Article By Ironmagazine.com

On the subject of people who do an outstanding job of contest prep, I would be remiss in not mentioning the many success stories TY " Ropeman" Felder has had a hand in over the years. A one-time NPC light-heavy-weight star (he earned his moniker because of the freaky veins he displayed onstage) and former training partner of eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney, Ropeman, who's also the NPC district chairman for Georgia, has worked with pro athletes from other sports as well as numerous bodybuilders.

One guy who credits Felder with the notable improvement he's made over the past three years is Atlanta's Roc Shabazz. Thanks to Ropeman's ability to "break a body down, finding all the weak components and implementing a plan to improve ," this 5'5", 195 pounder keeps getting bigger and better all the time. Rock first stepped onstage in 1993-at a husky 143 pounds. He hit the Nationals stage for the first time in 1997 but didn't stay long. As in didn't make the cut. Three years later, in front of his hometown fans, Shabazz moved up to eighth in the middleweight class. In 2002, as a light heavyweight, he placed fourth, and in '03 the man who's added 52 pounds of pure beef to his frame over the past decade finished second only to class champ Kris Dim.

"I'd also like to thank my training partners, Darrell Monson and Jay Rowe, for pushing me, " Says Shabazz. " I'm bigger than I've ever been in the off-season, eating cleaner than I've ever eaten, and I promise you a bigger and better Roc in 2004." That sounds like a pro card ready to happen, eh, Roc? To contact Shabazz, write to him at www.therealroc.com or at 4920 Roswell Road, Suite-45-B, #115, Atlanta, GA 30342.