- Joined
- Jun 5, 2002
- Messages
- 8,880
as some of you know i occasionally write for a bodybuilding publication. i sometimes get the "honor" of talking to some of the pros and top national competitors on the scene. well, here is my problem with the vast majority of them..
i just got finished with a conversation with a certain pro. he is well known and has placed in the top 10 at the olympia. he was bitchin' about not having a decent income and not having anyway of making money, yada yada yada. i decided to ask him a few questions to see if mr. brainchild could figure out a solution.
here is how the conversation went. i said "so have you looked into maybe doing a video and keeping your name out there. those videos really sell. could be some quick cash" he responds " who has time to do a video? i am trying to get ready for the mr. o, man" i said "it does not take much of your time stud, they follow you around and you workout...how hard is that?" he then says "yeah but, you have to stop and let them set up the cameras and shit. then you have to speak to the audience which will throw off my rhythem" at this point i am a little dumbfounded. i said " yeah but, it is just one frickin' week out of your prep and could generate some income and it will not throw off your workouts at all.. trust me" he retorts "well, i dont have time to set that shit up now" i ask him if he is selling anything on his web site.he says "well, no.. i have not had a lot of time to update it" i then get a little agitated and say " i was just at your web site and you have not updated it in a frickin' year. a whole frickin' year. you mean to tell me that you have not had any time in a whole frickin' year??" he says "well, i was having a buddy do it and he moved and cant do it any longer...what the fuck am i supposed to do?? i dont know that shit" i say "well frickin' learn. it is not that hard. go get some clothes with your logo on them and sell workout t shirts and photos and shit like that " he says " yeah, ill have to look into that...well, i have to go to the store .. ill talk to ya later"
well, beside wanting to kill this idiot i decided to do some investigating. i went to as many of the top pros and national competitors web sites as i could and here is what i found. out of 11 sites , 8 had not been updated in a span of 6 months or more. a few like dexter jacksons had not been updated since their inception. what the hell do these guys do all day??? i only say this because these are the first guys to piss and moan about fickle fans and they have no right to...what are you giving the fans in return??? nothing.
regardless of what you may think of king kamali, he is a smart biz man. the second he starts doing well on the amatuer scene he puts up a web site. he updated it weekly. he started selling apparel and photos. he buildt up a very loyal fan base. he gave back to them by his web site and one other thing....he always answered all e mails from his fans. i do not care what your question was he answered it. i know he got hundreds some days...he answered them all. most pros will not answer e mails...i guess they are to busy... these are also the same pros who can not understand kamali's popularity... thats a tough one to figure out. once he had a loyal folowing he puts out a video..he sold like hot cakes. more money in his pockey.
now father weider then sees this growing popularity and the rabid fans of kamalis and decides, smartly, to sign him to a contract....the third highest paid weider man on the books. and this after one pro show. do the math.
now i will say that not all pros are this way but, the majority are...well ....lazy. we at this board are lucky. we have pros here and they will actually answer your mail. big a , my boyee, will always take the time to answer mail. i do not care if biga wins the mr o tomorrow, he will still be there for anyone who needs help. but, he also understands what it takes to make it in this biz and be successful...most do not. phil also is a very down to earth guy and also answers peoples questions. and i am sure that some days his e mails are pretty abundant. when phil gets back to competing will this change? no, i do not see it happening. phil is phil and i am sure he will always go out of his way when he can to help fellow "bros". bigkiwi is another one who always take time to answer questions and to help out anyone who needs it. why?...well he is a nice guy with little in the way of ego.. that is why he will get some publicity coming up soon.
what i am getting at is this. with all the members on this board and all that know phil...if phil one day put out a workout video or penis pump video would you not buy it?? why? because everyone like to watch other people torture themselves and he also took the time to help others. that builds loyalty and friendship. in turn, you will part with your money to see the video. or buy the clothing . or purchase the photos ect.
so to all those lazy ass , ego abundant pros out there who want more publicity and can not figure out why you are broke and no one wants to write a frickin' story about ya... one day i hope you will wake up and take a page out of kamali's business plan. okay rant over....blood pressure dropping...tren leaving the brain...later p.s. to all the pros who may stumble upon this thread...take the time to answer your e mails from fans. remember, that 16 year old who wants to be you and dreams of the stage one day just wants a connection. take the time to write one sentence..you would be surprised what that kid would do for ya then... like buy all your crap....and it took a whole 2 minutes out of your day. not a bad return.
