If only BB could take example on tennis...

[Phidias]

https://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2016-12-21/record_50_million_prize_purse_for_australian_open_2017.html

Australian Open promoters have a way to motivate players, and not only top seeds... that's what I call showing respect to athletes and going in the right direction for their sport... BRAVO! :headbang:

Wish we could say the same with the IFBB...

 

[Flex500]

https://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2016-12-21/record_50_million_prize_purse_for_australian_open_2017.html

Australian Open promoters have a way to motivate players, and not only top seeds... that's what I call showing respect to athletes and going in the right direction for their sport... BRAVO! :headbang:

Wish we could say the same with the IFBB...

Makes you wonder what would happen if for instance all Olympia winners earned over $1,000,000 just for being in the show, all the Arnold Classic competitors were millionaires and if you win even an average ifbb prO show you are walking home with at least $750,000. That is not going to happen but makes you wonder.

Frankly who knows maybe nothing good would come of it. Maybe it's time to let this th My kind of die out and maybe that's ok and we should t fight it. Maybe ya not sad...maybe it's just time.

 

[method2madness]

A large majority of athletes in all sports start playing it because of the love of the game. Some will make it big and some will not. Such is the nature of competition.

 

[malcom young]

Makes you wonder what would happen if for instance all Olympia winners earned over $1,000,000 just for being in the show, all the Arnold Classic competitors were millionaires and if you win even an average ifbb prO show you are walking home with at least $750,000. That is not going to happen but makes you wonder.

Frankly who knows maybe nothing good would come of it. Maybe it's time to let this th My kind of die out and maybe that's ok and we should t fight it. Maybe ya not sad...maybe it's just time.

I think you'd see much more top guys having waaay more health issues.

And we think we're seeing FREAKS now!?

 

[maldorf]

I think you'd see much more top guys having waaay more health issues.

And we think we're seeing FREAKS now!?

Good point. I think that might actually happen because the incentive to push the envelope even more would be there because of the large prize money.

 

[Goody]

Where would they get that kinda money from? Normal people watch tennis, its on the major networks, big advertising money etc..., normal people don't give a shit about bodybuilding
It's a small sub culture, just the way it is

 

[King-kong]

Where would they get that kinda money from? Normal people watch tennis, its on the major networks, big advertising money etc..., normal people don't give a shit about bodybuilding
It's a small sub culture, just the way it is

Imo there is way more money in the fitness industry as a whole than in tennis. Maybe if the handful of magazines that are 90 percent advertising would help out there would be more of a purse available to those that deserve it.
I've always felt it was very unfair some of the major contests with huge shows have surprisingly low financial reward.

Someone wins one of the WSOP EVENTS and gets a huge payout. Contestants on the average game show make more.
Just does not add up. The 2015 women figure of one particular show paid 5000 to first place. Probably cost the poor girl more to go to the show.

I could be wrong. But between the money they charge at the door, cost for a booth, and everything else. There has to be more leftover after expenses and a fair profit.

 

[doug1]

A big factor is the buying power of the audience, probably more than the volume. Golf being an example. Every Sunday, the final round of the PGA is televised, or at least it use to be. Why, because there are a ton of golfers in our country? No, because those who do play, are often very wealthy. So the car companies, drug companies, golf equipment companies, etc., pay top dollar for advertising to this small, but affluent group.
Tennis is very similar. Bodybuilding isn't known to have the attention of the wealthy, nor of a large volume of people, as has been stated.
The top supplement companies with clever marketing have been able to tap into this small group and make a nice profit.

 

[Phidias]

Where would they get that kinda money from? Normal people watch tennis, its on the major networks, big advertising money etc..., normal people don't give a shit about bodybuilding
It's a small sub culture, just the way it is

BB in itself might not be mainstream, the kind of money generated by the supp industry as a whole is enormous... we're talking billions $$$ here.

