|
Natural Contest Promoter Profiles
Featuring the those
individuals who work so hard promoting Natural
Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness competitions and who
share our enthusiasm and dedication to drug-free
bodybuilding and fitness.
Brian
Cannone
 Promoter Name
Brian Cannone
Show(s) Promoted
Producer of Fitness Atlantic – Natural Bodybuilding,
Fitness, Bikini, Figure and Model Championships held
the last weekend in April each year.
Which Organizations have you promoted with?
Fitness Atlantic is
sanctioned with the Fitness Universe Pageant and
Musclemania organization.
Why do you choose to work with
this organization?
I choose to sanction Fitness Universe and Musclemania due
to the fact that they are natural events where the
athletes can live a healthy lifestyle while being
presented on the best stages with the most industry
exposure.
How do you feel about the number
of shows and different organizations that currently make
up Natural Bodybuilding? Do you ever see a day when all of
the major organizations will work together?Do you think the variety of
organizations is good or bad for the athletes?
I work with most
organizations and actually when I first sanctioned my
event with Fitness Universe and Musclemania they were non-santioned
shows and all I was paying to use was the event name as
they were television shows made for ESPN Network. The
judging panels were made up of all natural event promoters
including the ANBC, NGA, WNSO, SNBF and many others. I
miss those days and still look forward to networking with
other sanctions and promoters.
What is your background in
Bodybuilding and Fitness?
As far as my background I started working in a gym at age
20 and competed in my first showing just as I turned 21
years old.
How did you get started in
promoting shows? What made you decide to become a
promoter?
After competing in three shows the promoter Fred Yale
asked me to take over his AAU events due to the fact that
I sold so many tickets when I had competed. I sold about
200 tickets to my first show.
 Tell us a little bit about the
history of your shows, when it first started, how it has
grown?
My AAU Milford County and Mr. / Ms. Connecticut events had
50 local contestants and would always have a good
attendance due to the fact that I always had all local
beginners in my events. I trained almost everyone that did
my events and they were first-time athletes.
Who were your mentor(s), if any
when you started promoting shows and how did they help
you?
Fred Yale was my mentor
when learning how to produce bodybuilding shows he walked
me through each step. Fred would give me a To-Do List and
I would crank through the list right away. Printing
posters, printing tickets, finding sponsors, buying
trophies, finding a DJ, getting staff, and every little
thing you wouldn’t think of and I would fly right through
the list. I also started getting creative with staging,
lighting, and other promotional materials.
What are some of the challenges
you have had to deal with as a promoter?
The biggest challenge as a show promoter is that
contestants don’t enter early – they always wait until
last minute no matter what. As a show promoter is very
hard to schedule your show when you don’t know exactly how
many athletes will be entering as far as timing and the
schedule. Another thing athletes don’t realize is that
most promoters are spending the entry money as it comes in
on things like the venue, trophies, mailings, posters,
tickets, and they could spend around $20,000.00 out of
pocket with nothing coming in until the last week to
recover the costs.
What makes your show different
from the others and why should competitors choose your
show(s)?
As a former competitor myself I try to give the athletes
the best personal experience they can have from the stage
and lighting to the judging panels. I try to run the show
on time and go by the schedule – I start on time and end
on time and the show really does “sell out”. Another large
factor about my event is we do tons of photos and video of
the show and I build a huge website to include them.
 What are some of the most
memorable moments from your show(s)?
Some of the most
memorable moments from my shows would have to be the stage
design in 1999 – it was really cool when I hooked up with
a crew that produced Broadway stage sets – there was a
circular riser at 4 feet high that was 15 feet across with
staircases on each side and metal truss (I had to rent the
largest moving truck they had to get it to the theatre) –
it looked great! I would have purchased the stage set but
had no place to store it and with fitness and bikini girls
in heels made it difficult to use.
What are some of the funniest
moments from your show(s)?
