INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Joe: Around 1998-1999, Heather (then, my girlfriend), got really interested in competing in bodybuilding and wanted to learn more. We had been attending all the major shows, such as the Arnold Classic since early 1998. I was working in marketing and technical training for a major international electronics conglomerate at the time (yeah, I was lucky enough to get a "dream job" right out of college... Something that rarely happens anymore today), and I was routinely getting all these new digital imaging products to test (or keep!). I began using these products at various bodybuilding shows and began doing test shoots with various female athletes and models, and began sharing some of my work on usenet groups and some of the early paysites of the female bodybuilding world, such as theValkyrie.com and promotional sites like Femsport.

My work was noticed by industry officials, and the next thing I knew, my images (I think from the 1999 Arnold, if I recall) were being commissioned for things such as the 2000 Olympia poster, and other promotional signage and programs. I also had a few things published in magazines of that era (which was amazing, considering that digital imaging products were pretty primitive back then... Most guys were still shooting film in the late 90s).

Joe: In early 2006, after spending time shooting part time for various paysites as a "hired gun", it was obvious that photos, and photo-only sites were becoming a commodity with little value to customers. Video was becoming the dominant driving force within the market, and that just happened to be my specialty. Our industry is fortunate to have several skilled videographers with real-world experience in film-making, professional camera operating, and production suite editing. However, most of these guys already had their own sites or were working for other website operators.

But then, during one casual conversation a few months later, I discovered that another fellow professional videographer, David Cooper, also shared my passion with wanting to elevate the standard of video quality in the industry, so we began talking about getting together and doing our own project, one in which WE could make the decisions on how to best deliver high quality video products to the fans in the female muscle market. Having been the first person in our industry to embrace HD technology (I purchased Sony's incredible HDR-FX1 the moment it became available!), and having been so impressed by the image quality, I knew it was just a matter of time before our industry caught up and started rolling out HD video. So, we worked quickly that summer to assemble a well laid-out, easy to navigate website that showcases some of the industry's most amazing physique models in industry leading video quality! In early September 2006, we launched HDPhysiques - "Hi-Def Bodies in Hi-Def Video" - and changed the game forever.

Joe: No. As noted above, David Cooper, a professional videographer with more than 2 decades of pro video experience, is the co-owner of HDPhysiques, and he shares in the day-to-day operations of HDPhysiques, such as the production end (shoots, talent management, editing, server maintenance, etc...), as well as the customer service and marketing.

We are also fortunate to have the exclusive services of photographer Doug Smith, out of New York City, who not only helps us with shoots as the still photographer while David or I shoot video, but he also does a great job of helping us stay organized on crazy busy show weekends! He has been a godsend!

We also have several online partners who help us get the word out about new models we are featuring, or help out with graphics and other technical issues. For instance, Chris Ray, out of Tennessee, runs our blog and twitter, and Jason from Georgia does our graphic design. And of course, Scott Keatts runs his industry blog which helps promote us, and there's FBBFan, of course! And finally, Andy Vogel of Muscle Angels and AMG-Lite, is one of the most helpful, and wonderful people in the industry. He's helped out numerous paysites (which in turn, helps many industry women physique models) by featuring us on his amg-lite promotional site.

Joe: HDPhysiques has always shot with Sony pro video equipment exclusively, as we strongly believe it is by far the best quality. We prefer Nikon D-SLR solutions for still photography.

Joe: Pretty much every shoot I've ever done has been a positive experience in some way or another. We've been fortunate to meet some very amazing and inspirational people in the industry. It's one of the things that makes it rewarding and allows us to keep moving forward in a very challenging industry. I don't want to play favorites, but of course if we had to choose "favorites" it would be the girls who approach their shoots with an exceptional level of professionalism. Being on-time, being prepared, asking all the right questions, and genuinely caring about producing the best possible content, not just for HDP, but for themselves and THEIR fans, as well.

Joe: In our members section, we offer both HD and low-resolution files of every video clip on the site. The low resolution clips can be used as a "preview" to see if you want to download the full HD resolution clip, which can be over 4x the size because of the increased demand for pixel and color detail in the video signal, OR, the low resolution file can be sufficient for some people whose computers are not capable of HD playback, or who do not wish to run windows media files. Most of this content is physique model flexing and posing, featuring some of the most attractive physique women in the world!

We also offer some bonus content in our "Bonus Media" and "Fun Flexes" section, such as contest coverage, expo coverage, armwrestling or other strength feats, and special parts features, such as quads, biceps, and calves.

Joe: About 300, with MUCH more on the way!!!

Joe: We always encourage customers to review our update history and compare it with other industry websites - it is something we are extremely proud of, and we don't believe that there's any other site out there that presents as good a value for the money.

Not only do we update with remarkable consistency, but we also offer substantial quality AND quantity with each update.

Joe: Month-to-month memberships cost $13.95, with lower per-month costs available via multi-month memberships, such as 3-month and 6-month. We also offer a combo membership with our sister-site, TanyaFitness.com, in which memberships at TF can be acquired for $2.00 off the monthly price at the time of the purchase of an HDP membership.

Joe: We pride ourselves in our prompt attention to customer emails, our video quality, our broad mix of models, ease of navigation, and our consistency with updates. We also value our relationships with the models in the industry, by making sure that each shoot is professional, yet an enjoyable experience, and deliver promised content to them in a reasonable time frame.

Joe: They can contact us by email at: joe@hdphysiques.com or david@hdphysiques.com.

Joe: Thank you Mark, for the opportunity to speak about our site and for all that you do for the industry. We look forward to an incredible year in 2011, and we appreciate all of our customers and models that allow us to continue to produce some of the industry's best photo and video content!