Lets get it on!


Fitness comedian Tim Wilkins and professional bodybuilder Karina Nascimento talk to the crowd during the inaugural NPC Naples-Bonita Classic.



They're here to pump you up — figuratively speaking, if not literally, though from the look of them they're most likely perfectly capable of doing that, too.


Seeking to build upon the steady growth that has marked the event since its 2014 inception, fitness enthusiasts from around the country will strike their best poses during the 3rd annual NPC Naples-Bonita Classic, which hits the Seminole Immokalee Casino stage Saturday, May 7.


Presented by Golden Lion Productions, the nationally sanctioned bodybuilding competition is the brainchild of Natalie Conigliaro of Naples, who is fervently hoping to replicate the roaring success of last year's show, when more than 100 competitors put on a spray-tanned spectacle of rippling muscles to what she termed a thoroughly raucous and appreciative crowd.


"Last year's crowd had this amazing vibe and an energy and excitement to it that made for such a really cool and awesome show that was extremely exciting to watch," said Conigliaro, the mother to a 3-year-old son and 6-month-old daughter who is an award-winning amateur bikini competitor in her own right. "If we have anything like that again this year, we'd be super grateful for it."


Unlike in years past, when the event featured guest posers drawn from some of the most muscular names in the bodybuilding world, Conigliaro said this year's event would cast a wider net.


"We'll have more entertainment features this year, with attractions reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil performers, because we're trying to keep it lively and exciting for the participants and spectators alike," she said. "They're the ones who have contributed the most to this event's success, so we want to do our best to keep them all happy."


Citing the need for more space as the reason behind last year's move farther south from the Center for Performing Arts in Bonita Springs, Conigliaro said the casino's recently built hotel also served as a strong draw for the switch.


While the Bonita Springs venue sports a maximum capacity of around 425 people, the space at Seminole Immokalee Casino accommodates around 900.


"We completely filled the casino space last year, so we had right around 900 people come," Conigliaro said. "What we're really hoping for is to fill it again this year."


As for competition categories, Conigliaro said the event hosted by fitness comedian Tim Wilkins would include bodybuilding, fitness, physique and bikini contests for teens to masters and amateurs to pros.


"We also added a new division this year called 'Classic Physique' that is for men in between the male model look and the full-fledged bodybuilders," she said. "Think Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno in the early days of bodybuilding."


Registration for the event is $80 and open to the public. Conigliaro said spray tans and makeup would also be available on the day of the event for an additional charge, adding that the event would welcome participants right up to the opening bell.


"Last year we had 76 entries on the day of the show in addition to the more than 100 people who pre-registered," she said. "We were really amazed by how many people signed up on the day of the show."


Conigliaro's husband, Gio, co-founder of Golden Lion Productions and owner of Giovanni Ristorante Italiano on Pine Ridge Road in Naples, also said he hoped to build upon the success of the event's historical success.


"Our goal is obviously to grow the sport of bodybuilding, and especially to bring people to Naples," he said. "We're really just trying to elevate the sport of bodybuilding because a lot of people might have a misperception of it."


Conigliaro said much of that misperception revolves around some people believing that all bodybuilders have an unpleasant, "meathead" mentality.


"In reality, our competitors are attorneys and nurses and professional athletes and members of other well-respected professions," he said. "People might think of bodybuilders as being unapproachable, but that's in now way the case anymore."


Golden Lion Productions marketing director Erin Franke — who Natalie Conigliaro mentioned as a large reason behind the event's success — agreed, saying that all participants and spectators would be welcomed with open arms, however bulging with muscles those arms might be.


"We're just really excited to bring the sport of bodybuilding to the community, so everybody should definitely come out and enjoy the show," she said.