What makes something “interesting”?  My wife has a doctorate in Japanese art, so when we visit an art museum she often seeks out objects like this 17th century bowl, as used in traditional tea ceremonies:

When she looks at that, she sees history, and culture, and something beautiful.  

I see a misshapen lump of clay.  

But then there is Mike BonDurant’s muscle museum, which houses his extensive collection of antiques and curiosities related to (primarily old-time) weightlifters, bodybuilders and strongmen. 

Here's the third (and final) video in my series about the 2013 NYC Weightlifting Championships held on March 24, 2013, and promoted by Artie Drechsler.  This video covers the heavier-wieght men's classes, and talks a bit about how I involve myself in the competition even when I'm sitting on the sidelines ...

And, as always, head over to Vimeo or YouTube for a bigger viewer.

The Last Drug-Free Bodybuilder (2011)
By Bob Gallucci
186 pp. (Memoir)
(Available at Lulu.com)

It’s a bit like Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978, 1993, etc.), the sci-fi classic in which alien “pod people” slowly and surreptitiously replace their victims until there are no normal humans left.  Bob Gallucci started bodybuilding as a high-school sophomore in the mid-1960s; within a few years, he had progressed rapidly to winning local and regional competitions, and even the 1969 AAU Teen Mr. America title.  But as the 1970s dawned,  Bob began noticing that other competitors—just a few at first, but then more and more—were growing faster, and getting bigger, between each contest than would seem possible.  

And Bob had to decide whether to join them.

Bench Press (1988/rev. 2003)
By Sven Lindqvist
Translated by Sarah Death
122 pp. (Memoir)

Here's the question: how much pretentious nonsense are you willing to wade through?  Because Bench Press contains some interesting philosophical discussions about bodybuilding—but they're buried in mounds of excruciatingly smug ramblings.

Bench Press is a series of 85 brief numbered passages, ranging from a few sentences to a few pages in length, inspired by author Sven Lindqvist's decision in middle age to begin working out.   As Lindqvist trains, he finds that improving his body also expands his imagination and, most significantly, reawakens his long-dead dream to visit the Sahara desert.  Bench Press bounces back and forth between bodybuilding philosophy, weight-training history, and personal imaginings to explore this transformation.

Teddy Bear (2012)
Director: Mads Matthiesen
Written by: Mads Matthiesen & Martin Zandvliet
92 min. (Drama)

Dennis (Kim Kold) is a bodybuilder in his late thirties who still lives at home with his domineering mother, Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft).  Despite his size, Dennis is meek and shy, and desperately lonely.  So when a relative brings home a "mail-order bride" from Thailand, Dennis is motivated to make his own pilgrimage.  And Dennis does find love, even if not quite where he expected.

Here's a video of the 2013 NPC Powerhouse Classic held on April 27, 2013, in New Haven, CT.  This 15-minute video captures the entire event (highly edited and compressed, of course), and individual footage of every competitor.  Special thanks to the promoters, the Montanari Brothers, and to Amanda Eva, who handled publicity -- I had a great time!

As usual, you can head to Vimeo or YouTube for a larger video player.