Oh wow. Lee Thompson NPC/IFBB judge/owner makes his own organization, talks about Kai

[spamy]

Looks like nspire is with BB.com now, no wonder the NPC is pushing business with GNC

And no wonder BB.com didn't stream the IFBB's Olympia this year, instead one of IFBB's sires did it. Let's see who is going to transmit the Arnold next year and if its organizers will be allowed by IFBB to have a deal with BB.com for streaming it, like in the past years.

[stealth_swimmer]

Video cliffs:
-Lee thompson says he was planning a new organization, but the kai thing has prompted him to start it now (way ahead of his original plan) pro and am-bb physique etc.
-States they will share revenue with athletes*** this is their big allure
-Judging will be transparent
-He will not go to olympia at all this year
Supports kai, agrees with Arnold's past complaint of judges
Nov 8 at muscle beach they will announce "framework"
-new organization is called NPC (Nspire physique committee)


Did I understand correctly that they will allow their athletes to compete with other organizations too?
Hopefully he isn't a slimeball opportunist, this could be great, with several icons available to support it right away. I hope they don't completely push away from mass monsters though, that's still my sole reason for watching BB. But if kai is a spokesman for them then I'm excited.
In4 kai response
In4 lee priest response...
In4 the first NPC (new NPC) subforum (not really)

@hyruliangoat-I know who he is, but I thought he'd be happy with the ifbb as he seemed to have been part of the problem

Your cliffs are correct. Thing is, even if they allow their athletes to compete in other organizations, that doesn't mean other organizations will follow suit and let theirs compete in the new NPC.


And Roro posted the correct acronym for the new NPC.



But anyways, i think competition is good for the sport. Still gonna support the NPC/IFBB right now because I think it's probably gonna continue being the best as well as having the top quality. The top pros have already stated their allegiance.

Vince McMahan tried the WBF back in the day with a few of the top tier pros, and it didn't work out. The top IFBB pros have stated their loyalty, so I don't think the new NPC will get off the ground much. Maybe a few good shows here and there, but it won't have the prestige of the IFBB or Mr. Olympia.

I think it would be easier to fix the problems with the IFBB right now (and maybe having competition from the new NPC could help nudge them along in correcting some things) than to start a whole new organization, especially since lots of people are saying Lee Thompson was part of the corruption in the IFBB. I personally don't know, but that's what some folks are saying.


Either way, i just want what's best for the sport. I just happen to think that route goes with the NPC/IFBB.

On a sidenote, i like the idea of revenue sharing with the athletes and think that will appeal to the younger generation...HOWEVER, i think people also tend to overestimate how much money promoters make. If it was so easy to get rich off of promoting bodybuilding shows, more people would do it. It's that simple. There have been athletes who became promoters and quit after a couple years because of how difficult it is. Many pros who start promoting their own shows start with just one per year and do that for several years until they get the experience and money to start promoting multiple shows. These are all indicators that it's hard and isn't some sort of get-rich-quick scheme. That means it's gonna be hard to start a new organization without a lot of cash up front invested into it.


Really interesting to hear about the BB.com alliance with Nspire. That sounds really cool, and I love BB.com - both forum and shopping here, but I do have to admit, I really liked the video quality of the Olympia provided by Amazon this year.

[littlearm]

Pro Bodybuilding Weekly had their Olympia wrap-up show. Lee Thompson, the co-host, was not there. They made no mention to his absence. Made no mention of the new organization. Pity. They'll have to bring it up at some point though, it's just too huge an elephant in the room.

If this new organization means that PBW will be getting a new host, then I'm all for it.

[stealth_swimmer]

Pro Bodybuilding Weekly had their Olympia wrap-up show. Lee Thompson, the co-host, was not there. They made no mention to his absence. Made no mention of the new organization. Pity. They'll have to bring it up at some point though, it's just too huge an elephant in the room.

If this new organization means that PBW will be getting a new host, then I'm all for it.

I don't think Lee is on every show. He's there from time to time. But yeah, they probably will address it in their top 10 stories of the year episode.

[RockyTheKid]

Listen up, fellas.

Watch this. Lee Thompson used Kai for HIS benefit:

[endurancell]

Listen up, fellas.

Watch this. Lee Thompson used Kai for HIS benefit:

[Youtube]Jadk6LFY6qg[Youtube]

Cliffs:

-Kai has no affiliation with nspire and was pissed that Lee made it seem so
-Lee waited for 5 hours to see Kai at his meet and greet just to make it publicly known they met

I'm pretty sure his credible x20 source was Kai himself

[littlearm]

I don't think Lee is on every show. He's there from time to time. But yeah, they probably will address it in their top 10 stories of the year episode.

