REVIEW - Men of Muscle #6 Born to Pose

The DVD started off with Ernie Taylor hitting some poses to some hip hop music. His arms were huge, but as far as I'm concerned, he has synthol in his triceps which detract from his physique.

Chris Cormier was being interviewed next and was asked various questions about contest preparation. He talked about what bodybuilding did for him.

A posing presentation by Chris was shown next and he was looking sharp as usual. His genetic shape is truly amazing. I can't think of too many bodybuilders these days who have a better shape, but in the history of bodybuilding, Flex Wheeler comes to mind. Chris was posing to the song "I Believe I can Fly" by R. Kelly. He posed slowly to the music and highlighted his strong points. Say what you will about Chris, he definitely has a very balanced and impressive physique. At the current age of 38 (as of 2005), I wonder how long he has to maintain his position as a top competitor.

Stefan Havlik posed next. He had an excellent physique. He posed with sunglasses and a sword in a pair of shorts and boots. He was very shredded and had good size as well (excellent arms). The striations in his chest were also quite a standout. I had never heard of this guy before watching this DVD, but he definitely looks to have some serious potential in bodybuilding. He was not as big as most pros and had a physique that I would like to have myself (he wasn't a cartoon character like some bodybuilders such as Markus Ruhl). Stefan is my height (5'9) and weighs in at 228 pounds on stage. He's big and shredded, but not to the point where he looks freaky and disgusting as some pros do. His symmetry is very good.

Melvin Anthony posed next and looked great as he always does. His small waist and great symmetry really catches the eye. Of course, his posing ability is second to none and he always deserves credit for that. Melvin's posing routine then sped up and he hit his usual gravity defying moves. This guy's posing needs to be seen to believed. He always guarantees to put on an entertaining routine. I would bet that the promoters of the show take for granted his posing ability. This is a reason why a best poser award should be included at every show for at least a few thousand in additional prize money - it would act as an incentive for every competitor to put on an entertaining show and get the crowd enjoying it.

Frank Cuppens was interviewed next by a GMV Productions staff member. Frank was 23 at the time of the interview and seemed really happy to be involved in bodybuilding. At 5'9, Frank's contest weight is 192 which is another great look for a bodybuilder - not too big, but not small by any means either.

Some training footage was shown next with Frank, and he was looking great. To me, this is what bodybuilding is all about. I don't think huge hypertrophied freaks looks aesthetic, because even someone like Chris Cormier who has great lines is still simply too big. At least for most people and their goals. Granted, some people do want to be that size (I am definitely not one of them). Even if I did have the genetics to put on that much muscle mass, I wouldn't want to. But Frank looked fantastic at under 200 pounds. The training sequence was a good feature on the DVD. Some posing footage was next shown of Frank and again it was obvious he had the exact type of physique I am aspiring to myself. Of course, that may be impossible, but one can always hope and continue to work hard.

Next up, posing footage of Ahmad Haidar was shown. He was in his usual excellent condition and his posing was very good.

Dexter Jackson posed next to the song "Nothin'" by N.O.R.E.

"Sam the Man" posed next and displayed another excellent physique. Maybe not so much one to do damage in the pro ranks, but a physique a lot of young men would probably wan themselves.

Chris Cook posed next. He was in decent condition but obviously somewhat off-season. I can see why he is the poster boy for bodybuilding - he is obviously very marketable. He's a good looking young guy, standing 5'10 and competing at upwards of 250 pounds and shredded. If he continues to improve, he will have a very bright future in the profession. Chris put some oil on next and continued on with the poses. The oil brought out some details and conditioning which was not readily present previously. Chris did some pumping up with rope pulls next.

Luke Wood was up next to pose and was in very good shape from head to toe. His conditioning was on point and he was sporting good size. He is also a good poser. In time, I could see Luke making it to the Mr. Olympia stage. Luke's shoulders were particularly striated.

Tommi "Glutezilla" Thorvildsen posed next to some hip hop music. He did a back flip and it was very impressive to see how much Tommi was not musclebound. He put on a good show.

Gunter Schlierkamp posed next to the song "Here I go Again" by Whitesnake. He was in great condition and was very big.

Some training footage with Kamal Elgargni was up next on the DVD. He was doing incline bench presses with dumbbells. He did some posing after a set and was looking great, and then he went to do incline machine presses for chest on the plate loaded machine. He was in very good condition and had good size. He performed cable crossovers and followed it up with some posing and then some stage posing was shown and he was looking great. His tan and oil were perfect and he was shredded from top to bottom.

King Kamali posed next to the song "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (a favourite of mine). But he sped things up by doing some robot posing next. King is another poser who always tries to get the crowd enjoying themselves. King posed to the song "Get Your Freak On Lyrics" by Missy Elliott. King's conditioning was great from top to bottom and from head to toe. His back was particularly impressive, along with the eye catching detail in his hamstrings and glutes.

Patrick Heisel posed next indoors. He is another one of those bodybuilders with a great physique and is not a mass monster. He was in good condition and had a balanced physique. He had good lines and pleasing proportions. Some footage was then shown of Patrick posing on stage. He was in great condition and showed his physique well. The detail of his abs and serratus were particularly impressive.

Luiz De Jesus of Brazil posed next. He posed to fast dance music and got really into the posing. I had never heard of Luiz before this DVD and he looks to be someone with a great deal of potential.

Mario Reiger posed next. He posed with his clothes on which I thought was strange, but he took off his shirt revealing a Superman t-shirt. He finally took off his t-shirt as though he was revealing something exceptional. He looked ok, but it definitely wasn't worth the wait to see his physique in the pose.

Jay Cutler's 2003 Ironman Pro Contest posing was shown next and he looked INCREDIBLE. You can check out the 2003 Ironman Contest here: Possibly in his lifetime best conditioning and size combination.

Darrem Charles posed next. He posed to the song "Crazy" by KC & Jojo. Make no mistake about it, Darrem is one of the greatest posers in the IFBB right now. He sped up his posing next and looked incredibly shredded. His most muscular pose was particularly impressive. He was shredded everywhere.

Flavio Baccianini of Italy was shown posing next at the 2002 Masters Mr. Olympia Contest. He was definitely an entertaining poser and got the crowd worked up and enjoying themselves. Flavio posed to "Sexy Boy" by Shawn Michaels after originally posing to slower music. The crowd really loved it.

A couple posed next and the credits rolled.

A photo gallery was included in the DVD as a bonus feature and it was a nice touch.

Overall this was an enjoyable DVD, but bear in mind that it is not a workout DVD. It is mainly a physique display for various bodybuilders both current top pros and up and coming ones. Keep this in mind. Having said that, it was a very good posing DVD with great photography and editing.