clients that blended fight methods and techniques with classical West Coast bodybuilding: he melded fitness and fighting with great results. After twelve years in California, Rick decided to relocate back to Minnesota and set up camp teaching fighters, athletes and serious fitness trainees using all the knowledge he'd accumulated over the previous decade. "I was glad to move back home. I was glad to find a facility where I could put into practice all the great fighting and bodybuilding

information I had gleaned working with the world's best martial artists and the world's best bodybuilders."

In 1994 he and wife Colleen opened Rumble Boy Gym in Minnesota; this hardcore gym caters to fighters and fitness adherents that are serious and determined. "At Rumble Boy I try and attract clients that want to make substantial physical progress and are ready and willing to do what is necessary to achieve their goals. I purposefully try

and steer away from new clients that are not really ready to make the changes in lifestyle and habits that are required to trigger real physical change." It is always difficult to turn away business, but at Rumble Boy, Rick is determined to work with only those individuals that will implement the systems and strategies that he's accumulated and passes along, based on 30 years of in-the-trenches work. "There are certain methods that flat out work and there are other methods that are a complete waste of time. So much of success, when it comes to improving athletic performance or improving a person's physique, relate to how hard and smart a person is willing to work. If a person commits to work hard, I can show them how to work smart." Rick's approach to martial arts runs contrary to the current craze of mixed martial arts. "I am a martial arts traditionalist. 1 still fight competitively both in Muay Thai and in classical boxing. 1 train fighters and have worked as a personal trainer for going on thirty years. I pass on a system that has a 1,000 year history and tradition." Rick's fight career carried him to the top of traditional Muay Thai: in his 36 fight career that spans thirty years, he has won state and national championships in full contact fighting. "I lived in Santa Monica and became immersed in the entire Southern California fighting, fitness and bodybuilding scene. I was fortunate

enough to work with some of the best." Rick began training with Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. "I worked out of the Jet Center and studied martial arts under Benny and his brother Rubin Urquidez. Benny's older brother was an amazing trainer. He was very close to me. For all Benny's fights, Rubin was the strategic mind behind the scenes. He was my personal coach. It would mean a lot to me if his name was mentioned: he was a huge influence on my life and training. He is now deceased, but lives on in my heart." Rick has studied no less than ten martial arts over

the past 35 years. "I started off as a teenage wrestler in 1971.1 moved onto boxing before studying Tae Kwon Do. From there 1 progressed to Hapki-do and into the esoteric stuff like Ching Mo, Judo, Hung Ga, Kung Fu, and Bruce Lee's original discipline, Wing Chung. I began Muay Thai fighting in 1988 and that was love at first sight." When Rick relocated to Southern California, he fulfilled a lot of dreams he had as a youngster. "As a young martial artist in Minnesota I dreamed, as young men will do, that someday,

somehow, I would train, one on one, with the great martial artists 1 looked up to and admired. That actually happened. I was fortunate enough to train with "The Jet" and quite a few other hall of fame men. 1 had long wanted to meet, train and gain insight from Bill "Super Foot" Wallace, which I did. Bill was a huge influence on me. Many of these amazing martial artists turned out to be pivotal players in my life"

"In the late 80's I became friends with Chuck Norris. Whenever Chuck needed extra help...security, entourage.. .whatever, if Howard Jackson, Chuck's main security guy, was unavailable, I would get farmed out as Chuck's security man. Chuck is one of the nicest men I've ever met. 1 was with him when he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I've worked as a bodyguard and as security for over a hundred stars." Rick also worked as a stunt man in numerous movies and began serious, bodybuilding-style weight training in 1976. "I became a trainer and coach at the original Gold's Gym in Venice in 1992.1 spent a lot of time training with Rick Valente.. .it was a heady time at Gold's, this was right before it went corporate. I learned a lot." Rick has been an enthusiastic user of Parrillo Products and methods since 1987. "I was first introduced to Parrillo Products by another supplement maker - this outfit was very big in vitamins and minerals. I called them and asked who puts out the best supplemental protein

in the marketplace? They said 'Parrillo' without the slightest hesitation. I've been a Parrillo fanatic ever since. When I was a personal trainer at Gold's Gym in Santa Monica, a lot of the professional bodybuilders were using Parrillo products. I remember one multi-time Ms. Olympia coming up to me and whispering, 'Give me a Parrillo bar™!' She turned away to eat it so no one at the gym would see her. She was under a huge endorsement contract to a major supplement maker yet she knew that their products were trash. She used Parrillo, secretly, but didn't want others to see, so as to not endanger her five figure endorsement deal."

