Our team , which is headed by former Mr.Asia , Malek Noor and who also happens to be the President of Gym Rakyat Malaysia hand picked us simply because he knows we can carry out this task.The team consist of Encik Halim Budin - former bantamweight champ , Encik Ashar Othman - former light-heavyweight champ and yours truly , ME - heavyweight Mr Asia 99'.
This year around we were given 1 1/2 months to get everything done.With some assistance from Miss Lidya and her assistant , we managed to pull everything off just in time.The last 4 days just before the event was a nightmare for all of us in the organising committee as we had to make sure everything from the venue to the hotel to every lil' nitty gritty detail was covered before the big day.I think the entire crew managed to only get about 4 hours of sleep that 4 nights before the big day.
All in all , the entire crew did a wonderful job! We managed to reel in close to 150 competitors and the audience that flooded the indoor stadium was estimated to have reached about 3000 heads.
Uno Nutrition did it's soft launch there and sales were pretty damn good too!There were several other booths selling all kinds of stuff that were related to sports and bodybuilding...kind of like a mini expo inside the stadium.
As for the event itself , we had a barbell competition for the audience.5 guys and 5 girls were selected from the audience and they were required to curl as many times as possible in one minute.Winners were given a hamper.It was such a hillarious sight to watch these folks battle it out on stage.Every one had a great laugh and were very happy that we did not leave the audience out.
The show started and the boys in each class were battling it out...hard...as first prize was RM2,500 plus a hamper , a trophy , a medallion and several other goodies like a year's free membership at ULTIMATE GYM
To top it all off there were also awards for best poser , which went to a Sarawakian guy and Champ of Champs which awards another RM1000 and an Overall Champion Trophy which stands about 3 feet tall. Not plastic mind you! It was made of metal and plated in silver.
We then had Wong Hong do his gig for guest posing and the crowd went wild as they have never seen a Malaysian as huge as him.Ali Amini who was here a week earlier made sure he didn't miss this show.After Wong's guest posing , Ali was called up on stage to hand Wong a souvenir shield which Ali had gotten custom made just for this occassion.They were both very happy of course to be part of this successful event.
Of course we did not forget the veterans of our sport.We made sure that Dato Wira Gan Boon Leong who had contributed so much to the sport of bodybuilding in this country all these years and Encik Basri Kelana , an old timer from the early days of bodybuilding , were given an award of recognition for their achievements and contributions under what we named "Jasa Mu Dikenang"
Now , the part that got me really happy was the fact that all the bodybuilders and many of the spectators actually came up to me to congratulate me on a job well done.The bodybuilders were so pleased at how we took care of their needs and made sure they had good diet food etc.
So....Mr Gym Rakyat back in 2006 was a success despite the short notice and in 2007 we made sure it became a benchmark event . Will there be another show next year? Hell yeah!!!
In fact , next year , we are planning to lobby for 2 shows a year with even more prizes and events and make it a 2 day affair.This will be THE bodybuilding event to look out for come 2008 and for many years to come!!!
ENJOY the pictures from the event at this years Mr Gym Rakyat 2007 held at Stadium Titiwangsa , Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.
