The 2004 NPC Nationals Report

I was in Dallas for the Nationals, in a dual role. I was there to support two of my clients, Bill Wilmore and Aaron Garza, and also to get my take on the show for MD. So without further ado, here's how I saw it.

Bantamweights

Robert E. Lee of Texas was in fourth place. Sharing the name of the legendary Confederate Army General from the Civil War, he is actually Ronnie Coleman's gym assistant both at Metroflex and at Ronnie's home gym. Robert loads and unloads weights for Mr. Olympia and sets everything up so his training can maintain a steady pace- which must be a workout in itself! Ronnie actually helped him with his diet for the John Sherman Classic, held two weeks before, where Robert won the Lightweight division before practically killing himself to make Bantamweight here. He looked great, very balanced, and it was a great showing for the first time at the national level. Since he had such a tough time making weight, it's safe to say he will be a Lightweight next year.

In third was Heath Warren. Heath had a very pleasing look with good overall balance and great legs. He could have been a little tighter, but his structure is a strong point. When he dials in his condition a little better, I could easily see him winning this class. The runner-up was Nationals veteran Randy Jackson, Sr. Randy has a phenomenal upper body including a killer back, but needs bigger legs with more sweep to them. His condition is also tighter in the upper body, so all he needs to do is focus on a little more size and sharpness in the lower body next time. 

Winning the Bantams was Steven Burke, who had won the same division at the USA five months prior. Steven doesn't have overwhelming size and thickness, but he has excellent balance among all his muscle groups. He is now eligible for pro status, though often in the lighter weight classes the athletes choose to retain their amateur status and continue to compete in weight classes rather than in the pros. Regardless of whether or not Burke decides to take the pro card, congratulations to him on a stellar year. 

All the guys in the top five looked great and several positions could have been switched without anyone complaining.

Lightweights

In third place was Leonardo Ortiz, who nailed his condition, but needs to bring his lower body into balance to do better. His upper body featured good arms, shoulders and chest, but his legs, particularly from the side, need beefing up. Second place went to Perry McRae. Perry has great quads with very deep separations and an awesome back. His rear double biceps pose was phenomenal and got a strong reaction from the audience. McRae could use more width in his rear lat spread, but I think this is more of a posing issue than an actual lack of width; he just has to learn how to spread his scapulae out more. Condition-wise, I thought he looked quite good. He only needs to tighten up a bit in the glute-ham area and polish up his posing. Perry did something very common among the younger competitors, which is that he would flex his legs at the beginning of a pose, and then relax them a couple of seconds later. He just needs to practice "sitting on his legs" for the duration of the pose. Overall, he had a great look and I look forward to seeing him compete again. 

This year's Lightweight National Champion was Patrick Richardson. I was very impressed with his condition, but if I have to critique, I'd say his lower body needs more mass to be up to par with his upper body. Patrick also needs some work on his posing. His rear lat spread in particular looked awkward, which isn't too uncommon. Several of his poses weren't quite right, which meant he could have shown his physique off better if they had been. This just takes practice and having someone to correct little body positioning things you may be doing incorrectly. But again, the man was hard as nails, with striated, dry and separated glutes and hams. If there's any muscle group Richardson can improve on, it would be his back. But congratulations to him on a well-deserved win.

Middleweights

Garrett Allin was a favorite heading into the Nationals, hot off his Middleweight class win at the USA. Unfortunately, he did not look quite as hard here, or as streamlined. I'm not sure if he was actually any heavier this time, but I did notice he looked a little blockier overall, and his glutes and hams weren't as deeply etched. Repeating perfect condition, particularly twice in the same season, is always a major challenge. Garrett was in fifth place this time.

            Fourth place went to Ricky "Tricky" Jackson, who has been around the national scene for many years. Tricky's condition from the back was great, with striated glutes and a very tight back and hamstrings. Oddly, from the front he wasn't nearly as hard. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you see the opposite happen, as most guys look best from the front and smoother when they turn around and face the curtain. But some guys have dominant body parts, like their glutes, that get into shape rather easily. My best guess is that he was a little flat, which means the muscles didn't push up against the skin as much as they should have, resulting in a slightly smooth appearance. If Tricky can get that grainy, full look from the front like he displayed from the back, this class could at last be his. I know he's been in the top five at the USA and Nationals many times, so I hope he can pull it off.

            In third was Anthony Watkins, with the freakiest arms in the class, maybe even in all of amateur bodybuilding. His arms actually remind me of Ronnie's, with a double split in the biceps peaks, especially in his left arm. I think Anthony could have easily been put in second place here. The guy is really thick and freaky from head to toe and his condition was very good. Anthony worked with Chad Nicholls for this show. Overall, I'd say he could use a little more thigh separation and better presentation. I can't emphasize enough how important presentation is at this level. Once you get into the top three in a class, physiques are often very similar and presentation can make the difference between winning and losing. But all in all, it was a great showing for Anthony and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him.