Everyone, from people simply not interested in competitive BB (and now fitness/bikini ) to the extreme even finding it gross and laughable, occasionally buys a tub of vitamin C or fat loss pills... the market far exceeds our little world, yet companies flooding it with all kind of tabs and powders are precisely the same that sponsor contests and use athletes as a pretext for their before/after ads... a little more "redistribution" would only be fair...

 

[Phidias]

A big factor is the buying power of the audience, probably more than the volume. Golf being an example. Every Sunday, the final round of the PGA is televised, or at least it use to be. Why, because there are a ton of golfers in our country? No, because those who do play, are often very wealthy. So the car companies, drug companies, golf equipment companies, etc., pay top dollar for advertising to this small, but affluent group.
Tennis is very similar. Bodybuilding isn't known to have the attention of the wealthy, nor of a large volume of people, as has been stated.
The top supplement companies with clever marketing have been able to tap into this small group and make a nice profit.

You make a good point, Doug, but though BB might indeed not have the attention of upper classes, ALL people falling into that category spend a ton on health/anti-aging supps... manufactured by the very same companies that sponsor BB/fitness shows.

Actually, everyone from the fat girl who's broke to the wealthiest one playing golf with his millionaire buddies buys a pill of some sort at some point...

 

[Phidias]

I think you'd see much more top guys having waaay more health issues.

And we think we're seeing FREAKS now!?

Good point. I think that might actually happen because the incentive to push the envelope even more would be there because of the large prize money.

At least, with a much bigger prize money, guys would be able to pay their medical bills...

 

[asteelz]

Good point. I think that might actually happen because the incentive to push the envelope even more would be there because of the large prize money.

I would take it a step further, say they(we?) are certainly addicts.. with that much money and a thirst for first who can tell what doses people would use.

 

[JETHRO TULL]

Really, when I stand back and look....

....bodybuilding now is just who is willing
to take the most drugs. It takes a lot of money and lack of concern about your health, simply to look good. The ultimate vanity.
You know those Brazilian models who get all messed up by injecting pmma and who knows what into their asses? The pics of them all mutilated by surgeons who try to remove the infected areas and drain the puss are grotesque. Horrible. I think most of us look at those beautiful women and are confounded and can't believe they would take such ridiculous risks. For what?
I have come to view bodybuilding in the same light. I think most normal people do as well. It is fucking retarded. I doubt the prize money will ever be there due to how people view bodybuilding and bodybuilders.

That being said...I think a thickly developed muscular physique looks completely awesome. The answer? Take minimal risks, monitor your health, and do the absolute best you can with knowledge, hard work and discipline. No one gives a shit how impressive you are for ONE day on a stage. Live it and look good EVERY day.
Just one assholes opinion

 

[method2madness]

....bodybuilding now is just who is willing
to take the most drugs. It takes a lot of money and lack of concern about your health, simply to look good. The ultimate vanity.
You know those Brazilian models who get all messed up by injecting pmma and who knows what into their asses? The pics of them all mutilated by surgeons who try to remove the infected areas and drain the puss are grotesque. Horrible. I think most of us look at those beautiful women and are confounded and can't believe they would take such ridiculous risks. For what?
I have come to view bodybuilding in the same light. I think most normal people do as well. It is fucking retarded. I doubt the prize money will ever be there due to how people view bodybuilding and bodybuilders.

That being said...I think a thickly developed muscular physique looks completely awesome. The answer? Take minimal risks, monitor your health, and do the absolute best you can with knowledge, hard work and discipline. No one gives a shit how impressive you are for ONE day on a stage. Live it and look good EVERY day.
Just one assholes opinion

:yeahthat:

 

[Phidias]

:yeahthat:

I'll second your applause!

JT's post is UNFORTUNATELY spot on. A "sane"/reasonable practice of bodybuilding could be such a wonderful endeavour... drugs have always been there, of course, but at least, just 15-20 years ago, you had to pay your dues and reach a certain level already before having access to what was still considered pretty secret or kept among insiders... now, every kid and their aunt look for steroids and gh on Google first thing before joining a gym or knowing how many kcals there's in a chicken breast... no more patience, no more live and learn, I want it and I want now... sad, sad, sad...

