Chrome Supplements

So you want to become a sponsored athlete?

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1 June 2010
I deal with most, if not all of the supplement companies here in South Africa - both locally produced and internationally imported. Of all the things we deal with on a day to day basis, the one thing that has to be the most misunderstood element of our sport is sponsorship. So lets start from the beginning - what is sponsorship? Supplement sponsorship happens when a company recognises the potential, hard work or efforts of an individual, or wants to associate with the sought after physique they possess. These athletes are then rewarded with a certain amount of product each month to assist them with achieving further development and improve the talents that the individual/s may have. Some athletes are so good at what they do that they even manage to obtain a cash sponsorship (monthly salary), as well as their supplement sponsorship. This is usually something that is obtained by the few elite athletes of our country who have the potential to become professional athletes and make a living out of bodybuilding ..... eventually. In return these athletes are required to commit to certain contractual obligations, which can include photo shoots for advertising and marketing material, public appearances and guest posing slots.

Then there are those athletes that excel in their relevant categories, but don't seem to land a sponsor, so they never end up in supplement adverts in magazines, and they don't seem to understand why. There are also those athletes who haven't even stepped on stage yet, but promise that should a company sponsor and support them through their bodybuilding endeavours they will become the best that they can be and become one of South Africa's best... blah blah blah ya dee ya dah.

Reality check time (Sorry if this hurts a bit, but the truth is about to be told). In this sport there are a few reasons as to why some athletes are sponsored and others aren't.

But let's get a few facts out of the way first.
A. Supplement companies want individuals that are marketable.
Talent alone does not ensure sponsorship success. When is the last time you saw an athlete with no teeth representing a product in a magazine spread? Now this is a bit of an exaggeration, but if you stick with me here you'll get the picture. Individuals that are not "marketable" aren't going to make the cut when it comes to getting sponsored - and that's the hard truth. Just because an athlete is capable of winning competitions doesn't mean he is capable of selling or enhancing the sale of products by having his toothless photograph next to a product shot, associating him with a strong brand name. So always remember: talent is one thing, marketability is another! Marketability will and should always take precedence when it comes to deciding whose face to put next to a brand that wants to sell well. It's fickle, I know, but lets be honest, the toothless dude next to the bucket of whey protein is not going to sell the product. If you disagree with this statement then I'm not sure what rock you've been living under.

B. Earn your place if you want recognition.
This is my favourite one. We receive on average five sponsorship requests a week. Now, if these individuals had some status within our sport to represent our client's brands successfully we would gladly promote him/her to a relevant supplement company interested in benefiting from their "marketability". But this is very rarely the case, and more often than not, the "request" for sponsorship is more of an insult than a request. Individuals that have never performed a proper training session in their lives often write to us with endless promises of success if only they could get a sponsor. Quite frankly, anyone that has ever tried to hold a pre-contest diet together for longer than 16 weeks knows that it takes a lot more than a cupboard full of supplements to succeed in the world of bodybuilding. In fact, I have come to learn, over the years that will and determination beat money and greed hands down, any day of the week. I've even seen letters where the individuals state that all they are requesting is a new car with branding on to fulfil their sponsorship requests. It's hilarious! We should actually have a pin-up board so we can all see who laughs the hardest after reading some of these sponsorship letters.

C. Ask not what your supplement sponsor can do for you, but what you can do for your supplement sponsor.
Bodybuilding is a self absorbed and selfish sport. In fact the participants don't often realise how self absorbed and selfish the sport truly is. Bodybuilding is a sport that requires countless hours of eating, training, resting and anything else that an individual can add to benefit their own talent and potential in the sport. More often than not, bodybuilders seem to think that the world owes them something - their supplement sponsor included. As brand ambassadors, sponsored athletes should focus more on what they can do for the brand they are sponsored by than what their supplement sponsor should be doing for them. The reality is that bodybuilders that become too self absorbed in what the world should be giving them, and not the other way around, usually end up sponsorless. If you are a sponsored athlete, it is your responsibility to promote the brand/s that support you, not the other way around.

