Garry Bartlett is the well-known Canadian writer/photographer whose photos and articles have appeared in MuscleMag and various other magazines for many years. He has covered the Canadian bodybuilding scene for about 30 years and has gained valuable insight into our sport. Garry shares this knowledge with us in this exclusive interview. Doug Schneider: Hi, Garry. It’s the end of the year and no better time to recap the 2004 Canadian season than now – in particular, after I read your latest "Canadian Corner" in MuscleMag where you talk about the 2004 CBBF Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships that were held at the beginning of July in Brantford, Ontario. So, let’s start there. In my mind, the fitness portion of that competition had absolutely no controversy in terms of the winners. Mindi O’Brien absolutely dominated the competition, and Myriam Capes, who won the Short class, became the overnight sensation and the "one to beat" next year. Do you agree? Garry Bartlett: Doug, first of all I want to congratulate you on the great job you are doing with your BodyBuildingLive.com site. As you know, Canadian athletes have always taken a back seat to the very strong media coverage that our U.S. neighbors receive. Granted, the Canadian bodybuilding and fitness scene is very small in relation to the huge numbers they get across the border, but as Canadians, our supporters want to see as much as they can on our athletes. Most people don’t understand the amount of work it takes to cover these shows and then to follow everything up with website postings. I experience the same thing with "Canadian Corner" in MuscleMag. A lot of work is involved preparing this stuff for our readers. However, it is all worth it; in my case it is rewarding when an excited athlete from a small town comes up to thank me for a photo or something I said about them in MuscleMag. So thanks Doug, and keep up the good work on behalf of us all!
Now, back to your question, I was honesty shocked at the high caliber of performance and physical conditioning of Overall winner, Mindi O’Brien. Her professional and highly polished fitness routine was as good as any IFBB pro that I have seen. I guess she was worthy of my praise as evidenced by her being the first Canadian fitness pro to win an IFBB professional fitness competition [Ed. the SW USA Pro Cup in August]. I did feel that she was slightly off at the Olympia where she finished ninth, though. She was not quite as sharp, and she appeared a bit nervous in her fitness routine. She later told me she did one of her moves and landed on her face – this had to be unsettling, but she kept going without a hitch. The gal is one heck of a competitor and a very classy lady. I expect she will be at the top of the pros very soon. Quebec’s Myriam Capes was equally as stunning as Mindi at the Canadians, but in a different way. She is very compact, with short limbs in contrast to Mindi’s long, flowing arms and legs. However, Capes in her fitness routine really comes alive. She reminds me of a Bugs Bunny cartoon character that literally bounces across the screen, bounding all over the stage with her breathtaking aerial fitness-routine antics. Physique-wise, she has structural problems because of her short stature. However, she still sports plenty of muscle and a routine to die for. Given the current crop of Canadian fitness competitors, I can’t see anyone beating her next year. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of figure contests, fitness has suffered greatly as the depth of caliber and number of athletes are dwindling. I have noticed the number of competitors is dropping. It is understandable, though, as to be a national-level fitness athlete you have to be able to perform these very difficult and sometimes dangerous fitness routines. Much easier just to compete in figure! I ask this question: If fitness continues to shrink and figure keeps growing, is it feasible to run a successful national competition on just figure? DS: So, let’s talk about the figure portion of the 2004 CBBF Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships. There were some clear winners, but from what many people saw, very clear signals, too. After the contest many people – competitors and spectators – thought that the judging panel placed way too much emphasis on muscularity and ended up turning the contest into a bodybuilding show and not a figure show. What was your take on this event? GB: I guess your opinion regarding this comes from what side of the argument you are on. My point is: Just what are the criteria we should use to judge figure contests? I think even the IFBB is mixed up on this one. No, we don’t want to turn figure into a relaxed version of a bodybuilding contest. But the results from 2004 seem to confirm this, as two former Canadian bodybuilding champions were declared the winners. Overall winner Debbie Leung was ripped to shreds and probably was not far off her condition at the 2002 Canadian BodyBuilding Championships. Lucille Bergeron was a bit softer, but sported incredible muscle shape and size, particularly in the quads and calves. If you set your standards on muscularity and overall muscle shape, then what chance does an average figure competitor without any background in bodybuilding have? Make no mistake, a seasoned bodybuilder with years of pure bodybuilding experience and specific training has a totally different development than someone who has built their body on light workouts and a lot of cardio. Also, a former bodybuilder has much greater control of her muscles. They seem to have a greater ability to look better in a lineup, even standing relaxed. I feel if we pick this type of winner, then a bodybuilder-turned-figure competitor has a definite advantage. But that is not to say that I agree with this! I think our winner should be a combination of shapely lines, flowing symmetry and attractive looks without excessive muscularity and above-normal muscle size. When excessive muscularity and above-normal muscle size becomes the focus, then you are slipping into a bodybuilding mindset. Might just as well get them to hit a couple of poses! Might liven things up a bit! I guess what should be done is a stated direction for the girls to follow, and that the judges reinforce this with their decisions. This way the competitors know the rules before going into a show and can get solid direction before competing next year. If you are constantly changing the criteria from one year to the next, then what are they supposed to do? What does that say about the legitimacy of your organization? For instance, a muscular girl wins one class, while a less muscular, softer competitor wins another. What are the other competitors supposed to make of that? DS: Now let’s move to the CBBF National World Qualifier which was held a few weeks later in London, Ontario. The competition went pretty smoothly. What were your thoughts about the show?
