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Nick Ballo oiled up
Nick Ballo
In the early Eighties I opened Better Bodies gym in my home-town, New York City. My gym quickly attracted local bodybuilders, and I became an active participant in the birth of women’s bodybuilding.
I have trained top women in the sport. Many remain close friends and my experience with them have afforded me a level of trust and intimacy that these women do not usually allow, let alone with a camera.
In 1997 I picked up a camera for the first time since childhood and casually started to photograph the leading competitors in the bodybuilding and fitness world.
My images are unguarded, honest and voyeuristic. Whether they capture backstage scenes at the Ms. Olympia or private moments in a hotel room hours before the competitor steps out on stage, these images are imbued with an intimacy that had never been seen before.
Visit BrianMoss.com for more.
i still have this thing, we used to place your card in it while you worked out
Me and Nick Ballo, note Gladys’ Ms. Olympia medal on the wall behind me
gladys and benny posing at a fashion show for member #199 ronald jackson
Gladys Portugues is an actress and former professional female bodybuilder. She attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City and is the wife of Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Portugues has been involved in the health and fitness field for more than twenty years. As a bodybuilder, her most significant achievement was two top-ten placings in the Ms. Olympia.
Chi Chi Valenti has spent a quarter century shaping and chronicling New York City’s nightclub demi-monde. Since 1980 she’s participated in alternative nightlife as a producer (Jackie 60, Click + Drag, Night of 1000 Stevies), journalist (Village Voice, Details, ID, Interview), clubowner (Mother), doorperson (The Mudd Club) and publisher (Verbal Abuse Magazine and mothernyc.com). A frequent commentator and panelist on NYC club issues from cabaret laws to bottle bars, Chi Chi Valenti is still an active contributor to Clubland as an entertainment producer and Mistress of Ceremonies. She is best known for nightlife events of an artistic or niche nature, including costumed and themed spectacles in NYC and elsewhere.
With husband and partner, the DJ Johnny Dynell and the costumer/fashion designer Kitty Boots, Valenti formed THE JACKIE FACTORY in the early 1990’s – a creative collective focused on nightlife experiments and new hybrids. Most notably, the group produced the Jackie 60 club weekly throughout the 1990’s, over five hundred themes executed in tongue-in-cheek fashion. From 1996-2000 “The Factory” also produced the cyber-fetish Saturday Click + Drag in the alternative club mecca MOTHER owned by Dynell and Valenti in the then-ascending Meat Market.
Visit www.jackiefactory.com for more.
Johnny Dynell is the New York City DJ, songwriter, remixer and impresario who has been practicing his art and craft for two decades. His DJ style is infectious and inclusive, and he is a long-time favorite of New York’s art and fashion crowds as well as Club Kids. He is equally at home at a black tie gala or the most underground nightclub, and brings to both an impressive knowledge of diverse musical genres.
Dynell has spun the soundtrack at thousands of enchanted evenings both at home and abroad over the years. His NYC club residencies have included The Mudd Club, Danceteria, Area, BoyBar, Jackie 60, Crobar and Mr. Black.
Visit www.johnnydynell.com for more.
USA Today late 1980’s
Juliette Bergman
Bertil Fox
Tonya Knight
Flex Magazine
Muscle Training Illustrated
