JoJo Sinclair

[pumpfiction]

I agree wholeheartedly. Funny that you mentioned the 80's-90's being the Golden era, because I was just talking to a close friend (ex girlfriend) about how women's bodybuilding was aired on T.V. frequently. In fact, I hardly remember any male contests being televised. Granted there were a few, but none were memorable, besides the Mr. Olympia being televised in the 80's (my introduction to the sport). For me at least, it seems that many bodybuilders (amateur and pro) from that era are more iconic these days than they were then. Where as, today's competitors aren't as striking or leave much of an impression like the bodybuilders (male and female) of old. For ex, a national level competitor like Danielle LeRoy is much more likely to be unforgettable and appealing to most of us (old school types) than someone like current IFBB pro Heather Grace. Hope that all made sense.

Asian female bodybuilders are excelling fast, but are limited in opportunities to compete outside of Asia, particularly in the U.S. Joan Liew, Lillian Tan, Melly Sevoy, Shania Kurniati, Suharni Mohammad, Jaranya Dungkam, Doreen Yeo, Yeon Woo Jhi and so many more could have a big impact in American bodybuilding if the women's divisions weren't gutted on a grand scale.  Joan is a great example of this, she's was runner up at the 2013 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Heavyweight, won the 2014 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Physique B, and won the 2016 Arnold Amateur Asia (irrelevant to region, but the competition and competitors were elite nonetheless) - IFBB, Physique Winner.

Sadly, I never expected women's bodybuilding to go down such a steep slope so rapidly in these days and times.

Oh you made me discover at least one FBBer I've heard of before in your short string of names above, i.e. Shania Kurniati...

Yes, one of the issues faced by WBB, and by some extent by MBB as well, is that it has always been US-centric, prompting even its most iconic representative to leave his quiet Austrian village to the much crowded California beaches in the 70s. The path of an eventual stardom in this sport has always led to the US; and you'd better settle there if you want to be granted the highest scores by the judges. The most striking and recent example ought to be Brazilian Juliane Malarcane who won everything in NABBA with a top-notch physique but couldn't get place in any IFBB contest until she moved in to Florida. Meanwhile Eastern European athletes who dominated in the amateur ranks and understandably wanted to stay home were never judged at their real value.

By the same token, when the sport suffers in America, its repercussions hit the other parts of the world like post-Earthquake aftershocks and Asia is no exception. The IFBB decided to get rid of WBBing at the amateur level and affiliated Asian feds followed suit. Japan has seen most of the FBBers there convert to WPD but I'm still hardly convinced. Satoko Yamanouchi is currently its best representative and her physique looks to be better fitted for BBing. Other national federations, like the vietnamese or the malaysian, broke ranks to follow Paul Chua and his brand new WBPF some years ago and you get WBBing's spirit intact as the latest international was evidence of.

There is another thing I like among Asian bodybuilders, it's that they radiate a rather pleasant image whenever you read about them in a newspaper or through social media; they really look professional, educated, some would say too polite but I'm good with that. They seem to enjoy a more receptive audience than in the West partly because they represent their countries and do rather well, that's certain; but they do their part to earn that respect.

[pumpfiction]

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[Paperclip113]

I like Joan too (a lot), still JoJo's conditioning for her era as an Asian female bodybuilder from Singapore was breathtaking at the time. She was one of a kind. Hard, defined, and proportionate, the woman was ripped to shreds. Most importantly, she was pretty too. She smoked the competition in the lightweight class of the IFBB Worlds Amateurs, which had a notable field of competitors.

With that same look and attitude she could wipe the stage clean with some of the current girls of today, especially in Physique.

In my opinion, Joan is sexy, but reserved. Whereas, JoJo was ravishing and sassy in how she presented herself and performed, which to me enhanced her attractiveness. She had a style of her own and with a stage name like "JoJo Sinclair", I think it's safe to say she aspired to be someone of great significance in the sport or a celebrity type figure.

Alas, she was forced to leave bodybuilding on bad terms, but in turn she became an icon.

I definitively feel so nostalgic for the Women's bodybuilding of the late 80s-90s, a period which I don't hesitate to refer as the Golden Era of the sport. I mean, it was new, piqued media's curiosity and interest enough to get aired on TV. And its popularity wasn't limited to its American roots as evidenced by Ms Sinclair's successes at the international level. Asian athletes having a shot for the supreme title looks quite unheard of in the current IFBB scene (Due essentially to the gutting of FBBing and specifically LW classes where they usually excelled), save for the still fresh WBPF (See Malaysian Lilian Tan's recent string of successes there). Don't forget her contemporary fellow Singaporean Agnes Lee who still trains well over her 60s...

