By Jason Stern

For some reason, MuscleWeek isn’t given a lot of props in the bodybuilding community — probably because we’re the only guys with big enough balls to tell the truth while everyone else is busy complimenting the Emperor on his invisible coat.

Oddly enough, most of our props have come from other sources. ESPN, Fox News, NBC, and LA Weekly are just a few of the respected sites and blogs that have correctly recognized MuscleWeek as THE VOICE of bodybuilding. So when we broke the OFFICIAL news that Venice Google’s Geeks were planning to give Venice Gold’s Grunters the boot as of June, 30 2014, a mad media scramble ensued in which the suits at Gold’s Gym International (GGI) switched gears to damage control (continuing to deny that such a move was imminent) and the dorks at Google Corporate realized that making enemy with 1,500 juiceheads across the street might be hazardous to their health.

The result?  A flurry of telephone calls between Google’s Real Estate VP and the CFO of GGI, in which they both agreed that the best move for both parties might just be for Google to let Gold’s sublet its current space at 360 Hampton Drive for an additional TEN YEARS.

Currently, the parties are still trying to iron out the fine print, but expect a deal to be hammered out by the end of the year — extending the life of Gold’s Venice until at least 2024.

The best part is that none of this could have happened without MuscleWeek’s investigative journalism and the interview with Gold’s icon and lifelong bodybuilding fan Ed Connors that set all of the above chain of events into motion.

MuscleWeek wishes to thank Ed Connors for his continued support and friendship along with LA Weekly’s Simone Wilson for staying in constant communication with us throughout our efforts to keep Gold’s in Venice. Most importantly, we would like to offer ourselves a congratulatory slap on the back.

Thanks MuscleWeek!

by Jay Stern

The worst-kept secret at Gold’s Gym in Venice is that the gym is closing its doors for good when its lease expires on June 30, 2014. With its 45 years of history, this Los Angeles landmark was once the second most popular tourist attraction in the LA area after Disneyland, but alas, times have changed and the ‘Mecca of Bodybuilding’ is slowly transforming into the Mecca of Millionaires, or ‘Silicon Beach’ in techno-blog-speak. Perhaps lost on most bodybuilders is the painful irony of the proverbial pencil-neck geek getting sand kicked in his face by the muscular beach bully turning the tables and kicking the bodybuilders out of Venice Beach. While the new owners of Golds (GGI) were out there licensing the Gold’s name to create Wii video games for couch potatoes instead of renewing their lease at 360 Hampton Drive, Google was creating an empire and looking for a place to expand its empire. The result: Google Plus. Gold’s Minus.

Publicly, the gym management continues to emphasize (perhaps ‘misrepresent’ is a better word choice) that Gold’s Gym isn’t going anywhere, but for those in the know, it has become painfully clear that the clock is ticking down to zero. According to former Gold’s Gym Venice owner Ed Connors, Google has bought the building and the surrounding real estate, with grand designs on walling off the streets and creating a SoCal campus to rival its Mountain View ‘university’. If this is accurate, Gold’s Gym appears to have dropped the ball, and with undeveloped real estate (and parking availability) in the area in short supply, the death of Gold’s Venice is but a foregone conclusion.

While some have predicted a move to nearby Culver City or Playa Del Rey, Gold’s already has franchisees in those areas and the geographic limitations of those franchise agreements would likely come into dispute if the most famous gym in the world were to relocate to their area. For the record, Ed Connors — the man who sold Gold’s to its current owners — is already eulogizing the gym he helped create: “It’s a shame if they [Gold’s Gym International] are going to let a piece of history just disappear but sadly I think that’s what is going to happen.”

As a current member of Gold’s Venice and a fellow Maryland alum of Google founder Sergey Brin, I believe that I am well-positioned to mediate this matter. My recommendation is that Google use its considerable wealth to purchase Gold’s Gym Venice, make it the official gym for Google employees, and rename it — wait for it…

Problem solved.

So instead of training and juicing, I’m focused on paying tribute to the power brokers and plan to become the worst pro since Jocelyn Pelletier.

And instead of acting and auditioning, I’m focused on making my own low budget movies that I can star in and direct and even bang hot chicks on the casting couch.

And yes, my door is always open to hot young pros.

My backdoor. No homo.