Trying to silence the independent bodybuilding journalist.
We have been contemplating publishing such an article for the last nine years, but it’s about time the bodybuilding industry learn the truth.
As the majority of bodybuilding fans and athletes are aware, there was a big split in 2017, between Jim Manion (NPC, IFBB Pro League) and Dr. Rafael Santonja (IFBB, IFBB Elite Pro).
A little history
The NPC was previously the American representative of the IFBB, before the split in 2017. The IFBB, formerly run by the late Ben Weider and now by Dr. Rafael Santonja, have over 190 countries affiliated to the IFBB.
The IFBB is an amateur federation. Before 2017, every athlete competing under the IFBB, earned their pro status and competed in the IFBB Pro League. Jim Manion was the president of the IFBB Pro League and NPC, while Dr. Rafael Santonja had the enormous task of running amateur competitions all over the world.
In 2017, there was a major disagreement and Jim Manions’ NPC and IFBB Pro League cut ties with Dr. Rafael Santonja and went on their own.
The IFBB did not think twice and created the IFBB Elite Pro, while Jim Manion made sure he took control of the Mr. Olympia competition and the star athletes within the IFBB Pro League.
Since then, there has been major confusion about the ‘IFBB’ name, but it should only be used by the IFBB run by Dr. Rafael Santonja. The IFBB Pro League should have had its name changed to NPC Pro League. The reason Jim Manion continued to keep using the IFBB name is for obvious reasons, but that was already explained in previous articles.
Jim Manion tried to take more control of international amateur competitions by creating NPC Worldwide, but five years later, they are allegedly still having difficulties running competitions in foreign countries. In regards to the amount of competitions, they are not even close to the number of events the IFBB organize with Dr. Rafael Santonja at the helm.
The NPC and IFBB Pro League are now a privately owned by the Manion family, while the Dr. Rafael Santonja’s IFBB remains a true federation, recognized all over the world. Dr. Rafael Santonja is voted in as President at the IFBB World Congress in a democratic voting system.
“Don’t publish our results and news on your website”
Before the split in 2017, being a bodybuilding journalist was fantastic, there were no boundaries or hidden rules of what you can or cannot report about.
When Evolutionofbodybuilding.net was created, way back in 2013, this site was originally created to be a site dedicated to the history of bodybuilding. The owner Kevin Grech, contacted numerous legendary bodybuilders and started to publish features about them.
As well, to work in a correct manner, the IFBB had a wealth of historical information about bodybuilding in their archives, and IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja gave this site full permission to use whatever information I needed. Dr. Rafael Santonja believed this was a great way to promote the sport, through Evolutionofbodybuilding.net.
Even on the side of the NPC and IFBB Pro League, before 2017, J.M. Manion (Jim Manion’s son) was very helpful in letting me use photography and any information this site needed from their archives.
Eventually, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net would expand and become a full blown bodybuilding news portal.
Then, the big split happened in 2017. Since Evolutionofbodybuilding.net is based in Europe, this site remained very close to the IFBB and Dr. Rafael Santonja. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net traveled to cover numerous events prior to 2017, such as the IFBB European Championships and the Arnold Classic Europe.
After 2017, the owner of Evolutionofbodybuilding.net started to receive subtle messages of what federation this site should be 100% loyal to. It was a “you are either with us, or against us”, situation.
This was allegedly coming from the Jim Manion’s side of the fence. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s Kevin Grech, discussed this situation with IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja and he agreed that the site should remain independent and cover whoever and whatever they want to, in a balanced manner.
IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santonja always supported this site in the way it publishes the news for the good of the sport and not to destroy it.
From that moment on, the owner of Evolutionofbodybuilding.net decided that they would report the news about any federation and any athlete, regardless of who they compete for.
The pressure started to increase on what federation or private entity Evolutionofbodybuilding.net is loyal to, but Evolutionofbodybuilding.net remained independent.
As the years went on, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net proudly reported and published results for a number of major federations and entities, such as the IFBB, IFBB Elite Pro, NPC, IFBB Pro League, PCA, NABBA, GBO and many more.
Trying to silence the independent bodybuilding journalist after 2017
With the success of being one of the only independent bodybuilding websites in the world, the day finally arrived when the powers that be at the NPC and IFBB Pro League, sent a message to Evolutionofbodybuilding.net with an ultimatum.