Clearly there's some solid WBBing tradition in this little Republic furthered by the likes of the absolutely stunning Suharni Mohammad these days.

Oh and another well-deserved K+ for SF for his new contribution.

I agree wholeheartedly. Funny that you mentioned the 80's-90's being the Golden era, because I was just talking to a close friend (ex girlfriend) about how women's bodybuilding was aired on T.V. frequently. In fact, I hardly remember any male contests being televised. Granted there were a few, but none were memorable, besides the Mr. Olympia being televised in the 80's (my introduction to the sport). For me at least, it seems that many bodybuilders (amateur and pro) from that era are more iconic these days than they were then. Where as, today's competitors aren't as striking or leave much of an impression like the bodybuilders (male and female) of old. For ex, a national level competitor like Danielle LeRoy is much more likely to be unforgettable and appealing to most of us (old school types) than someone like current IFBB pro Heather Grace. Hope that all made sense.

Asian female bodybuilders are excelling fast, but are limited in opportunities to compete outside of Asia, particularly in the U.S. Joan Liew, Lillian Tan, Melly Sevoy, Shania Kurniati, Suharni Mohammad, Jaranya Dungkam, Doreen Yeo, Yeon Woo Jhi and so many more could have a big impact in American bodybuilding if the women's divisions weren't gutted on a grand scale.  Joan is a great example of this, she's was runner up at the 2013 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Heavyweight, won the 2014 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Physique B, and won the 2016 Arnold Amateur Asia (irrelevant to region, but the competition and competitors were elite nonetheless) - IFBB, Physique Winner.

Sadly, I never expected women's bodybuilding to go down such a steep slope so rapidly in these days and times.

It was only a matter of time, sadly. Even at its' height, the judges were asking for so many conflicting things.

You had to be feminine but don't you dare be "sexy" or sultry. Routines were expected be be active and agile, which was ALWAYS a ploy to cut out the bigger girls who were more about the muscular size and shapes than anything else. Then when that didn't work because even the big girls were doing agile stuff, bow it was about being cut, but also being soft, but also looking feminine, but also having a lot of muscle, but also...

It came into contradicting statements that weren't judge the same every time rather than a STANDARD of what they wanted, so no one really knew what the hell they were trying for. Imagine you're watching a football game. You get a field goal and it's...3 points. Then your opponents get one and it's 15. Then you get first down and it's 10 points, but the opposing team only gets 1. But then you get a touchdown and that's 6, and so on. There was no standard. It was confusing and a mess, which just turned off people interested in competing because there was no telling if bringing their size up would have made a difference, or if it should have been DOWN, if they needed to be more or less cut...it was a mess and unfortunately, it seemed like it was on purpose with the super low payouts.

[Unicron]

I agree wholeheartedly. Funny that you mentioned the 80's-90's being the Golden era, because I was just talking to a close friend (ex girlfriend) about how women's bodybuilding was aired on T.V. frequently. In fact, I hardly remember any male contests being televised. Granted there were a few, but none were memorable, besides the Mr. Olympia being televised in the 80's (my introduction to the sport). For me at least, it seems that many bodybuilders (amateur and pro) from that era are more iconic these days than they were then. Where as, today's competitors aren't as striking or leave much of an impression like the bodybuilders (male and female) of old. For ex, a national level competitor like Danielle LeRoy is much more likely to be unforgettable and appealing to most of us (old school types) than someone like current IFBB pro Heather Grace. Hope that all made sense.

Asian female bodybuilders are excelling fast, but are limited in opportunities to compete outside of Asia, particularly in the U.S. Joan Liew, Lillian Tan, Melly Sevoy, Shania Kurniati, Suharni Mohammad, Jaranya Dungkam, Doreen Yeo, Yeon Woo Jhi and so many more could have a big impact in American bodybuilding if the women's divisions weren't gutted on a grand scale.  Joan is a great example of this, she's was runner up at the 2013 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Heavyweight, won the 2014 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Physique B, and won the 2016 Arnold Amateur Asia (irrelevant to region, but the competition and competitors were elite nonetheless) - IFBB, Physique Winner.

Sadly, I never expected women's bodybuilding to go down such a steep slope so rapidly in these days and times.

