(More) Summer Lovin': Michaela's Mind

Just on the off chance you were in the mood for a bit more Physique freakery...



Erotic and genuinely disturbing in equal measure (which makes her even more erotic, the will to go to such extremes and revel in doing so!) is what I say. You say, among other things, that she is "amazing", and "awesome", and that "she's on another level now". That you look at this picture and all you can think is "I love muscle women! WOW!!!", and that "even a train would stop to look at that". "Look how happy you are!" exclaims one of Michaela's Instagram devotees. Exactly my point. What woman in their right mind would get so much pleasure from being so disgustingly muscular?!

Our kind of woman.

Enjoy!

(More) Summer Lovin': Summer of Ashley

Last seen on stage at the Tampa Pro, Ashley Hromyak clearly knows how to do summer - between the sets, obviously, her Tampa package probably her best ever.

She rides an inflatable unicorn...



And she LOVES paddleboarding...



I do like the way she grips the shaft of that paddle...




[enough! - ed.]

Killjoy.



Ashley on Instagram

Enjoy!

Sunday at Sea

Imagine...

The wife has been waving cruise brochures in front of your face for years, but never managed to get you on the boat. This year, however, she just went and booked it.

Four weeks of it. Your Christmas "present".

You set sail in August, but have felt nauseous since February.

But as you arrive at the port - with a month's worth of travel sickness pills - the radar goes off like it's never gone off before. Muscle to starboard (or is it port?), and from where you are she looks HUGE! You try - and fail - not to stare. She's right there, tight shorts, loose vest and OMG she's only bloody POSING in front of the boat.



And OMG it IS her. It's KATIE LEE!!!

Katie (really) did take a well-earned break for a Caribbean cruise with friends recently - Dominican Republic, Honduras, etc. And I can't help wondering how many of her fellow passengers spent days and nights desperately manoeuvring themselves and their significant others into parts of the boat where Katie & Co. were while at the same time (and equally desperately) trying to cover up a tentpole the size of an oar...



The more successful our voyaging female muscle heads were at that - and at stalking the gorgeous Katie during stop-offs - probably had a knock-on effect on the vigour, and frequency, with which their significant other got the "benefit" of that tentpole.



Net result - your wife's now under the impression that if she wants a "romantic" holiday, then taking you on a cruise is the only way to go. "He's never like this when we do a city break," she says to herself after yet another (vigorous) pre-dinner (post-Katie-stalking) cabin romp. "Think I'll pre-book next year before we disembark."



The "Allure of the Seas", eh?

More Katie, including more Katie on vacation, on her Instagram.

Save the Date (Part 2)

Our Rising Phoenix preview continues...

SADLY NOT JOINING US



For once, we won't see her trusty black posing suit straining against the awesome power of her legendary muscles (and other bits). Yaxeni Oriquen's 3rd place package at last year's show was, it has been confirmed, her "last". She is retired now and at peace with all her success and greatness, according to Sheila Bleck.

SHEILA BLECK



So I guess that makes Sheila the most experienced woman standing in terms of pro FBBing at the very highest level. She could so easily have been the champ last year, and as always when she takes the stage, Sheila will be a serious contender again.



She never placed lower than 7th in her four Olympias between 2010 and 2014, she's never been out of the top two at the Rising Phoenix. Could this (finally) be her year?

VIRGINIA SANCHEZ



Sheila is well used to the luxury of just having one end-of-season show to prepare for, but it's a new experience for Spanish behemoth Virginia. Her 5th at last year's RP was as popular a result for this "delicious monster" as it was unexpected - nothing in Virginia's previous contest history suggested she would challenge for the top 6.



As always, I'm hoping her next show will be the show where she dispenses with the hairpiece. As always, I won't be too surprised of it isn't. Currently looking as big, bold and sweaty as ever - I'm on my way! she says. Follow her final prep on Instagram.

(SURPRISE?) DEBUTANTS



From the points qualifying zone, two women who have perhaps exceeded their own expectations in 2018 - Tananarive Huie and LaDawn McDay. The former qualified as a result of finishing 3rd in a not-so stacked line-up in Toronto; the latter a suprise 3rd at the ultra-competitive Tampa Pro earlier in the month.

MAKING IT HAPPEN



More likely to be in the mix on the judges' scorecards though iss the woman who finished one place above LaDawn in Tampa - "the outstanding amateur Female Bodybuilder of the last few years" according to no lesser source than FMS(!) after she'd turned pro last year - the sassy, sexy (and ever so slightly scary) Pauline Nelson.



She wasted no time at all putting her pro card to use - 3rd in Tampa in 2017, she didn't place at the RP last year, but this year has seen her very much embraced by WoS. Cue Pauline at their booth in some of the pulse-quickening outfits she wears oh so well.

PHYSIQUE PHENOMS (FORMER)



One of the features of this contest season has been the migration of some of the more frustrated and/or muscular Physique beauties into the WoS fold at both amateur and pro level. Amanda Smith switched mid-season, as did Jill Diorio (aka Blondin). A couple of 5th places was enough for Amanda to qualify, while Jill (who switched later in the season) was as shocked as anyone to win at her first FBBing attempt in Chicago.

AVE MARIA!