Lee is the regular co-host. He excuses himself before major contests because for some bizarre reason they think it's a conflict of interest for a judge to discuss a contest a week before a show, but it's perfectly OK to discuss the contest 2 weeks before.

If Lee is not participating in a podcast, they give the reason every single time. For this show, he was not mentioned at all. Not a word. And THAT is very telling. The politics are so sensitive apparently that they didn't even acknowledge his absence.

[BartPimpson]

Listen up, fellas.

Watch this. Lee Thompson used Kai for HIS benefit:

Wow that's really something.

I totally trust these people to provide honest judging.

[JoePietaro]

I'd like to shed a little light on what Marc spoke about here and I have been one of the two (that I am aware of) media outlets that Lee Thompson and company have selected to speak to in order to get their message out there. (Vlad from Generation Iron being the other with the video they did together.)

Thompson felt comfortable with my publication because I have been vocal about being right down the middle and not showing favoritism towards the NPC/IFBB like the others have to.

When Thompson and I spoke (and also a follow-up I did with his lead counsel Charles Johnson, who is a former NFL player), I have a lot of info on the whole Kai Greene situation. Some of it was off-the-record and I will honor that. But as far as the situation with Kai in Vegas, Thompson's party (which included Johnson) waited for five hours on line because they wanted to do so and not try and act like big shots and get in before the fans. They were greeted warmly by Kai and purposely did not want pictures together as to not fuel any rumors or put Kai in an uncomfortable position.

And has Kai made any statements regarding his inclusion in the NPC Global video? Not at all; he made what appeared to me like a forced and rehearsed 'pledge of allegiance' video to the IFBB like many other pros did but he did not say anything about Thompson at all.

When the off-the-record material is finally released, all of these questions and speculations will be answered. And many people will be shocked by what they hear.

[RockyTheKid]

Regardless of whether Lee used Kai for his benefit or not, we still haven't heard anything on WHY HE DID NOT COMPETE.

[littlearm]

Thompson's party (which included Johnson) waited for five hours on line because they wanted to do so and not try and act like big shots and get in before the fans. They were greeted warmly by Kai and purposely did not want pictures together as to not fuel any rumors or put Kai in an uncomfortable position.

They waited five hours in line for what exactly? I can't think of anything at the Olympia with a 5-hour line. Certainly nothing worth that much wasted time.

[JoePietaro]

They waited five hours in line for what exactly? I can't think of anything at the Olympia with a 5-hour line. Certainly nothing worth that much wasted time.

The meet and greet with Kai at the City Civic Center. Maybe part of the time was wasted with farah trying to coax them out of there? Not sure, as I was not there but I am going by first-hand information. (Unlike Peter McGough's MD article on the situation, even though Farah works for them and he could have easily found out what happened.)

[littlearm]

The meet and greet with Kai at the City Civic Center.

Thanks for the info.

[stealth_swimmer]

I'd like to shed a little light on what Marc spoke about here and I have been one of the two (that I am aware of) media outlets that Lee Thompson and company have selected to speak to in order to get their message out there. (Vlad from Generation Iron being the other with the video they did together.)

Thompson felt comfortable with my publication because I have been vocal about being right down the middle and not showing favoritism towards the NPC/IFBB like the others have to.

When Thompson and I spoke (and also a follow-up I did with his lead counsel Charles Johnson, who is a former NFL player), I have a lot of info on the whole Kai Greene situation. Some of it was off-the-record and I will honor that. But as far as the situation with Kai in Vegas, Thompson's party (which included Johnson) waited for five hours on line because they wanted to do so and not try and act like big shots and get in before the fans. They were greeted warmly by Kai and purposely did not want pictures together as to not fuel any rumors or put Kai in an uncomfortable position.

And has Kai made any statements regarding his inclusion in the NPC Global video? Not at all; he made what appeared to me like a forced and rehearsed 'pledge of allegiance' video to the IFBB like many other pros did but he did not say anything about Thompson at all.

When the off-the-record material is finally released, all of these questions and speculations will be answered. And many people will be shocked by what they hear.

Thx for your insight!


I was just about to post that from what I've heard, Lee didn't actually say Kai was affiliated with him, and Kai never said he was affiliated with Lee's organization either. If Lee went in with that intention to start rumors, i dunno what the say, but the bottom line is that he never stated Kai was affiliated with his new federation. If people wanna start rumors based on his appearance, that's on them because they feel like speculating.

