If you’re not a fan of the steroid-laden world of physique competitions, you probably don’t know much, if anything, about that particular world. In short, there are two major federations that people compete in, one professional (the IFBB) and one amateur (the NPC). These two groups represent the dominant federations in physique competition today - no other organization is even close, so much so that the International Olympic Committe recognizes them as the governing body for all of bodybuilding. Naturally, the only reason I know anything about the NPC/IFBB is because anabolic steroids are required to compete in either of them.I don’t suspect the average person knows anything about them.
And, unless you are a top NPC (National Physique Committe) or IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding) competitor, you’ve probably never heard of JM Management, a/k/a Fitness Management Group.
timthumb-1For the past several years, J.M. Manion, the son of NPC/IFBB chairperson and head judge Jim Manion, has been running his own management agency for female figure & fitness competitors who compete in the organizations his father runs, and in the competitions his father judges. J.M. is also a writer/photographer for FLEX Magazine & the chief writer/photographer/assistant art director/copy editor for NPC News, and in his own words, he supplies approximately 90% of what goes into that magazine.
It is interesting to note that someone who controls so much of what the average fitness/figure fan reads and sees each month in magazines would also be allowed to manage fitness models who appear in these same magazines. It is further interesting to note that his father, as a head judge of these organizations, has the final word on the contest placings of these same competitors. For his “management” services, J.M. Manion takes a cut of the competitors prize money - an amount money that his father has direct influence over, in his capacity as head judge for the contests these women enter.jimmanion1
One girl who signed with J.M. Manion, Kristin Nunn, went from just earning her procard (in the NPC) to placing in the top 5 in her very first pro show (in the much harder IFBB).
Another athlete who signed with him immediately went from 7th in the Fitness International to placing within the top 5 for the remainder of her shows that year (2004) - including the Fitness Olympia. Pretty amazing that someone who couldn’t crack the top 5 (AT ALL), would sign with the son of the IFBB head judge, and then finish in the top 5 for the remainder of the year, including much harder contests.
But of course, the most glaring example of J.M.’s stellar ability to “manage” female athletes (when his father directly decides whether or not they win contests) has been seen in the Fitness Olympia. Susie Curry (JM Management athlete) held the first place title for four years while Kelly Ryan was in second place for three of those years. Then, when Susie retired, Adela Freidmansky (another JM Management athlete) took first (inexplicably bypassing Ryan), while Kim Klein (who had just signed with JM) moved up into 4th place, from 11th the previous year. Of course, all of this happened immediately after JM signed them, and always in contests his father had influence over, or directly controlled the outcome of. This same year, arguably the best figure competitor ever to step on stage, Monica Brant, took second in the figure Olympia to…yes, you guessed it, a JM signed athlete, Davana Medina.
Put more simply, the women who pay J.M. Manion, win the contests his father, Jim, judges. And while it may take the average competitor several years to move up 5 - 7 places in professional fitness or figure contests, the ones who sign with JM Management regularly move up that many places in their very next contest. In fact, there hasn’t been a fitness or figure winner of a major contest, in a very long time, who hasn’t been paying the son (J.M.) of the head judge (Jim).
Gina Aliotti, a Biotest sponsored athlete, and JM signed athlete, began winning quite a few contests once she signed with them, and even got her own layout in Flex. She had always placed well, but it really wasn’t until she signed with JM that she began winning nearly every contest she entered. Now, when she does get beat, she only loses to Manion signed athletes.
Additionally, the girls who get the most coverage in the NPC magazine that J.M. runs, and the other ones he contributes to, are the ones who line his pockets with their contest winnings. Since JM Management and Fitness Management Group started, there have been more girls who have won major figure and fitness contests who are signed with them, than there have been any other winners. Period.
Here’s how the 2008 Figure Olympia top 5 looked:
1. Jennifer Gates - Managed by Fitness Management Group and J.M. Manion (also won the Arnold Classic in 2009 - previously her best placing in the Figure Olympia was 4th)
2. Gina Aliotti - Managed by Fitness Management Group and J.M. Manion (has also won the Arnold Classic)
3. Ziville Raudoniene - Managed by Fitness Management Group and J.M. Manion
4. Jenny Lynn - Managed by Fitness Management Group and J.M. Manion (won the Figure Olympia in 2007)
5. Mary Elizabeth Lado - Managed by Fitness Management Group and J.M. Manion (placed 10th the previous year in the Figure Olympia)
And naturally, the Fitness Ms. Olympia (Jenny Hendershott) is also managed by J.M. Manion and Fitness Management Group….
I’m not trying to take anything away from any of these athletes, but I think it’s important to note that, for female athletes competing in for the big money in the IFBB, it’s unlikely that they’re going to win anything unless they are paying the head judge’s son a portion of their winnings. In fact, it’s not just unlikely, it doesn’t happen, ever. In my world, this is called a bribe, and when John Gotti’s son did it for his father, he went to prison…as did his dad. But somehow, in the fantasy world that is the IFBB and NPC, it appears that this kind of thing isn’t just tolerated, it’s required.
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