            Runner-up for the second year in a row was California's Stan McQuay, who had won the Middleweights at the 2002 USA. Stan was supposed to be a Light-Heavyweight for this show, but I know he had some issues to deal with. I believe he broke his hand in a motorcycle accident while preparing for this contest. Considering the challenges he must have faced as a result of that, he did a bang-up job. Stan is obviously a little tall for a middleweight, which puts him at a distinct disadvantage to shorter guys who pack more mass relative to him. But his overall structure is beautiful and genetically, he's very blessed with great shape and flowing symmetry. Stan's lack of mass is most apparent when he turns around. His back needs to be thicker and from the back, in general, he needs more crispness. I'd love to see him put on enough size to be a great light-heavyweight. With the shape he has, McQuay would be really dangerous carrying an additional 15 pounds of muscle and I have a feeling a pro card would be his at last. Once again, I take my hat off to Stan for doing a phenomenal job with all the hurdles he had to face while training for this show.

            Out of all six men's weight classes, the Middleweights were the only division where you knew who the clear-cut winner was the second they all filed out on stage. Once we all saw Eryk Bui, we all knew that everyone else was shooting for second place at best. After taking second at the USA back in July, Eryk hit his peak 100 percent at the Nationals and looked astonishing. The guy was thick, full and shredded, and I could tell that he had been totally focused on winning this show over the past few months. As we all watched him hit his mandatory poses in prejudging with the other finalists, it was clear he was unbeatable from any angle. I'm even going to say that if Eryk had another 20 or 30 pounds of muscle, he would have won the Overall title easily. As it was, there was no question in anyone's mind he would win the class and a pro card, which is rare at the national level as competition is so close and fierce. His color was phenomenal (another component of presentation) and the stars were certainly lined up in his favor this night. Congratulations to Eryk Bui for hitting a grand slam and dominating the Middleweight class.

Light-Heavyweights

            I usually don't comment on competitors who finish in eleventh place, but in the case of New York's Rob Lopez I have to make an exception. I had heard several weeks out from the show that he was looking great, so I don't know what happened. Obviously, something went wrong and I can only speculate as to the cause. I don't believe this was a last-minute issue like over-carbing and spilling over, or flattening out. Certainly, those may have played some part in how he looked, but only to a small degree. I think the fundamental issue is that Robbie needs to be a full-time bodybuilder. If I sound harsh, it's only because I like Rob, I've spoken to him many times, and I feel he has all the potential in the world as a bodybuilder. All I want to say this time is: Don't become another Edgar Fletcher, someone who will always be remembered in terms of how great he could have been. It seems to me Lopez gets ready for shows at the last minute. When it comes to bodybuilding and especially at this level, where you are just that one step away from the pros, you need to do it right or don't do it at all. Robbie, isn't it about time your membership card said IFBB instead of NPC?

            In fifth was Eddie Linda, who had also been fifth in 2002 and was the runner-up in 2001 to Johnnie Jackson. I was very impressed with Eddie and actually thought he could have been a couple of places higher. He has almost the prototypical light-heavyweight physique, with a great V-taper, small joints, very good arms and legs and in very tight condition. Eddie has that classic type of shape that reminds me of Serge Nubret, only with better legs. Fourth went to Nathan Wonsley, who was third in this division at the USA. Nate packs a lot of size, especially in his arms and legs, and you almost think he was a heavyweight who came out with the wrong class. I would like to see better muscle separation and a tad more upper-back width. Because his arms are so dominant, he tends to not have a very dramatic taper in his front double biceps pose.  In third was Randolph Chaney II, who had been the runner-up at the USA in July. Chaney has a nice balance of size, shape and symmetry, and he was also in very good condition. His thighs, in particular, showed some of the freakiest cross-striations in the show. If I could make a suggestion, it would be to add a little more size in the hamstrings and to bring better condition in the glute-ham area next time, as they're somewhat soft here.

            The runner-up in the Light-Heavyweights was Aaron Garza, whom I started working with around 13 weeks out from the show. This was only his second national show. Last year, he placed ninth at the Nationals in this class. Aaron had some physique issues that I would like to have had an entire off-season to address before starting to diet down, but we decided to move forward and work together. Based on how he looked last year, I was quite confident that better conditioning could move him up higher than ninth place. We proceeded to put a game plan together. Aaron needs more mass in the arms and upper chest, and a little more back thickness, too. In a perfect world, we would have had time to bring all those up, but we were on a tight schedule.