Oh you made me discover at least one FBBer I've heard of before in your short string of names above, i.e. Shania Kurniati...

Yes, one of the issues faced by WBB, and by some extent by MBB as well, is that it has always been US-centric, prompting even its most iconic representative to leave his quiet Austrian village to the much crowded California beaches in the 70s. The path of an eventual stardom in this sport has always led to the US; and you'd better settle there if you want to be granted the highest scores by the judges. The most striking and recent example ought to be Brazilian Juliane Malarcane who won everything in NABBA with a top-notch physique but couldn't get place in any IFBB contest until she moved in to Florida. Meanwhile Eastern European athletes who dominated in the amateur ranks and understandably wanted to stay home were never judged at their real value.

By the same token, when the sport suffers in America, its repercussions hit the other parts of the world like post-Earthquake aftershocks and Asia is no exception. The IFBB decided to get rid of WBBing at the amateur level and affiliated Asian feds followed suit. Japan has seen most of the FBBers there convert to WPD but I'm still hardly convinced. Satoko Yamanouchi is currently its best representative and her physique looks to be better fitted for BBing. Other national federations, like the vietnamese or the malaysian, broke ranks to follow Paul Chua and his brand new WBPF some years ago and you get WBBing's spirit intact as the latest international was evidence of.

There is another thing I like among Asian bodybuilders, it's that they radiate a rather pleasant image whenever you read about them in a newspaper or through social media; they really look professional, educated, some would say too polite but I'm good with that. They seem to enjoy a more receptive audience than in the West partly because they represent their countries and do rather well, that's certain; but they do their part to earn that respect.

Yeah, Shania is quite impressive for a Figure girl turned Physique. Attractive too. I like her look. She has a playful personality and is friendly when corresponding via email despite the English language not being her strong suite. She makes an effort to communicate.

American BB is definitely US-centric. Well put. Remember all the fantastic competitors/physiques to come out of foreign nations e.g. Inna Uit, Beate Draebing, Muriane Nicolas, Joanne McCartney, Joanne Lee, Andrulla Blanchette etc.? Foreign girls practically dominated the pro ranks. Although many of them received notoriety among fans and followers of the sport, they hardly received any recognition that would allow them to advance as champions in many of the pro shows then. Now that you mention it, I'm a little surprised Juliana has been able to dominate the pro ranks, particularly the Olympia. However, I'm not surprised she's been able to continue he reign for three titles. She looks incredible! It may take a while for her to be dethroned. Even she refers to herself as the "Queen" of Physique on IG. No one objects. Gotta respect that.
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I never noticed how the negative effects of American bodybuilding created a domino effect overseas until Tomoko Kanda expressed to me a few years ago how Japan does not support FBB or advocate for women to compete in it unless it's Bikini, Figure, and Physique. She seemed very disappointed in how WBB had quickly lost it's popularity in Japan. Although there are FBB still in Japan, it is more taboo now than it was 30 years ago. Satoko Yamanouchi is new to me. She has potential, but seems a little past her prime. Perhaps the last of her kind like many of the IFBB FBB's. Aki Nishimoto still keeps herself in amazing shape, but hasn't competed in years. Here's an off-season "retired" 2016 pic of her legs:
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I'm impressed with the WBPF. The contests are done well and they do seem to embrace the much more muscular Physique girls, who can pass for BB's in the US. Asian FBB's do seem a lot more respected than their American counterparts i.e. breast augmentation is not talked (forced) into them etc. Funny you mentioned they look professional and educated in the media, because the ones that I have corresponded with are quite intelligent, polite, and business savvy e.g. Melly Sevoy. Melly is well versed in many things (the more you get to know her, the more you learn) and is regarded as an icon in Indonesia. She's very popular and well respected. Roongtawan Jindasing is another good example.

Honestly, most American women have (unwittingly) lost their touch with femininity and have succumbed to Feminism. Countless female competitors seem to be going through some sort of a mid life crisis these days with all the tattoos and shaved heads. I noticed a few foreign competitors following suit too. I hope it doesn't last.

[Unicron]

I like Joan too (a lot), still JoJo's conditioning for her era as an Asian female bodybuilder from Singapore was breathtaking at the time. She was one of a kind. Hard, defined, and proportionate, the woman was ripped to shreds. Most importantly, she was pretty too. She smoked the competition in the lightweight class of the IFBB Worlds Amateurs, which had a notable field of competitors.

