October 15-16, 1999 | Orlando FL | Promoter: Steve Karel
This was supposed to be Aaron Maddron's show, and that's how it turned out. There were some rumblings that a few guys were going to give him a hard time. But Aaron did his homework. He came on stage sporting a physique that was thickly muscled. All groups swelled with full roundness and density. He was tight enough for separation to clearly show between the muscles, and for sharp striations to appear. He blurs the line that separates the aesthetic physique from the powerful, thickly muscled physique.
Aaron was comfortable onstage. He hit the right poses and everything flowed well. Aaron got across the board first place votes from all judges, even though an impressively thick and powerful looking Mat DuVall was behind him.
Silvio Schillen is a young bodybuilder who is making a good transition from a tight, fitness-like physique, to filling out with impressive thckness. He came in a strong fifth place, close behind Derik Farnsworth, and a safe distance ahead of Joe Perea. Judges ranked him from 2nd place down to 5th place.
This was supposed to be Eric Otero's trophy and pro card night. At his last show, the NPC USAs, he couldn't have looked bigger and harder. He took across the board first place votes from all judges at that show, and he deserved it. At this show, although he came onstage with awesome size and fullness, he was too smooth. Individual judge's votes had Eric going from third place to fifth place. This is still the man to keep your eyes on. After having seen what he is capable of, Eric is dangerous to compete against.
Watching Mark Dugdale take the stage, it was obvious he was going to be good. He had a good balance between his height and the fullness to his muscles. From front shots, his full delts and traps balanced well with his quads. From side shots, the depth of his pecs were in good symmetry with the glutes. He looked comfortable onstage. His individual routine flowed well. He hit his poses hard and held them. I'd like to see what Mark looks like next year. His potential is awesome. He should continue with more size, come in slightly harder, and deepen the back.
Hans Vander Gronden is a 5'4" 173 lb. medical professional. He came in looking hard and tight. He has a good physique with great density and symmetry. He should just keep putting on the size and he'll easily move up.
We've seen Sammy Segarra compete before. Sammy appears to always have a good balance and hardness to his physique. If he continues putting on mass, he's going to stand out at this level.
Vinnie Galanti is one of the big names in New Jersey and at the national level. Audiences always seem to like this guy, and it was no different at this show. Vinnie has two points that keep him popular. First is the aesthetic balance to his physique. He appears to have everything fall in good proportion. He has a good low sweep to his lats, his abs are always tight and hard, and his full delts balance well with the quads. Vinnie's second strong point is in his posing. He knows which poses work for him and emphasize his symmetry, sweeps, and lines. His individual routines are always impressive to watch. Vinnie must now decide if he wants to maintain that appearance, or put on some more impressive thickness, which will be needed to break the pro ranks.
Jeff Schwartzer is well-known to East Coast Muscle. We were introduced to him by Peter Potter, who is the national NPC Vice President. If you are looking for impressive, powerful legs in this sport, you're looking for Jeff. That's why his nickname is Quads. Each of the heads in Jeff's quads swell to awesome size, and separate from each other. I don't think there is any room for improvement in Jeff's quads. He hasn't neglected his upper body, especially his back which has thick, full heads.
Troy Alves possesses outstanding tightness to his physique. The waist is tapered. His separation is sharp and crisp. His skin is tight, allowing the muscles' density, hardness, and striations to show through.
Scott Demers is a 195 lb. construction welder from New York. He's a consistent year-round bodybuilder, never going far from his peak condition. The first thing you notice about Scott is the impressive size and thickness to his upper body. Each of the muscle groups are full and swell to impressive size. The second thing you notice about Scott is the balance and symmetry between these muscles. None of them overpower the others. The traps jump up with good height and thickness. The delts swell to even fullness in all three heads. The pecs have good depth and sweep to them. His biceps have the classic big baseball look. This is all framed on a torso of thick abs and wide, low-sweeping lats. Scott has been working to bring his legs up to the same par as his upper body, and he may have already done that. The quads now display good size and full flair, balancing nicely with his upper body. Some more work in the back of the legs and the glutes would help. Scott is an impressive presentation of thick powerful muscles coupled with good aesthetic balance and symmetry. It is a very desired look in our sport, and is only achieved with experience.
Doug Jabalee is a 26 year old, 5'8", 212 lb. tanning salon owner from Georgia. He has been making a name for himself in the last year, winning the 1999 NPC Jr USA overall title, and appearing on the cover of NPC News. You're not going to find much wrong with this guy. He's pretty strong, even in the areas where everyone else is weak. For example, he has awesome calves; his hamstrings are thick and come to good heads when flexed; and he has a Christmas tree in his lower back. Doug will probably be moving up pretty quick.
Dave Hughes is a 5'10", 220 lb., supplement store owner from Oregon. Everything on Dave is big, dense, and hard. Take a look at his quarter-turn photo, and see what "hard" looks like. Dave is going to be unbelievable at the 2000 Nationals.
Brian Connell is a 26 year old, 5'10", 235 lb. personal trainer from Indiana. Brian came prepared with some good thickness. His upper body had good, full roundness to each of the muscle groups. It's Brian's legs, and especially the flair to his quads, that are the most riveting and impressive. He exploits them well in his routine, hitting them as soon as he gets onstage, and just before he walks off. I am looking forward to see what Brian looks like next year. I have a feeling his potential is going to be awesome.
