BODYBUILDING: The only sport that tries to silence the press.
You have to have very thick skin to work as a bodybuilding journalist. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net explains how difficult this sport has become to promote on a daily basis.
Many believe that working as a sport journalist/blogger is a very exciting job to have, it can be, but it can be difficult as well. The majority of journalists in the industry work on a part-time basis, while a select few work in the industry full-time.
Bodybuilding media has evolved from print to websites and social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
From the first bodybuilding magazine to the birth of websites and social media, the regular content would be articles about food, training, athlete features and contest results.
As the sport of bodybuilding evolved, the media started to change the way they covered the sport of bodybuilding.
Contest results and the usual articles about food, training and athlete features continued to be published, but the media started to get more involved in the sport.
With hundreds of podcasts being published on YouTube on a weekly basis, the media have all the material at their disposal to be more critical about the sport of bodybuilding.
Before the 1990’s, the only way a journalist or fan could see a famous bodybuilder would be at an event or expo. Plus, we cannot forget the monthly edition of your favorite bodybuilding magazine.
During the Ronnie Coleman era, the top bodybuilders of that time, started to take advantage of social media to either promote themselves or vent their opinion about the sport or their fellow competitors.
Superstars such as Jay Cutler made a killing on social media, as he took advantage of it from its beginnings. Other athletes followed Cutler’s path and were also successful.
Pro Bodybuilding Weekly – The birth of bodybuilding media
Way back in 2005, a very young Dan Solomon and Bob Cicherillo, launched a podcast called “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly”.
“Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” was the birth of modern bodybuilding media, thanks to Dan and Bob.
Till today, we at Evolutionofbodybuilding.net regard “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” as the best ever bodybuilding podcast to be created.
Dan and Bob did not only talk about contests and glorify athletes, but they actually made the sport of bodybuilding exciting.
Their build up to a contest was perfect. Dan and Bob used to invite athletes on the show, and let them talk smack about their fellow competitors.
“Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” had no censorship and all athletes were free to say what they wanted. From criticizing judges about their placing or their fellow athletes, they had a place to be heard.
The highlight of “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” was at the Mr. Olympia Press Conference. Bob Cicherillo or Dan Solomon would hand the microphone to one of the competitors, and ask them if they remembered what they said about a certain athlete that was present. If the athlete did not remember or hesitated to answer, a clip from “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” would be played, and everybody would hear the recording of that same athlete talking smack about his fellow competitor.
This added so much excitement to the Mr. Olympia and it was one of the reasons why the Mr. Olympia Press Conference started to get so popular.
We cannot forget the great interviews that were heard on “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” as well. Some of the biggest and most popular legends in the sport were invited to the show.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end; Dan and Bob moved on to bigger and better opportunities within the industry, as we all know.
The dark side of bodybuilding media
After “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” came to an end, a number of other retired athletes created their own bodybuilding news shows. The shows are still very popular today, with their great interviews and special guests, but all these shows are restricted in someway or another in the way they report the news.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net does not exclusively cover the NPC/Pro League, but this website takes pride in covering a number of federations, such as the IFBB. IFBB Elite Pro, GBO, PCA, NABBA and the NPC/Pro League.
One would expect everybody to be happy about this, but on the contrary, the NPC/Pro League were never happy about this and even sent a message through third parties to Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s owner Kevin Grech, to either only cover the NPC/Pro League or don’t cover them at all.
Obviously, Evolutionofbodybuilding refused and continued to cover the NPC/Pro League along with all the other federations. This website will continue to be independent. Fast forward to 2022 and many are praising Evolutionofbodybuilding.net for staying on the same path.
Some of the ramifications of this decision was a number of supplement companies, that are 100% loyal to the NPC/Pro League, refused to advertise on Evolutionofbodybuilding.net. A number of prominent figures within the NPC/Pro League immediately banned the site, and the list goes on.
Supplement companies only loyal to the NPC/Pro League are not considering that athletes from other federations buy their products. So just supporting one federation does not make sense in regards to selling a product. And banning a website for supporting all federations does not make sense as well.
Getting back to the very popular Youtube podcasts that are 100% loyal to the NPC/Pro League, these podcasts practically never criticize the federation (NPC/Pro League) or point out something that they might not want to hear.
The owners of these podcasts are allegedly threatened that they will have their Press Passes revoked from a number of the major events, such as the Olympia Weekend. Plus, they might also suffer financially with the NPC/Pro League shifting their advertising elsewhere.
So in return, these podcasts have worked under a number of conditions. A number of years ago, one prominent figure in the NPC/Pro League, vented his frustration about the federation on popular podcast, he was immediately punished for his actions.