i just got finished with a conversation with a certain pro. he is well known and has placed in the top 10 at the olympia. he was bitchin' about not having a decent income and not having anyway of making money, yada yada yada. i decided to ask him a few questions to see if mr. brainchild could figure out a solution.
here is how the conversation went. i said "so have you looked into maybe doing a video and keeping your name out there. those videos really sell. could be some quick cash" he responds " who has time to do a video? i am trying to get ready for the mr. o, man" i said "it does not take much of your time stud, they follow you around and you workout...how hard is that?" he then says "yeah but, you have to stop and let them set up the cameras and shit. then you have to speak to the audience which will throw off my rhythem" at this point i am a little dumbfounded. i said " yeah but, it is just one frickin' week out of your prep and could generate some income and it will not throw off your workouts at all.. trust me" he retorts "well, i dont have time to set that shit up now" i ask him if he is selling anything on his web site.he says "well, no.. i have not had a lot of time to update it" i then get a little agitated and say " i was just at your web site and you have not updated it in a frickin' year. a whole frickin' year. you mean to tell me that you have not had any time in a whole frickin' year??" he says "well, i was having a buddy do it and he moved and cant do it any longer...what the fuck am i supposed to do?? i dont know that shit" i say "well frickin' learn. it is not that hard. go get some clothes with your logo on them and sell workout t shirts and photos and shit like that " he says " yeah, ill have to look into that...well, i have to go to the store .. ill talk to ya later"
well, beside wanting to kill this idiot i decided to do some investigating. i went to as many of the top pros and national competitors web sites as i could and here is what i found. out of 11 sites , 8 had not been updated in a span of 6 months or more. a few like dexter jacksons had not been updated since their inception. what the hell do these guys do all day??? i only say this because these are the first guys to piss and moan about fickle fans and they have no right to...what are you giving the fans in return??? nothing.
regardless of what you may think of king kamali, he is a smart biz man. the second he starts doing well on the amatuer scene he puts up a web site. he updated it weekly. he started selling apparel and photos. he buildt up a very loyal fan base. he gave back to them by his web site and one other thing....he always answered all e mails from his fans. i do not care what your question was he answered it. i know he got hundreds some days...he answered them all. most pros will not answer e mails...i guess they are to busy... these are also the same pros who can not understand kamali's popularity... thats a tough one to figure out. once he had a loyal folowing he puts out a video..he sold like hot cakes. more money in his pockey.
now father weider then sees this growing popularity and the rabid fans of kamalis and decides, smartly, to sign him to a contract....the third highest paid weider man on the books. and this after one pro show. do the math.
now i will say that not all pros are this way but, the majority are...well ....lazy. we at this board are lucky. we have pros here and they will actually answer your mail. big a , my boyee, will always take the time to answer mail. i do not care if biga wins the mr o tomorrow, he will still be there for anyone who needs help. but, he also understands what it takes to make it in this biz and be successful...most do not. phil also is a very down to earth guy and also answers peoples questions. and i am sure that some days his e mails are pretty abundant. when phil gets back to competing will this change? no, i do not see it happening. phil is phil and i am sure he will always go out of his way when he can to help fellow "bros". bigkiwi is another one who always take time to answer questions and to help out anyone who needs it. why?...well he is a nice guy with little in the way of ego.. that is why he will get some publicity coming up soon.
what i am getting at is this. with all the members on this board and all that know phil...if phil one day put out a workout video or penis pump video would you not buy it?? why? because everyone like to watch other people torture themselves and he also took the time to help others. that builds loyalty and friendship. in turn, you will part with your money to see the video. or buy the clothing . or purchase the photos ect.
so to all those lazy ass , ego abundant pros out there who want more publicity and can not figure out why you are broke and no one wants to write a frickin' story about ya... one day i hope you will wake up and take a page out of kamali's business plan. okay rant over....blood pressure dropping...tren leaving the brain...later p.s. to all the pros who may stumble upon this thread...take the time to answer your e mails from fans. remember, that 16 year old who wants to be you and dreams of the stage one day just wants a connection. take the time to write one sentence..you would be surprised what that kid would do for ya then... like buy all your crap....and it took a whole 2 minutes out of your day. not a bad return.