GB: My biggest criticism of that show comes from a personal bias. As a photographer, I see a lot of the world of bodybuilding through a camera lens. In that regard, the show was a disaster as the lighting was terrible. I don’t think that the athletes got a fair shake when it came to looking their best on the stage. I also want to personally apologize to anyone reading this for the poor quality of photos that they may have gotten from me from this show. I know it is easy to blame the lighting for my poor work, but in this case it was bad and very shallow, with many shadows. I later found out that the tech people responsible for the lighting hadn’t turned everything on, in spite of my telling them before the show that it just didn’t look right. On the positive side, I felt that promoters Norm Jacobs and Jim Morris did a great job in bringing this event to London. These guys are very professional people, making sure that everyone from judges, officials, sponsors, and athletes were well taken care of. The turnout and caliber of athlete were very good, particularly Masters and Middleweight winner, John Raposo. Unfortunately, the audience turnout was disappointing and I know that money was lost. Ontario is a tough place to run a successful show financially during the middle of the summer. Just too much competition from everything else going on. DS: The Canadian BodyBuilding Championships were held in August in Edmonton. Promoter John Dirks put on a real standout show that was exceptionally well organized. The venue was gorgeous. I did think, however, that overall the quality of competition was not as high as in previous years. There were some really outstanding competitors, but there wasn’t much "depth" to the competition in some classes. Your thoughts? GB: Right, I agree 100 percent that John did a fantastic job. I especially want to praise him and his staff for the excellent lighting, which was fantastic. I got some outstanding photos from that show, which will, of course, be featured in my coverage of the event in MuscleMag – hopefully out this spring sometime. Keep in mind that each year the bar is raised higher by whatever promoter gets the event. Last year, Saskatchewan’s Harvey Viteychuk promoted a spectacular competition, setting a standard which everyone expected John to equal. Now in 2005 the pressure is on Quebec’s former pro, Joe Spinello, who will be promoting the event in Montreal on Labor Day weekend. Joe loves pressure and is up for the challenge. He promises many surprises in the Belle Province for 2005! As far as the caliber of competitor is concerned, I was a bit disappointed in that no superstars surfaced. Yes, we had the usual tight battles in several categories, but no one really stood out as a potential marketable pro. I hate to take anything away from Overall winner Dan Fedeluk, but he was an unknown coming into this event and was not expected to win. He was in great shape and looked very good, but didn’t dominate the Overall posedown. He got a credible challenge from the other class winners. I can handle him winning, but in reality, he just doesn’t command the same kind of awe as last year’s winner, big Frank McGrath. I am afraid Dan will have tough sledding in the pros. The same goes for Overall women’s winner, Louise St Pierre, although I think it is easier for a shapely, smaller female pro to do well in contrast to the men who have to be freaky monsters.