I still enjoy training, but it's true this "fitness world" and the people it attracts nowadays clearly made me lose it a bit...

 

[Mandingus]

Bodybuilding would be far more popular if it wasn't a giant fucking scam... all the way from the top down the shows are generally rigged... from the bottom up I have heard from so many people how shitty the judging and how biased it is... generally the only winners are the guys that are best friends with the judges... over the years I have heard that so many people quit competing after a few shows when they realized what it takes to actually win ( and it's not having the best physique in a lot of cases )... take the 1980 or 1981 Mr Olympia for example... that's the finest example of what a joke bodybuilding competions are ...

 

[Fit2Serve]

i dont think bb'ing can get too big cuz it will cause more exposure to the "dark side" of it. Drug abuse, premature deaths, internet sites that sell illegal drugs to youth, etc.
Almost like it has to stay in a weird popular but not too popular status.

if it is to ever go completely mainstream the masses will somehow demand drug testing. and we all know how that went in the past. guys looked terrible...

just my thoughts
-F2S

 

[Phidias]

Two spot on posts from Mandingus and Fit2Serve I fully agree with. And then again, unfortunately!

Considering the illicit part/dark side of our "sport", not only a substantial increase in prize money is nothing else than wishful thinking, but to some extent we should even consider ourselves lucky to still have shows NOT drug tested in most countries... look at what's happening in Scandinavia where cops can arrest you on the street and have you take a piss just because they think you're a bit too swole... :banghead: BB in Norway, Sweden or Denmark is DEAD... we can only hope the trend won't be too contagious.

 

[Mandingus]

Two spot on posts from Mandingus and Fit2Serve I fully agree with. And then again, unfortunately!

Considering the illicit part/dark side of our "sport", not only a substantial increase in prize money is nothing else than wishful thinking, but to some extent we should even consider ourselves lucky to still have shows NOT drug tested in most countries... look at what's happening in Scandinavia where cops can arrest you on the street and have you take a piss just because they think you're a bit too swole... :banghead: BB in Norway, Sweden or Denmark is DEAD... we can only hope the trend won't be too contagious.

Phidias the only problem with bodybuilding is that the illicit side is exposed by complete idiots... because let's be serious here... in other sports they are jacked to the gills... football, baseball, hockey, MMA, roadbike racing, probably even basketball and fucking bowling... they are all taking performance enhancers... but some are held more accountable than others due to politics ... and because of the so called ethical standards ( every parent knows that little johny couldn't handle finding out that his favourite 3rd baseman is popping anavar like tic tacs in order to smash a home run every game ) all that said... I have no idea how it could be improved upon ... I really feel that bodybuilding peaked in early 80s and has gone down hill since then ...

 

[southoftheborder]

....bodybuilding now is just who is willing
to take the most drugs. It takes a lot of money and lack of concern about your health, simply to look good. The ultimate vanity.
You know those Brazilian models who get all messed up by injecting pmma and who knows what into their asses? The pics of them all mutilated by surgeons who try to remove the infected areas and drain the puss are grotesque. Horrible. I think most of us look at those beautiful women and are confounded and can't believe they would take such ridiculous risks. For what?
I have come to view bodybuilding in the same light. I think most normal people do as well. It is fucking retarded. I doubt the prize money will ever be there due to how people view bodybuilding and bodybuilders.

That being said...I think a thickly developed muscular physique looks completely awesome. The answer? Take minimal risks, monitor your health, and do the absolute best you can with knowledge, hard work and discipline. No one gives a shit how impressive you are for ONE day on a stage. Live it and look good EVERY day.
Just one assholes opinion

That is exactly my point of view as well.

Also..

Fitness/strengh training/supplements/working out/wellness IS mainstream and DOES generate and attract HUGE money (just look at the number of fitness centers in the US, the amount of money spent on supplements every year, the popularity of MMA and crossfit competitions, etc BUT competitive bodybuilding WILL NEVER BE MAINSTREAM in my opinion unless is goes through a major facelift.