Ep 308 - The Future of Natural Bodybuilding (w/ WNBF Pros Alberto Nuñez and Steff Noble)

Jan 4, 2025

Alberto Nuñez, a top WNBF Pro bodybuilder and coach from 3DMJ, joins Steff Noble, WNBF Figure pro and president of WNBF UK, to delve into the evolving landscape of natural bodybuilding. They reflect on the most competitive season yet and discuss its growth compared to enhanced bodybuilding. The duo emphasizes prioritizing mental wellness and community support, especially for female athletes. They also advocate for transparent judging and collaborative efforts within the sport, focusing on securing a bright future for natural bodybuilding.

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ANECDOTE

Promoter Struggles

Some promoters do everything they can but can't match other regions' standards.
This isn't necessarily their fault; they might just lack resources or be in a tough competitive spot.

INSIGHT

Powerlifting Model

Natural bodybuilding should look to powerlifting's growth as a model.
Powerlifting has seen tenfold growth, better organization, and bigger events.

INSIGHT

Committee vs. Promoter

Powerlifting's committee-based structure enables growth and distributes workload.
Natural bodybuilding's promoter-centric model can hinder growth and create bottlenecks.

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In this episode, Eric Helms is joined by returning guest, his fellow 3DMJ coach and WNBF Pro bodybuilder, Alberto Nuñez, who is also the male WNBF athlete rep. In addition, they are joined by first time guest Steff Noble, a WNBF Figure pro, experienced coach, and president of WNBF UK. The trio first reflects on what was arguably the most competitive natural bodybuilding season to date, and the overall state of drug free bodybuilding, which in many ways is flourishing. There is more interest, higher competitive levels, higher productive quality in some regions, and in some countries natural bodybuilding is growing faster than enhanced bodybuilding. In North America, while some federations are doing better than others, the market demand for natural bodybuilding is obvious, as the NPC has made a concerted push to enter the natural bodybuilding scene, promoting drug tested shows in the US and Canada (as well as overseas), and even offering the chance to turn pro at the biggest natural events, with promises of drug tested pro shows on the horizon. What does this mean for natural bodybuilding? Is this a good thing, a threat, the beginning of a new era, or the beginning of the end? Further, what does the natural bodybuilding community need to do collectively to secure its future? Join us in this episode as we review not only the 2024 natural bodybuilding season, but discuss the future of the sport.

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Time stamps:

00:00 (Re)-introducing Berto and Steff while Helms discusses ‘sports’

04:15 Steff’s WNBF World’s recap and natural bodybuilding journey

10:35 The differences and similarities between the UK and US bodybuilding scenes (with some Eric seed-planting)

17:14 Berto’s WNBF World’s experience and the rising standard of bodybuilding

24:22 Regional differences in bodybuilding

36:09 The promoting and production of shows

46:00 The shift in the bodybuilding athlete mindset

51:31 The growth of the sport and increasing number of federations

59:12 Discussing comparisons with Powerlifting

1:13:40 Time for natural bodybuilding to adapt or die

1:26:03 Final perspectives on the future of bodybuilding

1:33:00 Closing out