Professional and Celebrity Bodybuilders
Athletes portrayed
here were mostly photographed during guest posing appearances in British
Columbia or the Pacific Northwest. I have used the term "celebrity bodybuilders"
to qualify my inclusion of pics of the likes of Dennis Newman, Paul deMayo,
and Phil Hernon that were taken before they earned pro status but when
they were already established celebrities in bodybuilding circles. There
will also eventually be pics here of celebrity non-pros and semi-pros such
as Mike O'Hearn and other high-profile amateurs and non-IFBB professionals.
All photos here are my own except where noted; pictures were picked for
their "artiness" and do not (necessarily) display those represented at
their physical best. Where someone featured here has their own webpage
(or is on someone else's) links are provided for your convenience; pros
who happen to visit this site who don't have their own homepage are welcome
to contact me to contribute pictures
of themselves in better shape than as depicted here.
Sharon Bruneau
| Dennis Newman | Phil
Hernon | Paul deMayo |
Paul Dillett | Shawn
Ray | Chris Cormier |
Victor Richars | Niki
Yasinovski
Sharon Bruneau
The undisputed First Lady of Canadian
bodybuilding, Sharon needs no introduction. There are five pictures here.
The three on the left were taken in a performance of Sharon's famous "golden
statue" routine at the 1993 Emerald Cup in Seattle; the other two were
snapped during a highly-charged guest appearance at the 1992 BC's in Victoria
and another at the 1993 Gator's Classic in Vancouver. Even when she's not
in top shape, Sharon still knows how to put on an exciting show.
Dennis Newman
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 |
|
Dennis also needs no introduction.
All of the pictures here (save one) were taken during his guest appearance
at the 1994 BC Championships, which was a few weeks prior to his win at
the US Nationals in New Orleans that year. Unfortunately he was only approaching
contest shape when he was in BC and is obviously not at his best in these
pics, but he's such an imposing presence and artistic poser I just had
to include these for public viewing. Like all of Dennis' fans, I was horrified
to hear of his bout with leukemia and have been inspired by his recovery
and his return to the public eye. Hopefully I'll get another chance to
photograph this amazing champion (and super-nice guy) on-stage again at
some not-too-distant point in the future. The familiar promo picture of
Dennis on the far right is of course not mine but another unidentified
photographer's work. I happened to have a scan of it from having designed
the poster for his guest appearance here and have included it here because
I haven't seen it anywhere else on the 'net.
Phil Hernon
These awesome pics of Phil were taken
during a guest posing appearance at the 1992 Northwest Naturals in Portland
OR. By then already the NPC Mr. California, Phil was introduced by show
promoter and buddy Brad Hollibaugh as being "always guaranteed to be completely
ripped" when guest posing, and he wasn't exaggerating. Now that he's won
the Nationals and has his pro card after years of undeserved obscurity,
I hope to hear that this Fresno native (who's one of the nicest people
I've met through the sport) is still dazzling unsuspecting guest-posing
audiences with his titanic mass and fearsome rips. I am including Irvin
J. Gelb's training photo of Phil because it's so damn good (copyright Irvin
J. Gelb) and I believe Phil deserves more press and wider exposure than
he's been getting.
Paul deMayo
Another face that needs no introduction
(and another super-nice guy and real gentleman), Paul wasn't anywhere near
being in shape when these pics were taken at the 1992 Northwest Championships
in Seattle (?) but came out in leathers and shades and blew everybody away
anyway. He really liked these pictures when I gave him a set the next time
he was in Seattle, so here they are for everyone to enjoy. These were darkroom
drafts; better versions will replace these in the near future.
Paul Dillett
Needless to say, the big spread-arm
at the top of this page is of Paul Dillett. Paul was guest-poser at the
1993 Emerald Cup in Seattle, and looked pretty amazing and in-shape despite
apparently being half-dead on his feet from a bad case of the 'flu at the
time. For now the only other pic of Paul I've got scanned is the side-chest
above, but there'll eventually be a few more here as well.
Shawn Ray
Not in his best shape here but always
worth looking at, Shawn Ray has a huge following here in BC and always
draws a big crowd. I've got a couple of very arty shots (thanks to all
that stage fog) that will be here soon, so watch this space!
Victor Richars
Niki Yasinovski
Niki is extremely well-known in the
Pacific Northwest, where he swept away the heavyweight competition to win
the Overall in at least half a dozen regional NW competitions (including
at least four Emerald Cups). He was granted his pro card in 1994 by virtue
of his previous title as the Russian national Overall champion (won when
he was still a lightheavyweight) - and probably also in order to let other
heavyweights have a chance at winning Northwest shows. Niki has since moved
back to his home in western Siberia, but the impact his massive 5'5" frame
made on the Pacific Northwest bodybuilding scene will last for a very long
time.
Chris Cormier
(Eventual) Links within this
page:
Bruneau
| Newman | Hernon | deMayo
| Dillett | Wheeler | Richars
| Yates | Ray | Paris
| Haney | Pearson | Dearth
| Cormier | Albrecht | Matarazzo
| Hillebrand | Murray |
"Turk" | Yasinovski | Sherman
Links to other pages:
Kevin
O'Toole | BC & Western Canada | Pacific
Northwest | Pros | Physique Art & Portraits
| Links | About
This Gallery | Ordering
| E-mail