So, in a nutshell, if you're keen on becoming a sponsored athlete, market yourself a bit better. Create a Facebook fan page, get a twitter account, visit the shows, excel at shows and network so that you become noticed in the immediate industry. Be pro-active in finding people that will be interested in having you represent their brand and not the other way around. Work hard to inspire, motivate and become a leader in your relevant area of expertise. And last, but not least, if you're hell bent on becoming a magazine model for a brand and you have no front teeth, you might want to get that seen to...

Young talent and success – the oil and water that rarely mix

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13 July 2010
I've been wanting to write this blog for some time now in the hope that it would create a greater understanding as to why very few individuals that possess immense talent rarely, if ever, rise to the top.

Flex magazine did an extensive reader survey a few years back to determine who the ten greatest bodybuilders of the twentieth century were. Arnold was number one, as you might expect and Dorian Yates, Lee Haney, Shawn Ray, and Ronnie Coleman rounded out the top five. At number six was Lee Priest, who many have called ‘the People's Champion', despite the fact that he has never won an Olympia, and most likely never will. As a kid, Lee idolised the likes of Superman and Tarzan and was forever dressed in his Superman outfit, running around the house challenging himself to lift the heaviest objects to prove his strength to his family. At the age of thirteen his grandfather enrolled him into a gymnastics class due to the naturally muscular physique he had already developed. At these classes Lee noticed some weights in the corner of the gymnastics class and began losing interest in parallel bars and other gymnastic equipment. Before he even turned fourteen Lee had entered his first bodybuilding contest and won. His body responded to weight training at a phenomenal rate and by the age of seventeen he had already won his first Mr Australia title. He then won it two more times before he turned twenty, a record that will most likely never be matched again. Lee Priest is a prime example of someone who discovered his talent at a young age and, through his passion and desire, used it to bring out all of its incredible potential.

So where the hell is this going?
Fast forward to 2010 and look around South Africa and the picture is unfortunately not as pretty as we would like it to be. Do we have talent? Of course we do! Do we have youth in this talent pool? For sure! Do all these individuals use their talent and maximise it to become the superstars they could be? Sadly not!
Why not?
There are a few South African athletes (I won't mention names) that possess more talent than they could possibly imagine. Those of them that read this blog will understand precisely what I mean and if they're smart enough, they'll know that I am referring to them. If this is the case then I will have achieved the purpose of this blog post. If not, then at least those of you who this blog post doesn't apply to will understand why there are no longer any true prodigies within our sport here in SA, or why it takes so long for South African athletes to realise their full potential.

Distractions!
Distractions come in many forms, but one of the most self destructing talent killers of our time is technology. Most of you probably have a Facebook account and if you do then you're even more inclined to know exactly who I am referring to. Our industry is pretty small and I have no doubt that we are all "friends" with one another within this tiny, often melodramatic circle. Facebook has become the cesspit for emotional dumping and if you look carefully, you can learn everything about an individual from the amount of emotional crap they place on their status updates. To bring the point back to talented individuals, status updates range from warnings to fellow competitors, threats to knock the F&^%ing crap out of each other because this one added this one's chick to his friends list and how dare he send a friend request without his permission etc etc. Other outrageous status updates include dramatic self promotional statements like: "I am the king" and "the competition is gonna get owned!" and "this year it's lights out for my opponents". These are all really strong statements that nine times out of 10 end up as cake on the individual's face come contest time. While very entertaining at the best of times, the shocking truth is that these are honestly the self beliefs of the individuals claiming that they're going to destroy their opposition. Now don't get me wrong, I am all for healthy competition, but reality is a bitch when it comes back to bite you in the arse. If there is one thing that is massively apparent about bodybuilding in South Africa it's that the truly great athletes keep their mouths shut. Most of them don't even have Facebook accounts and, believe it or not, some of them hardly even switch on a computer. It's always the quiet ones who you need to look out for.

Conclusion
The greatest contingent of this country's talent will sadly never rise to the top or realise its full potential. The percentage of "distracted" brilliant talent far outweighs the "focussed" average individuals here in SA. Only through constant reality checks and the self-realisation that being humble, keeping your mouth shut and focussing on what is really important, will individuals that carry such immense talent blossom into the elite of our sport. If this can truly be achieved at a young age by the individuals in question, then the age at which our most talented individuals begin to shine will begin to lower itself. My desire to promote the sport here in South Africa hopes that it will be so, but reality tells me that opportunity and talent usually pass each other silently in the night, never to meet again. This is very sad but unfortunately true...