Another dark time for bodybuilding journalism was when some athletes could only speak to the media companies that sponsored them. This was ridiculous as the athlete was restricted to one magazine or website, leaving them no chance to get promoted by other media companies.
Bodybuilders and Promoters can’t take the criticism or rumors
Take a look at any other sport other than bodybuilding. Journalists fill newspapers and websites with criticism, opinions and rumors when it comes to transfers and even the athletes personal life.
International football (soccer), NHL, NBA and NFL are continuously on the back pages with top stories regarding potential trades and other stories regarding the most popular athletes.
The athletes rarely respond to these stories, and if they do, it might be during a interview or press conference.
Going back to bodybuilding and it is a totally different story. From all the bodybuilding media websites and podcasts, a few actually do real investigative journalism and actually report about what happens behind the scenes.
Sites such as Evolutionofbodybuilding.net, Nick Trigili’s Bodybuilding and Bullshit Podcast and occasionally Dave Palumbo’s RXMuscle.com are the few that do investigative journalism and cover controversial stories.
These stories add excitement to the sport of bodybuilding, it gets fans talking and keep them interested in the sport, but the athletes/promoters do not think the same way.
The majority of the athletes/promoters that are featured on the headlines, react very negatively the majority of the time.
The athletes/promoters in return, either callout the website or podcast that featured them in a negative way, they end up blocking the journalist on social media and then they continue talking negatively about the media that featured them.
These are the same people that desperately need the same media they banned to promote them.
At the same time, the athletes sponsors suffer as well indirectly.
For example, the bodybuilders/promoters that ban a certain media, do not take in consideration that when the media feature them, either with photos or video, the majority of the time, they leave the athletes sponsors logo showing on the article/video. The journalist/blogger, usually does not delete the logo or cover it, they just leave it there. In return, the athletes sponsor is getting free promotion on a major website. This is a no win situation for the athlete and sponsor if they continue banning the athlete.
The bodybuilding industry is full of rumors. Stories are built around athletes changing trainers, injuries and athletes trading words between each other. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the media reporting these issues.
If the industry just had to focus on results, the sport of bodybuilding will die a slow death.
In 2020, this website published an article indicating that there is a possibility a event might be forced to be cancelled due to the pandemic. The promoter Tim Gardner allegedly could not handle the news that was based on facts, and called out the website and its owner, trying to make him look bad. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net answered Gardner back with solid facts… Tim’s reaction… blocking Evolutionofbodybuilding.net on social media.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net throughout the years, published numerous articles about certain events within the NPC/Pro League. The reaction again was being blocked by numerous members from the Manion family and promoters very close to them.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net is not the only bodybuilding media that has felt the wrath of certain people, Nick Trigili has been attacked on numerous occasions for his stories.
Nick Trigili, at the moment has the best YouTube podcast for bodybuilding news and rumors. Nick’s stories are based on facts and he always has the evidence to back his stories. Nick also publishes opinion based podcasts.
99% of the time, when Nick breaks a story, immediately after it is published, he will get a negative response from the athlete, trainer or promoter that is featured.
The athlete will flood his social media with messages or even contact him privately. Sometimes, Nick will even be requested to remove the video, which he never does.
At the moment, Trigili is on fire with his daily updates, and he has literally turned the sport of bodybuilding upside down when it comes to bodybuilding journalism.
The bodybuilders today, only want praise, they just want everybody to be yes men, but how can they improve if they don’t hear criticism?
The bodybuilders today want websites to write about their new cars and houses… God forbid we criticize the way they train, pose or anything else related.
Bodybuilding is built on criticism and if a pro bodybuilder can’t take constructive criticism from the press, they should leave the sport.
If a promoter cannot take criticism for a bad show, or very expensive live streaming, he or she should maybe move on to something else.
If the President or committee of a federation or private entity can’t handle constructive criticism on how the sport is being run or certain rules that need to be changed, they should resign and be replaced by capable, open minded people.
Rumors make the world of sport exciting, if bodybuilders can’t handle the press, they should just sit in their home and watch TV. They should not make themselves available for podcasts.
Editor’s Note
We are sick and tired of bodybuilders/promoters, crying like babies every time an article is published.
The days of responding with threats must stop. If the bodybuilders/promoter want to reply, they have the right for a “Right of Reply”. This website will gladly publish their response in the same prominent way the first article was published.
If the bodybuilders/promoters take to their social media to throw mud at the media that published an article about them, they better be ready for a response.
Promotion is a major part of bodybuilding, bodybuilders need to get themselves promoted, but if they cut their ties with all the websites that write about them, their options will be reduced.
Before the bodybuilders and promoters trash the media, they must remember, “The pen is mightier than the sword“.
