2001 Ironman Pro / King Kamali Interview Reaction By Misc. Sources

These are misc comments regarding the King Kamali Interview, the 2001 Ironman Pro Show, and other issues related to these two topics... keep in mind that these are opinions of other people, and thus, be thought as such! Regarding the Pro Ironman Show: I think I should be able to judge a pro show. The results should of been Chris Cormier 1st, King Kamali 2nd, Craig Titus 3rd, Melvin Anthony 4th, and J.D. Dawodu 5th. That's how it should have been placed. Chris was awesome. Chris is the next Mr. Olympia, and no one at the Ironman was even close to him. Chris's body is beautiful. King Kamali was absolutely rocked up hard, so I thought he deserved second. Craig Titus should have been in 3rd because he was complete and shredded, whereas Melvin Anthony was soft in the glutes and the hams, and J.D. Dawodu was just a little off, although he has a lot of muscle. Regarding The Pro Ironman Show: First of all, Chris Cormier may have won, but personally we think the decision was handed to him. He presented a very arrogant attitude and at times, while others were standing in a proper pose on stage, he was slouching, with his hands on his hips and looking at the audience like he wished he were elsewhere, or even absent. He did not appear polite to other contestants or the officials. In addition he had a crummy posing routine that looked like he'd thrown it together at the last minute and couldn't wait to get home. A competitor of his stature should have hired the best coreographer to put something better together. We agree, and I think much of the audience felt the same, when LT turned to Chris standing beside him on stage and said, "You weren't my first choice." Lonnie says it like it is. Your photos were obviously taken from backstage so you may have missed the feeling from the audience; Cormier started out as the audience favorite only to lose this position to King Kamali as the show went on. This was as much Cormier's fault as it was Kamali's skill. King started "in the hole" with the audience, many of whom had no idea who he was, and quickly won them over and had them pulling for him. King K and Marvelous were the stars of the show. We've never seen a harder working BB on stage than King, who was called out more than anyone. We don't fault Chris for not being called out because this has to do with the judges only, but he still should have stayed on stage and looked something other than bored. Melvin and King had fantastic rapport with the audience (as did J.D.) and it appeared they also got along well personally. Their posing routines were wonderful, creative and showed off their physiques to the best advantage. Kamali showed great dignity and star quality when he held up his hands to silence the audience that started to boo the judges placing him third. He turned a difficult situation into a positive PR event. Even Craig Titus managed to smile during the finals, a rare site, indeed! You were spot-on in your comment that Craig looked his best ever. As far as what King may or may not have said previous to the contest, he is well educated and certainly understands media hype. Remember Muhammad Ali and all the crap he used to spew? Kamali's pre-contest declarations were reminiscent of Arnold, himself. Arnold was the all time king of pre-contest bravado and has admitted that his big thing was trying to psyche out the competition. What was amazing was Kamali's starting out with what appeared to be some hostility from the other competitors and ending up getting along with everyone on stage. We're writing this because we think you're way off base as far as King K. We feel that he has the personality, smarts and genetic physical talent to be the next great spokesperson for bodybuilding. At Gold's/Venice, after a tough contest and during a rather grueling photo shoot on Sunday, he found time to meet and talk to any of the fans who approached him. He was very pleasant on the order of Gunter Schillerkamp. Right now BB is sorely in need of another intelligent, well-mannered spokesperson, not some big muscle guy with an attitude. Personally, we don't care if the other competitors like him or not; they are not the ones buying tickets to the shows. Regarding The Pro Ironman Show: I was at the Ironman and although I think that Melvin, Chris and Craig looked great, I think the general public forgets about the more "natural" looking athleted. Two that immediately come to mind are Garrett Downing and Charles Kemp. Although these two athletes are not the "freak" variety, you can tell that their muscularity is more god given and less manufactured. The magazines and other media place a great amount of attention on the more well-known athletes, but the fans should not forget about some of the others. I have had the pleasure of meeting both Garrett and Charles and let me say that both are two rare gems in a sport where gentlemen are hard to come by. I think that the media, including your website, should try to focus more on the athletes that can really change the public perception of the sport. Regarding the Pro Ironman Show: As a pro bodybuilder, I would like to comment on the lighting at the show. The lighting is so excellent at the Ironman Pro. It is the best lighting in the sport, courtesy of Mike Neveux. You can get away with being 90% at that show because of the lighting. My goal was to be in shape 90% for the Ironman, 95% for the San Francisco Pro Show, and 100% for the Arnold. Regarding Chris Cormier: Chris Cormier, all 260 pounds of him, won it from when he first came out and started to pose! Right away, from his deep cuts in his quads, to his back, I feel like I am looking at the future Mr. Olympia. He also made the crowd roar with his signature buttocks wobble pose which became rock hard! Regarding King Kamali Interview: King Kamali has forgotten all of the things he said. There was a magazine article in which he said that 'the West Coast dickheads ego's are bigger than their synthol pumped bodies.' Then he also said that 'I don't care who show's up at the Ironman, it does not matter if it is Chris Cormier or Flex Wheeler, I am going to the Ironman to win!'