Well, the third ever FitX is over for yet another year. And all I can say after my first ever FitX experience is ‘Oh. My. Goodness, wow’.
I’ve been working in the fitness industry for almost 20 years, in many different capacities, from a trainer, to a journalist, to an educator and lots of other roles in between. So I’ll be honest when I admit, I really did think I’d seen most of what the industry had to offer. But boy, was I wrong!
FitX is a highly specialised event, which attracts the general public much like the other fitness expos do. FitX, however, boasts a highly unique point of difference, in that it integrates the official bodybuilding competitions that competitors need to participate in, in order to earn their Pro Card. Given this, the event itself tends to specifically attract those with a keen interest or involvement in bodybuilding and bodyshaping. I may even go out on a limb and say that FitX is quite possibly the ultimate destination, for those who are physique-minded or physique-focused in their training, purely because they can get their fix of eye candy, they can buy their supplements of choice and they can score an autograph, handshake, meet ‘n greet or even a bicep comparison with their favourite athletes – all under the one roof.
Eyeballing the sheer size of the celebrities, the special guests, the standholders, the competition judges, the competitors and even the visitors themselves gave me a kinked neck from all the looking up that I found my 152cm-self doing! I took my camera along but mistakenly left my panoramic lens at home; now THIS was the key piece of equipment I required to truly capture the girth of some of these anatomy afficionados!
In addition to the usual expo exhibits, the event also offered some specialised areas for displays, performances and education. These included the Fight Corner, the SuperGym, the Wellness Centre, the Education Zone and, of course, the Main Stage. While these areas may not sound particularly unique, what was on display in them definitely was. Internationally-renown exercise physiologist Charles Poliquin delivered some welcome advice in the SuperGym; the country’s strongest, fittest and most athletic proved their abilities on the Main Stage; while some of the most nimble and fit MMA competitors went – literally – head to head in the Fight Corner.
While perhaps not the ideal expo for the ‘average’ fitness or health enthusiast, FitX very clearly understands it’s demographic and very clearly delivered what these folks wanted to see and experience. The queue to enter the event in the morning was long. Or so I thought; because the queue to enter at the time that I left… was even longer!
Although the whole bodybuilding scene is not my bag, I can fully appreciate the dedication required to achieve what many of the people I saw at FitX, have successfully accomplished. So kudos to them, and who knows – maybe this first FitX of mine, may not be my last.
Article by Analee Matthews – Editor, WNiF website and magazine.