WHO’S UP AND FIVE TO WATCH
WHO’S UP & FIVE TO WATCH
By Greg Merritt, Senior Writer, FLEX
Ten Pros who may hold the season’s winning tickets …
WHO’S UP
Here’s a look at the pros who outperformed during the 2007 season.
FOUAD ABIAD (2007 Montreal Pro, 5th place)
After barely placing (15th) in his first pro contest in 2006, Abiad leapfrogged to the posedown in his second pro show. The 29-year-old Canadian showed off arid conditioning (great!), proportional development (great!) and a new Mohawk (hmmm).
KAI GREENE (2007 Colorado Pro winner)
Greene went from also-ran to up-and-comer by soaring from 14th at the 2006 Colorado Pro to first at the 2007 rendition, highlighted by his freaky conditioning and even freakier posing.
WILL HARRIS (2007 Europa Super Show, 2nd place)
Enigmatic Will Harris seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder, peaking at the 2004 NPC USA and never again. His runner-up Europa finish was a shocker. When he’s peeled, this self-professed 320-year-old vampire has a scary V taper and enough upper-body mass to invoke horror in the competition.
JOHNNIE JACKSON (2007 Atlantic City Pro winner)
You might think Jackson was always up, winning his first pro show in 2006 and his second in 2007, but no one improved more during the last season than J.J., who went from a smooth, flat 9th in June to a peeled, full first in September, capping it off with a 9th at the Olympia, his first top-10 finish there in five attempts.
SILVIO SAMUEL (2007 Europa Super Show winner)
Settling in the United States in 2007 and entering eight contests, El Matador only failed to make the posedown once, and that was by one placing at the Mr. O, so it’s easy to forget he was barely a factor on pro stages the year before. Expect him to be an increasingly large factor from here on.
FIVE TO WATCH
These five pro bodybuilders finished out of the running during the 2007 season, but each demonstrated posedown potential. Watch for them in 2008.
BRIAN CHAMBERLAIN (2007 New York Pro, 8th place)
He’s the most consistent pro bodybuilder you (probably) don’t know about. In his six pro contests over three years, he’s ranged from runner-up in the winner-take-all 2005 Olympia Wildcard to 9th in the 2007 Keystone Pro Classic. Although he’s yet to bring home a contest check, Chamberlain has always been within four places of the money.
MOHAMMED MOUSSAWI (2007 Sacramento Pro, 7th place)
Residing in New Zealand, M&M sports two of the world’s best guns. If the rest of him catches up to his resplendent arms, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with on pro stages.
JONATHAN ROWE (2007 Atlantic City Pro, 12th place)
He won the heavyweight class at the 2005 NPC Nationals and then went M.I.A. for nearly two years. He was obviously growing, for when J-Rowe reemerged he had accumulated significant size (especially in his wheels), and yet was crisply conditioned.
FREDERIC SAUVAGE (2007 Montreal Pro, 7th place)
Not to be confused with actor FRED SAVAGE, France’s Sauvage nearly made the posedown in his initial pro outing. He carries on his country’s tradition of fine aesthetics and could be a pro title contender if he adds enough pounds and maintains his lines.
SERGEY SHELESTOV (2007 Sacramento Pro, 12th place)
Russia’s Shelestov racked up humbling results competing in America last season, more because of a dearth of details than a scarcity of symmetrical size. With striations and deep separation, he may win the smaller shows he barely placed in last time.
