Classically Trained – Guy Bourgon Stuns the Crowd at the 2006 CBBF National World Qualifier

In February, I wrote about the IFBB’s new Classic Bodybuilding initiative, a male bodybuilding division that separates competitors into classes by height, but then puts a cap on how much they can weigh, based on their height. Frankly, I know that many people snickered at the notion of doing such a thing, particularly those who think the most impressive bodybuilder is the one who weighs the most. But others, those who really understand the sport of bodybuilding and know that bodybuilding is about more than what a scale says, saw something more – they knew that with this height and weight combination it would put more focus on shape, symmetry, and conditioning. Ontario’s Guy Bourgon is one of those who saw the benefits of the new restrictions, and I believe that his class win at this year’s CBBF National World Qualifier in August will go down as one of the great moments in Canadian bodybuilding, and is proof that the less you weigh, the better you often look.

Guy is a lifetime natural competitor – in other words, drug-free, always has been and likely always will be. He represented Canada two years ago at the IFBB Men’s World Bodybuilding Championships held in Russia where he showed up weighing about 198 pounds – just light enough to squeak into the Light-Heavyweight category. He looked amazing. In fact, his physique reminded me of a cross between Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger; had Guy competed in the ‘70s or early ‘80s, he would have made quite a name for himself. But it’s now 20 years later and these days competitors his height routinely weigh in excess of 250 pounds – big blobs of muscle. As a result, the international-level judges in Russia basically ignored him and he didn’t even make the top 15.

After the competition, I spoke to Guy and he told me that he believed that competition would likely be his last. After all, how could he do much better when he already brought his best and he couldn’t crack the top 15? Furthermore, he was 40 years old at the time and a father of five (since then, he’s had one more child!). In other words, Guy has better things to do. So, that competition was more or less a turning point in his life and he didn’t compete in 2005, nor did I expect him to.

In 2006, though, the urge to compete came back for Guy when he learned about the IFBB’s Classic Bodybuilding division. In fact, I thought he was such a natural for it, given what he looked like in Russia, that I featured him in that article in February and had his picture on our cover.

However, competing in Classic Bodybuilding wouldn’t be completely easy. Guy got out his calculator – based on his height 5’11", he figured that he could weigh no more than about 190 pounds (as I mentioned, in Classic Bodybuilding they put a cap on competitors’ bodyweight that is based on a formula that takes height into account). One hundred and ninety pounds! Guy weighed almost 200 in Russia, and he had to diet like a madman to get there. Now he had to weigh about 10 pounds less! Guy thought, "No way." So, although there was a glimmer of hope that he’d compete again, that faded fast.

Or did it?

Just when I thought Guy was done, through, kaput, I got an unexpected e-mail from him, only two months before the CBBF National World Qualifier, scheduled for August in Toronto. Guy told me he’d been dieting like his life depended on it and that he currently weighed less than 200 pounds – he figured he had a good chance of making it down to 190 pounds over the next two months. And if not, he’d make for one heck of an impressive Light-Heavyweight that would give the reigning National World Qualifier Light-Heavyweight Champion, Nse Ekong, a run for his money. Guy was back and going all out!

Introducing "Naturally Built" I was so impressed with Guy’s shape, condition and presentation that day that I approached him a short time afterwards and asked him to write for SeriousAboutMuscle.com. In my opinion, Guy has become one of the greats in Canadian bodybuilding. Furthermore, at 42 years of age and with a wife and six children, he has become an inspiring figure who can help lead others in the right direction. He’s a lifetime natural bodybuilder who has developed an astonishingly good physique that most can only dream of. His new column, "Naturally Built," will debut on SeriousAboutMuscle.com later this month. ...Doug Schneider das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

I didn’t hear from Guy again until I saw him one day before the competition. When we passed in the lobby, Guy simply looked to me and said, "Wait and see." I could tell by his tone of voice that he was confident and that he knew I’d be impressed – more impressed than in Russia. What’s more, those who saw him at the weigh-in said matter-of-factly, "Guy’s going to win tomorrow."

The next day arrived and the prejudging was running into overtime – the CBBF’s national-level judging machine is hardly a pinnacle of efficiency (or accuracy, based on the number of high-profile errors in 2006). The prejudging had already been running for more than five hours, I hadn’t even eaten lunch and they were only getting to the beginning of the Classic Bodybuilding division. The audience, at least what was left of it, was exhausted and their enthusiasm was waning.

But when Guy walked onstage you could have heard a pin drop – and not because everyone was sleeping. Just the opposite. Those who were slouching in their seats were now sitting upright as if they’d been called to attention. And those who thought that Classic Bodybuilding was going to feature nothing but skinny guys sat slack-jawed. Guy stunned the crowd with his appearance that day, and you’d never guess for a second that he weighed a paltry 190 pounds. He looked as big as Arnold in his heyday!

Furthermore, Guy was hard as nails, sporting conditioning that any competitors would have a tough time matching in a non-drug-tested show. Fellow writer and photographer Garry Bartlett sprung into action, snapping pictures faster than I’d seen him move all day. And as Guy hit his first pose, the prejudging crowd came to life with a roar that no other competitor that day matched. And me? Well, I was impressed – more impressed than in Russia, but I guess Guy expected that. Quite simply, Guy looked incredible – and he made non-believers of the Classic Bodybuilding initiative into believers by proving that you didn’t have to look like a swimmer to compete. Guy was big, hard, cut, and impressive the way that a bodybuilder should be, but often isn’t these days with so many fixated on how much they weigh (too much, in almost all cases), and not what they actually look like.

As a matter of fact, Guy was so impressive this year that I wouldn’t be surprised to see an army of "classically trained" physiques competing in future Canadian contests, whether it’s in the Classic Bodybuilding division or in the regular weight classes. Guy looked bigger and more impressive at 190 pounds than he did in Russia at 200 pounds, or than he did the year before when he was 210 pounds! And that’s exactly what a focus on shape, symmetry, and conditioning, rather than raw bodyweight, will help do.

Guy’s performance at the 2006 CBBF National World Qualifier is one for the bodybuilding history books. Now let’s hope Guy can make a mark for himself – and Canada – and do the same at the 2006 IFBB World Bodybuilding Championships held in November in the Czech Republic.

...Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com, BodyBuildingLive.com, and SeriousAboutFitness.com.