They waited five hours in line for what exactly? I can't think of anything at the Olympia with a 5-hour line. Certainly nothing worth that much wasted time.

Probably just to say hi to Kai and to thank him for coming out regardless of his not being able to compete. That's the same reason why fans went out to see him. Lee Thompson already said in his video that he would be in Vegas walking around and doing stuff but wouldn't attend the Olympia or the expo. So why not see Kai if he's gonna be in Vegas already?

[littlearm]

Probably just to say hi to Kai and to thank him for coming out regardless of his not being able to compete...So why not see Kai if he's gonna be in Vegas already?

I understand people wanting to see Kai. I just can't imagine anyone waiting 5 hours in line for it. In fact, I don't think you could find a 5 hour line for ANYTHING at the Olympia. 1-2 hours, absolutely. But 5? No.

My question wasn't about the "why", it was doubting the "5 hours" part. Joe explained that it really wasn't a 5 hour line.

[du3ce]

its lee thompson were talking about here not some regular joe schmoe fan if he wanted to see kai im pretty sure some phone calls can be made and have that taken care of.

[Paradosis]

Unless Kai wanted nothing to do with him, in which case maybe waiting in line was the only way he could talk to Kai in public during the Olympia weekend. It was said at some point that Kai was annoyed with the way his words, image, and recent problems were used in the first "NPC" video, such that some viewers could easily be left with the impression Kai was supporting/joining the new group. It was probably especially maddening considering that Kai had his "name and likeness" used like that in a vid where Thompson also decried the way the IFBB/NPC used such things in an unfair way.

[Hyruliangoat]

lee goes nuts on npc and random people in this video lmao watch whole thing its literally him trashing everyone and not giving af

https://www.********.com/thompsonmus...type=2&theater


bashes Branch and his wife and the people who now took over npc texas

also says hes gonna make a site exposing all the porn/gay porn people or something lol

[endurancell]

lee goes nuts on npc and random people in this video lmao watch whole thing its literally him trashing everyone and not giving af

https://www.********.com/thompsonmus...type=2&theater


bashes Branch and his wife and the people who now took over npc texas

also says hes gonna make a site exposing all the porn/gay porn people or something lol

Wow that was crazy, cant believe i watched the whole thing. Im hoping he puts up that site he talked about with all the evidence from his "forensics team" and it wasn't just a bluff

My favorite part was after he tore everyone a new ******* he ends with "things don't have to be nasty, we can exist and compete together"

[Hyruliangoat]

Wow that was crazy, cant believe i watched the whole thing. Im hoping he puts up that site he talked about with all the evidence from his "forensics team" and it wasn't just a bluff

My favorite part was after he tore everyone a new ******* he ends with "things don't have to be nasty, we can exist and compete together"

thats exactly what i was thinking lolol brb hour llong video trashing everyone then "lets be friends" LOL

[patbanya]

The latest video just seems really desperate. Maybe it's an attempt at staying relevant, but it's not helping his image. I just hope no one gets screwed over before the organization folds. I'm all for change, but nothing about this is professional. All the personal drama, and finger pointing has to stop. Just focus on the athletes, fans, the quality of the shows, and the sport will grow.

[JoePietaro]

The latest video just seems really desperate. Maybe it's an attempt at staying relevant, but it's not helping his image. I just hope no one gets screwed over before the organization folds. I'm all for change, but nothing about this is professional. All the personal drama, and finger pointing has to stop. Just focus on the athletes, fans, the quality of the shows, and the sport will grow.

I see it as Lee answering and going back at a lot of the people that have gone on a smear campaign against him after years and years of being his biggest supporters. He may or may not have a lot of dirt on people in the industry but as a journalist, what jumps out at me is that the people doing the anti-Lee bashing were the not the organizations higher ups, but rather a contingent of IFBB professional competitors, pro-IFBB media outlets (the ones like MD who have openly admitted that they cannot be critical of the NPC/IFBB because they need to get press passes from them) and people who feel that if they show loyalty, they may someday be repaid in one way or another.

[PrinceDaddy]

This is a business, it is about the money, I don't necessarily agree or disagree with him, but he has a vision. Looking more deeply, the sport seriously needs software like bodysquid, online judging, transparency. How cool would it be to see the Olympia lineup, and see how the judges scored each individual round and pose. For that matter, how about entering a show and being able to see you scored well at 4 of 7 poses, but scored terribly on the front lat spread. Getting that kind of feedback adds interest to the sport, helps you improve. Interesting to see how it will all play out here in Texas.

