Contest coverage isn’t cheap. Right off the bat, there’s travel costs – from airfare to car rentals to hotels. Take the recent 2025 NGA Pro/Am Universe. I paid for my airline ticket from Louisville to Orlando. I rented a car, booked my hotel, paid for my food, etc. I bought my camera, lights, memory cards, I pay for Dropbox, the laptop, and then there’s my time (thankfully I work as a full-time attorney and can take PTO at my discretion). But did I have any sponsors backing me? No. So where did the money come from? My pocket.
Countless competitors were shocked that I don’t charge for my photos or my videos. I never have and I never will. I do the work out of love of the sport and because I want to promote the athletes. Over the years, my work has earned me press passes to the biggest shows in the world, including the Mr. Olympia, the Arnold Classic, and the New York Pro. I’ve been doing contest coverage for well over a decade and StrengthAddicts has been operating since September 2008. In that time, I have yet to accept a single dollar from a competitor. But that’s not to say my work doesn’t have value. Back in my NPC days, promoters paid me to cover their shows, they paid my airfare, hotel, and gave me per diems. That was the case with promoters across the country and as local as right here in Louisville, KY. Promoters saw what I did and offered it as added value to their competitors. To date, very few media outlets cover shows, and hardly anyone that I’m aware of covers local and/or regional shows. I’d say more than 90% of competitors have never done any interview.
For me, interviewing competitors at local shows was always where it was at. And many times, I didn’t interview class winners or the overall champions. Many times, I’d interview folks who placed dead last first over those who won all the trophies and got all the accolades. Why? Because I was after the story. I’ve always made it a point to talk to competitors as people – first. I don’t necessarily care what their physiques look like or even where they placed. It’s more about their journey.
If someone competed with Stage 4 renal cancer and was doing a contest giving 110%, I wanted to make sure that story was heard. That’s actually the case with someone I interviewed. And not only did they continue to competing, but they became a promoter, and beat cancer. You can attribute that to the advances of modern medicine or call it a miracle, but that interview was over ten years ago and that man is alive and well today. And guess what, that interview has the watermarks of several companies who sponsored my work. Anyone who sees that interview sees those company logos as well. Those companies and their financial backing made my presence at that show possible.
When you’re talking about generating goodwill for a brand and seeing the big picture in terms of return on investment (ROI), you can’t beat that. Absolutely nothing compares to being part of interviews like that.
But it’s not just about folks battling cancer or folks who have lost hundreds of pounds of weight, either. It’s about actually talking to people who embarked on a journey that very few others have. One of the best ways to sell bodybuilding is simply to listen to the people that do it. There’s a lot of common ground between folks who are ripped on stage and people overcoming demons in everyday life. Many times an interview will be watched by someone on YouTube, Facebook, or Tiktok, and they may have never even contemplated competing. Maybe they don’t even have a gym membership or know how to lift. But there’s something about seeing someone in the shape of their lives and smiling from ear to ear that might inspire them to stop self-harming or get out of a toxic relationship or maybe do something that makes them happy for a change. Maybe the end goal isn’t competing or even joining a gym, but the positive impact is just as valid. There’s limitless potential and if one’s thing for certain with social media it’s this – you never know who’s watching, who’s listening, and what they’re going through.
These athletes have stories to tell. They have stories that go far deeper than contest diets and/or what exercises they do in the gym. I have thousands of interviews under my belt and I have an ability to connect with competitors like few others do. Believe me, it has nothing to do with arrogance. It’s kind of like that line from Knockaround Guys – “500.” I don’t want to say I’ve heard it all or that nothing surprises me anymore, but when you’ve done as many interviews as I have, you develop a skill where you can read people and listen to them. When you interview someone and there’s a genuine interest and that interest comes with an open mind and zero judgment, you earn that person’s trust. When someone feels comfortable with you, that camera or that phone that’s filming them is no longer an issue. In some cases, it’s like it’s not even there. Take a seasoned competitor, for example. They’re so at home on stage, that no matter how many people are watching them in the audience, it’s no different to them than hitting shots in the posing room of their local gym. It’s not about the people in the audience, it’s about the routine. They love the people, but they’re not doing it for the people. They’re doing it for themselves or they’re dedicating it to a loved one. Or maybe their doing it for a higher power.
Everyone has to eat and everything costs money, but I’ll never have the athletes foot the bill. If anything I’ll dig into my own pocket. That said, there is a tremendous value in what I do. Sadly, many companies would rather not pay for advertising. If they sell out out of everything they bring to a show that’s success. And I’d agree to a certain extent; however, StrengthAddicts has videos that go back to September 2008. I have videos that promote companies on videos and pictures that go back to 2011. And those photos and videos are all over social media. Furthermore, when I release a contest interview with a local or regional competitor there are guaranteed hits right out the gate. Whereas there might be hundreds of interviews with Jay Cutler, Hadi Choopan, or Derek Lunsford, there might be only one contest interview with your spouse, your kid, your best friend or your co-worker. And when someone tunes in to watch a video that features someone close to them, several things happen, automatically.