One of his strong points is his freaky quads, which have incredible shape, and overall a very pleasing shape to the physique. We focused on his conditioning and decided to let that carry him here, and we would worry about other body part issues once the show was over. I should say we did address them as much as possible in light of him being in a pre-contest phase, using high- volume training to bring up his arms. His color and condition were great. You will notice I mention color often, because it can make the difference between winning and losing. Many competitors don't realize that color is an integral part of your presentation. Aaron, going from ninth place last year to just one point away from winning the class and a pro card this time, was a tremendous showing, and I was very proud of him. And of course, Roc Shabazz ain't too shabby a bodybuilder to lose to. All in all, the decision for the light-heavies could have gone either way. Aaron had superior conditioning, but Roc was more complete in terms of his muscular balance, especially in the arms.

              Advancing from second place at last year's Nationals to first place this time was Atlanta's Rashid "Roc" Shabazz. Roc looked very good, with great overall balance that carried him to a win and a pro card. If anything needs to be improved, his condition could have been better. As I said, there was only a one-point difference between Roc and Aaron. Since Roc was "in line," so to speak, having been second to Kris Dim last year, it would have taken more of a margin for Aaron to get the nod, and the differences between them just weren't that significant. I definitely want to congratulate Roc, because I know he put his all into this show. I had spoken to him at the GNC show and he was focused and determined to nab his pro card at this show. This was Roc's night.

Heavyweights

In fifth place was Gus "The Bus" Carter, a good friend and training partner of Ronnie Coleman. He had definitely improved since his twelfth place finish at the USA, looking leaner and fuller. Gus is another guy with untapped potential. He has plenty of thick and freaky muscle mass, but has yet to show up in the proper condition to showcase it properly. I feel the underlying reason is that Gus needs to stay in better shape in the off-season and not get as heavy as he does. His weight fluctuations from the off-season to pre-contest are just too extreme and this leads to inconsistent condition that's reflected in his wildly varying placings. One year he will be second or third, the next year he won't make the cut of top 15. Once he starts keeping his weight down in the off-season, he will get a much better handle on his conditioning and we will see him doing well consistently.  I look forward to seeing Gus compete next year in the Masters Nationals, and I'm predicting a pro card for the big man.

Fourth went to Gregory Jones, a young guy I don't recall ever seeing before. Greg is one thick dude with the type of round, full muscles you don't often see at the amateur level. His conditioning was also very good. To balance out his physique, he could definitely use some more mass in his hamstrings.  Although I don't know his exact age, it looks to me like he has plenty of time to accomplish that. Third place was a big step up for TJ Hewitt, who was last seen at the 1999 Nationals, where he finished fifteenth as a Light-Heavyweight.  TJ has that grainy look of muscle maturity that only comes from a couple of decades of heavy training. His physique is very complete, with no glaring weak points and a nice blend of size and shape.

            Second place was awarded to Grigori Atoyan, the 2002 NPC California Champion hot off a fourth place at the USA. I know Grigori well, as he is from Sacramento and I have seen him compete many times in regional and national events. I regret to report that there was a little episode when the final placings were called out and Grigori did not remain onstage to take photos with the rest of the top five. I understand that everyone likes to win, and if they are in their best shape ever, they usually feel they deserve to win. But honestly, his conditioning was better at the USA and this was just not his night. Grigori was very disappointed to take second place, but he needs to learn to take that off the stage. All he needed to do was to hold off for 30 seconds rather than get upset in front of everybody in attendance. I'm sure Grigori didn't mean to be disrespectful, but actions speak louder than words, and displaying poor sportsmanship like this puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

The bottom line is that Atoyan just didn't nail his condition the way he did at the USA. He still looked great and he could very well win this class. If he does decide to do the USA next year, I predict it will be a showdown between him and Faramarz Aghazadeh. I'll be buying my tickets early next year to get front row seats to witness firsthand the Middle Eastern conflict onstage in Las Vegas. Both of these men have the potential not only to be pros, obviously, but very good pros.

            Winning his pro card was Capriese "The Mutant" Murray, who all MD readers should be quite familiar with from his appearances over the past six months in these pages. I take full credit for coming up with his nickname, though I should say my alternate nickname was "the Black Lee Priest." I think we went with the right one. I thought Capriese was a little off on Friday night for prejudging, and very much "on" for the finals on Saturday evening. Obviously, Capriese has a lot of freaky body parts: his arms, legs, delts, even his calves- and most brothers don't have those unless they buy them! Overall he looked phenomenal. 