. King also said that Shawn Ray is a businessman but an asshole. King has never met Shawn Ray, who is a top five bodybuilder competitor of 13 years in a row. And this rookie is going to disrespect him. No way! Regarding King Kamali Interview: If you go on his web site, it says there that the King is going to claim his crown at the Ironman. Now that is good, that is good hype, because everybody wants to talk the talk, but don't sit there and call Craig Titus a 'West Coast Dickhead with a Synthol Pumped Body'. I was at the Ironman show, and if the judges were looking at Synthol, then he would not of placed in the top, because his shoulders are all Synthol. Regarding King Kamali Interview: While talking to Craig over issue, Craig felt like he was defending the West Coast Bodybuilders over comments that King Kamali made during other articles and interviews. Thus, while not exactly disrespecting Craig Titus, Craig felt it was his duty to talk to this rookie from the East Coast about who the West Cost Bodybuilders are! Regarding King Kamali Interview: King of Posing. King of Mass. King of Shred. This is from his web site. It's just a little too much. A rookie saying all of this. He is just a little too arrogant for me. The arrogance is overwhelming. Chris Titus may be cocky, but he is not even near that culmination. Regarding King Kamali Interview: Nice job on the King Kamali article. It's amazing how the facts get twisted around when they are passed around from competitor to competitor & when they are misinterpreted based on what is printed in magazines. The part where Shari explained about the e-mail his "Fan" had sent in his behalf was quite interesting. I thought it was refreshing that he didn't waste his time trying to explain what really happened to everyone, he just took the heat. Regarding King Kamali Interview: I don't know why it would be so intimidating to see a new pro, fresh out of the gates being so confident in his chances & his potential. He's looking for the fast track to the top of the pro ranks & who could blame him! I certainly do not view him as being arrogant or disrespectful to the sport. It's no different than learning to negotiate corporate politics in any other business. I think he's just a little more focused on reaching his goals & is willing to do his homework - all around. It will be fun to see what happens with him over the next couple of years. Regarding King Kamali Interview: What he failed to tell you that his girlfriend in the audience called Craig Titus out loud 'having a big fat stomach', or that King is spreading rumors on Kelly Ryan that she sleeps with women. Kelly Ryan has a squeaky clean image. There is a lot behind everything. But he plays the victim in the interviews, and makes Craig Titus the bad guy. Regarding King Kamali Interview: While the West Coast bodybuilders were playing in the off-season, or jerking around, as he termed it in an article, he was lifting serious weights to get big. How does he know what the West Coast Bodybuilders were doing in the off season? Regarding Melvin Anthony: Melvin Anthony had a classic physique with very few faults and was somewhat of a smaller version of Cormier. Melvin also had a sensational lat spread and one of the best posing routines in the contest and is a protégé of John Brown's school of master posing. Anthony is a quite new pro and displayed good definition and wonderful condition and is destined for major victories in the future. Regarding King Kamali: This man is a sensation! He had a perfect tan and showed a degree of professionalism and aggression not displayed by most of his fellow competitors. His sheer determination and raw aggression marks him as a man also to watch for future greatness. This was his first pro show and this 3rd placing has got him an Olympia entry for this October. I felt his great strength was his overall symmetry and excellent condition. He joins the elite few who have qualified for the Olympia in their first Pro outing. His posing was the most entertaining routine of the night in a similar vein to Vince Taylor's posing style. Regarding King Kamali at the Ironman: At the Ironman Pro, King says his posing routine was sensational. His posing routine was terrible. He did not even pose. Even the judges said that he did not hit a pose. He only had two poses. This was not a dance contest, it was a posing routine. And his routine went way over 3 minutes. It was close to five minutes. In the IFBB, the 3 minute rule is the maximum, but because King was supposed to have a sensational posing routine, they let him run over. That was not fair. Even Chris Cormier's music was cut after 3 minutes! Regarding J.D. Dawodu: He was in the best condition of his life and so gained his highest pro show placing. It was only the symmetry round that let him down a bit as his arms, back and delts were not bettered by anyone. In fact I feel J.D. has probably the most perfectly shaped arms in BB along with Lee Priest. Regarding Craig Titus: Judges told me this was the best he has looked for 2 years and is now back and ready to push the top guys. He has a great physique while he is not as tall as some of his peers. But he makes up for it with a very positive and determined attitude on stage and had excellent condition and posed his arms to great effect. Regarding Lee Priest's Medical Problems: It astounds me that you believe the crap doctors feed the media defending the health of pro bodybuilders. Perhaps Lee Priest does have an enlarged heart. But a 63% blockage? Sounds pretty hokey for a man that lifts weights, eats healthy, and maintains low body fat at the age of 29.Your writing is yet another example of the control Mr. Weider has over the sport of bodybuilding. How to explain Flex Wheeler's retirement thoughts? What will be the reason for Jean-Pierre Fux's next trip to the respirator? Overtraining? Exhaustion? Low body fat? Perhaps just inventing a pre-existing condition. You guys should be politicians. Regarding Diurectics: Don't be naive. The IFBB tests for diurectics, but there are two that are not on the list, so that is how bodybuilders get away with it.