For starters, they will watch the video from beginning to end. They’ll like and comment on the picture or video, repost it on their social media, and send it to other people who they in common with that person. They appreciate what that individual says more than a superstar they’ll never say two words to. They share in that individual’s happiness and they consciously and subconsciously appreciate me for doing the interview and the companies that made that video possible. If they see a supplement company logo, a cookie logo, a meal prep company or a clothing company backing my work, they consciously and subconsciously appreciate the fact that that company gave back.
You can’t buy that goodwill with an ad on Facebook or Instagram. That’s the kind of goodwill that comes from supporting my work. I know because I’ve worked had huge title sponsors like IronMag Labs, Blackstone Labs, Titan Medical Center and Tokkyo Nutrition. I’ve also worked with numerous advertisers like BPI Sports, Fahrenheit Nutrition, Primeval Labs, MyOatmeal, MuscleGelz, Fenix Fit Bars and Muscle Elements, just to names a few. I’ve worked with the biggest coaching teams in the country, like SeeYouLaterLeaner and TC Muscle. I’ve also worked with numerous supplement stores. And none of these advertisers were just for one contest or just for one or two months. In addition to contest coverage, I’ve run the athlete programs for Tokkyo Nutrition, the Blackstone Labs Legion, and IronMag Labs affiliate program. I’ve written nearly 1,000 articles for IronMagazine.com (10 articles per month over the last seven years), I’ve written articles and shows for RXMuscle, and I had a weekly show with Muscular Development. My work is also available in English and Spanish. That covers A LOT of ground.
With regards to StrengthAddicts, I’m very happy to have MuscleGelz as our title sponsor, but that’s a product line not conducive to natural bodybuilding. Before them, my title sponsor was Titan Medical Center – also not conducive to covering natural bodybuilding. It’s not that they don’t care about natural bodybuilding, but companies that sell products based on peptides and/or synthetic, exogenous hormones aren’t going to make any money by being featured on content promoting drug-free athletes. And promoting natural athletes is a chief interest for me, as is covering the enhanced side of bodybuilding.
This is why I launched NattyCompetitors.com and why I’m working hard on creating something truly for the drug-free bodybuilding community. I’ve already received some bites, but I can’t sell advertising on a concept. This is why I went I decided to cover the first-ever 5280 Muscle Madness in Denver and the NGA Pro/Am Universe in Greater Orlando. It’s also why I plan on covering those shows and new ones in 2026.
I am extremely blessed to have made two key friendships in the NGA with Jared Weitzel (who was the first promoter to let me cover his show) and to Josh Miller (who I’m in regular contact with and has been very important to my increasing involvement in natural bodybuilding). The NGA is where I want to focus my efforts moving forward and my goal with NattyCompetitors is to be strategic with the number of shows I cover per year. During my NPC days, there were months I’d cover a show every week of every month. My 9-5 is extremely demanding and there’s no way I can do that now; however, I could conceivably cover one show a month. That said, that would require having advertisers that want that focus on natural bodybuilding and share in my vision. Everything costs money, from travel costs to having professionally-designed graphics. The athletes get press, it increases interest in the contest, and it could generate very favorable attention for advertisers. I just can’t foot the bill and I’ll never sell my work to the competitors. I never have and I never will.
As I continue to grow the NattyCompetitors presence throughout social media, I pray that I will come into contact with companies that see the value in my work and see the real potential in getting on board. I also hope to work more closely with promoters who appreciate what my work means to the athletes that step foot on their stages. Promoters who share the vision are a Godsend.
Back in my NPC days, promoters like Brent Jones would provide me with their competitor lists, making photo and video tagging far more efficient. They would also include information about my work in their competitor email blasts. If competitors knew I’d be there, they’d seek me out and ensure that I’d interview and/or photograph them.
Competitors spend anywhere between 12-16 weeks prepping to have maybe 5-10 minutes on stage between the prejudging and the finals. Whether they win the show, overcome obstacles, or feel on top of the world, they should have the opportunity to tell their story. While the majority of shows have photos they can buy, there’s no one there who they can tell their story to. That’s a huge missed opportunity. And that’s where I come in, provided I have the means to be in places like Colorado, Florida, Ohio, and beyond, while living in Louisville, KY. It’s not even like my old NPC days where my coverage made me money. I’d be happy just to break even, but to be able to cover shows and to grow the NattyCompetitors community.
Just some food for thought.
