Pump Up
the Volume
Flex Magazine (April 2006)
By Shawn Perine
It's early 2005 and DAN SOLOMON is cruising around Fort Lauderdale with
his shades on and the windows down. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL's baritone is vibrating
the woofers as he breaks down the Miami Heat’s season for the hosts
of a local talk radio sports show. Suddenly, Solomon's reverie is broken
by an epiphany.
"Why don't bodybuilding fans have the same opportunity to listen to their sport's heroes on the air that fans of other sports do?" asks Solomon, recalling that fateful moment. Ever the man of action, he decided to rectify this grievous oversight and create the first audio "broadcast" dedicated to bodybuilding.
Of course, it didn't take someone with the smarts or wherewithal of Dan Solomon to understand that the sport appeals to a niche market, no matter how dedicated its followers. Convincing a station manager to let him host a bodybuilding-themed program, even in a 3 AM slot, would be a tough sell. But with Internet radio and Podcasting taking an ever-larger chunk out of traditional radio listenership, Solomon knew that he could still reach his target audience and an infinitely far-reaching one at that. All he had to do was figure out a format for the show.
Enter BOB CICHERILLO. "I think a show like this was
a long time coming," Chick says. "It provides an opportunity
for bodybuilding fans to hear from the champs in their own words, live.
This isn't taped; there's nothing edited. Anyone who listened to the VICTOR
MARTINEZ episode can vouch for that fact, and I think that's a good thing."
With his hosting partner in place, Solomon sought advertisers to help
fund the endeavor and, right off the bat, he found support from bodybuilding.com
and South Florida vein specialist DR. Z. CATHERINE NAVARRO. All that was
left was to get the show up and running. "Knowing that I wanted to
broadcast the show via the Internet, I decided to find a reputable producer
of Web-based audio programs, which is how I hooked up with VoiceAmerica,"
Solomon says.
The first webcast was in June 2005. After delivering the
first 13 episodes over the VoiceAmerica Network, however, Solomon's entrepreneurial
spirit led him to try his hand at airing Pro Bodybuilding Weekly with
only the aid of a company set up to service the technical needs of online
producers. "Now, we aren't concerned with time restrictions, so we
can go longer than an hour if we need to," he points out. Eventually,
says Solomon, the show will be lengthened to at least 90 minutes, if not
two full hours. "Originally Bob and I wondered how we were going
to fill an hour with bodybuilding talk. We pretty quickly learned, however,
that an hour just scratches the surface with most of our guests."
Interviewees have included RONNIE COLEMAN, JAY CUTLER, VICTOR MARTINEZ,
GUNTER SCHLIERKAMP, FLEX chief PETER McGOUGH and, in Solomon's favorite
episode, IFBB head judge JIM ROCKELL. "The Rockell interview is exactly
what I had in mind when I first thought about doing this show. Here's
someone who's tapped into the heart of the sport of bodybuilding, who
could answer pertinent questions regarding the way our sport is run."
As for future guests, there is an Olympic barbell-long
list. "For one thing, I'd like to get more of the past greats on
the show," Solomon says. "Guys like FRANCO COLUMBU and LOU FERRIGNO
and FRANK ZANE. I think they have a lot to offer our listeners."
With an ever-growing audience--for instance, DORIAN YATES' archived episode
has logged well over 80,000 hits worldwide--and a slate of compelling
guests lined up for future shows, the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly audio webcast
looks like it's here to stay. COPYRIGHT 2006 Weider Publications
More Media Coverage
Lonnie Teper’s Best of the Year
Ironman Magazine – February 2006
Most Creative of 2005: Presented to Dan Solomon, who developed “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly”, an internet-radio talk show that was launched in June and is still going strong. Solomon and co-host Bob Cicherillo have brought the biggest names in the game to the show, which can be heard throughout the world by anyone with internet access. Live shows air every Monday at 8pm EST/5pm PST and are available for on-demand replay and Podcasting. Check it out at www.ProBodybuildingWeekly.com
Radio, Radio
Published in Flex Magazine – August 2005
Maybe ELVIS COSTELLO would never have penned his infamously acerbic ode to the radio had he gotten the chance to listen to the mellifluous intonations of BOB CICHERILLO. We'll never know, but in June, the first-ever international bodybuilding-themed radio program, hosted by Cicherillo and DAN SOLOMON, was launched.
The show, titled Pro Bodybuilding Weekly, debuted on Monday, June 13. The show airs live at 8 PM EDT in a weekly broadcast over the Internet through a partnership with bodybuilding.com. The stream can be accessed with either Windows Media Player or RealPlayer, and it can be listened to via either a Mac or a PC. In addition to the weekly broadcasts, shows are archived for on-demand playback.
The pairing of bodybuilding everyman Solomon (who also serves as the show's executive producer) and bodybuilding funnyman Cicherillo is a pairing that will surely go down in radio annals alongside GEORGE BURNS and GRACIE ALLEN, BOB ELLIOTT and RAY GOULDING, and HOWARD STERN and ROBIN QUIVERS. The show's theme? You guessed it--professional bodybuilding, fitness and figure, and all those entail. Each week, Solomon and Cicherillo welcome IFBB pros, such as RONNIE COLEMAN, JAY CUTLER, DEXTER JACKSON and MONICA BRANT-PECKHAM to their studios and invite listeners to call in with questions for the celebrities.
Best of all, the program is free! In an age when MP3s rule the sonic roost, you finally have a good reason to tune back into the (virtual) airwaves. Eat your heart out, Elvis!
Pro Bodybuilding Weekly
Published on Flex Online – June 2005
Up until now you've been able to read about bodybuilding
in the comfort of your home (thanks to FLEX) and view it (thanks to DVD's
courtesy of your favorite pros). But now, for the first time, you can
listen to bodybuilding! That's right, starting Monday, June 13th, you'll
be able to tune into Pro Bodybuilding Weekly, a weekly hour-long Internet
radio program covering the pro bodybuilding and fitness scenes to be aired
by Bodybuilding.com.
The brainchild of bodybuilding impresario Dan Solomon, who will also host
the program, Pro Bodybuilding Weekly will cover all of bodybuilding's
hot-button topics and feature guest appearances by many of the sport's
top competitors and industry insiders. Co-hosting with Solomon will be
none other than Bob "Wallflower" Cicherillo. Hopefully Dan will
be able to coax the reticent Chickster into voicing his opinion every
once in a while...
The inaugural installment of PBW will feature 2005 Arnold Classic champ
Dexter Jackson who plans to make a big announcement regarding his Olympia
plans. FLEX magazine senior writer Shawn Perine is also scheduled to chat
with Dan and Bob about bodybuilding's biggest stories of the day.
To listen to this and all future broadcasts of Pro Bodybuilding Weekly
go to www.ProBodybuildingWeekly.com
or visit www.Bodybuilding.com.
On-demand broadcasts will be available 24 hours a day at both sites.