Archives for June 2009

Month One Winners.

Congratulations to Mary Jarmolowich and Katie Barnes. FLEXonline.com reports:

They’re in! Results for month one of the 2009 FLEX Bikini Model Search Online, presented by Amazon.com and brought to you by Ed Hardy, are official and voters have spoken as Katie Barnes and Mary Jarmolowich grabbed the lion’s share of the votes to become the first two winners of the second annual FLEX Bikini Model Search Online.

Voting began on June 1st with a staggering 148 contestants and two weeks and 55,500 votes later – our highest total yet – 10 contestants emerged as possible candidates for top honors. The final decision, made by our expert panel of judges, was tough, but in the end, Barnes and Jarmolowich stood out as our month one winners.

There are still two months remaining in the Online contest. The entry for month two is June 21st. Visit FLEXonline.com for more info.

I had the pleasure of meeting Katie while I was at bodybuilding.com‘s headquarters (where she is the clothing manager). She has a great personality to match her looks, which will be key come the final round. Check out the video on one of Bodybuilding.com’s product pages where Katie demonstrates her spokesmodel skillaz.

You might recognize Mary from last year’s contest where she finished third.

IFBB Pro Bodybuilder and team BSN athlete joins the winners from the Police/Fire Olympics for a pose down. The event took place last Sunday in Santa Clarita, California.

Let’s pose em down ladies!

On a side note, Brandon and his wife Brandy are expecting their first child together. Congratulations to the two of them.

Thanks to Lonnie Teper for one of the more amusing photos of the year. Speaking of Lonnie Teper, he’s promoting the NPC Junior California contest this weekend. Head over to Rosemead, California where you’ll get a chance to see Jay Cutler guest pose as well as Lonnie put on a great show. The overall winners of this contest will be featured with full page photos in an upcoming issue of Ironman. Plus you get your picture on stage with the Swami. That’s worth the entry fee right there!

Congratulations to Bodybuilding.com‘s CEO Ryan DeLuca for this major accomplishment. I’m proud to say I’ve worked with Ryan and the team at Bodybuilding.com for over 6 years. The leadership and vision Ryan has is well beyond his years. Congratulations Ryan, you deserve it.

Ryan and Jeremy DeLuca at the award ceremony.

Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan DeLuca Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2009 Award Recipient in the Utah Region
Award Recognizes Entrepreneurial Excellence in the E-Commerce Category
Meridian, ID – June 15, 2009 – Bodybuilding.com, the Internet’s most-visited bodybuilding and fitness site and largest on-line retailer of nutritional supplements, announced today that Ryan DeLuca, CEO received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Award in the e-commerce category in the Utah Region. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses and recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries. An independent panel of judges selected Ryan DeLuca, and the award was presented at a gala event at the Salt Palace Convention Center on June 12, 2009.

Befitting of this award, Ryan DeLuca has always held himself to a standard of success higher than most. One can find his daily, monthly and yearly plans neatly taped to his office walls and on his master bathroom mirrors. Ryan did not spend money on a traditional college degree; his learning was self-taught by taking advantage of the education provided by the world around him. His insatiable thirst for knowledge and determined focus has enabled him to do what many others have failed at—building a multi-million dollar company from the ground up.

DeLuca puts trust in his employees and recognizes he never could have won this award without them. “Even though I was handed this award tonight, it’s truly the whole company who is receiving it. There’s no such thing as the lone ranger entrepreneur it takes everyone in the company working together,” explained DeLuca.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards celebrate their 23rd anniversary this year. The program honors entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptionality in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

“We are proud to recognize the achievements of Ryan DeLuca.”, said David Jolley, Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur of the Year Program Director for the Utah Region. “Award recipients of the Entrepreneur of the Year award build leading businesses and contribute significantly to the strength of our region’s economy. Their success helps our area grow stronger.”

As a Utah Region award recipient, DeLuca is now eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 national program. Award recipients in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 14, 2009. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Hosted by popular television host Jay Leno, this year’s awards ceremony promises to be an event to remember.

Bodybuilding.com offers more than 10,000 health and fitness supplements & accessories to help people achieve their health, fitness and appearance goals. They offer more than 25,000 pages of FREE bodybuilding & fitness information, including more than 12,000 articles (written by 525+ writers), video & audio segments, and new content added daily.

This past weekend was one of the few I am home and fortunately I was able to catch a talk by kick ass photographer, Chase Jarvis. I’ve been following Chase’s work for some time and he is one of the “new guards” of photographers. What’s that mean? Essentially, he isn’t afraid to share with the online community. All too often photographers have walls up, mainly out of fear, on how they work. During his talk he said one thing that really stuck with me…

“Participate in the community. Expect nothing in return. Good things will come.”

Think about that for a bit.

It holds true in the fitness community and on this site. I did exactly as Chase mentioned, I was participating in the community and expected nothing in return. This site spawned out of my participation in the bodybuilding/fitness community. Years ago, I would provide contest coverage on a couple forums because I enjoyed it. Over time I figured why not do it on my own? That’s how Hardbody.com started to take shape. Good things have come as a result not only for me but also for many women in the industry. Muscle & Fitness Hers features two pages in each issue covering the women in the NPC & IFBB. I didn’t expect to get a column by creating this site but it did spawn from it.

Consider doing something similar for yourself in whatever field your in. If you’re a personal trainer – start your own Youtube channel and post workout tips. Start a blog and share things with others. Don’t try to be exactly like everyone else. Show how you’re different. Provide something no one else is or at least in your own creative way. Post comments here with links back to your site, participate in forums and join the community. You might be surprised what comes of it.