2009 MH Man Award winner, Julian Growcott with MH Editor, Bruce Ritchie

A year ago, I took a deep breath and called for entries in our competition to put a reader on the cover of Men's Health magazine. Your response was pretty overwhelming and, importantly, almost every entrant ticked the most crucial box: you had to prove to us that you managed to balance a normal work and home life while also achieving the kind of physical results that merit being showcased on the cover of the country's No.1 men's lifestyle magazine.

Having more than 400 great entrants was an incredible result for year one, but it also meant art director David Ashford and I had our work cut out whittling them down to the final 12. History (and our April 09 cover) records that Victorian schoolteacher Julian Growcott [http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/menshealth/7496/the-2009-mh-man-award-winner/ ]became the 2009 Men's Health Man.




The biggest surprise in the final judging was not that we got a terrific winner and cover out of it, but that so many of our finalists cut the cover mustard, with Perth's Jason Lavrick (winner of the Women's Health Readers' Choice Award) appearing on our September issue and Stephen Denney, from Brisbane, on the front of the magazine you're currently holding. For more on last year's event, click here to view footage of the shoot, details on the finalists and coverage of the awards night.


Think you've got what it takes? The Men's Health Man 2010 competition has kicked off, with inaugural presenting sponsor NIVEA FOR MEN generously reprising their support. In addition to achieving immortality as our April 2010 cover, the winner walks away with a cool $10,000 in cash. Also up for grabs again is NIVEA FOR MEN's Face of the Year Award and the coveted Women's Health Readers' Choice Award.

Good luck and may the best man win!
Bruce Ritchie