The highest number of competitors for a qualifying event in 2008, the largest ever bodyfitness and classic classes for a qualifier and a sensational new heavyweight champ… the 2008 UKBFF North-East Championships had the lot.
The FLEX-supported contest delivered plenty of thrills and spills on stage, where the battles for the last invitations to the UK Championships were won and lost. But there was plenty else going on at Leeds Town Hall, the magnificent 150-year-old venue that hosted the event for the second year running, to entertain the large crowd.
Strongman Mark Felix, former Coronation Street star and bodybuilding fan Scott Wright and FLEX columnist Ernie Taylor were on hand to mingle with fans and no fewer than seven leading supplement companies showcased their latest products. German poser extraordinaire Thomas Scheu, a three-time world champion and former Mr Olympia guest poser and British IFBB pro Lee Powell performed great guest routines while the number of past and present pros in the crowd, including John Hodgson, Shaun ‘the Dinosaur' Davis, Simon Cohen, Paula Bircumshaw and Ian Morgan turned the event into a who's who of British bodybuilding.
But the big question on everyone's lips at the start of the day was: could anyone stop Dave Titterton? Dave started the day as a two-time and reigning North-East champion. Tall, symmetrical and with a cartoon-like upper-body taper, he was clearly hungry for the hat-trick. At an imposing 6ft 2ins tall and 19st 10lbs, 10lbs heavier than last year, he was an awesome sight.
Dave's biggest threat was expected to be the popular Pat Warner, who had been bristling with attitude all year after the disappointment the previous year of failing to build on his top three placing at the 2006 British Championships. But it was clear from the moment Haroldas Dambrauskas stepped on stage that a very large Lithuanian-sculpted spanner had been thrown in the works and that the expected head-to-head showdown between the Yorkshire big guns was going to be a three-pronged battle for supremacy.
Haroldas, who was born in Lithuania but has been living in London for several years, had never competed in the UK. But he wasn't a complete unknown on the bodybuilding scene. His leg workouts, which include 260kg squats, had been causing a stir down at the famously hardcore Muscleworks gym in Bethnal Green, so much so that a few months ago FLEX decided to profile him and his unique contest preparation, which includes three workouts a day in the week before a contest. Suitably impressed, we called him the ‘darkest of dark horses' in the race for the IFBB pro card at the 2008 national championships. He certainly was.
Haroldas was, quite simply, superb. He has one of those dense, complete physiques that Eastern Europeans seem to specialise in. His arms and legs are huge and everything in between is tight and balanced. But this was no shoe-in; Dave towered above him in height and had wider shoulders. Pat, as usual, had plenty of muscle but some last-minute problems had taken the edge off his game. It came down to Dave's shape and size against Haroldas' granite density and the latter prevailed. On another day, with Dave a little tighter, it might have been different. But anyone who can beat Dave and Pat is a potential British champion and this result sent shockwaves through the sport. When the medals were presented emcee Kerry Kayes said this could be the top three at the UK finals and all three guys certainly have the potential to live up to that billing.
Dave wasn't the only man aiming to become a three-time North-East champion. Darren Nicolhurst had won the light-heavyweight title in 2005 and 2007 and six men stood between him and the hat-trick. They included Paul Booth, who had somehow managed to combine dieting with opening Evolution gym in Rochdale with John Hodgson, and the impressive Paul Lock. Booth was the tightest and lightest; at 83kg his goal was to qualify then drop down to middleweight for the finals, which he achieved by finishing third. Lock took second, which left Darren the winner once again. It wasn't the Garnell athlete's most dominant display: he could have been sharper – but anyone who can win a tough UKBFF qualifier at 90 per cent of his best is clearly an outstanding bodybuilder.
The prolific Andy Gold took the middleweight class with an impressive combination of size and shape. The same ingredients eased Paul Ennis to victory in the lightweights. Lightweight runner-up Kit Saeyong, who has great structure and really well shaped legs, also got a well-deserved invitation to the UK finals but Ennis crammed amazing muscle on his 70kg frame to pip him for first place.
The women's event was dominated by Jeannie Ellam, from nearby Dewsbury. Jeannie not only took the heavyweight title with a superbly proportioned and conditioned physique, she also won the Best Poser award. With 100 fans cheering her on, she was unstoppable – and she needed to be because runner-up Trish Porter, who used to be the UK's Strongest Woman, was ripped and ready. Trish, who lives in Northern Ireland, has some of the freakiest calves imaginable and a seriously power-packed physique. The pair are a credit to female bodybuilding.
Twelve women – a record for a UK qualifying event – lined up in the bodyfitness class. The large class made for great viewing but difficult judging; it was impossible to split many of the women and unsurprisingly the judges took a long time to make a decision. First place was easy enough: Karen Norris was in a league of her own. Karen won this show on her bodyfitness debut last year and went on to finish third at the national championships but it's fair to say the 2008 model would have beaten the 2007 one. She was better balanced, better conditioned and had a real ‘wow' factor that showed she is no one-season wonder.
The battle for second place, however, was much closer. It eventually went to Adele Gibbon, who has a lovely shape. Third place Amy King was the most muscular competitor in a class that featured lots of impressive debutantes, including Carrie Cohen, wife of IFBB pro Simon, TV presenter Lydia Bailey and fitness model Natalie Minh. Most of the women in this class would have qualified at other shows but this was one hell of a line-up.
