It’s less than a week until we leave for the annual NPC Team Universe/Figure Nationals/IFBB New York Pro Figure weekend, or as I like to call it, the Manhattan Marathon. I’ll tell ya, with the two figure shows alone a girl could spend the entire weekend on the babe beat and not meet everyone. Add the T.U. women’s bodybuilding and fitness events (which hold a special place in my heart), and life is very full. On this weekend, though, I get to report on the guys as well. Make that: and life is fuller than Jay Cutler’s trophy cabinet.
Still, I’m looking forward to it. It’s a rare occurrence nowadays, but I used to cover the men’s sport regularly. The popularity of fitness competition led me to start specializing on the ladies’ side of things in the mid-’90s. It’s a great beat—I love writing about women who are high achievers—but I can’t say that I don’t miss the men.
The battle for the Team Universe—that is, for berths on the team that will represent the United States at the IFBB Men’s World Amateur Championships next fall in South Korea—should be a good one to get me back into practice. A slew of standout athletes are reportedly headed for lower Manhattan and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on July 13 and 14, with ’06 Heavyweight and Overall champ Michael Lockett, a former boxer from Ohio who passed up the pro card that came with his title and scored a huge win at the ’07 NPC Junior Nationals, at the top of the list. Then comes light-heavyweight wonder Kiyoshi Moody, a 36-year-old living statue of highly conditioned muscle from Chula Vista, California, who’s coming off a three-contest string of wins, including the overall at Lonnie Teper’s Junior Cal a couple of weeks ago.
Another talented entry on my list of T.U. possibilities is IRON MAN’s own master of conditioning, Dave Goodin, a.k.a. the Texas Shredder. The 48-year-old Goodin made his reentry into the NPC not too long ago after several years of starring in a so-called natural bodybuilding federation, taking the overall at the ’06 NPC Lackland Classic and the middleweights at the ’07 Lone Star. He also recently began writing a column for IRON MAN, Shredded Muscle (catch it starting with the October issue), so naturally we’re hoping that he does real well in New York.
Of course, that’s only the tip of the massive iceberg. I’ll be blogging on all the action from the Tribeca next weekend, plus doing video reports and gosh knows what all else. That means babe, bodybuilding and fitness coverage of the women as well, so check this page—and the Contests section at IronManMagazine.com—for updates.
Photo: Dave Goodin and X-rep czar Steve Holman traded shredding secrets in the off-season.
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