By the way, this particular Ms. Olympia winner was not the first nor the only Olympia winner to say one thing (endorse products they did not use) and do another (secretly use Parrillo.) Many huge celebrities and professional athletes order and use Parrillo products yet endorse other products. It's a matter of using Parrillo to improve performance yet endorsing other products to improve their bank balance. Rick has a long, long list of Parrillo products he uses every single day. "Where to start.. .1 love the different Parrillo bars™. I keep them in the glove box of my car, in my desk drawer at the office, in my gym bag, at home. I have boxes of them. Parrillo products are the only products I use and recommend." Rick uses lots of other Parrillo products and normally maintains a 7% to 8%

body fat percentile that he whittles down to 6% for a fight. "As far as my eating habits, I 'graze' all day long; I eat very clean and normally eat 4,000 calories a day. I use Parrillo Hi-Protein™ powder; I drink an Optimized Whey™ shake or a 50/50 Plus™ shake after every workout. I take my 'Parrillo Pills' 2-3 times a day, Mineral Electrolyte , Essential Vitamin™, Bio-C™, Natural E-Plus , Joint Formula , Liver Ami-no and Ultimate Amino . People tell my wife and I all the time, 'We

can't believe how young you guys look!' I think proper training and proper nutrition and proper supplementation are terrific for keeping a person looking young. I'm a huge believer in nutritional supplementation, Parrillo Supplementation. I've been using Parrillo since the 80s and it's the only supplement line I will sell at Rumble Boy. All my fighters use Parrillo. It rejuvenates your body, keeps you healthy and keeps the immune system resistant to colds and sickness. I'm a Parrillo guy all the way!"

Monday - Chest, bleep, triceps: three exercises per body part, 4 sets of 12 - 15 reps Tuesday - Quads, hamstrings:
three exercises per body part, 4 sets of 12 - 20 reps Wednesday - Back, shoulders:
five back, three shoulder exercises, 4 sets of 15 reps Thursday - Off Friday - repeat Monday using different exercises and a different rep scheme Saturday - repeat Tuesday using different exercises and a different rep scheme Sunday - repeat Wednesday using different exercises and a different rep scheme On the last set of every exercise Rick will do a three-stage drop set. He feels he needs to develop hitting power from all angles and tries to rotate exercises continually so as to build punch and kick power from all directions. Sessions last 40 to 45 minutes and the pace is purposefully quick, generally allowing about 30 seconds rest between sets. "I call it perpetual motion." Rick says. He uses continual tension, never locking the rep out. "I want to keep the muscle under continuous tension from the beginning until the end of the set." Rick can do 28 wide grip pull-ups using bodyweight. Cardio is done. daily: 6 miles of roadwork in the early morning, plus later on in the day various boxing drills, jumping rope, shadow boxing, sparing, heavy bag and speed bag. Because of his fight expertise and

rugged good looks, Rick was recently contacted to appear in a major reality TV show that Oxygen Network was creating. "Fight Girls" expropriates the format from shows such as The Biggest Loser and The Next Ultimate Fighter. Ten young women fighters were selected and Sequestered away in a mansion where they are filmed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cameras follow them as they train, eat, sleep and interact. Reality TV has discovered that by putting young strangers together in a house for over a month, crazy things happen,

particularly if the individuals happen to be fighters. The premise of Fight Girls is simple: live together, eat, sleep and train together, make friends and make enemies. Each week a fight is staged in which two of these skilled Muay Thai fighters duke it out. One wins and moves on to the next round, the other is eliminated and leaves the mansion. The ultimate winner will be flown to Thailand to fight in the world Muay Thai fighting championships. Rick was selected to referee the weekly fights. "This reality series actually grew out of a movie called "Fight Girls" that the Oxygen network aired last year." Rick said. Debby Bruce, President of programming and marketing for Oxygen, said the movie inspired the idea for the show. "The 'Fight Girls' are the ultimate Oxygen women - they kick butt and strive for their very best; we saw in the movie courage, strength and resilience. This is what 'Fight Girls' are all about. Now {because of the reality show} we have a chance to get an in-depth look at these women." Rick adds, "The girls competing in 'Fight Girls' were warned not to get too close to each other. Everything is very, very real. The show is real. The blood is real." Rick was a natural for a role in this offbeat show. "If you had asked me a year ago if I'd ever be part of a reality TV show, I would have said, 'No way!' I am so impressed with the young ladies. They are extremely athletic and poised. It's amazing how dedicated they are to what they are doing."

....Which must warm the heart of an Old School traditionalist like

Rick. In the modern mixed martial arts world of Pride and the Ultimate Fighting Championships, fighters are blends, amalgamations, hybrids. Rick feels something has been lost. "There is a 1,000 year tradition behind Muay Thai fighting. There are dozens of schools, each with its own signature techniques and training systems. There is so much heritage; a sense of lineage, and being the latest in a long, long tradition, a tradition that has been passed down generation to generation, for hundreds of years, that means something to me. It is a great loss that nowadays fighters want to learn about the Muay Thai clinches and knee kicks, perhaps they want to learn about certain kicks or elbow strikes - but they don't care at all about the history

and tradition, about the great masters past and present, about those that developed and passed along the tradition. It is a great loss." Standing 5'7 and weighing a ripped 163 pounds, Rick exemplifies the Parrillo bodybuilding lifestyle. Rick is also keeping the 1,000 year old Muay Thai tradition alive and "kicking" in the unlikely locale of suburban Minneapolis: eighteen months ago he fought the number 5 ranked Kick boxer in the world and lost a close decision. Rumble Boy gym is about nurturing and passing along the sacred traditions that were passed along to Rick. He is determined not to let the ageless traditions die. He will not allow these traditions to be ignored, disassembled or dismembered. Eong may he roll.