The only place I feel he needs to improve is his back thickness. This is more than likely the result of dominant body parts taking over, which we have seen many times before. As with other guys with giant biceps like Lee Priest, Mike Matarazzo and Paul Dillett, the biceps often tend to take over in most back movements.  (We have to leave Ronnie out of this, as the rule only applies to human beings). The opposite is also seen fairly often, with competitors who have sensational backs, but their biceps leave something to be desired. Both Lee Haney and Dorian Yates would be good examples, as well as my fellow Persians King Kamali and Abbas Khatami. Capriese is just getting warmed up and I'm sure he'll work hard to bring his back up to the level of the rest of his freaky physique. Moving from sixth place at the USA to winning his pro card at the Nationals in the same year was no easy task, so props to the Mutant and I look forward to seeing you make your debut in New York this May.

            Super-Heavyweights

            One man who didn't make the top five but is worthy of mention is Erik "the Viking" Fromm, who finished in seventh. I have to admit I was very disappointed at how he looked here, and I put Erik in the same category as Rob Lopez. Erik needs to get that fire back and become a bodybuilder 12 months out of the year instead of three. I'm a big fan of the Viking and none of this is meant to disrespect him. If he gets focused for an entire season, he could do a lot of damage as a super-heavyweight. He has before, and he can again. It's just a matter of him committing 100 percent to that goal. Erik was not as big as he has been, and his condition was nowhere near where it should have been. Seventh place was actually probably several slots too high in light of that.

            In third place was Florida's Marcus Haley, who was the runner-up to Will Harris at the USA as a heavyweight earlier in the season. He definitely proved here that he could also be quite formidable as a super-heavy. However, sucking down to heavyweight one last time may have been a better strategy.  He was the only man who could have realistically pushed Capriese in the heavies, and honestly, if he had looked the way he did at the USA, I would have had him beating the Mutant based on his crazy conditioning. Marcus's strengths are good overall thickness and balance, his super-deep thigh separations and his structure. He has no glaring weak points to speak of. I just would have liked to see more overall detail. Haley definitely gave up some of his amazing condition to come in a few pounds fuller and compete as a super.  I believe he's going to do the USA in 2005 as a super-heavyweight, which should be enough time for him to find that balance.

            Second place was given to my other client in the show, Bill Wilmore.  This was the same showing as last year, when he was edged out by SHW and Overall Champion Mat DuVall. Then, he had made tremendous improvements from the previous year and he succeeded in doing the same this time. I was very pleased with how he came into the Nationals. His fullness, conditioning, and even presentation had all been kicked up a notch and I applaud him on a job well done. This was Bill's absolute all-time best and I'm very proud of him and his consistency. He wasn't going into this show to beat anyone but himself, and he did accomplish that.

            Winning the Supers was Chris Cook. Two weeks later, he guest-posed at the Excalibur, and my friends, the Persian clan, gave him a new nickname.  Phonetically, it's "Dee-von-eh-paw-seh-feed," which translates to "crazy man with white feet." Apparently, he forgot to put Pro Tan on his feet there, but at the Nationals his color was just fine. Chris is near and dear to my heart, since we have been friends and have worked together for his contests for several years now. We mutually decided after the USA that he should work with Chris Aceto for the last 12 weeks leading up to the Nationals. Depending on whom you asked, either Chris or Bill Wilmore was the deserving winner. The crowd's opinion was very mixed on this, and the fact of the matter is, they were very close. But you have to take into account that Chris was the reigning USA Super-Heavyweight Champion for the last two years now. If anyone was going to beat him here, they needed to be good enough to "close the door behind them," meaning it had to be a decisive knockout. If there was any question as to who should win, the nod was going to go to Chris. It's very similar to what happens when a reigning Mr. Olympia goes into any show. 

Overall, the improvements Cook made dealt mainly with his conditioning. He had only taken four weeks off from the USA until he started preparing all over again for the Nationals. Chris has been dieting since the end of March and this show was at the end of November. Interestingly, the weight difference from the USA to the Nationals wasn't so dramatic. He was 251 at the USA weigh-ins and 248 in Dallas. That's because he had less body fat and more muscle. He had put some mass on his chest and back, although he wasn't able to display the latter correctly. This is due to how he sets his shoulders back in the rear lat spread pose. It didn't help that this is one of Wilmore's dominant poses, along with his rear double biceps. And there were definitely a few fans that got out of control when Bill was announced in second place. The last thing anyone wanted to see was a replay of the brawl at the Detroit Pistons game; luckily it never came to that.

I spoke to Chris last night and he has already started preparing for his pro debut at Steve Weinberger's New York pro show in May. Congratulations to Chris for his win; it's been a long time coming, even though I knew it would eventually happen. He has come a long way from the days when he used to sweep the leaves out of my mom's roof gutters!

            Overall

Chris went on to win the Overall title and I believe the scoring was 10 to five in favor of Chris. Obviously, he is a much bigger man than Capriese, outweighing him by 50 pounds. Chris also has a great structure and this was one of those times where his overall structure was an integral deciding factor in the overall decision.

Congratulations to all the winners, and welcome to the IFBB!

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