Oh, and the time I set off a fire alarm with a smoke
machine and a show had to be put on hold in 1998 – that
was messed up but I just had to have the smoke machine…
If you could do it all over
again...what, if anything, would you do differently? What
do you wish that you knew then that you know now?
As I think back to the years I began running shows the
internet wasn’t anything and promoters didn’t have email
just phone numbers – my show posters looked like Chinese
food menus and I would drive around to every gym in
Connecticut and most wouldn’t even hang the poster up so
after a while I would go to the hardcore gyms that I knew
would allow me to hang the poster. Then people would call
my phone at my house and leave a message and it would be
so hard to get the phone number to return the call – how
come people wait until the last few seconds of a message
to leave the return number and fly through it? People
would leave a 2-minute message and at the end say their
phone number so fast you just couldn’t figure it out.
How do you drug test at your
show? Polygraph or urinalysis? All competitors, class
winners or random?
The Fitness Atlantic Championship is drug tested by urine
samples – we hire nurses and test everyone the day before
the event at the host hotel. I have used polygraph testing
in the first few years and had good testers as they were
police officers but the athletes prefer urine testing to
the lie detector.
 Is your show judged by weight
class or by height class. Why did you choose the method
you use?
One bit of advice I would try and give people is relax and
have fun – competing should start as your hobby – try not
to be so serious that you forget who you are and your
personality changes – have fun and try not to let your
hurt feelings show too much if you are unhappy with your
placing and don’t ever be mean to other athletes at your
event you are entering – if you didn’t place as you
thought you should ask politely and see what the answer is
– if you disagree it’s still okay to disagree - but just
realize if you get crazy your only going to look foolish –
be professional and keep your cool.
The bodybuilding classes are by weight and the fitness,
figure and bikini classes for women are by height.
How do you select your judging
panel? What qualifies someone to be a judge at your show?
A BIG deal is that I hire 2 judging panels – one panel of
8 for bodybuilding and figure made up of judges from
different organizations and years of experience and the
panel of 6 for the women in fitness, bikini and model are
from modeling agencies, cheerleading, dance, gymnastics
and former athletes. This is so important as the women’s
panel for fitness, bikini and model should look for
different criteria. Bodybuilders should NOT judge fitness,
bikini and model.
What advice do you have for
competitors getting ready for the show, on the day of the
show and after the show is over?
One bit of advice I would try and give people is relax and
have fun – competing should start as your hobby – try not
to be so serious that you forget who you are and your
personality changes – have fun and try not to let your
hurt feelings show too much if you are unhappy with your
placing and don’t ever be mean to other athletes at your
event you are entering – if you didn’t place as you
thought you should ask politely and see what the answer is
– if you disagree it’s still okay to disagree - but just
realize if you get crazy your only going to look foolish –
be professional and keep your cool.
 What new ideas do you have for
your upcoming shows?
One thing I would like to
offer in the future is a seminar on how to get creative in
your marketing efforts, as many athletes want to make a
little money from their hobby and love of fitness.
Most
people have a desire to make covers and get photos in
magazines which is really cool but while trying to do that
there are many other ways you can create your own outcome
and marketing through products of your own like websites
and blogs, ebooks, DVDs, and many other avenues you can
control.
What the your contact info and
website for your show?
You can find out more
information about Fitness Atlantic from my website:
http://www.fitnessatlantic.com
Many of the athletes from
Fitness Atlantic have gone on to get great industry
exposure like Morris Mendez, Alicia Marie, Lindsay
Messina, Nicole Costa, Megan Hoffman, and many others.
When is your next show?
April 2010
Who are the folks you would like
to thank for supporting your show?
I’d like to thank my wonderful show staff including my
professional soundman James Goldstein and Lighting Tech
Anthony, my Webmaster Mike Westerdal, my photographer Todd
Ganci, my video producer Bob Marini, Cathy Savage and her
staff, my parents and Donna Poggio.
Thank you,
Brian Cannone
|
