the NFL and I've worked in some jobs where I've been surrounded by great looking women (read: strip club manager). However, the women here are amazing. This alone is reason enough for you guys to make the trip.

Saturday night, time for the Mr. O.

THE CONTEST
During the contest, I took copious notes. I'm sure the people next to me are wondering what the hell I am doing, writing a book during the show. Below are my notes on each competitor as they came out.

Pawel Jablonicki
Weak back, very lean, not as dry as he has been in recent outings. Very distended abs. Pawel has greatly improved his physique over the years but suffers from a few weak body parts that hurt him in a contest of this caliber.

Jay Cutler
Very good color, has put on a lot of size. Jay is very dry and lean, has striations in his glutes. His posing routine sucks, very awkward with some type of weird voice-over that just doesn't work. Jay is young and has tremendous potential, I think he is going places.

Nasser El Sonbaty
1 word-Huge. He loses it when he turns around and is holding a light film of water. Very lean, you can see the striations in his glutes trying to peak out from the water he's holding.

Mike Matarazzo
Always entertaining, but very smooth in this outing. Looks slightly bigger but his poor shape always hurts him. Gets the crowd pumped up as he stalks the stage. Had high hopes for him after seeing him guest pose three weeks before, he most have blown it somehow. Needs to lose more fat and is holding lots of water.

Chris Cormier
Wow! Bigger, leaner, drier. Teases the crowd with his sexy dancing and gyrations. Best shape of his life and he knows it. He's easily put on 10 lbs for this show and conditioning is excellent.

John Pierre Fux
Can we say distended belly? Watery, smooth, no striations or detail in back. Seems to hit most poses in an attempt to hide his enormous gut.

Ronnie Coleman
Perhaps a bit bigger than last year, not as conditioned. Very lean, but holding a slight film of water. His glutes are striated but not to the degree of last year. Still, the man to beat.

Dexter Jackson
Hardest guy so far. Tremendous leg development, beautiful shape, just needs to add some mass to upper body. Amazing striations in glutes and lower back. This kid is going places.

Flex Wheeler
Bigger. Never seems to dry out in hams, glutes, or lower back. Closes routine by emphatically swinging his arms and pounding his chest as if to say, "This one's mine!" Gets the crowd pumped up. Very close to Coleman.

Marcus Ruhl
Holy shit! I say again, holy shit! Biggest man so far, amazing shoulder width, back shots elicit screams from crowd. Very lean and in good condition. For as big as he is, his shape is not unpleasant.

Kevin Levrone
Same Kevin, don't see much improvement. Fortunately for him, the same old Kevin is still pretty damn good. Holding a bit of water in lower back, not as hard as Flex.

Shawn Ray
Not as dry as previous years, doesn't look impressive relaxed. Even in his best shape, could never beat Flex or Coleman. Still, he is one of the best and look tremendous. Artistic posing routine as usual.

Lee Priest
Lee is Lee. Densely muscled from head to toe, he suffers from high lats and narrow clavicles. If the award went to the nicest guy in the sport, Lee would win every year. Doesn't appear to be as heavy as he has been in the past but in great shape.

Ernie Taylor
What happened to his hamstrings? Plays his triceps up to their full potential. His upper body is tremendous but his weak calves and hams guarantee low placings in shows with this much competition.

Milos Sarcev
Aesthetic as always. Needs to stop the synthol use in his bi's and tri's, it's destroyed the definition in his arms. Not big enough to win this show but looks great.

Paul Dillet
Wow, he made it through his whole routine without cramping up. Paul looks more interested in getting off stage to eat. Legs are possibly the best in show, incredibly big, lean, and dry. Loses it with his back. Again, great shape, but cannot beat those ahead of him due to genetic limitations of his physique.

The final results of the show were as follows:

1.Ronnie Coleman with 20 pts
2.Flex Wheeler with 40 pts
3.Chris Cormier with 60 pts
4.Kevin Levrone with 101 pts
5.Shawn Ray with 103 pts
6.Nasser El Sonbaty with 106 pts
7.Paul Dillet with 120 pts
8.Lee Priest with 125 pts
9.Dexter Jackson with 133 pts
10.Milos Sarcev with 161 pts
11.Mike Matarrazo with 178 pts
12.Marcus Ruhl with 190 pts
13.Ernie Taylor with 193 pts
14.Pawel Jablonicki with 199 pts
15.Jay Cutler with 204 pts
16.Jean Pierre Fux with 239 pts

The banquet isn’t as good as I thought it would be, most of the athletes are taking off after making a brief appearance. Some highlights of the banquet would have to be Ray Stern throwing a fit after he feels he's been slighted somehow and watching Greg Kovacs getting denied entry. Greg shows up in a tight blue spandex-lycra shirt and no invitation. He's so goddamm big that the shirt is stretching over his gut, exposing the bottom portion of his belly. It's hilarious. Frankly, I think they were worried about running out of food. Instead of showing up in a tux, Ronnie is in a red tank top, knowing that people want to see him exposed anyway.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Quite frankly, this is one of the best Olympia's in years. Not because of the actual show, which was somewhat anti-climactic, but because everything is well put together. The expo is the best they've had in years. The Mr. Fitness Olympia is a must see event, I urge you to get tickets for next years show. I've heard rumors that they are going to hold it in Vegas again next year, I can only hope that's true.

The travesty of the whole weekend is the placing of Marcus Ruhl. How a man of his size and condition places any lower than seventh is beyond me. The crowd goes wild during his routine and is shocked when he is announced 12th. The crowd is chanting "Marcus, Marcus, Marcus" as Demilia announces the top 10. My heart goes out to Marcus as I know he trained his heart out for this show.

Ed Corny is brought out during the Mr. O and given an award. Sadly, Ed is now in a wheelchair and is trying to comeback from a debilitating illness. Ed is very gracious in his acceptance speech and ends with, "Like Arnold said, I'll be back!" I hope so Ed, my prayers are with you.

During the posedown, Shawn Ray is bitched by just about everyone on stage. He immediately tries to muscle between Ronnie and Flex, both of whom shove him back. Their combined push almost sends Shawn tumbling on his ass. After that he lamely follows the crowd from one side of the stage to the next. Too bad, Shawn is such a great guy.

If you've got the means and can get away, plan on attending next years show. Like I said, it's not about the contest. The contest is like a three-hour break from a huge bodybuilding party. Special thanks to my bro Jason for making this all possible. I'll see you all at next years show.

Hi to the couple from Luxemburg, the black guy from Atlanta we met at the fitness banquet, the high rollers from Kentucky, the two Air Force guys from Germany, the couple from Mexico, the fitness chick from Utah, and everyone else who made the trip special.

Copyright Jason Meuller and Anabolic Extreme This article may not be copied, reproduced, or electronically transmitted without the express written permission of the copyright owners.

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