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 prot?g?. 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.