“Being back in Venice Beach after all these years, I was inspired to get back in shape,” Gaspari wrote in his blog on June 24th. ‘The Dragon Slayer’ then set up a cover photo shoot for Iron Man Magazine and another shoot with Hidetada Yamagishi (one of his Gaspari Nutrition athletes) for Muscular Development.

At 48, Gaspari is still young enough to get back on stage in some capacity. “Who knows how far I will take this?” he continued. “Featured Guest Poser Rich Gaspari? You never know.”

Guest posing is definitely something that would be a big attraction in the sport and Gaspari may even take it a step further. The Masters Division is something that has not garnered a lot of interest the past few years, but adding a name like Gaspari can give it a boost.

The IFBB Pro World Masters Championship is being held in Miami in December and some famous names have already committed. Ronnie Coleman, Samir Bannout, Dexter Jackson, Stan Frydrych, Andreas Cahling, Chris Cormier, Pavol Jablonicky, Roland Czuirlock, Toney Freeman, Troy Alves, Dennis James, Darrem Charles, Gary Strydom, Lee Apperson, Bill Wilmore and Lawrence Hunt are competing. An impressive line-up will be even bigger if Gaspari jumped on board.

Only time will tell if Gaspari takes this comeback all the way.

Competition history

• 1983 NPC Junior Nationals Overall Winner
• 1983 NPC Junior Nationals HeavyWeight, 1st
• 1983 NPC Nationals HeavyWeight, 5th
• 1984 NPC Nationals Light-HeavyWeight, 1st
• 1984 World IFBB Amateur Championships Light-HeavyWeight, 1st
• 1985 IFBB Night of Champions 2nd
• 1985 IFBB Mr. Olympia 3rd
• 1986 IFBB Los Angeles Pro Championships Winner
• 1986 IFBB Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 1986 IFBB World Pro Championships Winner
• 1987 IFBB Grand Prix France Winner
• 1987 IFBB Grand Prix Germany 2nd
• 1987 IFBB Grand Prix Germany (2) Winner
• 1987 IFBB Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix England 2nd
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix France Winner
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Germany Winner
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Greece 2nd
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Italy Winner
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Spain (2) 2nd
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Spain Winner
• 1988 IFBB Mr. Olympia 2nd
• 1989 IFBB Arnold Classic Winner
• 1989 IFBB Mr. Olympia 4th
• 1990 IFBB Mr. Olympia 5th
• 1991 IFBB Arnold Classic 7th
• 1991 IFBB Mr. Olympia 10th
• 1992 IFBB Arnold Classic 13th
• 1994 IFBB Chicago Pro Invitational 16th
• 1994 IFBB Niagara Falls Pro Invitational 15th
• 1994 IFBBNight of Champions- Did not place
• 1995 IFBB Canada Pro Cup 5th
• 1995 IFBB Night of Champions 12th
• 1996 IFBB Canada Pro Cup 11th
• 1996 IFBB Florida Pro Invitational 12th
• 1996 IFBB San Jose Pro Invitational 16th

On hand were baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, John Balik from Iron Man magazine, Muscle Beach Director Joe Wheatley, IFBB Pro Jerome “Hollywood” Ferguson, co-founder of Muscle Beach Relna Brewer, fitness model Brenda Kelly, Eric the Trainer and many more.

http://blip.tv/file/3264486

Unwrapped new toys can be donated at the Venice Recreation Center, 1800 Ocean Front Walk, Venice CA 90291 from 10 am – 4 pm on both days. The toys will be distributed by the LAPD Pacific Division to needy children in the Venice Community.

Santa is scheduled to arrive on Sunday December 13, 2009 at approximately 12:30 pm.

On Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 1 pm Muscle Beach will be commemorating it’s 75th Anniversary with the burial of Time Capsules. City dignitaries and industry icons are scheduled to attend including Franco Columbu, Joe Weider, Johnny Bench, Mike O’Hearn, Bill Grant and many more.

Please let me know if you need any additional information. We can arrange pre-drop time for product for the event.

Thanks for your support.

For information on Bill Grant’s Old School Training DVD and Creatine Cocktail supplement, please visit www.billgrant.net.

(Photo: MuscleSport Mag staff writers Bill Grant and Brenda Kelly by “The Pit.”)

Here is the official press release:

Iron Man Magazine Publisher John Balik reported today that the Pro Fight Supplements Iron Man Pro bodybuilding contest, originally slated to take place on Saturday, January 23, 2010, is being rescheduled for an as of yet undetermined date. The contest, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2009, is one of the longest running IFBB Pro shows in the world.

For the last six years, the Iron Man Pro has been held in conjunction with The Bodybuilding.com Los Angeles Fitness Expo, produced by National Fitness Productions. With over 20,000 attendees, 250 exhibitors, and an incredible line-up of fitness, physique, martial arts and strength contests, it is one of the country’s largest and fastest growing consumer fitness expos.

“The Expo has been a huge success and is growing every year” said Balik. “But when it was held in late February, two weeks before the Arnold Classic to accommodate the Iron Man Pro, some companies just couldn’t exhibit at it. Shipping their booths coast-to-coast and asking their staff to work back-to-back expos was just too much for some of them.”

So when National Fitness Productions elected to move the Expo to the third weekend in January last year, dozens more companies were able to come out from the Midwest and East Coast to exhibit. However, as Balik noted, “for the pro bodybuilders, it meant having to train and diet through the holiday season and then try to peak again six weeks later for the Arnold and other IFBB contests that follow it.”

“And in spite of the huge crowds that attend the Expo and the myriad of sponsors that support it, ticket sales to the Iron Man Pro continue to decline, making it a challenge to produce the contest profitably.”

Balik added, “The quality of the athletes is the cornerstone of any events success. The rich twenty year history of the Iron Man Pro is the direct result of the wonderful IFBB athletes who have supported it. From the first winner, Shawn Ray, to the 20th, Silvio Samuel, and the current Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, the list of champions is a who’s who of IFBB Pro Bodybuilding.”

Balik went on to say he is investigating alternative dates and venues at which to hold the Iron Man Pro, either in late February just prior to the Arnold Classic, or perhaps in May around the time of the New York Pro Show.

Moving the Contest to either of these time slots would mean the bodybuilders could gear their training and dieting for multiple shows on back-to-back weekends, giving them chances for multiple paydays and Mr. Olympia qualifying finishes. In turn, the deeper line-ups will hopefully draw more fans to the contests which would be good for the promoters, the sponsors and the sport.

Source: http://www.ironmanpro.com/index.php