FMS @RP2018: Swell Digs

Six women across three divisions (sorry Benny Boy, no "proper" FBBs today) that made quite the impression on ol' Swell during (and since) last weekend's IFBB Arizona Pro.

In the order they stepped on stage...

FITNESS

KRISTINE DUBA




We've already featured Kristine's breathless routine (see Tuesday's Tales from the Feed) but any excuse for a few more of Gene X's pictures of this bouncy blond goddess. She's been a Fitness pro for five years now, and though - amazingly - she's never won a title, Kristine has been to the Olympia twice - 8th in 2016 her best placing. She won't, sadly, be there this weekend though. Sadly for the Olympia audience that is.

FIGURE

TRACY WILLIAMS




Earlier in the week I may have been guilty of giving the impression the Figure division was a bit of a one-woman show - that woman being Cydney Gillon - but in fact there were 24 other women in the line-up. And in a division that only lets in bottoms that provide the most extreme aesthetic pleasure for the viewer, the pleasure was all mine when Tracy Williams faced the back. Probably the most ripped Figure competitor on the night, Tracy (11th) was not as loved by the judges as she was in my house.

KAREN REYES




We couldn't help but notice her in Tampa (when James Cook took a LOT of photos of her - see FMS passim) and she finished 15th on her pro debut. Here, she had enough going on to finish just outside the top 6. Karen hasn't got much attention from the female muscle lovin' community thus far, but I'm sure it won't be long before her smouldering beauty and banging Figure bod start to get much more IG monitoring.

PHYSIQUE

RESHANNA BOSWELL




Any women who starts her thirty-second "presentation" with a full frontal most muscular (even Physique-style) is fine by me, and Reshanna went on to display her obvious charms with similar gusto for the other twenty-nine seconds too. Sadly, as she finished outside the top 10, we didn't get any more of this gorgeous woman in the evening, but she's on the FMS Watch List now, so she can expect a bit of Instagram surveillance. "Bigger and better" next time, promises this mouth-watering hunk of Chicago-based muscle. A physique worthy of the biggest division of all?

DENISE CADENAS




The Physique Masters Winner, the well-enhanced Denise finished 7th in the Open class. Like Reshanna, Denise added a full frontal most muscular to her presentation, and thankfully so. It's the only angle from which the judges (and audience and 600+ live feed viewers) could see past those mighty enhancements to her (almost as) plentiful pec meat. With all that going on upstairs her posing suit was in mortal danger - note her tight, tanned, muscular glutes and what's trying to disappear between them.

AMANDA PTAK




And our last bit of diggery may be somewhat sentimental, but all the same we very much dug the fact that finally the woman formerly known as Amanda Folstad got to make her pro debut. Once (in a galaxy far far away, ie. 2011) Amanda was a young Heavyweight(!) at the NPC Nationals. Eight long years later and now an Over 35, she won her pro card at the NPC Masters Nationals earlier this year. Great to see the Viking Blond Goddess pose on a pro stage, however briefly. She had "zero expectations" on this occasion, but is determined to be back. Much to improve on! she says.

Enjoy!

Tampa: Closer

See the sweat - damn you can even see the pores on some!

As we noted the other day (see Triggers), James Cook does take you to the parts other photographers don't reach, and in Tampa, Mr. Rivieccio went in really close during the Figure presentations. Now the idea that muscle women (and in the grand scheme of things these Figure phenoms are HUGE) "look like men", is, sadly, still prevalent, but for me at least, he's really captured the beauty of these phenomenal ladies...



Even as their Protan begins to streak!

Download and zoom in (the pics are easily hi-res enough to take it) and you'll see that even though Tiffany Laumeyer (left) really is sweating profusely, whoever did her tanning application should definitely consider doing a bit more training before their next show. You'll also see where little beads of sweat have collected into tongue-tip size pools where the flawless Danielle Rose's neck meets the top of her pecs.



The big winner in the day was Canada's Melissa Bumstead (below, left). There are so many strong candidates for "The Most Beautiful Woman in Figure" that it could be a conversation that, once started, might never end. Melissa would definitely be part of that conversation though, and her somewhat wild-eyed excitement at being front and centre in the first callout only makes her even more beautiful to my eyes.



Next to Melissa (here, not in the first callout), Maggie Watson gets a bit of a raw deal - the expression on her face at the exact moment Cook clicked could have been more flattering for sure - but again, zoom in and perhaps think about how good the sweat making her neck shine would taste. Or that on her shoulders. Or the trickle running down her pec line... Would you wait for it to trickle down onto her abs, or not?



Amber Eutsey (left, she of the unabashed bicep flex - see Monday's post, Tease), looks like she felt powerful even when she wasn't showing off "illegally", while Mexico's stunning Georgina Lona has the expression of a woman who can't quite believe what she's standing next to. Or perhaps it's what that guy in the front row is doing...



But while Cook went in close on many of the Figure Phenoms, he only stayed in close on Puerto Rican sizzler Karen Reyes. The camera really loves her, as it were.




Should Annie be worried? I doubt it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she were controlling the whole thing from the comfort of wherever she was, ordering Cook to take more of this girl, more of that girl, and much much more of Karen. The idea that after the show Annie and James reviewed all these pics together (and naked) from the comfort of their hotel bed is perhaps the hottest one I've had all week!

Enjoy!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Tampa for another year.