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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.
John
Hansen
Promoter Name
John Hansen
 Shows
Promoted
I promote the ABA Natural
Illinois Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships in
the middle of April and the ABA Natural North America
Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships the first
weekend of August every year.
Which Organizations have you
promoted with?
I have promoted shows for
the ABA/INBA organization.
Why do you choose to work with
this organization?
All of the
big contests that I won when I was competing (the Natural
Mr. Universe and the Natural Olympia) were with the ABA/INBA
and the president of the organization, Denny Kakos,
allowed me to basically promote the shows the way I wanted
to do them in the Chicago area. I liked that arrangement
so I started promoting competitions in 2007.
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 think it is very
confusing to the athletes. I see that in the athletes that
compete in my events. Many of them are not aware of all
the different organizations and most of them don't care.
They just want to compete so they will pick a few shows to
enter consecutively, say, in April, and just enter all of
them. They have no idea what the organization is or where
it can lead them.
I think it would be great
if we had one big organization like the NPC but
competition is also good. It forces some organizations to
offer more or better alternatives. It would be nice to see
all of them combined but it's not possible right now
because everyone who runs an organization can make money.
If they were all combined into one, the money would be
less for each organization president so there is no
incentive (for the organizations) to get together.
What is your background in
Bodybuilding and Fitness?
I began bodybuilding back
in 1977 so I have been at this for a very long time. I
started competing at 16 years old in 1979 and competed for
25 years until I was 41 years old. I won many titles in
the NPC and then in the ABA/INBA. I also competed in the
AAU and Muscle Mania. I was the head judge for the NPC in
Illinois for many years. I won the Natural Mr. Universe
title twice and I was the first Mr. Natural Olympia
winner. I have guest posed at various competitions from
1987-2008. I have had my own column in IronMan Magazine
since January, 2000. I am the author of the book, "Natural
Bodybuilding" (Human Kinetics, 2005). I also am the host
of the internet radio show, Natural Bodybuilding Radio (www.naturalbodybuildingradio.com).
I produced two DVD's ("Real Muscle" and "Natural
Bodybuilding Seminar and Competitions") and I have a
website at
www.naturalolympia.com.
How did you get started in
promoting shows? What made you decide to become a
promoter?
Denny Kakos, the
president of the ABA/INBA asked me for years to promote a
show in Chicago but I wasn't sure. Finally, I decided that
I could do a better job than many of the shows I attended.
I have a lot of passion for bodybuilding and my desire was
to promote a show that was fair and enjoyable for the
competitors and also very entertaining for the audience.
Tell us a little bit about the
history of your shows, when it first started, how it has
grown?
I started promoting the
ABA Natural North America in August of 2007. This was
actually the first ABA contest that I ever entered back in
1992. It was held in San Francisco, CA back then. I did
several things different at my contests. I brought back
the bodypart awards that used to be around in the 1970's.
We award Best Chest, Best Back, Best Abs, Best Arms and
Best Legs at my contest in addition to the Most Muscular
and Best Poser awards. I also do a short interview onstage
with some of the overall winners at the contest. The
audience really enjoys this and it lets them get to know
the competitor a little better. With the Natural North
America, I started a Champions Seminar that we hold in
between the prejudging and night show. I invite back the
overall winners from last year's competition and they
explain their training and diet strategy and how they won.
This seminar is free for the competitors. I try to bring
in a special entertainment act at the Natural Illinois.
Last year, I had some salsa dancers come onstage and
perform. For the Natural North America this year, I am
starting a Natural Bodybuilding Lifetime Achievement Award
including a video presentation like they do each year at
the Arnold Classic.
Who were your mentor(s), if any when you started promoting
shows and how did they help you?
 I
think my biggest influence in promoting competitions is
Arnold Schwarzenegger and his partner Jim Lorimar. I
attended the Mr. Olympia competitions in the late '70's
(1977-1979) and those contests were promoted by Arnold and
Jim. Their shows had a certain energy and excitement that
was missing from all the other contests that I saw. The
audience would go crazy with excitement and it was a
really well-produced, entertaining show. They have
continued that tradition with the Arnold Classic, which
started in 1989. The Arnold Classic is the best show in
bodybuilding because Arnold and Jim always bring something
extra to the stage and the audience really gets their
money's worth. Not many shows, even the Mr. Olympia, can
deliver like the Arnold Classic does. I try to do the same
thing with my competitions and I am always thinking of new
things I can offer or try to make the show more
entertaining and also fair for the competitors as well.
What are some of the challenges
you have had to deal with as a promoter?
The biggest challenge is
getting enough competitors to compete and getting enough
people to come and watch. The NPC seems to have a built in
audience for both competitors and audience. If you are
promoting shows for a smaller, natural organization, it is
much harder to attract people to your show. Also, the
competitors seem to wait until a week or two before the
contest before they send in their entry forms. This makes
it very difficult to anticipate how many trophies you need
and to plan for the show. Finally, running the show at
night is very challenging because it is a live event and
there are many things that can go wrong so it takes a lot
of planning and coordination to make sure the show runs
smoothly.
