SportEX Festival 2012

Okay, so the biggest weekend in British Bodybuilding has been and gone. SportEX festival saw the UKBFF British Championships, IFBB Pro British Grandprix and a Bodypower style expo, all under one roof atEventCityinManchester.

It had been a busy couple of months leading up to the event, as myself and fellow Bodybuilding Warehouse athlete Ryan Cartwright had been planning the launch of our MuscleHYPE clothing line in conjunction with the team at BBW. You can get a product description and see the range right here on the site, so if you missed us at SportEX, be sure to check it out right here; http://www.bodybuildingwarehouse.co.uk/musclehype-t-shirts-all-we-do-is-win

It was not only the launch of MuscleHYPE, but also the launch of the brand new energy shot; Warrior Rush! These bad boy’s need to be seen and sampled to be believed! They are the strongest energy drinks I have ever tried, needless to say, I had my fair share of them to get me through a hectic weekend on the stand! They are perfect for pre workout to give you that instant energy boost and seem to just ware off naturally, not with a harsh crash like some of the other pre workout powders out there at the moment. I have just started mixing 1 x Warrior Rush shot with a scoop of Warrior Rage and 2 x scoops of Bodybuilding Warehouse Excel amino’s for the ideal pre workout formula, go try it guys, I assure you, you will love the results!

So back to the SportEX Festival, we arrived early on the Saturday morning with our exhibitors passes hanging round our necks in order to beat the queues of avid bodybuilding fans swarming uponEventCity! As I walked through the rows and rows of stands in the arena, I could see the big orange logo of BBW standing high above all others. This was a good omen, I knew we were in prime position and poised for a busy, yet productive weekend ahead!

One of the great things about the location of the stand was that it was directly outside the entrance to the UKBFF British finals, which meant that come Sunday, when the winners were announced, we were the first to catch them on their way out and congratulate them on their amazing achievements. Being a British Champion myself I know just how they must have felt and how much the approval from your friends, family and peers means at a time like that!

I was especially involved in the action of the British Finals in the men’s light heavyweight (under 90 kg) class, as my good friend and fellow Probodeez athlete Ricardo Corriea was competing and I had all the expectations of him winning his class and possibly the overall. Well, I was not wrong, Ricardo came out with a sharp, flowing, polished, flawless physique, and took first place in his class with ease. It was not to be in the overall unfortunately, as he narrowly missed out on the IFBB Pro card to the bigger, more experienced Anth Bailes in a nail biting decision. Never one to be down or dwell on the result, Ricardo was still bouncing around in his usual style and vowed to be back bigger and better next year! Be warned people!!

Our SportEX experience finished on a fantastic high with the IFBB Pro British Grand Prix, where we saw some of the best physiques from across the world, including Shaun Rhoden, Johnny Jackson, Jose Raymond and the man we were all there to see, the 2012 212 Mr.Olympia James ‘Flex’ Lewis.

It was a great show, and Flex had everyone in the building on their feet as usual! The crowd went nuts as he hit the stage for his electrifying posing routine and were treated to Flex and the rest of the athletes coming out into the crowd for posing and picture opportunities! All in all, it was a great weekend for British bodybuilding and I personally cannot wait for Bodypower 2013 to do it all again!