First off, I want to apologize to the athletes and other NPC Illinois supporters who have used the forum on this site for the purpose it was intended. I also want to apologize to the people who put together and manage this site for NPC Illinois.
For those who support NPC Illinois, the competitors and fans, I hope that you'll continue to be a part of making Illinois Bodybuilding the best it can be. The removal of the forum is not a result of your actions, but due to a select few who repeatedly abuse the forum by posting slanderous and negative comments and completely disregarding the good will of NPC Illinois. The effort to police this forum on a regular basis required too much time in my opinion and so we are closing it indefinitely.
And now a message to the complainers and cry babies who have hid behind their screen names and seem to think they are always being treated unfairly. I once told TBH that when I post, I'll put my name on it, so here it is.....
At every competitors meeting before a show, I set an expectation for the athletes. I tell them the truth. Only two people are going to leave this show happy, and those two are the overall winners of the show. Other than that, everyone else will not leave happy. That's the reality. Life is not fair and that rule doesn't change in the world of bodybuilding. I know it's true because I've been there myself. The complainers and cry babies obviously must have competed and not done as well as they think they should have or as well as your friends and family think you should have. If you all spent half as much time in the gym and working out instead of sitting on your computer and posting negative comments, you'd probably place better in the shows.
Now the good news for the complainers and cry babies...I've done a favor for you. Now that the forum is gone, you can get away from the computer and get back into the gym so you can actually do something to fix the problems you've complained about for so long. You can thank me later. And here's some more good news. There are 49 other States with NPC contests in them. If you are so unhappy with how things are done in Illinois, I suggest that you go compete in another state and see how well you fare against the competition there. My guess is you won't find any better treatment in those shows either, but why not check it out for yourself.
As for me and my performance as NPC Illinois Chairman, my position is unpaid, as are all positions with the NPC Illinois. I volunteer for this job and it is done with the love of 30 years of bodybuilding experience behind it and a desire to give others the chance to compete and excel in a sport that I've committed my life to supporting. I don't claim to have the answers to everyone's questions or problems. But I work every day to the best of my ability to make sure that each and every event in Illinois is run as fairly as possible and is ultimately a good experience for everyone who participates, competitors and audience alike.
Back in the 80s' when the bodybuilding scene started coming around in Illinois to wider recognition, there were three gyms where most successful bodybuilders came from. Those gyms were Quads Gym in Calumet City, Champion Gym in Rockford and Hammarz Gym in Chicago Ridge. Back then these gyms produced top athletes who placed and won shows because they worked together as a team and supported each other. They were unified under one objective, supporting the competitors and working as hard as possible to be the best they could be and win shows.
The complainers and cry babies have chosen to bash USA Gym and the athletes who win from there because you think it's unfair and favoritism. It is true, we have had a lot of athletes from our gym win, and I make no apologies for those successes. The reason they have won is because the trainers and athletes have worked together as a team to make sure that everyone is prepared, and in some cases over-prepared, before competition. We have novice competitors all the way to the experienced veterans who have all been successful, in large part because our trainers looked over our athletes repeatedly during their prep and before the show to make sure they were not missing anything and that they were as prepared as they can be. That is why they do well, plain and simple.
In the future, if anyone has any comments or criticisms about how I'm doing as NPC Chairman or anything related to bodybuilding in Illinois, come up to me in person, introduce yourself by your real name (because I'm sure you don't want me to know your screen name) and let me know what is on your mind. In the meantime, I will continue to do my best for the people in Illinois who respect the sport and those who actively participate to support it. And to the people who are dissatisfied with me or my performance or anything else I'm involved in, I'm here to tell you, I'm not going anywhere.
Thanks for reading this message and thank you to the good people who continue to volunteer and support NPC Illinois. And if the complainers and cry babies still have any more complaints that you are afraid to bring to me directly and say to my face, you can go to