Jim Manion’s so called puppets, sent the owner of Evolutionofbodybuilding.net a simple message stating that they do not want to be on the same website with material about other federations.
Obviously, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net did not accept this. Not only did we continue to cover all federations, but this site continued to report the news about the NPC and IFBB Pro League in a more prominent way.
This decision allegedly did not go down well with Manion and his puppets. It got to the point that Evolutionofbodybuilding.net was “banned” from all events organized by the NPC or IFBB Pro League. Legally, the Manion’s cannot really to this, but lets leave it at that.
Regardless of a ban or not, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net continued to give great coverage to major events, such as the Mr. Olympia, New York Pro and the Arnold Classic competitions organized under the NPC flag. All this was done with great success.
In the meantime, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net also was and still is very successful in covering events for the IFBB and IFBB Elite Pro. A huge task with all the events organized all over the world, but it is a job that is taken very seriously.
Because of the Manion’s, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net received a lot of hate from representatives and athletes within the NPC and IFBB Pro League. On a personal level, the Manion family event went as far as to block this site and its owner (Kevin Grech) from all their commercial and personal social media pages.
Even on popular bodybuilding forums, Manion’s puppets tried everything to silence or ridicule the owner of Evolutionofbodybuilding.net.
To rule with an Iron Fist
With all that was being done to silence Evolutionofbodybuilding.net, for reporting the truth and cover the sport independently. The Manion’s puppets allegedly took it to another level to try and choke or starve Evolutionofbodybuilding.net financially.
As the years went on, it was Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s owner sent hundreds of emails, offering very prominent advertising space to the majority of supplement companies, all over the world.
It is a fact that the majority of companies in the supplement industry want to be close to the Mr. Olympia event, which means their loyalty is with the Manion’s and the NPC.
A lot of doors were being shut and the site continued to run successfully without the financial backing it needed.
It was evident that the companies that Evolutionofbodybuilding.net was contacting for advertising or sponsorship, were allegedly well informed not to advertise on this site.
These are the things happening behind the scenes that nobody knows about. Manion’s puppets were allegedly trying everything possible to destroy Evolutionofbodybuilding.net.
As the years went on, some companies started to think differently and believed that not only NPC athletes take their supplements or purchase their products, so they started to advertise on Evolutionofbodybuilding.net.
Everything started to look good until the recent events that occurred in April 2022. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net finally confirmed, thanks to certain events, that the Manion’s allegedly truly have total control over all their athletes and companies within the NPC and IFBB Pro League.
Punished for giving space to all federations and athletes
Even five years after the split, the bullshit continues to happen behind the scenes. You’re either in or you’re out, that is how things still work with supplement companies.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net had a number of advertisers and sponsors through the years. The agreements would be cut short on a number of occasions. We believed that it could be due to financial reasons, and we understood this.
Just recently, Evolutionofbodybuilding.net had an exclusive contract with an advertiser, we will refrain from mentioning their name, but they cancelled the contract between themselves and Evolutionofbodybuilding.net, just after a few months into it.
This company was generating sales through Evolutionofbodybuilding.net’s media hub, including this website and its social media. Obviously, not as much as a popular pro athlete, but good sales.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net, gave fantastic exposure to this company. The owner of evolutionofbodybuilding.net believes that if a company trusts them to promote their products, we do everything possible to push their brand.
Thanks to the numerous banners on the site, very good traffic was being redirected to the advertisers company as well, which in return meant more sales.
On top of all this, features were being published about the advertisers sponsored athletes, pushing the brand even more.
All of a sudden, a short email arrives stating that the contract between Evolutionofbodybuilding.net and the Sponsor/Advertisier has been terminated.
What was the reason? This site in no way, published anything negative about the advertiser.
Obviously, we asked, why were we terminated when everything was going so well?
The reason? The advertiser can’t have any affiliation with the IFBB Elite Pro.
So basically, this advertiser is allegedly telling this site that their products can only be promoted and sold to NPC and IFBB Pro League athletes.
Allegedly, this advertiser is telling this site that any company or athlete affiliated with the Manion’s cannot do business with a website or other company that works with numerous federations.
