Stonewall Fitness: Straight Skinny but Gay Fat.

By David Smith

It is no secret that sex sells, particularly in the LGBT community and especially amongst gay men. It is also no secret the standards of beauty that people tend to adopt along with kind of body image issues this kind of advertising creates.

We all want to look good, especially as a gay man I want to look good and I suffer from body image issues myself, constantly looking at my body in the mirror and not always pleased with what I see. We are always our own worst critics and that is true here too. What’s more important than how you look is how you feel. Even body builders, fitness models and athletes of all disciplines may have the sexiest and perfect body but to them that’s simply not the case.

Recently I had been going through some of my old pictures taken at Boot Camp in the Park and I found one from 2 years ago that was taken while we were practicing bicep curls. I was shirtless and I remember that day, I initially wasn’t too sure about taking my shirt off for the camera (if you know me you’re probably rolling your eyes right now) but it was so hot that I did it anyway but I was still self-conscious. When I recently looked at that picture I realized just how hot my body was at that time. If you’d ask me then however I wouldn’t have agreed with you, if I had not seen that photo I probably still wouldn’t agree with you. 

Body image isn’t always a bad thing, having standards and ideals to give us a goal to shoot for. It’s what drives us, in all aspects of our lives. Be it working hard to get promoted at your job, training for a particular sport or even studying extra hard to get a good grade in school. Training for aesthetics is really no different but like everything else there are dangers involved. Eating disorders, toxic supplements and medications, drug use and even degradation in your physical and mental health including depression, self-esteem, anxiety, self doubt. These can lead to a downward spiral that affects your entire quality of life and although you might have a nice tits and a six-pack, the rest of you is significantly lacking.

It’s all about what’s important to you and what you want to accomplish. There are many body builders and physique competitors that take their aesthetics seriously and succeed very well not only in competition but also recognizing it becomes a toxic influence on their lives.

Nice To See StevieB: Locked into New Possibilities

By StevieB

I have to admit I had not been to the gym in a while. There was a couple days missed along with checking out the gym in the Highlands. The Highland area of Denver, that is. The Highland location 24Hour Fitness is quickly becoming my favorite gym in Denver. This is due to the inordinate amount of smoking hot guys at all times. You can't swing a Nasty Pig jock without hitting a hot bro. And, I've tried.

I had not been to the gym in several days, it was midnight, I was very tired. As I reached into my gym bag for my lock, the same way for thirteen years, my hand came up empty handed. My lock wasn't in my gym bag. Gone. Forever. I started to think back to when I bought that lock. It was upon joining 24Hour Fitness in Dallas, 2001. After the all gay, glitter gym closed down without warning, I reluctantly joined the 24Hour on Mckinney Avenue. I felt so common, having to purchase a lock, instead of the oak lined built-in-lock lockers at the fancy gay gym. But, I did. Out were the free heated towels; in were working out with... you know.... girls.

All of this history ran through my head, as things do when you're getting older, and you're standing alone in your Under Armour in public after midnight. One begins to reminisce about the old days, and things you once owned. Now gone forever. I raised my head; realizing that change is good. Change must happen in one's life. A new lock means new things coming into my world. I welcome new things. New people. New adventures. New..... oh.... that locker across the way has a lock on it that's very distinctive. Like mine..... could it have been left locked on an empty locker for all this time? I walked over, tried the well known combination, and snap. It opened. After days of being locked there, no one had bothered it.

Some times, life makes you wake up to new possibilities in tiny ways. Some times, I'm
forgetful.

This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.