By Dan Solomon
Publisher
On Saturday night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tampa, I had the great privilege of presenting the prestigious “Ben Weider Lifetime Achievement Award” to Robin Chang, the talented & dedicated promoter of Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend. We were also honored to have NPC and IFBB Pro League President Jim Manion on hand to make it a moment we won’t soon forget. The award was presented during the annual Tampa Pro Bodybuilding Championships, an event that annually features more than 200 IFBB professional athletes under the direction of contest promoter Tim Gardner.
The Ben Weider Award, commissioned personally by Mr. Weider only a few months prior to his passing in 2008, recognizes men and women who have dedicated their lives to elevating the sport of bodybuilding. Now in its 10th year, the list of prior recipients includes Rich Gaspari, Lee Haney, Chris Dickerson, Lee Labrada, Lenda Muray, Corey Everson, Dexter Jackson, Vince Taylor and Peter McGough.
Under the leadership of Robin Chang, The Olympia Weekend has become a monumental success, enjoying significant annual increases in sponsorship, prize money, ticket sales, corporate support and overall celebrity interest. Last year’s event included appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other A-List celebs. The upcoming Olympia Weekend (September 14-16 in Las Vegas) promises to be another landmark celebration of the global bodybuilding & fitness movement.
On behalf of all of us here at DigitalMuscle.com, please join me in congratulating Robin on this well deserved honor.
Dan Solomon has earned a reputation as a leader in the world of fitness & bodybuilding publishing. Having conducted many of the industry’s most wide reaching interviews, Dan served annually as host and lead commentator for the Mr. Olympia contest, the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic, also having appeared as moderator at the Olympia Press Conference. In 2018 Dan was named Chief Olympia Officer by American Media to oversee the Olympia brand and its showcase event held annually in Las Vegas. Additional Credits: Co-Executive Producer for the movie BIGGER, The Story of Joe Weider, Creator of the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly radio show (2005), a first of its kind program, for which he was awarded the IFBB’s Lifetime Achievement Medal by co-founder Ben Weider. Prior to creating Digital Muscle, served as Senior Features Editor at Muscular Development Magazine and has worked with many of the top brands in both nutrition and media. Dan’s favorite thing to talk about? Baseball.
