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The hustler in Hustler of Muscle Beach is fast-talking New York promoter Nick Demec (Richard Hatch). Hoping to cash in on the bodybuilding craze, Demec stages a muscleman -- and musclewoman -- contest in Venice, CA (where the film was shot). The hero's get-rich-quick scheme gets him into hot water when he selects a most unusual candidate for his protégé. Several real-life male bodybuilders appear onscreen, including Franco Columbu and Frank Zane, but the film's ad campaign focused on the bikini-clad female contestants. Hustler of Muscle Beach was first broadcast May 16, 1980, on ABC.