Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I left Brisbane airport at 6.00am, but didn’t end up getting to Bendigo until about 4.00pm. 10hrs of mucking around due to heavy fog in Melb. I had a gave the promoter arunning update on where i was thanks to Eddy Tannourji & he calling each other. I did my very best to the venue on time to do the Masters line-up, but it was not meant to be. I was really looking forward and excited to be a part of the comp this year, it was going to be great heading back to Melbourne to compete and i wanted to be in great condition as i knew there would be so many old friends there watching ,so i pulled out all stops to be in shape, One of the upsides is with that extra motivation i really think it was about my best ever overall look , so i did get to achieve my goal, I must say i was a little upset ( and i do handle stress quite well ) when we where driving to the venue and were 20 mins away i was getting a rundown on my mobile as my class hit the stage LOL, thanks Nev. You know if i knew at 10 am i was not going to make it ,its like ok, but we were always going to be so close, After my 5 minutes of moaning i thought to myself cmon man its not life and death, i knew there were many many people who had done their utmost to try to get me there on time , i owed it to them to do my best and that is what i did.
As it turned out i was allowed to do my routine as a gust pose. as i was informed that i was disqualified, but still busted his balls to make it to the show. I bumped into the promoter Craig Lucas as i was coming up the stairs & told to go backstage & get ready, as i would would be on after the Womens BBing. Toney Doherty the MC gave me a nice old intro & on i came, did my routine, then Phil Kabbakof did a wonderful thing by presenting me with the Judges Choice award. It was a $400 Seiko watch that he had donated himself to someone who he felt had “epitomized the true Aussie BBing spirit”. At the end of the day this years CCI will remain one of the most memorable and enjoyable experiances i have had in 20 years competing. There are many people i would like to thank. Eddy Tannourji , owner of nextgeneration supplements and my sponsor , a greater friend no one could have ,he had paid for booth space at the CCI and had so many other responsibiltys to attend to but was just concearned for me ,waiting at the airport for 6 hrs to rush me to the venue ,even when i said mate you better go he would not have a bar of it , Mandie and Nev , next genneration athletes , guys you pulled out all stops to help, you are both bloody champions , communicating constantly with us and Craig. Craig, like you say we have only met 3 to 4 times and chatted on the board but some people you just click with and share the same passions , Mate you went so far out of your way to accomodate me and i respect your integritiy totally , this is what will make your CCI go from strenght to strenght, if there is ever anything i can do to repay your kindness just let me know , the comp is already on my calendar next year and i will get there a day before next time LOL Vicki, i think we have only met the odd time to, but your beautiful warm nature comes across very clearly straight away,thanks for running around and helping me out. Tony, it was great to see you again, you pumped me up like bloody Ronnie Coleman was coming on thanks heaps mate it made the whole thing really worth while, it is always a pleasure to be part of a show you have anything to do with and many great memories came back of my days in the IFBB , i will not leave it that long again and as usual such a proffesional entertaining MCing of the show, Phil , your words meant a great deal to me, more than you know , Like alot of people in this industry and that where involved in the show on saturday i really try to give back to help make the whole sport/art of bodybuilding better , i know you are also one of these people. Mate i have actually been and had the watch engraved with “CCI 07 judges choice” i will where it with pride and fond memories, Thank you for your generous gesture. Sim ( sp ) from Fully Framed , the photo is awsome ,you know i have litterally done shows before just because i wanted to get a good shot of myself ,invariably some thing normally goes wrong or i am not at my best , this framed photo came out fantastic, i have showed a few people at the gym and they loved your work thanks mate, To the other masters compeditors and anyone else who hade thier division shuffled a tad i know you were inconvienianced by me, a sincere thank you for your understanding To all the back stage helpers there where many directing me you guys were amazing. To all the other compeditors well done you all looked amazing, I did get to finally relax and enjoy the open class and gee i wish i could have seen the whole show it was just so different and a really proffesional You know i commented to Tony on stage in my interview that every thing happens for a reason but i am having a little trouble figuring out what this one is ,well i already know it was just a trully amazing experiance and i was lucky to be a part of it. Well done craig and the whole team.