[JoePietaro]

This is a business, it is about the money, I don't necessarily agree or disagree with him, but he has a vision. Looking more deeply, the sport seriously needs software like bodysquid, online judging, transparency. How cool would it be to see the Olympia lineup, and see how the judges scored each individual round and pose. For that matter, how about entering a show and being able to see you scored well at 4 of 7 poses, but scored terribly on the front lat spread. Getting that kind of feedback adds interest to the sport, helps you improve. Interesting to see how it will all play out here in Texas.

People are killing Thompson because they are trying to strengthen their position with the NPC/IFBB and thinking that being part of the smear campaign will be rewarded in some fashion. But let's look at this from a business perspective.

The two biggest complaints for years in the bodybuilding industry have been the questionable judging and the same people all making the money.

So Thompson is addressing both of those with this new organization and doing so precisely.

Being in the media and having no horse in this race, I'm looking at this objectively and that seems like a smart business move - identify the problem(s), address and correct them to the benefit of the consumers.

And my pet peeve with the NPC/IFBB being a member of the media was the ridiculous incidents of late with Gary Udit and the Parisos charging for press passes. I brought this up when I interviewed Thompson and he said that his new organization would never charge for press access and that doing so was detrimental to promoting your product.

[stealth_swimmer]

I understand people wanting to see Kai. I just can't imagine anyone waiting 5 hours in line for it. In fact, I don't think you could find a 5 hour line for ANYTHING at the Olympia. 1-2 hours, absolutely. But 5? No.

My question wasn't about the "why", it was doubting the "5 hours" part. Joe explained that it really wasn't a 5 hour line.

ah, ok.

People are killing Thompson because they are trying to strengthen their position with the NPC/IFBB and thinking that being part of the smear campaign will be rewarded in some fashion. But let's look at this from a business perspective.

The two biggest complaints for years in the bodybuilding industry have been the questionable judging and the same people all making the money.

So Thompson is addressing both of those with this new organization and doing so precisely.

Being in the media and having no horse in this race, I'm looking at this objectively and that seems like a smart business move - identify the problem(s), address and correct them to the benefit of the consumers.

And my pet peeve with the NPC/IFBB being a member of the media was the ridiculous incidents of late with Gary Udit and the Parisos charging for press passes. I brought this up when I interviewed Thompson and he said that his new organization would never charge for press access and that doing so was detrimental to promoting your product.

It makes sense to charge for press passes to make sure that not just anyone can get press access. It's a way of keeping out random trolls. The issue is getting the price affordable for legit press people, but not for trolls. But I see your point as well. Charging anything would have a negative impact on promotion, so there is a tradeoff involved. The "optimal" price thus might be zero, or it might be above that. You gotta weigh both sides.


From a business standpoint, Thompson definitely seems on the right track, though it might not work out simply due to not having a large enough audience to turn a profit (but only time will tell). The thing is that people who seem to know him have spoken out that he was actually a big part of the IFBB's problem in terms of corrupt judging and favoritism. Not sure if I mentioned it already, but like I said - I have no idea if that's true or not, but it does seem to be coming from people who have some familiarity with him. If that's the case, I hope he's turned over a new leaf and left that behind him. Marc Lobliner mentioned it on his Youtube channel (and he doesn't even like the NPC), and I've seen multiple people mention it on various people's Instagrams.

Also, as a reminder, Lee Thompson was ultimately the one who didn't let Cedric McMillan compete in the AC Brazil last time because of not attending the mandatory meeting. People somehow blame Shawn Ray for bringing it up, but the power was in Lee's hands to make the last call. Now I'm personally for enforcing the rules that are in the book, but it doesn't make sense for people who disagreed with that call to then turn around and think Lee is gonna do anything different with his own organization. Maybe he will, but we have no evidence of that.

This is a business, it is about the money, I don't necessarily agree or disagree with him, but he has a vision. Looking more deeply, the sport seriously needs software like bodysquid, online judging, transparency. How cool would it be to see the Olympia lineup, and see how the judges scored each individual round and pose. For that matter, how about entering a show and being able to see you scored well at 4 of 7 poses, but scored terribly on the front lat spread. Getting that kind of feedback adds interest to the sport, helps you improve. Interesting to see how it will all play out here in Texas.

Poses aren't scored. You only get an overall score, which is how it should be since the poses are merely tools to help assess the physique. Competitors are often judged even during transitions, so long as they are in the comparison lineup. Otherwise, Roelly would never be marked down for his lack of gut control. At the end of the day, I think maybe a comment section on each of the judges' scorecard would be better, especially if it's done electronically like with a keyboard or something (assuming the judges can type quickly)....or maybe even each judge having like a microphone they speak into that gets their comments (if it can be done in a way that doesn't have their voice overwhelmed by the audience or the judges next to them).

