It was my turn to drive out to Westwood to take the Jaguar, Jon Lindsay, out for his obligatory birthday dinner, Thursday night (Jon was born on November 10). And, to celebrate Veteran’s Day with Lindsay as well; for those not in the know, Lindsay retired after 22 years in the Navy a couple of decades back.
We visited our usual haunt, the Cheesecake Factory in Westwood, but ate pretty darn well. Both of us had the lemon herb chicken dinner with coffee. Decaf for me. Okay, okay; we did add a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream to help wash down the bird. Since Lindsay is in better shape, he was allowed another delicacy, whipped cream, piled on top of the dessert.
In February, he returns the favor, tooling into Pasadena for my birthday celebration (February 16) , usually at Houston’s. The evening started out as a bummer for me, since the dude parking my car pointed out the scrape marks on the right front fender of my new Audi A4. Well, sorta new…6 months old at the end of the month. Since the fella said the incident had to be recent, I figure I just got clipped by somebody, perhaps while parked. See the risks you take teaching at East LA College :)
Anyway, Jon and I talked about his upcoming Excalibur, December 4, at Vets in Culver City. Lindsay had 170+ for the Border States last weekend (plus 22 pro Figure competitors), and he expects about the same numbers in three weeks. I’ve already talked to several top male bodybuilders who say they are coming in to take the stage. And we know the Figure and Bikini line-ups will be huge. As always, I expect the Excalibur to end the year with a bang.
We also chatted about the new Men’s Physique division, which was made official at the NPC Board of Governors meeting held at the Nationals last month in Atlanta. Lindsay says he will incorporate the MP classes at 7 of his 14 events this season (www.musclecontest.com); I will be adding the category to my West Coast Classic on June 25 (npcwestcoast.com).
Isaac Hinds (www.hardbody.com), for one, thinks it will take off, a la bikini, which has produced a tremendous increase in numbers from 2009 to 2010. “This will bring a number of new physiques to the stage,” says Hinds. More men don’t have the genetics to be professional bodybuilders, nor do they aspire to be one. The new division (where the guys will wear board shorts) is more of a fitness model look, and one that I predict will get a strong following. It’s not a bodybuilding competition, so you won’t see any front double biceps or most muscular poses here.”
Check with the NPC Guidelines to find out all the details. See ya o
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