I was most disappointed at Alberta’s Dan Dufresne who I expected would win the show. I have promoted Dan many times in my writings as a great potential Canadian champion. So far he has not lived up to my predictions. I really thought that 2004 would be his year. As it turned out, he was seduced by the "bigger is better" syndrome and came into the show just too heavy, costing him any chance of winning. I think the guy still has the most potential of anyone and should at least win a national championship. Next year will be much more difficult with the show being held in Montreal. I expect to see some monsters crawl out of the woods as the province of Quebec is full of potential bodybuilding monsters. Keep in mind, it is the birthplace of Canadian bodybuilding. DS: Now let’s talk about a hot topic that affected the Canadian Fitness and Figure Championships as well as the Canadian BodyBuilding Championships – the "second pro card." This has been a source of controversy for a couple years now, and I know there are more than a few people who disagree with it, and in particular, how it’s being awarded and who it’s being awarded to. This year two second-place finishers received a pro card while other deserving class winners were seemingly overlooked. You’ve gone on the record, most recently again in MuscleMag, that you don’t think that it’s a good idea that the CBBF is awarding this second pro card, not just to second-place finishers, but to anyone other than the Overall winner. Does this accurately reflect your position? GB: Well, Doug, I think the reason you interview me is that you love it when I say what a lot of people are thinking. However, I am the one who has to take the heat for these controversial opinions. I feel like the "Don Cherry" of bodybuilding. Guess that is not all bad when he was listed as one of the ten top Canadians! Anyway, I have beaten this pro card thing to death, and most people who follow the sport know my thoughts on this. Logically, I can’t understand why the CBBF continues this practice. To me it makes no sense considering just how competitive the pro ranks are. Regardless, they continue to give out a second card at national events. Other than pleasing a few dissatisfied athletes, I can’t see how it helps Canadian bodybuilding. It lessens the importance of the Overall winner’s pro card, and it takes away a potential headliner for future national competitions. I can’t imagine why these athletes want to embarrasses themselves against the much stronger American competitors. Keep in mind, even our Overall winners have a tough time being competitive in a pro show. Case in point: Newfoundland’s Frank McGrath is perhaps one of Canada’s best potential pros, but the best he could do in a smaller pro event was 12th place. What does that say for an athlete who received their pro card for a second-place finish in their class at the nationals? I just feel that too many cards are given out for the wrong reasons. I know for a fact that a lot of these athletes probably will never compete as a pro, and if they do, [they will] become so discouraged that they will never compete again. The result: we lose a potential future national champion. Of course, there are exceptions. I think that Ontario’s Christine Roth has represented herself well as a pro. She has the kind of look and shape that the IFBB wants in women’s bodybuilding and has a good future ahead of her. Regardless, she would have been one of Canada’s most outstanding Overall women’s winners had she waited another year before exercising her pro status. I have no doubt that she would have won the title in 2004. If I was a potential promoter of the Canadian Championships, one of my main concerns would be whom I would have as a headliner for my up-and-coming show. Obviously, if you want to become a pro badly enough you will be back next year. Mike Platz came back from close wins three times. I am sure that a lot of success from the 2002 event was because of the huge audience support for Platz. Had he received a pro card for winning his class the previous year, we would have missed out on a great competition and Canadian Overall Champion. As you can see, this brings the future champs back, setting up a potential battle with the favorites returning. I think this might explain why the 2004 Canadian BodyBuilding Championships had a mediocre finish with a lot of newcomers in the finals. There is no question in my mind that, had big Scott "Moose" Milne competed, he would have possibly taken the title as he is a big Canadian favorite. Scott got his pro card on the basis of his second-place finish to Platz in 2002. DS: It’s just been posted on CBBF.net that the CBBF will be following the IFBB’s lead and judging the bodybuilding posing. Frankly, although this is new now, I believe it’s precisely the way it was back in the ‘80s – kind of a "what’s old is new again" thing. I think it’s a good thing because from what I see about 90 percent of the competitors don’t really know how to pose and this will make them learn that art. What do you think about this? GB: Doug, I think the big test in this new system is whether the judges will have the balls to really penalize a top contender for poor posing. We both have seen a trend toward poorer posing at national events. Athletes rationalize that if posing counts for nothing, then why waste time practicing it? But now that the new rules indicate that the posing round will count for 50 percent of your final score, they will have to reevaluate their position. If not taken seriously, it could be a recipe for disaster. A guy with an obviously fantastic physique could finish three to four spots lower if his posing is really bad. I suspect that the judges will still tend to score the best guys high regardless of their posing. However, it could make a big difference in a tight race. Also, it will provide a