Three competitors from Bev Francis’ Powerhouse Gym in Syosset won top honors in the annual National Physique Committee (NPC) Atlantic States Championships at Baruch College in Manhattan on June 6.
Bill Leonello, 60, took a first place award in the over-60 category. Leonello had won first place honors three years ago when he placed first in the over-55 category.
Vladimir Petric placed first in the Middleweight Bodybuilding category and Tiffany Urrea won top honors in a Bikini competition.
Other entrants from Powerhouse included Alex Stein and Britton Kelley, who won first place in the over-35 category. Lindsey Greeley placed sixth in the Junior Bikini category.
Steve Weinberger, organizer of the annual NPC Atlantic States Championships, said that this year’s competition was the largest yet, with more than 500 entrants from approximately 20 states. One competitor, he noted, was from India—Deepika Chowdhury, who won first place in the Open Figure Overall competition.
The NPC is the premier amateur physique organization in the world. Since 1982, the top athletes in professional bodybuilding, fitness, figure, bikini and physique began their careers in NPC competitions. .
Widely regarded as the “East Cost Mecca” of bodybuilding gyms, Powerhouse is seeing increasing number of men and women showing interest in developing their physique or bikini figure.
“Some people are not interested in becoming big, like bodybuilders,” said Steve Weinberger, co-owner of the gym with his wife Bev. “But they want to develop their physique without the kind of workout the competitive bodybuilders must do. So we see greater numbers of men and women training to develop their physique or become more fit in general.”
Since 1986, Powerhouse Gym in Syosset has been one of the leading gyms in three countries for serious bodybuilders. At least three former “Mr. Olympia” title holders train there. Fitness and bodybuilding magazines, along with athletes themselves, say that “Bev’s Gym,” which occupies 30,000-square-feet and contains hundreds of pieces of equipment, is the East Coast go-to gym, comparable to the widely heralded national “Mecca of bodybuilding gyms,” Gold’s Gym in Venice, CA.
“The appeal of Bev’s Gym,” said Weinberger, “is that bodybuilders can do serious training here because we have the specialized equipment that most gyms can’t afford to carry or don’t have the need to carry.”
World class professional and amateur bodybuilders and weight lifters train at Bev’s Gym, including Phil Heath, a five-time Mr. Olympia winner, Victor Martinez, a seven-time Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, who has placed either first or second in 10 Mr. Olympia competitions, and Kai Green, a two-time Arnold Classic winner and a second and third place winner in Mr. Olympia competitions.
