Business benefits from Coast’s bodybuilding craze
Fri 01 July 2011
Sophie Ryan, Bachelor of Journalism
A new Mooloolaba business experiences first hand the popularity of the recent bodybuilding and fitness epidemic making its way through the Sunshine Coast.
Sporting supplements store Mass-Nutrition Mooloolaba is the only store of its kind to open on the Sunshine Coast selling various vitamins and pre-workout protein supplements.
In its sixth week of trade, the response from the niche market of bodybuilders and weight trainers has been overwhelming and plans for another Sunshine Coast store are already underway.
Mass-Nutrition Mooloolaba’s owner and manager Larissa Trickey said the Sunshine Coast was ideal for a bodybuilding supplement store.
Ms Trickey said there was such a great market potential, with evidence from the success of many gyms around the Coast.
“It’s been hugely popular and we knew there was a market for it but we didn’t think it would be as successful as it is,” Ms Trickey said. 
“We’re in the first six weeks of being open and it has just smashed records. It’s really fantastic."
Mooloolaba is becoming the hotspot for fitness on the Sunshine Coast, with Mass-Nutrition opening on Brisbane Road between two Jetts Fitness clubs.
The popularity of women’s bodybuilding, also known as body sculpting, is becoming more popular, and the Sunshine Coast Daily reported that more females than males participate in aerobics, fitness and gym activities.
University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) Arts Honours graduate and tutor Jamilla Rosdahl told the University’s community magazine there was a stigma attached to female body sculpting, because it was thought to make women less feminine.
“There’s a complex, contradictory relationship between muscular women and femininity,” Ms Rosdahl said.
“It’s a form of bodybuilding that displays female strength and it can make women feel empowered, confident and more self-assured.”
Due to the popularity of women’s fitness in general, Mass-Nutrition Mooloolaba has began to direct their marketing towards women.
“We do a lot of our marketing on Facebook and this week we are focusing on females in bodybuilding,” Ms Trickey said.
“It’s more guys than girls at the moment, but definitely building up the number of females, we talk about females and weight training and females and supplements, just to get more of a recognition for women.”
Curves Maroochydore member Vickii Robson Petch said that although some weight training is healthy, overdoing can have very negative impacts on the body.
“It’s important to go at your own pace, overdoing it or pushing your body too far can end in injury as I have found and it’s not healthy anyway,” Ms Robson Petch said.
“Body building as a sport can get intense, it’s not just a hobby, it’s a complete lifestyle and women shouldn’t be striving to do something their bodies are just not made to do or are capable of.”
While it may not be for all women, a large number of participants on the Sunshine Coast do take it seriously as a sport, even participating in national competitions.
Australia’s Female Bodybuilding Champion of 2009 Bianca Aiono told the Sunshine Coast Daily she trained 20 hours a week and stuck to a very strict high protein diet.
"When I was 24 I was overweight and wanted to improve my body. I got into bodybuilding and loved it – then it became an obsession,” Ms Aiono said.
The second bodybuilding championship competition this year will be held in Melbourne on May 21, 2011, and focuses on “natural” bodybuilding due to performance enhancing drugs being illegal.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority found that in 2009 and 2010, drug violations had been registered in the sport of bodybuilding, which the International Natural Body Building Association (INBA) consider unacceptable and embarrassing.
“INBA will launch a Hall of Shame webpage which will highlight competitors who fail our drug testing in 2010 and beyond, the competitor’s name and photograph, along with information detailing the test result will be posted on our Hall of Shame page,” the INBA said.
“This will keep their disgrace alive and available for anyone searching their name on the web.”
With a growing number of participants in bodybuilding, the INBA has added new events to the Australian competition calendar, and have built a new venue to cope with the sheer number of spectators.
Ms Trickey said she would love to see a competition on the Sunshine Coast.
“Everybody needs to be aware that it is a crazy sport, it’s massive, the amount of time and effort people put into it. It would be fantastic to get a good comp on the Sunshine Coast,” Ms Trickey said.
“I’d love to see a federation come and do a big show and get everybody there.”
Image(s) designed by Sophie Ryan