CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE May/June Issue

John Dirks I was introduced to the world of bodybuilding in the mid 90’s when as a spectator I went to watch a friend compete at the Northern Alberta Bodybuilding Championships. I was mesmerized by the physiques on stage (and even more so by the huge bodybuilders in attendance) and I committed myself to competing the following year. One year later I competed for the first time. From then on, I incorporated bodybuilding into my everyday life as a High School Phys Ed Teacher. I met so many amazing people and developed such strong friendships within the bodybuilding community. My very first trainers who taught me the discipline of training and eating properly were IFBB Pro Donna Logue and her husband Brian. I owe them so much thanks, not only did they teach me how to be a competitive bodybuilder, but they also gave me my first contract as a promoter with the Alberta Bodybuilding Association. I promoted for the Alberta Bodybuilding Association from 2001-2017 and promoted for the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation from 2004-2017. There have been so many highlights in promoting all these years. I have had the privilege of awarding so many deserving Mr. and Ms. Alberta Overall Champions and so many deserving brand new Canadian IFBB Pro’s. I remember in 2014 when I promoted Nationals in Edmonton there were 465 competitors and finals didn’t end until 1:00AM Sunday morning! At that show I had the privilege of awarding Alberta’s own Azaria Glaim her IFBB Figure Pro card. Azaria was only 20 years old and had an amazing year winning the Southern Alberta Championship, the Alberta Provincial Championship and the CBBF Nationals all in the same year! I remember in 2015 when I promoted the Bodybuilding Nationals the top 3 Men’s Junior Bodybuilders were Chris Bumstead, Regan Grimes and Cody Drobot who are all now IFBB Pro’s. At this show I was honoured to award my friend Ron Partlow his IFBB Pro card. Ron and I both competed in our first show together in 1997 when he was a 21-year-old kid from Grande Prairie and was already 230 pounds (he won overall). In 2018 I started promoting exclusively for the Canadian Physique Alliance. The CPA is the only route for athletes to win their IFBB Professional League status enabling them to compete in over 130 IFBB Pro League Championships worldwide including the Arnold and Olympia! Working with CPA President Ron Hache has been a pleasure. His commitment to providing athletes with the best contest experience possible is truly what makes the CPA special. Shoutout to CPA Head Judge Rudy Jambrosic who is a pleasure to work with. His skill as a judge and his love for the sport is simply amazing. Thank you to CPA Official Photographers John and Judi from Zoom Image Pros for covering all my shows (you are the best). Thank you to Jenna from Bombshell Productions and all my show sponsors for all your support. I couldn’t do it with out you. Finally thank you to all the athletes who make our sport the best in the world!

CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE May/June Issue | Page 31