great excuse for any judge to explain why he scored a certain athlete low. All he has to say is, "Well, I thought you looked great but your posing was bad!" This opens up a Pandora ’s Box for controversial judging decisions. As if we need more! Personally I think that 50 percent is too high, as it still is a contest decided by physical development and conditioning. Good posing is very good for the audience and photos, but shouldn’t make a big difference in the final scores. In a close battle, yes, but we have to be careful in how we use it. The new system will definitely change the importance of the evening show as it now goes from entertainment to a real competition – certainly long overdue, as a lot of athletes seem to peak for the evening finals. In past events, regardless of how much better they looked, their placing was already decided from the morning prejudging. Now the prejudging only serves to pick the top six. What you do in the final evening comparisons and posing routine will now determine your fate – should really liven up the show! I guess it will take a few competitions to see how it all plays out. DS: Finally, in looking back at the year I think there were some unsung heroes among the winners and those that received their pro cards. At the CBBF National World Qualifier, Ottawa’s Guy Bourgon showed up in amazing shape and I know you just featured him in MuscleMag. During any other year he would have been the winner. This year, however, he came up against Dean Crandon in the Heavyweight class and John Raposo in the Masters category, placing second to both. Then, to add insult to injury, he showed up in the shape of his life at the World Championships, and to my eyes should have been top ten, but ended up not making the top 15! Then there was Vince Wawryk, who won the Light-Middleweight category at the Canadian Championships. Personally, I had him winning the Overall title; however, judges seem to always look at the heavier classes and not the shorter guys in the lighter weight classes. Now, I want to hear who your picks were from all the competitions. GB: Once again you want me to stick my neck out. I know you love to dangle controversial bait in my face knowing I can’t resist taking it! If there is one thing that I know for sure, in my many years of covering bodybuilding, you are always going to have controversy and debate. I guess that is what makes it such a great sport. You can chuck around the decisions for the next year. Because of its subjectivity, bodybuilding decisions can be argued from many points of view; I guess a lot of these are based from where you are standing.
Yes, I was very impressed with Ottawa’s superbly conditioned Guy Bourgon. Unfortunately, Guy, as good as he was, didn’t win either of the two divisions he competed in at the Qualifier. Truthfully, Guy is not freaky enough. He just looks too good, if that makes any sense. His type of development was the reason I began training as a teenager – superb shape and symmetry with a set of peaked biceps that would have you doing curls all day with the hope of duplicating them. As a package, he looks fantastic. Unfortunately, the trend in today’s physique contests is to pick the most freaky guys as the winners. He simply got out-freaked by the monstrous size and mass of Dean Crandon in the Heavyweight class. Any other year Guy would have easily won the Masters, but as luck would have it, Ontario’s wily veteran John Raposo was determined to see just how good he could get and came into the Qualifier shredded, with striations on his striations. The result was no contest, as Raposo literally mopped up the stage, seriously kicking everyone’s ass. I was not at the World Championships, but can guess that most of the guys who finished ahead of Guy could have held their own on a pro stage. The truth is, I suspect that Guy was probably the only guy on stage that was in reality all natural [at the World Championships]. Yes, drugs are still around at the World Championships as evidenced by the many positive tests in 2003. Growth hormone is alive and well and is the choice of champions! I also can’t get over just how good Raposo looked. He has been around for a long time and I have seen him compete on many occasions but at past 40, the guy was in the best shape of his life. I don’t know what happened to him at the World Masters Championships as he didn’t do that well. I thought he would be in the top five. Hopefully he will be back to the Qualifier in 2005. Vince Wawryk looked great in Edmonton, easily winning his class. I think he improved his condition over 2003 and was one of the most muscular guys in the show. I could have handled him winning the Overall. It was a close posedown, but in reality the judges are influenced by the size. They are subconsciously picking a potential pro, which tends to eliminate the lighter-weight-category winners. Keep in mind that Ronnie Colemen won this year’s Olympia weighing a staggering 300 pounds. That is a lot of freaky muscle on a 5 ft. 10 in. frame. Now smaller guys, regardless of how good their physique is, don’t stand much chance against the current pro monsters. Even Dexter Jackson, probably the most successful small guy currently in the pros, at 5 ft. 7 in., comes in at a ripped 230 pounds. With that being said, I don’t think it is fair to overlook and eliminate the smaller guy if he still is the best guy that day on stage. You should never judge a physique contest on potential. I think this sometimes happens and is a practice I don’t agree with. In closing, I want to thank you for allowing me to express my opinions on your great site. I am sure my comments will generate some debate, which is my intention. All comments are welcome, positive and negative! ...end If you have any comments, feel free to e-mail info@bodybuildinglive.com.
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