Last year's First Timers' champ, Graham Hogg, had to settle for third in a strong intermediate over-80kg class this year. Graham had been at the Mr Olympia in Las Vegas the previous week, a trip of a lifetime that he earned by being last year's FLEX/BSN Bodybuilder of the Year, and he did a great job of avoiding the temptations of Sin City and sticking to his diet but neither he nor anyone else could quite match the shocking muscularity of Venezuelan-born Juan-Carlos Colmenares. Juan-Carlos, 36, could be a serious threat in the weight classes next year.
At just 22-years-old, Max O'Connor is another one for the future. He finished first of 10 in the First Timers' class after being inspired by watching a friend compete at Dorchester earlier this year. "I only dieted for six weeks but I dropped from 8,000 calories a day to 2,500 and I lost 14kg in six weeks," he said. Junior champ Alexander Clarke had some impressive size for one so young while at the other end of the age scale, 61-year-old Martin Yates-Brown won the over-50s and 49-year-old Kevin Welch took the over-40s. The new Classic class proved popular with a record eight entries. Dale Wilson, who celebrated his 30th birthday two weeks later, won with a nicely flowing physique.
Sidebar
Three years ago Dawn Daniels didn't know if she would still be alive in a few weeks. She had been preparing to enter a bodyfitness contest but was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia 20 days before the show. Instead of being on stage she had to undergo two years of intensive chemotherapy.
She spent a year in hospital and sometimes wondered if she would ever come out. "I got some bad infections and nearly died," she says. "The doctor told me I was only alive because I had been so fit and strong," she says.
Her weight plummeted from 9st 7lbs to 6st 7lbs but even during her darkest moments she never gave up hope of getting back on stage. "When I was in hospital I would sneak off to the bathroom and do some press-ups on the side of the bath and some triceps dips," she says. "I kept saying to myself ‘I am going to train again'".
After a year she continued her recovery as an outpatient and resumed lifting light weights at Fitness Connection in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. "It was frustrating at first because all my strength had gone," she says. But she persevered and after 18 months she amazed everybody by competing in the bodyfitness class at the 2008 North-East Championships. At a shapely 8st 2lbs showing good abdominals, it was impossible to tell what she had been through. She looked the picture of health. "Once I got on stage I absolutely loved it," she says. "It was like magic. It's given me the buzz to keep going and I'm definitely going to do it next year. It proved something to myself but I hope it can be an inspiration to others as well – that even if something bad happens life does go on and you can fulfil your dreams."
FLEX Alternative Awards
Best moment
The impromptu appearance of three-year-old Lily on stage waving a banner saying ‘Go, Jeannie, Go', to encourage her mother's friend Jeannie Ellam in the women's bodybuilding.
Class of the Day
The bodyfitness, first-timers, intermediates over-80kg and light-heavyweights were all outstanding but although the heavyweights only had five competitors the quality was outstanding. Sean O'Reilly, who was 50 and hadn't competed for 20 years, was peeled but only placed fourth.
Excuse of the Day
Simon Timpson missed the evening show to drive home to Brighton where his partner was giving birth
Comeback of the Day
Adele Gibbon, who typed the wrong postcode in her satellite navigator and ended up at FLEX's office in Harrogate some 15 miles from Leeds Town Hall, arrived in the nick of time to register and then came within seconds of disqualification at the evening after vanishing back stage. Yet she held herself together to finish second and qualify for the UK finals.
Improvisation of the Day
When middleweight champ Andy Gold suffered a music malfunction for his evening routine, instead of throwing a wobbly he started the audience clapping, began posing and got a terrific reception.
UKBFF North-East Championships, Leeds Town Hall
Juniors
1 Alexander Clarke
2 Jonathan Barratt
First Timers
1 Max O'Connor
2 Ram Singh
3 Lee Blackburn
also competed: Chet Sicotram, John Godbehere, Christopher Coyne, Daniel Welburn, Jason Komorocky, David Jones and Jan Turba
Masters Over-40s
1 Kevin Welch
2 Kevin Devonport
3 Vince Cox
also competed: Dennis Hill
Masters over-50s
1 Martin Yates-Brown
2 Mick Vaughan
3 Stan Moyser
also competed: Lindsay Wain
Intermediates under-80kg
1 Levi Cullen
2 Lee Clegg
3 Nathan Ely
Intermediates over-80kg
1 Juan-Carlos Colmenares
2 Darren Towers
3 Graham Hogg
also competed: Stu Johnson, Mat Lacey, Amjad Hasan, Martin Flett, Simon Timpson and Charlie Mardon
Classic Bodybuilding
1 Dale Wilson
2 Darren Thompson
3 Mark Cummings
also competed: Edward Thorogood, Dave Foster, Terry Maguire and Kevin Kelly
Lightweights under-70kg
1 Paul Ennis
2 Kit Saeyong
3 Bernie Trevlyan
also competed: Michael Collister
Middleweights under-80kg
1 Andy Gold
2 James Gutteridge
Light-heavyweights under-90kg
1 Darren Nicolhurst
2 Paul Lock
3 Paul Booth
also competed: Mark Evan, Darren Casey, Ross Skelton and Winston Williams
Heavyweights over-90kg
1 Haroldas Dambrauskas
2 Dave Titterton
3 Pat Warner
also competed: Sean O'Reilly and Adrian Sutcliffe
Overall champion Haroldas Dambrauskas
Women Bodyfitness
1 Karen Norris
2 Adele Gibbon
3 Amy King
also competed: Sara Saunby, Carrie Cohen, Rebecca Smith, Susan Chesters, Clare Barry, Lydia Bailey, Dawn Daniels, Natalie Minh and Samantha Mansley
Heavyweight over-55kg bodybuilding
1 Jeannie Ellam
2 Trish Porter
3 Fiona Duncan
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