What makes your show different
from the others and why should competitors choose your
shows?
As I mentioned in the
above question, I try to make my show different and
entertaining. For the competitors, I have the judges take
as much time as necessary to look at the competitors
without rushing. We have the bodybuilders do a 60 second
routine without music at the prejudging so the judges get
a better look at their physiques. I also email all the
competitors the judges score sheets so everyone knows
where they placed. The competitors must all undergo a
polygraph test and then I test several other competitors
with urinalysis. We award bodypart awards and interview
the competitors onstage. I give all the competitors
contest t-shirts and have a photographer and videographer
on hand to record the show. I also offer the free seminar
so they can learn from the past winners. For the audience,
I keep the show moving and always try to keep them
entertained. I am very proud that our audiences are some
of the loudest and most energetic audiences around. That
means I am doing my job because they are having a good
time. It's a challenge to keep them happy and not get
bored but I try to do it every show. I also get lots of
publicity for my contest. I invite reporters from the
local newspaper and try to get some of my competitors on
the local TV news shows. I also write up a photo report
for IronMan Magazine after each of my competitions so some
of my competitors will see themselves in a national
magazine.
What are some of the most
memorable moments from your shows?
One of our most
persistent competitors finally won the overall last year
and she dedicated her win to her sister who recently died
of cancer. That was very moving for everyone in the
audience. I brought Sergio Oliva onstage last year for a
special presentation and the audience gave him a standing
ovation. The Salsa Dancers were a big hit with our
audience. We had Thomas Anderson, who won the overall at
the Natural North America twice, guest pose as the
Incredible Hulk. He came out painted all green with the
black wig and everything. That was super cool!
What
are some of the funniest moments from your shows?
One of our male
competitors almost had a wardrobe malfunction but he
luckily saw the potential problem before it popped out.
 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?
Every show is a learning
experience and we haven't had too many big problems. I
know that it's important to get the information (date and
location) of the contest out very early because the
competitors like to know way ahead of time where the show
is so they can prepare for it. It's very much like when I
competed. I learn something every show I do and I vow to
correct it for the next show so it's much better. One of
our biggest mistakes was the emcee read the wrong winner
for one of our divisions and the wrong person was awarded
the title. I didn't find the mistake until I saw the score
sheets two days later. I had to call the person who won
and tell him the bad news and then I had to call the
person who didn't win and tell him the good news.
Unfortunately, he was robbed of his chance to enjoy his
victory onstage.
How do you drug test at your
show? Polygraph or urinalysis?
We do polygraph for all
the bodybuilders and figure competitors. After the show is
over, I will pick 2-3 more competitors who have to take a
urinalysis test.
Is
your show judged by weight class or by height class. Why
did you choose the method you use?
The ABA uses height
classes for their competitions and I like that. It reminds
me of when I started bodybuilding and everything was done
by height classes.
How do you select your judging
panel? What qualifies someone to be a judge at your show?
I pick judges who know a
lot about bodybuilding and physiques. Most of them have
competed or still compete. We always have 7 judges and
cross out one high and one low score so if someone is way
off, it won't count toward the final score.
What advice do you have for competitors getting ready for
the show, on the day of the show and after the show is
over?
I tell them that it is to
their benefit to purchase the photos and the DVD of the
contest so they can learn what to do for the next show.
Many of them do not practice their posing enough,
especially in the mandatory poses, and they don't show off
their physique to their advantage. It's important that you
have the right suit and especially be dark enough. Some
competitors wait until the last minute to apply their
color. Peaking for a show takes practice and you might not
get it right the first time. Competitors should try to
learn what diet works best for them instead of relying on
a "guru". It's good to talk to the judges after the show
and get their input on what you need to do to improve.
After all, they are making the decisions.
What the your contact info and website for your show?
My website is
www.naturalolympia.com and my
email address is
naturalolympia@gmail.com.
My toll-free number is 800-900-UNIV (8648)
What new ideas do you have for
your upcoming shows?
We have the new Lifetime
Achievement Award coming up this year and I may promote a
Professional Natural show one day
When is your next show?
Saturday, August 7th,
2010 at Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, IL. You
can get entry forms and purchase tickets for the show and
the Champions Seminar at
www.naturalolympia.com.
Who are the folks you would like
to thank for supporting your show?
First of all, the guys
who expedite my shows are invaluable to it's success. Ray
McGury, Kevin and Cassandra Govan, Will McRay, Mike
Neumann, Steve Marr and many others. Also, my brother Don
always designs my t-shirts and puts together the contest
program. My judges including Lorenzo Gaspar, Murrell Hall,
Cara Kokenes, Dave Vignasse, Dennis Durkin, Joe Silzer and
all the other judges I've used who volunteer their time
and hard work.
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