Joe Pietaro
Joe Pietaro Contributer
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By Joe Pietaro for musclemecca.com
05-06-2016
Bodybuilding caters to a niche demographic that has not included the mainstream since hair bands were still considered new. The days of the 'fitness craze' during the 1980s was the one and only time that bodybuilders and their competitions were seen on national television. But that may as well have been during the Stone Age judging by the way it has been in the shadows for 30-plus years and counting.
Even an influx of smaller and more aesthetic physiques on men and women has not made a difference. The only changes has been that there are physique categories for basically everyone and they are even more obscure than the bodybuilders, even within the industry itself.
So it would seem that trying to build a brand that is geared towards the all-elusive mainstream would seem futile, but that is exactly what Lee Thompson has done with the Nspire Sports League.
When the former NPC/IFBB official resigned and went out on his own, he concentrated on building a base that concentrated on MPD, bikini and figure rather than bodybuilding and all along has brought in business partners from everywhere but the bodybuilding industry.
Thompson has certainly made the NSL a very marketable venture with high-end venues, stages, graphics, apparel and many other aspects taken for granted. He and two if his athletes were on a CBS Dallas morning television show this week and it is that type of exposure that may go a long way in breaking down the barriers that have held the industry back for so long.
05-06-2016
Bodybuilding caters to a niche demographic that has not included the mainstream since hair bands were still considered new. The days of the 'fitness craze' during the 1980s was the one and only time that bodybuilders and their competitions were seen on national television. But that may as well have been during the Stone Age judging by the way it has been in the shadows for 30-plus years and counting.
Even an influx of smaller and more aesthetic physiques on men and women has not made a difference. The only changes has been that there are physique categories for basically everyone and they are even more obscure than the bodybuilders, even within the industry itself.
So it would seem that trying to build a brand that is geared towards the all-elusive mainstream would seem futile, but that is exactly what Lee Thompson has done with the Nspire Sports League.
When the former NPC/IFBB official resigned and went out on his own, he concentrated on building a base that concentrated on MPD, bikini and figure rather than bodybuilding and all along has brought in business partners from everywhere but the bodybuilding industry.
Thompson has certainly made the NSL a very marketable venture with high-end venues, stages, graphics, apparel and many other aspects taken for granted. He and two if his athletes were on a CBS Dallas morning television show this week and it is that type of exposure that may go a long way in breaking down the barriers that have held the industry back for so long.
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