Building the body beautiful requires total dedication. It is a constant pre-occupation, a quasi-religious quest for physical perfection that consumes every aspect of your life. Bodybuilding is the fashion that happens before clothes. In fact, for bodybuilders, most clothing, although incredibly stylized for the gym or competition, is merely a distraction from the main event: a fucking massive, shiny, hard body made up of cement-like muscle balloons. We spent a gym session with Lucas Queiroz, a runner-up in the esteemed Mr. Titan body building contest, at his local gym in Dalston to see if we too could be infected by his zeal for the ultimate male form.
The gym is exactly what you’d expect it to look like – if you were in America in the 1980s. From the huge posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the sparse, brutal-looking range of equipment, the space is a true sanctuary of the bodybuilding purist, a no-frills shrine to total control over your physicality and lifestyle.
The Brazilian Queiroz is a smooth costumer who rules his empire with machismo charisma and constantly relates everything back to the maintenance of his buff form. He regulates his diet precisely, must take large amounts of amino acid tablets to increase his bulk, and trains intensively every day without fail. His obsession is size.
He seems physically wounded if he thinks you have in any way inferred that this guy could be bigger than he. Each time he passes the Arnie poster he pauses theatrically to compare himself to the Terminator, before winking and laughing off the competition.
His training partner was very upfront, admitting he body builds to frighten other men and attract babes.
Queiroz explains that he thrives on the respect he gets. All the grunting, shouting, and straining is electrifying. The fetishized paraphernalia – hand straps, bandanas and support belts – are a total look.
FAYANN SMITH
Photos by Alana Lake
No matter how grotesque these men are there is something compelling about putting every single effort you can into looking like a freak.
Posted by: Harris | 12/08/2009 at 15:18
looks like having your dental work up to date is not a prerequisite.
Posted by: olga | 12/08/2009 at 15:25
is that a blender between the two trophies?
Posted by: winners | 12/08/2009 at 16:08
arnie looks like someone has taken a bicycle pump to his chest and gone bananas on that shit.
Posted by: pump it up | 12/08/2009 at 16:10
yuck! i dont like muscles. i like my men nice and scrawny
Posted by: tisch | 12/08/2009 at 16:20
A bicycle pump with steroids in it. I'm amazed Arnies heart hasn't exploded yet.
Posted by: Mansone | 12/08/2009 at 17:13
The photo with the broken mirror is pretty rad. Dude spotting in that photo looks like a weird Obama/Jaws-from-the-James-Bond-films hybrid.
Posted by: Danimal | 12/08/2009 at 21:21
More shots from Kings gym and our other adventures can be found on the Like Disneyland blog.
Posted by: like Disneyland | 12/08/2009 at 22:00
what the f**k! i think i have more muscle in my big toe.
Posted by: Bun | 13/08/2009 at 16:56
What is this guy thinking? No one's going to be bigger than Arnie! No one!
Posted by: Jono | 13/08/2009 at 22:54
yeah well my penis is bigger that his right leg...
Posted by: Ozzy | 14/08/2009 at 21:15
ooops what i mean is my penis is bigger THAN his right leg... You know what they say about big cocks - all brain!!! x
Posted by: Ozzy | 14/08/2009 at 21:16
Comment to Danimal - obivously the mirror is broken so you cannot see his face features properly..Grow up!! That comment is nasty but then you may look like Obama/Jaws-from-the-James-Bond-films hybrid. Place your picture up there and lets have a look at you!!
It's not nice to be a HATER!!!
Posted by: Isabella | 21/08/2009 at 16:03