Another key would be to have judging transparency while also keeping judges anonymous. It's my understanding that the reason judges are currently kept anonymous is because of some incident in the past where a bodybuilder threatened a judge after finding out how that judge scored them.


some sidenotes


Anyone who has read up on the history of the sport has likely heard/read that before the IFBB/NPC, things were even worse for bodybuilding, so let that sink in. You had to do weightlifting in the same competition as bodybuilding (which is fine as long as it's optional, but not as a requirement, imo), and bodybuilders were treated as sideshows even if the majority of the audience showed up to see them instead of the weightlifting. Corrupt judging and racism were rampant because of the times. Not saying the IFBB is perfect, but it does seem largely an improvement over what came before. Other organizations have tried to come up and failed (Wayne Demilia's PDI or whatever, and Vince McMahon's WBF).

However, overall, competition is good for the sport just as with any other industry. Even if Thompson's federation fails, it could lead to improvements in the IFBB due to the competition. Just like Vince McMahon's organization eventually failed, but his offering of contracts to attract top level competitors led to the Weider offering contracts to IFBB competitors, for example.

[stealth_swimmer]

Also, interesting story. Was sitting behind David Baye (of Muscular Development) and someone else. We had some small talk, and then he started talking with the lady next to him about Lee Thompson's new federation. He was like "that's fine if he starts his own federation. Nobody really cares, just don't lie about stuff." So I don't know what exactly they were talking about, but the didn't seem to like something about Thompson's tactics. The lady then said that Lee Thompson was the one who said Kai wouldn't win an Olympia because of his past...not sure of the context though. Maybe he meant it as his personal opinion, maybe he was talking about the opinion of other judges. But basically, both David and the lady he was talking with were talking with each other about how Lee isn't a trustworthy person.


Again, a little disclaimer that i don't know how true or untrue this is, just posting as added background to what's going on.

[JoePietaro]

ah, ok.



It makes sense to charge for press passes to make sure that not just anyone can get press access. It's a way of keeping out random trolls. The issue is getting the price affordable for legit press people, but not for trolls. But I see your point as well. Charging anything would have a negative impact on promotion, so there is a tradeoff involved. The "optimal" price thus might be zero, or it might be above that. You gotta weigh both sides.

I've been a sportswriter for over a decade and have covered everything from four Super Bowls, MLB playoff games, NBA, NHL, MLS, MMA and all of the main bodybuilding shows (NPC and IFBB) without ever having to pay for a press pass. So I have to correct you on your opening point. It is the JOB of the person granting media credentials to verify of the person/company is a legitimate member of the media. It has nothing to do with money and that is unethical and borderline criminal in nature to do so.

By Udit and the Parisos doing what they did, it polarizes how pathetic bodybuilding is in comparison to any other sport or athletic event. I can go on forever about just how bad this looks on not only the promoters themselves, but the sanctioning bodies, as well.

So charging for press passes doesn't happen in the real world, only the dysfunctional family that is bodybuilding. And it was refreshing to hear Thompson say what he did about this and he laughed about the entire situation when I brought it up, commenting on how ****ed up that was.

[B-Neva]

I thought this was hliarious

[RockyTheKid]

Being in the media and having no horse in this race, I'm looking at this objectively and that seems like a smart business move - identify the problem(s), address and correct them to the benefit of the consumers.

My friend, anyone who reads your comments on here regarding this matter will see your bias towards Lee Thompson and against the NPC/IFBB, so let's stop the whole "I look at this objectively" stuff. It's not wrong for you to side with Lee, but let's not try to act as if that's not the case.

[JoePietaro]

My friend, anyone who reads your comments on here regarding this matter will see your bias towards Lee Thompson and against the NPC/IFBB, so let's stop the whole "I look at this objectively" stuff. It's not wrong for you to side with Lee, but let's not try to act as if that's not the case.

That may appear to be the case only because there are so many issues that have come up with the NPC/IFBB for years and Thompson's organization hasn't even been officially launched yet (11/8).

So, yes, I am totally looking at this objectively and as a journalist in the industry covering it.

When I cover the NFL, I take them (league, teams, players) to task when necessary. So why should I be silent in bodybuilding? I have no stake in Thompson whatsoever other than being the guy that he and his lawyers sought out to conduct that interview since I am obviously not going to be pro-IFBB like MD just because they don't have the balls to be otherwise.