But probably the biggest Physique to FBBing success story since WoS started running the show has been that of Canada's Maria Mikola. Originally a Bodybuilder, she switched to Physique in 2013 and there she remained for three years, her placings far far down on those she had achieved previously. 2017 saw her make a long overdue return to FBBing, and since then she has not only won one pro title (Omaha last year) but also collected four runner's-up medals, three of them this season alone.



Beaten only by the might of Margie Martin in Chicago. Maria looked better than ever, and if she brings anything like her Chicago package to Scottsdale, she'll be sure to improve on her 14th place on debut last year. She certainly got the attention of a lot more fans after Chicago, including one of the author's own contacts. We need to talk about Maria Mikola, he told me at the time. He did most of the talking.

OUR ROCKSTAR



Gorgeous, glamorous, and this year a winning pro - in Omaha - Isabelle Turell is proper FBBing royalty these days. She took a year off last year, but WoS were canny enough to make sure she felt like she was one of their most important ambassadors during that time, and that investment in her has paid off handsomely for them.



Isabelle's appeal lies, I believe, in the fact that she fetishises her muscles probably more than anyone in the line-up with the exception of Margie Martin. She's probably not jaw-droppingly huge enough to improve on her 13th in 2016, but she will nevertheless be one of the most fervently supported competitors in the contest, and, I wouldn't be surprised, feature pretty heavily in the show's marketing as well.

UNCROWNED



Fresh from her first ever pro win in Tampa, Alina is probably as keen to compete at the RP again as we all are to be in the same room as her naked body. Four times she went up against Iris at the Olympia, and - particularly on the last two of those occasions - the female muscle lovin' world yearned for her coronation. After a year off in 2015 she competed at the 2016 RP, not exactly a shadow of her former self, but certainly not the force she had been. "Pro FBBing has moved on," we noted as she placed a distant 3rd behind Sheila and Margie. There few complaints on the forums. Had her time passed?



It was a new look Alina in Tampa. Enhancements have been bought, and not everyone is pleased. Again, however, there were few complaints about the result, but there has been some scepticism as to whether she can challenge for the title in Arizona. I'm not sure. She's definitely lost a lot of the shock and awe she had at those Olympias, but she'll almost certainly be in the first callout, and if she can improve on her Tampa package, the most popular FBB of her generation may yet get to wear the crown.

QUEEN OF MUSCLE



Thankfully, her "retirement" didn't last long. A year off, a new man, and adjustments to the enhancements later, and Margie was back. She picked her show well, and in the most predictable result of the year, utterly dominated the "competition" in Chicago.



It's been a ride and a half to follow Margie on social media as she prepared to return, won in Chicago, and then started her prep to win back the title she abdicated last year. She is, remember, unbeaten at the Rising Phoenix as yet - two appearances, two wins - and she currently looks head and shoulders (and arms and pecs and legs and all the rest) above any other FBB on the planet. So despite the quality of the line-up this year, I can't help feeling - even three weeks out - there's only going to be one winner.

Save the date - September 8th.

Blakelee's Bow

We did warn you (see Pic of the Month: August). As she wrote herself: The time has finally arrived! 20 weeks of hard work will be proudly displayed on stage. The same weekend as the Tampa Pro, Blakelee Ortega was making her competitive debut.



Like Blakelee herself, we were prepared. Time was you never heard of any FBB before they stepped on stage. Times have changed. Out of her Instagram and onto the forums, Blakelee has been one of the phenomenons of the last twelve months. The Knoxville Classic isn't the kind of local show the female muscle lovin' world usually pays much attention to. Thanks to Blakelee - and Blakelee alone - this year was different.



The sky's the limit for Blakelee, reads the comment. Since right from the start of her explosion on the forums she has been tipped for greatness. It's not hard to explain her appeal - beast from the neck down, beauty from the neck up, or "hamster head and rottweiler body" as one wag put it. Pictures of her from this spring racked up views and favourites in record time, and as she counted down to her first show, as her muscles emerged in all their glory, our collective excitement reached new levels.



HD Physiques cannily shot her in the weeks before her show, and if what's said in the chat is to be believed, the spike to their subscription rate must have been considerable. Her biceps are absolutely awesome in this recent shoot, noted one HDP cheerleader. She seems so very proud of her muscles and it shows when she flexes.



Now, if I asked you if your hands were still above the keyboard...

It gets better - trust me - but first, shall we see how she did?




Winner of (due to being the only competitor in) Class "C", Blakelee didn't win the posedown for the Overall title. The pics aren't great quality either, so she doesn't even look that ripped. But having said all that, isn't she just GORGEOUS!



I've been trying to analyse in some sort of objective way just what it is about her, and while I've pretty much failed, I think it's got something to do with how long her limbs and/or torso and therefore her muscles are. Both her arms and thighs have such beautiful shapes. They're certainly big when you consider her age and therefore the amount of time she's had to develop them, but they're also beautifully formed.



Whatever. The most important thing is that Blakelee wants to do it again, right? Well, we are (genuinely) delighted to be able to report it's nothing but good news on that front - This is only the beginning, she wrote, beaming with her "C" class trophy. A new fire has been lit. So anxious to get back to work and build a bigger, better me!

And for our big finish, here is Blakelee two days before her show, showing off. Or "practising my routine" as she puts it. Inspired by Alyssa Kiessling apparently - in posing style and choice of briefs I dare say. I loved performing every second of this! Blakelee tells us. Funnily enough, I love watching every second of it.



Now, if I asked you where your hands were...