I look back at this year and the things I had done in my life previously, and I feel like I had lived in a box. I had only been in a different time zone twice–and that was flying to California for a football game my freshman and junior years in college. This year I have spent a few weeks in California and Vegas, done shoots in Miami and Venice beach. Now just since January, I have been to Asia and now Europe and all are related to the fitness industry. This latest trip however was hands down the most exciting experience in the industry thus far.

I remember I was at the gym training arms with a buddy and my phone rang with an email alert. When I checked it I let out a loud, “YESSS!” when I read that I was being asked if I would like to go to Germany to represent Universal at FIBO 2011. It was such a huge honor to me that this company with so many amazing athletes and personalities would give me the chance to be an ambassador for the company at one of the largest events of the year.

A few weeks later, I found out that Antoine Vaillant and David Hoffmann would also be there. This was good because I have not had the chance to speak with David at the Arnold, and I wanted to hear about his diet and training. I love to pick the brains of others in the sport and listen to their philosophies. I had also had developed a friendship with Antoine when he was in the States and we shot together so I knew that I would have someone that I knew and got along with out there with me (not as if I don’t get along with all of our other athletes because truthfully they are all an amazing group of guys–but you get my drift).

So I flew out of Boston, had a little layover in Newark, and from there would cross the pond to Dusseldorf. While going through security in Newark I had some eyes on me. Why do people always stare at the big meatball? Then all of a sudden everyone’s heads whip around to look at something behind me. Naturally, I turned too and if I had stepped back I would have tripped over Ronnie Coleman who was untying his sneakers.

Ronnie was the first modern bodybuilder I ever knew anything about. I had known Arnold competed but none of my friends knew anything about bodybuilding and neither did I until I saw a video clip of him online, and that’s when I began to learn about competitive bodybuilding. We ate our meals in the waiting area 4 seats away. I was reluctant to say hello to him; if I were famous I would not want people coming up to me all the time either.

I landed in Germany at 6am on Wednesday. I was tired and nervous I would get lost and not be able to find my way to baggage claim let alone to the hotel. As I was waiting at the baggage claim one of the guys from Universal came up and introduced himself to me. We took a cab back to the hotel together. It was wild driving on the highway there in the cab. Our driver was doing 180km/h (which is 110mph), easy. I felt like I was racing around on my motorcycle with my friends and we were keeping up with the flow of traffic.

We got to the hotel a little past 7am just to find out that there were no rooms available at the time. So I hung out in the lobby for a little, got some breakfast, and walked around near the hotel (which was full of shops and restaurants). Once I got in my room I took a little nap and waited for Antoine to arrive. We did some shopping and hung out until Eric and the crew got back from some sightseeing in Cologne. The three of us hit the gym and did some back. After the gym Antoine and I got dinner in the hotel then hung out in my room until it was time to hit the sack and prepare for the first day of FIBO.

Thursday and Friday were open only to people in the business. It allows retailers and distributors the opportunity to talk with companies and look at new supplements and equipment in the market without being hounded by thousands of consumers just interested in free things. At our booth, we had Eric, Antoine, David, me, some translators, Dan who helped work the competitions and translated for us, as well as two ladies who mixed up Atomic 7 samples and also translated.

To win a free Universal t-shirt, you had to bench press your bodyweight for 20 reps, do the arm blaster (1/3 bodyweight for 15 reps), or perform the arm crusher bar (40 reps). The bench press was definitely the most popular of the three (the arm crusher was far too easy without doing an insane amount of reps). So by Saturday, we just ran bench press and things were really busy.

The expo was unlike anything in the States. The venue was monstrous–there were a few major rooms with all these connecting halls which each had there own theme. Antoine and I got lost twice walking around on our breaks. By the end, we got to see maybe 1/3 of what the show had to offer. The advertising is much more liberal there then in the States. Companies hire strippers to dance and porn stars to work booths. Some companies even had nude women on their billboards for advertising.

Though open about sex, the fans were much more timid in person. It was a culture shock here; consumers were hesitant to take free samples. Many were hesitant to participate in some of the competitions. Our Atomic 7 girls had to persuade some to take samples because many consumers were too shy to just grab some. When it comes to freebies, Americans are super-consumers. 

On Saturday and Sunday, we were slammed the whole time. It got as busy if not busier than the Arnold. Antoine and I had been chatting with Eric about doing a “bench off”, but on Saturday we were so run down, we decided to put it off until Sunday. Running the bench press was a lot of work. We had to constantly strip weights and, if you were spotting, you’d always have to lift up the entire amount once the person tired out. I give all the credit to Eric and Dan. They barely ever left the bench competition the whole weekend.

Right in front of our booth was the FIBO main stage. Our location was amazing. We got to see the pre-judging of the pro show, the entire amateur show, as well as various guest posings. There was non-stop action at the stage. We even got thrown up there everyday to do a little routine. We did not plan things out to well. David was planning on competing in the amateur show but tore a muscle in his thigh a few days before so he had to back out. But since he was in great shape we made him take his shirt off and pose.

Antoine was big (about 290 pounds) but was holding a lot of water so he didn't want to take his shirt off. I was in the middle of my off-season and even though I as lean I was also hesitant to take off my shirt until the last day. It was great for exposure though. The emcee introduced us, announced our contest histories and our future plans. After that, we hit a few poses and threw out some Universal shaker cups and pins.

Sunday was the day of reckoning for Antoine and me. It was time for the “bench off”. In the morning, when things were a little slower, Antoine jumped on the bench and hit close to 500 lb. And then he did it again for those who wanted to take pictures! So I jumped under the bar after him and repped out a quick 35 with 275 lb on the bar. Both of us were pretty spent after doing that so we waited till later in the day to do our actual bench off. Antoine had about 30-40 pounds on me (I felt like a toothpick all weekend hanging out with him), so he shot for 130 kg (286 lb) and he busted it out for 31 reps. I was going to go with 110 kg, but because we had no 2.5 kg plates I threw caution to the win and got under 120 kg (265 lb). I nailed 36 reps, hands down the most I had ever done. Antoine does not train high volume like I do so he was thrilled with his performance too. I think we really pushed each other hard.

Antoine and I were all fired up to go out and do something fun after the show. Once we showered and got some food, we found out that everything closes early on a work night in Essen. So we ended up just hanging out in my room, re-living the entire trip. I had an afternoon flight back to the States on Monday but I woke up early to grab breakfast to say goodbye to everyone. From top to bottom, everyone in the company was great to talk to and be around. You can tell when people enjoy what they do and who they work for and that was very evident all their faces. The days were long, and it was tough to communicate with the fans, but I don’t think anything will compare to my first experience at FIBO.