Here's a short video primer to warn women what they may be getting into when they agree to marry a bodybuilder . . . .

This was taped at the Montanari Brothers 2013 NPC Connecticut State Championships on June 22, 2013.  Thanks to the brothers for having me there.  And special thanks to Dustin Gartner (who I'd never met before) for giving me permission to make this video!

Finally, I urge everyone to go and watch this video in the large player over on the Vimeo page, so you can read the text more easily . . . but for those who want, you can also watch right here:

As always, thanks for watching!  And I value any thoughts you may have ...

I've begun work on a mini-documentary about Carlos, a fifty year old bodybuilder who competed in several contests in the early- to mid-2000s, but hasn't been onstage in over five years.  But now he's getting ready for a comeback at the 2013 NPC East Coast Cup in New Haven, CT on October 19, 2013.  We've only started filming together, but I'm excited enough to have put together this little project promo (larger viewer on Vimeo):

Carlos is a great guy, and I'm really looking forward to this project.  Stay tuned!

Here's a video of Guy and Bethany Cisternino's guest posing routines at the 2013 NPC Connecticut State Championships held in New Haven, CT on June 22, 2013.  They both put on great, high-energy displays -- big thanks to both of them!

Check out the large-player version directly on Vimeo.  And a video recap of the entire competition should be up within a week or two.

The Golden Era of Bodybuilding (2013?)
By Ric Drasin
277 pp. (Memoir)
Available at RicDrasin.com

Ric Drasin has a fascinating story to tell.  As part of the Venice Beach physique scene during the 1960s and 70s, Drasin knew and worked out with all of the era's great bodybuilders.  He was featured in countless magazines, ads and television shows.  He even designed the Gold's Gym logo.  And all that's putting aside his pro wrestling achievements, and his outstanding current work on the "Ric's Corner" YouTube interview and commentary series.  I have nothing but respect for the man.

Which is why The Golden Era of Bodybuilding is such a complete disappointment.  Even apart from the constant typos, the book is hurried, rambling, and confused, as though dictated and published with no further thought.  

Killer Body (2005)
by Tom Dolan
451 pp. (Fiction)

Given the general dearth of bodybuilding fiction, I began reading Killer Body with high hopes.  The hefty book is actually a collection of three distinct works: two novels and a collection of short stories, all about bodybuilders.  There's definitely a common style: author Tom Dolan is committed to describing every character's lats as "blocking out the sun," and all of his lead characters are essentially the same decent, laid-back guy.  But on a narrative level, the novels and stories all stand alone.