This advertiser is allegedly giving this site the impression that their products only work on NPC and IFBB Pro athletes.
This advertiser is allegedly telling this site who and what we should report about.
So, if an IFBB Elite Pro, NABBA, PCA, GBO or any other athlete wants to purchase products from this company, they will allegedly not accept their money?
These are the events taking place behind the scenes in the bodybuilding and fitness industry.
Independent journalism is crucial to the bodybuilding industry
The bodybuilding industry needs independent journalism more than every. Evolutionofbodybuilding.net will not shy away from a story, even it it means wthis site will be threatened. If we have the proof to back the story, we will publish it.
In the past, on numerous occasions, some athletes contacted this site to remove certain articles. Articles that exposed their wrong doings, but we refused, regardless of the consequences.
There are a number of good journalists in the industry, some are very loyal to the NPC and the Manion’s, and I respect this.
But these same journalists will report the truth, even when they know they might suffer heavily because of what they write.
Journalists such as Nick Trigili, Christian Duque, Joe Pietaro, and even Shawn Ray when he was working as a journalist, do not shy away from a good story. And I truly respect this.
For example, Michal Krizo, is an incredible bodybuilder, but there is a twist, he is also an IFBB Elite Pro bodybuilder.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net have been writing about Michal’s career, victories and everything else related to him since his humble beginnings. Now, the bodybuilding industry want to see him compete on the Mr. Olympia stage, but to do this, Michal would technically have to start from fresh as an amateur within the NPC.
At the time of writing this article, Michal is still 100% dedicated to the IFBB and IFBB Elite Pro.
In the past two years, all of the media that are 100% dedicated to the NPC and IFBB Pro League, have been writing or reporting about Michal Krizo. This is great, as Michal is getting exposure all over the world.
But wait, are the media that are dedicated solely to the NPC and IFBB Pro League allowed to talk about Michal? After all he is an IFBB Elite Pro athlete, with IFBB President Rafael Santonja by his side.
What does Manion and his team of puppets thinks about all this? An IFBB Elite Pro athlete being featured as a star bodybuilder on NPC/IFBB Pro League dedicated media… this is unacceptable.
So, do the media that are dedicated to Manion’s NPC/IFBB Pro League lose their sponsorhip deals because they mentioned an IFBB elite Pro athlete?
Another example… a few years ago, Wellness athlete Angela Borges was brushed aside because she was a star within the IFBB Elite Pro. She dominated every event and won numerous world Championships and Arnold Classic titles.
Fast forward a few years and now Angela Borges is now one of Manion’s IFBB Pro League top Wellness stars. Angela placed second at the 2021 Wellness Olympia, just after a few years within the NPC/IFBB Pro League.
These accomplishments from just these athletes mentioned is proof that the IFBB and IFBB Elite Pro have continued to produce world-class just as they did before the split in 2017.
So as independent journalists, we cannot report about the incredible achievements of these athletes before they moved to the NPC/IFBB Pro League?
We have to ask permission to our sponsors or federations of who we can write about on our own media outlets?
In regards to advertisers and sponsors, there are millions of athletes all over the world. Not all believe the NPC/IFBB Pro League is the best place for them to be associated with. Many athletes prefer to compete in natural or other major federations such as the IFBB or Elite Pro.
All these athletes need supplements and want to purchase the cool apparel that is being designed and sold by the thousands of companies in the industry.
In regards to business and increasing profits and sales, it would be “logical” (as Mr. Spock would say) to open up your business to athletes from every corner of the world. This would make financial sense.
Only restricting your products to one business or federation is not the way to run a business.
Finally, punishing a journalist because they are working independently is truly uncalled for.
Without independent journalism, the industry will be run with “yes” men, bowing their head to everything.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net is proud to be covering all major IFBB/IFBB Elite Pro events, the Mr. America event, and obviously the NPC/IFBB Pro events that are taking place in 2022.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net has many friends and colleagues in the bodybuilding industry who they respect and trust. We have many within the IFBB/IFBB Elite Pro and also many friends who remained close, even after the split in 2017 within the NPC/IFBB Pro League.
Yes , this is another true fact that after the split in 2017, some friendships were lost.
We are not puppets, and it is time we all stand up for what is right!
