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2 March 2010 Since Shameen Adams' “fallout” with the IFBB, due to the announcement of his life ban with the federation in 2009, I have tried numerous times to get in touch with him. I have probably left three or four voicemail messages with him over the past few months, to which I have yet to receive a reply. What did I do? If you know maybe you can tell me, because I sure as hell don't. It is however very clear that he doesn't want to talk to me. Although public knowledge to anyone that knows how to look for information on the Internet, Shameen's life ban was never publicised in Muscle Evolution for the simple reason that I didn't want to expose his ban and wave it in the air as if it was “hot off the press” news. I have a huge amount of respect for the guy and I didn't want to throw him into the public eye as a banned athlete – he doesn't deserve that. He has represented our country at the IFBB World Championships on numerous occasions and will always be one of the greatest physiques that South Africa has ever seen. It's just a pity that he drew the wrong ball out of the pillow case one too many times and ended up paying the ultimate price. The reason for wanting to get in touch with him is pretty simple. Apparently he has a DVD of the 2008 IFBB SA Muscle Evolution Grand Prix, which is the only copy – hence my desperation to get hold of him, as I want to put it up on our new website and start marketing the show for 2010. With nowhere left to turn I decided to call “Shameen's Supplement Mecca” - a store in Claremont, Cape Town that he owns. Riad Adams runs the store in the afternoon and he answered the phone. I mentioned to Riad that I needed a copy of the DVD quite urgently, to which he mentioned that he would chat to Shameen and see what he could sort out. Two weeks later with no return phone call I decided to make another courtesy call to check up on the DVD of the show. Riad was surprised that Shameen hadn't called me and said that he would ask Shameen again. We then chatted a bit, because I've always liked Riad, he is a humble guy and I respect people like that, so I mentioned to him that I am looking forward to coming down to Cape Town to cover both the IFBB Cape Classic, as well as the WFF-WBBF Shameen Classic. That was when things took a turn for the worst. I was notified that I could visit the show with pleasure, but unfortunately I would not be allowed to give coverage of the event due to the fact that an opposing magazine had “exclusive” rights. I felt slapped in the face. For the past seven years I have supported, promoted and sang nothing but praise for Shameen and his athlete status in South African bodybuilding. We would often chat and come up with great ideas, which would result in me booking flights to Cape Town to do Township Training articles, where we would spend the entire day driving around some of the local townships in Cape Town to promote bodybuilding and put together heart-felt articles with the aim of developing the sport further in these poorer areas... And then, all of a sudden I am not “allowed” to cover his event since his move to another federation? Something fishy was going on... Clearly pissed off, I called the President of the WFF-WBBF, Tommy du Rand and shared my feelings with him. I've known Tommy ever since I started publishing and I have always had the utmost respect for what he has done for South African bodybuilding. He draws huge crowds here in Johannesburg and he has a true passion for our sport. He mentioned to me that the show was already set up before it had become affiliated with the WFF-WBBF. However, this didn't answer the burning question, which I intended to pose to Shameen and find out why he doesn't want South Africa's number 1 bodybuilding magazine to cover the event. I was told that the opposition magazine had “bought into” the show and was sponsoring quite a few line-ups. What really irks me is this narrow minded approach, which will only serve to strangle the media exposure this sport so badly needs to thrive and grow. To exclude Muscle Evolution, the biggest bodybuilding magazine in the country with the biggest following and community support is sheer madness and will only hurt the sport in the long run. Communication also seems to be a problem in that, by Tuesday evening (before I took any action) I had yet to receive a call from Shameen, explaining to me that I am not allowed to cover the event. By strangling your reach by limiting media exposure you inevitably cut short the effect that your show can have on the sport and the industry. Sitting behind my desk I realised that it was time to speak out. In seven years of Muscle Evolution I had steered clear of political drama, kept my mouth shut and never “made waves” - well those days are over, and now that I have a place to blog and share my feelings, I'm going to do just that. I decided to log into my Facebook account and posted the following: Andrew Carruthers is disgusted to report that Muscle Evolution will not be covering the WFF-WBBF Shameen Classic. After years of media support to Shameen Adams, Muscle Evolution are not welcome to cover the event due to other media interests. This is completely unfair on the athletes that wish to be featured in the magazine. I hope that the athletes taking part will express their disappointment to the organisers. The word disgusted is pretty strong, but it's a true reflection of my feelings at that time. Within minutes I was inundated with responses by athletes, participants, judges, chairmen and chairladies, and everyone else who shares a common interest in South African bodybuilding. You see, when athletes find out that they are going to miss out on an opportunity to get featured nationally in our magazine they tend to get a little pissed off, and rightfully so. As I write this, my Facebook page is growing with interest and comments are flying in, showing their support for Muscle Evolution. I've never used my position as Editor-in-Chief of this magazine in this manner before, but times are changing, and if politics are what some people want, then I am quite happy to turn myself into a politician for the sake of the sport. I love bodybuilding, and I refuse to sit back and let shortsighted thoughts bring the incredible potential of our sport to a halt. The athletes are what make our sport great, and anyone who thinks that they can dictate the sport in ways that don't suit its growth is horribly mistaken... The amazing response and outcry we have received from the industry has shown me, without a shadow of doubt that Muscle Evolution is the voice of the South African bodybuilding community - and believe me, we're going to start putting it to good use. |