The Louisville Show, The NGA Banquet, And Why I’m Pulling Back from the NGA

The reasons for me pulling back from the NGA are three-fold.

After the Philadelphia show I decided to make my position clear about the contest calendar. At that point, I had about three years in of covering shows with the NGA and felt that I had paid my dues enough to be able to express myself on my own platforms. That’s also kind of silly, seeing as they’re MY PLATFORMS, but I digress.

With regard to contests, I addressed three points. First, I stated that I thought it was a terrible idea for the federation to allow promoters to have two shows on the same day. The NGA is a small federation and the last thing that should happen is that competitors should have to pick between two contests on the same day. For example, I wanted to cover the Wisconsin show, but I just couldn’t turn my back on the Cincinnati show. Why are both shows on the same day? My second point under contests involved how silly it was for the NGA not to have any contests during June, July, and most of August. That’s the time when EVERYONE is in shape. My third and final point was that I thought new leadership, namely under Josh Miller, was needed. As a result of going public with these points I received a bizarre message from Francine Bostinto on Facebook. She accused me of posting “negativity” about the NGA.

The second reason I’m pulling back from the NGA is because for years I’ve been talking with Josh about having a Louisville show. Even while Kevin Whaley had his shows, I was talking about the idea of Josh co-promoting. I always mentioned the idea of Josh co-promoting, taking a page from Gary Udit with the NPC. Having Josh help existing promoters or new promoters would make all the difference in the world. I was always told I’d have input and always told that my work was valuable. I know it’s valuable because I was highly-sought after in the NPC and worked with some of the biggest promoters in the country, namely Brent Jones, who got bodybuilding on the map with the prestigious Kentucky Derby. When I saw Josh, David, and Emily in downtown, I figured it was only a matter of time until they’d reach out to me. They never did. I was not involved at all. My input was never sought out despite the fact I was always ready to provide it.

The final reason, and perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back, is that I was excluded from the NGA Banquet. When it comes to what Francine says or does, or what David or Emily say or do, that’s one thing, but from what I gather, Josh put the NGA Banquet together. Being excluded from that, went hand-in-hand with traveling to Philadelphia, Denver, and Deltona, and never being invited out to eat or to hang out with everybody else. And mind you, while I did get a hotel room in Philly ’26 and Denver ’25, I covered everything else (flight, rental car, food, missed work, fuel, etc). In Deltona, I covered everything.

Imagine flying around the country trying to help grow the NGA and eating my dinner alone in my hotel room or finding a restaurant somewhere to get a meal in a town where I didn’t know a soul. Talk about getting the cold shoulder all the while I’m trying to promote teamwork. There was definitely a team – I just wasn’t in it.

It just got to a point where I had to hit the brakes. I DON’T WANT TO BE THAT GUY any longer. I was literally working to help promoters and a federation who didn’t consider me part of them. They weren’t using me, I was letting myself get used. So, enough of that.

So while I wish all the promoters and the federation the best, I need to focus on myself and my projects. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to belong, you just don’t. And that’s ok. But there comes a point in time when you have to draw a line. It was fun, it cost me a lot of time and money, and now that chapter is over.

I’m not opposed to covering bodybuilding shows again in the future, but this unwavering loyalty to the NGA was very similar to my unwavering loyalty to the NPC. Although the NPC was a lot better to me while they liked me, it’s still best to put yourself first. The main reason I do contest coverage is to promote the competitors. I can do that with social media when time permits. Now without a title sponsor, I’m working more on the law front, but I’ll always have my platforms and I’ll always promote physique-based athletes. I sincerely hope Brooke’s show did better this year than last and I hope that David, Emily, and Josh’s show in Louisville is a huge success, as well.

All the best.