EFBB
SCENE by John Plummer.
FLEX
magazine.
RUHL
RETURNS!
The 2004 British show
season got off to a big start in every sense of the word at the opening competition of the year. The 1,000-strong audience
was big, the line-up of competitors was big and the guest star – Markus Ruhl – was absolutely gargantuan.
The German superstar, weighing over 300 pounds
and in excellent shape, electrified the Portsmouth Guildhall in a way Peter Andre, who was due to appear at the venue the
following week, can only dream about. Posing in German trunks to truly appalling German heavy metal, Ruhl made a loud statement
that he intends to be Europe’s number one this year.
But he admits global dominance is beyond him.
“Nobody can beat Ronnie Coleman,” he says. “The only chance for other professionals is if Ronnie ends his
career.” When a pro show winner with 24-inch arms, a 58-inch chest and 36-inch thighs concedes defeat six months before
the Olympia, it says everything about the psychological damage Ronnie inflicted at last years showdown in Las Vegas.
Ruhl even nominates Dexter Jackson as the man
most likely to step in if Ronnie gets run over by a very large bus. “Dexter has nice shape,” he says. “I’m
not a nice bodybuilder so I try to be the biggest.” Ruhl politely declined to comment on suggestions that his passport
might be a factor in his losing out to smaller Americans.
Injury saved Ruhl from Coleman annihilation last
year. Instead he got to witness Olympia weekend from a fans perspective thanks to Wayne DeMilia, vice president of the IFBB
pro division, who paid for him and his bodybuilder turned martial artist girlfriend, Simone Elrich, to fly to Sin City. “I
was more nervous watching,” he says. “The atmosphere was terrific, especially when Simon Robinson (the British
guest poser who lost a leg) came onstage. That was the best moment of the show,”
Robinson and Ruhl were reunited onstage at the
EFBB South Coast qualifier, which has become one of the best shows in Britain. Promoter Paul Smith mixes hardcore muscle with
wacky entertainment to create an occasion that even the most casual fan can enjoy.
The UK Pitbulls, two wrestlers with more mass
than Ruhl, albeit of a somewhat jellier nature, scared mums and children with their bizarre fetish costumes and goatee beards.
Bulk, the bigger of the two, wanted to scotch rumours that he was 42-stone. “I’m a mere 35 stone,” he said.
An equally frightening 7 ft 3 ins man with huge false gnashers did a more than passing imitation of the James Bond character
Jaws.
But muscle was the main course. Ruhl, on his fourth trip to the UK, shot the breeze with fans in an hour-long question
and answer session before stripping to his trunks at the end of the show and taking part in the now obligatory pose down in
the audience. Local pro Mike King, the 200 overall British Champion, got back onstage for the first time
in four years for another great guest spot. King, who was almost 15stone, plans to make his pro debut at this year’s
Hungarian grand prix.
Poser extraordinaire Sam ‘The-Man’ Cullingworth put on a pec-popping routine that elevated physique presentation
to performance art. Robinson showed off a great new routine and Liverpudlian Vinny Graham, who also lost a leg in a road accident,
received equally thunderous applause. Graham, 26, only lost the part of his leg below the knee, so with his prosthesis, he
can still perform a whole range of leg exercises, including an incredible 600kg leg press. “I want to compete,”
he says. “If my one leg is in condition, the other one would be, so the judges can mark me on the clarity of what they
can see”.
The competitive hero on the day was heavyweight Rob Hill, the shows overall winner for the second year running. Last
year, the Bath Gym owner skipped the British finals. “I would have been out of my league,” he says. After seeking
help off pro Harold Marillier, he returned 8 pounds heavier at 15 stone 12 pounds and in better nick. “I shall definitely
go for the Britain this year,” he said.
Under 90kg winner Mark Cameron is also going all guns blazing for the October finals in Nottingham. He quit three jobs
to concentrate on making 2004 his year. “If you are going to do something you have to give it 100 per cent,” says
Mark, who trains at City Gym, Portsmouth. “There’s no point giving it 80 per cent five years running.”
Under 80kg winner Jason Maker, of Cheetah’s Gym, Brighton, doesn’t think he’s ready to take on Britain
yet. “I’ve improved but i'm still not there yet,” he says. The wonderfully shaped John Odour Ochar, who
contracted malaria in Kenya last year, is praying for an injury-free run to this years finals after taking the under 70kg
crown.
The increasingly popular women’s fitness class featured a head-to-head between former gymnast Leigh Gardner and
ex ice-skater Georgina Tier. Gardiner, 28, who has a beautifully balanced shape as well as a great acrobatic routine, prevailed
and will be a strong contender at Nottingham. A pub chef in Kingston, Surrey, she suffers more than most when dieting. “It’s
horrendous,” she says. “I’m always cooking burgers, chips and apple pies.”
Women’s physique categories have been streamlined in 2004. The traditional under 52kg, under57kg and over 57kg
classes have been reduced to two weight groups: under 57kg and over 57kg. Southampton personal trainer Marina Cornwell, 5ft
tall and a mere 45kg, proved that little women can still mix it with the best by defeating the tall and shapely Rachel Greenhalgh,
who at a shade below 57kg was 12kg heavier than her yet in the same weight category.
The men’s intermediates threw up a potential star in Tim Blakeley, a personal trainer at London’s Soho
Gyms. In just his second year of competing he has filled out his 6 ft 2 ins frame mightily impressively after seeking advice
from pro John Hodgson. Watch out for him at Nottingham.
Former strongman Toby Bienek won a competitive
first timers’ class. “I was very strong statically but not aerobically so I fancied a change,” says Bienek,
from the Isle of Wight, who started the strongman circuit aged only 18. Now 24, he’s rebuilt his physique remarkably
after shredding more than six stone to come in at 17 stone 2 pounds.
Junior winner Mathew Cook made a strong impression in taking a competitive class of under 21’s. Aged 20, the
Bath youngster presented a very muscular and detailed 14 stone package. Senior champion Mark Deane, another star of Cheetah’s
Gym in Hove, earned the right to take on the best over 40’s in the land by taking the title in his class.
