Backstage at the Arnold Classic

Last month, I wrote about getting a backstage pass to the Arnold Classic and not wanting to waste it. This month, I’ll give you an update on what went on there and assure you that the pass I received certainly got plenty of use. I’ll talk about five competitors whom I watched prepare for their competitions backstage and who deserve notice here.

The first person is Kai Greene, the 2009 Arnold Classic winner. Given what went on behind the scenes, I believe it was more interesting to watch from behind the stage than in front of it.

I vividly remember when Kai first came into the pump-up room – he made his way through main door but then headed straight for the back, out of sight of almost everyone. At that moment, one of the officials leaned over to me and said, "Watch Kai closely because I have a sense that he’s going to be really good or really bad, and that he’ll either be right at the top or somewhere near the end. I don’t think he’ll place in the middle."

As we already know, Kai won. We featured him on our cover this month. But you sure wouldn’t have known it when he first walked backstage, all bundled up in a tracksuit, and headed away from everyone. Kai kept to himself, almost as if he was hiding, and he certainly didn’t give anyone the impression that he was going to win. In addition, rumors were buzzing around the Internet that Kai had messed up his competition prep and that he was way, way off. As a result, the attention wasn’t originally on Kai; most eyes were on Victor Martinez, the 2007 Arnold Classic winner who was making his first contest appearance since a devastating leg injury that sidelined him for two years. But the atmosphere in the pump-up area changed when Kai disrobed and started to pump up. He seemed to grow 20 or 30 pounds on the spot, going from a guy who some might believe would place at the bottom to someone now vying for the top. No doubt, Kai was "on." When he finally stepped onstage to go through the mandatory poses, I saw many of the other competitors huddle around the television monitors to see what he looked like in front of the judges. The moment he hit his first pose, I’m pretty sure they all knew they would be fighting for second place. Kai clobbered them all at the Arnold Classic – what a thing to watch from behind the scenes.

The other pro I want to talk about is third-place finisher Branch Warren who some thought was in the best shape of his life and could have taken second (Victor Martinez, despite not being at his very best, did make an amazing comeback and ended up in second place). But that’s not why I’m singling Branch out. Instead, it’s because of the amazing backstage photos I consistently get of this guy, something I talked about last month. This year I spent more time than ever taking photos, which resulted in some of my best backstage photography ever. As in previous years, the shots I got of Branch are simply awesome. The guy carries so much muscle, it’s hard to take a picture of him that won’t look impressive. A number of these photos have been submitted to print magazines, and I think you’re going to see some show up there. If and when they do, I’ll tell you where and when. Others will appear on ThePhotoIssue.com when it’s re-launched.

The next three competitors I want to talk about are all amateurs, all Canadian, and all participants in the Arnold Amateur IFBB International Championships that were held the same weekend. The first is Ontario’s Johanna Dejager, who probably has more national-level bodybuilding titles to her credit than any other female competitor in Canada ever had. Her last win was at the 2008 CBBF Canadian Bodybuilding Championships, which qualified her to turn pro if she wanted to. However, Johanna hasn’t moved to the pro ranks just yet. In Columbus, Johanna competed in the Arnold Amateur and won the lightweight class. Johanna can now add an international title to her impressive resume. Perhaps next time we’ll see her compete as a pro.

Another competitor is Denis Pedneault from Quebec. Denis was the overall winner at 2006 CBBF National World Qualifier and is making quite a name for himself on the Canadian scene. Some of you may also know Denis because of the "Body Sculpting" column he writes for us.

Denis stands about 5’2", so he’s not too tall, but he sports an amazing physique with perfect proportions, reminiscent Steve Brisbois, a great Canadian bodybuilder from the late ‘80s. Some might think of Denis as a smaller version of Steve Reeves. He’s that good. What’s more, Denis is 100 percent natural – meaning completely drug-free. Denis took the runner-up spot in the bantamweight class at the Arnold Amateur, which is quite an achievement at this international-level event because it wasn’t drug tested. Two weeks later, Denis won the bantamweight class at the 2009 CBBF Canadian Natural Physique Championships in Montreal, a contest that was drug-tested. Given those accomplishments, it’s obvious why I’m talking about him here.

Last but certainly not least is Ontario’s Danny Cicchirillo. I first met Danny at the 2002 CBBF National World Qualifier where he won the lightweight class. The impressive thing about him back then was that he’d never competed before that show. But when he stepped on the stage in 2002, he dominated the class and was in contention for the overall title. What a debut! Danny has been a formidable competitor on Canada’s national scene ever since.

The moment I saw Danny backstage at the Arnold Amateur, I knew he meant business and should be a cinch for one of the top spots. The guy was absolutely shredded – even standing relaxed, muscle fibers jumped under his skin. I’ve seen Danny compete many times before, but I’ve never seen him display this kind of definition. I wasn’t the only one who noticed either. One female competitor who also saw Danny came over to me and said, "Do you see the way his face looks? See how drawn it is? That’s what a bodybuilder’s face looks like before he wins!" She was right. Danny won the welterweight class at the Arnold Amateur over a strong field of competitors.

Since I had access to backstage, I was able to grab Danny the moment his class finished at the prejudging and took some amazing pictures of him in that shape. The picture you see on the right was taken of Danny just minutes after he stepped off the prejudging stage. Nobody else has photos like that – that’s exactly what being backstage is all about!

Hopefully this proves that my backstage pass didn’t go to waste. I spent more time back there this year than I ever have before, got better pictures than I ever have, and gleaned insight into the competitions that I wouldn’t have got otherwise. I can’t wait for 2010!

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

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