Shawn Ray
visited SA
in 2004
SA TASTES
INTERNA-
TIONAL
SUCCESS
At the time of the launch there
were a handful of athletes
flying the South African flag
overseas. Andre van der Mescht
was one such athlete, securing
the Mr Universe title in 2003.
However, there were no IFBB
pro athletes at the time, until
Cherie Loomes was awarded
her card in 2004. Little did we
know that we would have to wait
another five years before the next
South African athlete would grace
the pro stage.
Marlene Koekemoer would
then follow up on these great
performances by winning the Miss
Universe title in October 2005.
Cherie Loomes
receives her IFBB
pro card 2004
Marlene
Koekemoer
wins Miss
Universe
in 2005
THE BEST
VISIT SA
However, outside of the
handful of athletes who
travelled overseas, local
athletes were largely
starved of contact with
international athletes,
particularly the big
names of the sport. But
that soon changed when
Shawn Ray's 2004 tour to
SA sparked a landslide of
guest appearances and tours
by the best in the business.
His successful tour of SA in
February 2004 was followed
up with a Muscle Camp in
November of the same year.
IFBB pro Troy Alves was
the next to visit our shores,
with a tour and Muscle
Camp in early 2005 – the
year when local athletes and
enthusiasts would enjoy the
greatest parade of the best
names in the business in the
local industry's history, and
Muscle Evolution was there
to capture all the action.
After Alves, who was the
first international athlete to
grace the magazine's cover
on the January/February
2005 issue, it was the chance
of then seven-time Mr.
Olympia Ronnie Coleman to
'go on safari'. This was the
biggest thing ever for South
African bodybuilding, worthy
of the magazine's second
international cover for the May/
June 2005 issue. He would, as
we all know, go on to claim a
record-equalling eight Sandow
trophies after that.
A great year for local
bodybuilding was rounded
off with the Dexter Jackson
tour, and a cover profile
of him in the first issue of
2006. In anticipation of a
follow up tour, Shawn Ray
was featured on the July/
August 2005 cover of Muscle
Evolution, but that tour was
subsequently postponed and
then cancelled.
June: Inaugural IFBB
Muscle Evolution
Grand Prix. Sep: First Muscle Heads
cartoon published in
Muscle Evolution.
2007 2007
Oct: Flex
Wheeler
guest
poses
at the
second
IFBB
Muscle
Evolution
Grand Prix
in Cape
Town.
2008
Gary Strydom
is guest-
poser at the
2006 IFBB SA
Champs
IFBB pro Troy Alves toured
SA early 2005
MUSCLE EVOLUTION EXPANDS
Amidst the seemingly never-
ending stream of international
stars visiting our shores, Muscle
Evolution still found time to
expand into the world of digital
publishing. In March 2005,
Muscle Science and Muscle
Evolution announced the
launch of South Africa's first
bodybuilding forum.
The dedicated Muscle
Evolution website soon followed,
hosting all the locally relevant,
in-depth and informative content
online to satisfy the ongoing
hunger for more knowledge in
the local health and fitness world.
Our website at
www.muscleevolution.co.za
has developed into the most
comprehensive local resource for
the sport of bodybuilding and
muscle development online, with
videos of competition highlights,
training guides, personal tips,
insight from pro athletes as
well as regular and entertaining
podcasts.
The next evolution in the
expansion of the brand came
in 2006 when the cult-like,
extremely popular Muscle
Evolution T-shirt range was first
Oct:
Marius
Dohne
earns his
IFBB pro
card.
2009
Dec: Arnold Gouws
passes away.
2009
launched. The first run sold out
and promoted the continuation
of the line almost every year
since – you can buy your
shirt from the latest range by
visiting the website or calling
011 791 3646. A more extensive
men's and women's fitness
apparel range soon followed with
the launch of Ninetyeightdegrees.
Unsurprisingly, 2006 proved to
be a meager year in comparison
to 2005 with regard to big name
international athletes. However,
it was the year that local legend
Gary Strydom made a long-
awaited home-coming as a guest
poser at the 2006 IFBB South
African Championships, which
was greatly welcomed by the
hordes of his local fans.
The trend continued in 2007
and 2008, with only a single tour
in each of those years. However,
it was a matter of quality over
quantity as two of the biggest
names in the sport arrived to
share their knowledge and
experience. The Branch Warren
tour took place in November
2007, and Flex Wheeler in 2008,
who graced the cover of our
March/April 2008 issue.
Mar: The IFBB adds
the Bikini division to
all competitions.
2010
May: Muscle Evolution
online store launches.
2010
www.muscleevolution.co.za
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