Brad Craig: NPC Northwest Zone Chairman, NPC Washington, Idaho and Montana State Chairman. IFBB Pro Judge, NPC National Judge, NPC Regional and State Judge. Event Promoter for over 40 years and retired Seattle Police Department LEO/Violent Crimes Detective.

Elaine Craig: NPC Washington State, Idaho & Montana Women’s Representative. IFBB Pro judge and NPC National, Regional and State Judge. Event promotions for over 40 years. Certified NASM Personal Trainer. Former National level bodybuilding competitor. USAPL Over 55 WA State raw Bench press record holder. Licensed Master Aesthetician.

(From Elaine’s Point Of View)

I was asked by my webmaster to write a brief history of how Craig Productions came to be. It is, in fact, a love story. Now before I lose you men out there, it is a love story between two people who share a passion for the art of physique.

In July of 1982, I met my future husband Brad while judging a bodybuilding show. At the time, I was a competitive female bodybuilder and he was promoting his first bodybuilding show the following month. We both owned gyms located two hours away from each other. Brad asked me to judge at his show, and it was there that we fell in love and decided to put on a bodybuilding show together. He was Craig Productions, all alone, all by himself.

Due to the distance between us and our busy schedules running our gyms, dating was difficult. We decided to get married, which may seem impulsive, but it felt like the natural next step in our love story. I proposed to Brad and he said yes, but the wedding would have to be put on hold. We had a show to plan.

It was now the beginning of September and we had picked a date (a “green” March 19th) and secured a venue for the show. Seattle had just been named the Emerald City so it seemed fitting to name our show something green, something that sparkled and shined. We decided to call our show the “NPC Emerald Cup Bodybuilding Classic”. We envisioned it to be “The Jewel of the Northwest.”

Every woman dreams of being a fairy tale princess on her wedding day, especially if it’s on the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day! However, planning a wedding and a show at the same time clearly became an impossible task. The wedding would have to wait.

We needed a vision, a mission statement, and a goal for our show. The athletes had to be our top priority. The goal was to make the show fun and enjoyable for the athletes, ensuring that they would have a positive experience. Our long-term goal was to expose as many people as possible to our sport and to make them fall in love with bodybuilding, just as we have. Bodybuilding is, and has always been, our passion.

Valentine’s Day came and went but we were too busy planning our show to mind.

Saturday, March 19, 1983, finally arrived, and it was an exciting day. Bodybuilders came from all over the Northwest to compete. IFBB Pro Women’s Bodybuilder Georgia Fudge was guest posing and the “First Lady of Bodybuilding” Doris Barrileaux had flown in from Florida to greet the athletes. The audience showed up and the venue sold out. Afterwards the audience let us know they enjoyed the show. Best of all, the athletes told us they had a fantastic time. Our goal was achieved.

The only thing left to do was to get married. Time was of the essence. Why, we had been dating for a full 8 months!!!!! We couldn’t stand living so far apart from each other so we decided to elope. We called a travel agent (as there was no internet at that time), and booked a flight to Maui, Hawaii. 4 weeks later we were “Mauied” on the Lanai at Menehuni Shores in Kihei, April 19, 1983. Brad was no longer alone, and Craig Productions officially became a team.

We have continued to produce bodybuilding shows throughout the years, including adding and subtracting shows. In 1996, Brad moved the Emerald Cup to the month of April, which is around the time of our Anniversary. He said it would be more romantic this way, but I think he did it to ensure he wouldn’t forget our Anniversary!

As of 2022, Craig Productions has fully relocated to Boise, Idaho. The Emerald Cup is now in the hands of Ivan & Erin Ribic of Ribic Productions, and we are excited to see the fresh and exciting developments they will bring to the stage. We continue to produce two premier Idaho bodybuilding shows, The Idaho Muscle Classic and The Idaho Cup and we welcome you to be a part of our legacy in northwest bodybuilding by stepping on one of our stages. The Emerald Cup holds a special place in our hearts as it is the origin of our love story and our passion for bodybuilding remains unchanged. We remain madly in love with bodybuilding and each other!

The show must go on…