With that same look and attitude she could wipe the stage clean with some of the current girls of today, especially in Physique.

In my opinion, Joan is sexy, but reserved. Whereas, JoJo was ravishing and sassy in how she presented herself and performed, which to me enhanced her attractiveness. She had a style of her own and with a stage name like "JoJo Sinclair", I think it's safe to say she aspired to be someone of great significance in the sport or a celebrity type figure.

Alas, she was forced to leave bodybuilding on bad terms, but in turn she became an icon.

I definitively feel so nostalgic for the Women's bodybuilding of the late 80s-90s, a period which I don't hesitate to refer as the Golden Era of the sport. I mean, it was new, piqued media's curiosity and interest enough to get aired on TV. And its popularity wasn't limited to its American roots as evidenced by Ms Sinclair's successes at the international level. Asian athletes having a shot for the supreme title looks quite unheard of in the current IFBB scene (Due essentially to the gutting of FBBing and specifically LW classes where they usually excelled), save for the still fresh WBPF (See Malaysian Lilian Tan's recent string of successes there). Don't forget her contemporary fellow Singaporean Agnes Lee who still trains well over her 60s...

Clearly there's some solid WBBing tradition in this little Republic furthered by the likes of the absolutely stunning Suharni Mohammad these days.

Oh and another well-deserved K+ for SF for his new contribution.

I agree wholeheartedly. Funny that you mentioned the 80's-90's being the Golden era, because I was just talking to a close friend (ex girlfriend) about how women's bodybuilding was aired on T.V. frequently. In fact, I hardly remember any male contests being televised. Granted there were a few, but none were memorable, besides the Mr. Olympia being televised in the 80's (my introduction to the sport). For me at least, it seems that many bodybuilders (amateur and pro) from that era are more iconic these days than they were then. Where as, today's competitors aren't as striking or leave much of an impression like the bodybuilders (male and female) of old. For ex, a national level competitor like Danielle LeRoy is much more likely to be unforgettable and appealing to most of us (old school types) than someone like current IFBB pro Heather Grace. Hope that all made sense.

Asian female bodybuilders are excelling fast, but are limited in opportunities to compete outside of Asia, particularly in the U.S. Joan Liew, Lillian Tan, Melly Sevoy, Shania Kurniati, Suharni Mohammad, Jaranya Dungkam, Doreen Yeo, Yeon Woo Jhi and so many more could have a big impact in American bodybuilding if the women's divisions weren't gutted on a grand scale.  Joan is a great example of this, she's was runner up at the 2013 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Heavyweight, won the 2014 Arnold Amateur - IFBB, Physique B, and won the 2016 Arnold Amateur Asia (irrelevant to region, but the competition and competitors were elite nonetheless) - IFBB, Physique Winner.

Sadly, I never expected women's bodybuilding to go down such a steep slope so rapidly in these days and times.

It was only a matter of time, sadly. Even at its' height, the judges were asking for so many conflicting things.

You had to be feminine but don't you dare be "sexy" or sultry. Routines were expected be be active and agile, which was ALWAYS a ploy to cut out the bigger girls who were more about the muscular size and shapes than anything else. Then when that didn't work because even the big girls were doing agile stuff, bow it was about being cut, but also being soft, but also looking feminine, but also having a lot of muscle, but also...

It came into contradicting statements that weren't judge the same every time rather than a STANDARD of what they wanted, so no one really knew what the hell they were trying for. Imagine you're watching a football game. You get a field goal and it's...3 points. Then your opponents get one and it's 15. Then you get first down and it's 10 points, but the opposing team only gets 1. But then you get a touchdown and that's 6, and so on. There was no standard. It was confusing and a mess, which just turned off people interested in competing because there was no telling if bringing their size up would have made a difference, or if it should have been DOWN, if they needed to be more or less cut...it was a mess and unfortunately, it seemed like it was on purpose with the super low payouts.

I agree. Most competitors quit simply because of all the confusion and corruption. Never thought of it that way, sure enough, the Fitness division was the first to dwindle. Only a handful of girls compete in it and some of them are veterans (e.g. Tanji Johnson) just like a lot of the IFBB FBB's. Unfortunately, FBB's no longer have the promotional value they once had like in the 80's and 90's. The IFBB/NPC turned against them, yet they continue to spend thousands of dollars in a sport and organization that may possibly ostracize them entirely.   

[kingofaser]

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