Prestigious sporting event comes to Shreveport-Bossier City
The tenth annual Fit for Life Weekend has grown into the largest multi-sport event held annually in Louisiana. This year’s festival will attract more than 1,500 athletes from all over the United States and include athletes from China, the Netherlands, Australia and Croatia. Around 4,500 sports enthusiasts, most from out of town, will travel to Shreveport-Bossier City. Three of the events include the Optimum Classic Bodybuilding Championships, the American Strongman Competition (which will feature China’s strongest man), and a USA Arm Wrestling sanctioned event. A total of 12 sporting events will take place during the weekend. The festival’s participants and spectators will spend an estimated $1.7 million in area hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, casinos and transportation. The festival kicks off with more than 6,000 fifth-graders from around North Louisiana who will travel to Independence Stadium and participate in a variety of sports.
I have been fortunate to attend some of the most prestigious sporting events in the country. The most impactful was the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. The Arnold Classic is the largest multi-sport event in the nation and the greatest sports-fitness experience imaginable. The event welcomes more than 18,000 athletes who compete in more than 45 sporting events, including 12 Olympic Sports and attracts more than 175,000 fitness enthusiasts from around the world.
Robert “Superman” Blount and I met nine years ago when he walked into my office with a Superman shirt on and laid out his vision for creating what could become one of the largest sports festivals in the region. Superman told me about his remarkable history of moving from Shreveport after high school and playing college football in Atlanta and then starting a gym, which he built into one of the most prestigious gyms in the country. His resume includes training some of the top athletes including Lee Haney, eight-time Mr. Olympia, several pro-wrestlers, Atlanta Hawks basketball players Dominique Wilkins and Doc Rivers to name a few back in the 1980’s. He was a celebrity himself having won bodybuilding titles like Mr. Atlanta, Southern Cup USA, and the Central Georgia Championships. I asked him why he moved back to Shreveport in the early 90’s and his response, “Shreveport is home and I felt it was where I needed to be.” His passion is creating an impression upon Louisiana’s youth and their parents that nutrition, health and fitness are the key to successful living. When he was eight years old, he still recalls seeing one of his friend’s dads who was extremely fit physically, and it was an impression that has driven his passion to remain in top physical form and instruct others how they can achieve their nutritional and fitness goals.
Robert and his wife Richelle decided to make a difference in the Shreveport- Bossier City community. Superman, has incorporated his love for God with his passion for keeping our bodies physically fit. Besides owning a fitness gym and keeping a full time training schedule with clients, he has worked with almost every school in our area and has spoken with more than 40,000 students.
Superman’s lofty goal of surpassing the number of participants and spectators at the Arnold Classic may not happen anytime soon. In my mind, his only obstacle in growing his festival, is spending too much of his time, resources and energy with our local youth when he could be focused full time growing the festival. He is thrilled with growing his event from 40 total attendees 10 years ago to 12,000 total attendees today. Visit his website, www.bfitforlife.org.
Kelly Wells is the Vice President of Sports and Tourism for the Shreveport- Bossier Sports Commission. The Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission is a division of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau in partnership with the City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish Commission, Bossier Parish Police Jury and the City of Bossier. Visit our website: www. shreveportbossiersports.com or email Kelly Wells at kwells@sbctb.org.
