MUSCLE INSIDER Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

By Scott Welch

Since our inception in 2009, Muscle Insider has been committed to educating readers on the science of building muscle, losing fat, and gaining strength. By providing uncensored information on how to train, eat, and supplement for maximum performance, we’ve helped build some of the best physiques on the planet! From bodybuilders to bikini models, Muscle Insider has served up educational and inspirational content for those serious about performance.

Pioneers in IFBB Contest Coverage

In the spring of 2010, Domenic Mauro and I decided to bring live coverage of bodybuilding contests to Canada. Up to that point, Canadian magazines took a few photos of some of the larger contests that came to Toronto, but by the time the film got developed, scanned, and put into layouts, it would take months before the issue came out! So we bought an SLR camera, laptop, and Wi-Fi hub and decided to change this and do live contest coverage here in Canada. But we had one major problem: Neither of us knew how to use the camera! This forced us to learn fast because we had no plan B. Domenic would take the photos at each contest while I sat in the lobby uploading the photos to muscleinsider.com and doing social media posts about the event. Old-school photographers thought we were nuts and scoffed at the idea of putting these on a website live from the actual event. But the more they laughed, the more determined we were to succeed.

Contest Coverage Across Canada

We started covering contests from Vancouver to Newfoundland and every province in between. As each show went by, we captured the hearts of Canadians, and Muscle Insider had become the #1 bodybuilding and fitness media source in Canada. It wasn’t long before we were able to cover over 50 contests in Canada each year!

At the 2019 Toronto Pro SuperShow, we received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian Physique Alliance and the IFBB Pro League for our contributions to Canadian bodybuilding! Never before has a media source received this prestigious award, and we couldn’t be happier to finally be acknowledged for the important work we’ve done. IFBB President Jim Manion with Tyler Manion and Ron Hache presented us with this award, which was a true honour. In the speech I gave that night, I acknowledged all those who have helped build Muscle Insider since our inception. These are all talented people who each played a part in our success and in making us who we are today. Those I thank are Janet Welch, Domenic Mauro, Joe and Susan Welch, Nathan Hinks, Martin Pillmajer, Peter Lynn, Agency 3, Mark Gilbert, Jeff Lavictoire, Seven Zeran, Tudor Nenoiu, Dan Kennedy, Darren and Christina Mehling, Dave and Nichelle Laus, David and Sophie Morin, Judi and John Stone, Big Ron Partlow, Simon Lau, Jason Ellis, Alex Ardenti, Jason Breeze, Chad Hoskin, Verachan Martyr, Tony Piazza, Wil McKeown, Rey Damasco, Bill Geiger, Jaime Filer, John and James Messenger, Mindy Harley, Don Gauvreau, Brian Wolf, Big Dave Otterbein, Dave Bourlet, Andrew Bukowsky, and John Romano. 

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