IFBB Body Fitness division changes for 2011

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10 January 2011
The IFBB SA recently sent out an email to all chairmen and chairladies here in SA, notifying all provinces that the Body Fitness division criteria has changed. These changes have been implemented worldwide, from local level right up through to the IFBB World Championships, which take place every year. The Body Fitness division has been extremely tough in terms of rules, regulations and the criteria that the ladies who participate get judged on.
The experienced athletes in this division will know that the IFBB SA was forced to conform to the criteria adopted by the IFBB International, who were accepting girls from various countries that were really hard and not 100% in keeping with the stipulated criteria. This approach was required to ensure that SA competitors conformed with the “World's” look and would therefore be able to compete and hopefully place at the World Championships.
However, the criteria has now been changed and is being strictly implemented worldwide, with all countries now expected to follow the rules, regulations and criteria with more diligence. This should see an enormous change with regard to the look of the girls who compete in this category from now on. All ladies wishing to compete in the 2011 IFBB Body Fitness category will have to bring a softer physique to stage now, moving away from the harder and leaner physique previously adopted in this division. It will no longer be acceptable to participate with a physique that is on the borderline of ladies bodybuilding or, for that matter, more in line with bodybuilding.
Another immediate change is that there are now only two stage rounds instead of three. In previous years athletes had to take part in three rounds consisting of three different styles of bikini or costume. The first round consisted of a black two-piece bikini with high heels. The second round consisted of a full piece (swimsuit/costume) type bikini, with shoes to match, and the third and final round consisted of a custom-made two piece bikini with heels. As of this year only the first and third rounds mentioned above are applicable and the following criteria now applies:
Attire for round 1 – Two-piece black bikini
1. The bikini will be plain opaque and two-piece in style.
2. The bikini will be solid black in colour.
3. The bikini fabric will be cloth in material (no plastic, rubberised or similar material).
4. The bikini will be matt in texture (no shiny material).
5. The bikini will contain no ornamentation, frills, lacework edges or borders.
6. The bikini will cover a minimum of ½ of the gluteus maximus and all of the front area.
7. High heels will be worn during this round. Shoe style must be black, classic stiletto pumps with a closed toe and heel. Sole thickness is to be no greater than 6.35 millimeters (¼ inch) and the stiletto height will be no greater than 127 millimeters (5 inches). Platform high heels are strictly prohibited.
8. The hair may be styled (preferably off the shoulders).
9. Except for a wedding ring and/or small stud-type earrings, jewelry may not be worn.

Attire for round 2 – Two-piece bikini

1. Two-piece bikini.
2. Colour, material and texture is at the discretion of the competitor.
3. The bikini will cover a minimum of ½ of the gluteus maximus and all of the frontal area.
4. High-heels will be worn during this round. Shoe style and colour may be at the competitor's discretion. Sole thickness must be no greater than 6.35mm (¼ inch) and the stiletto height will be no greater than 127 millimeters (5 inches). Platform high-heels are strictly prohibited.
5. Hair may be styled.
6. Jewelry may be worn – within limits.

Athletes presentation for each of the 2 rounds
1. Athletes will be called onstage, one by one, to perform a T-walk. The competitors will enter the stage one at a time, starting from the back centre of the stage, to perform the T-walk. The competitor will walk to the back centre stage where she will pause briefly in a stance of her choice. The competitor will then walk up to the front of centre stage and perform half turns, showing both the back and front. The competitor will then walk to stage left to perform half turns and then walk to stage right to perform half turns. Once this has been done the competitor will then be guided back to take her place in the line-up by the stage director.
2. In numerical order, each competitor will be introduced by both number and name.
3. The entire line-up will be directed to perform the four quarter turns, on the centre, left and right stage areas. The group may be reversed and the quarter turns repeated at the centre, left and right stage areas.
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