For those who don’t know, the Mr. Universe pageant is all about body building. Those who have built their bodies to the maximum musculature are vying for the best bodies to be determined by the hopefully neutral judges.
They are judged on symmetry, proportion, muscle size and clarity.
Needless to say, I would not be eligible to win such a competition with my Dad bod. (Full disclosure: I am not a Dad.) But back in the day, when I did have a good body, I wouldn’t have been eligible for any of the awards of this pageant, either. Indeed I felt insecure about my body precisely because it never measured up to the standards of these body builders. By the very nature of this competition, you are meant to not feel good enough unless you are one of the top body builders in the world.
Indeed, people accomplished-with-their-bodies are meant to feel worse about their bodies because of these competitions. You know, gold medal swimmers, runners, decathletes, shotputters etc. feel lesser than body builders because of this competition.
I looked at some of the bios of the Mr. Universe winners and saw that only Eddy Ellwood was a Strong man competitor in Britain. In other words, all that body building doesn’t necessarily make a competent athlete. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that they are athletes. Decades ago I remember watching Battle of the Network Stars and thought that it was unfair that Lou Ferrigno (the Hulk) could compete. But then I saw him run his fastest. Those muscles in his legs may be strong but they weren’t fast.
So now I say don’t waste your time regretting that you don’t have a bodybuilder’s body. Your body may be attractive in its own right. I now think my high school body was good. I could see a six pack in my body back then. I thought I had a sunken in chest but I think it might have looked that way only because I had broad shoulders. Then I also felt insecure of the body I had in my twenties. I gained 15 pounds when I turned 20. The bottom two muscles in my six pack were now covered by a bit of fat so you could no longer see them. But my chest had gained muscle and now jutted out. But I was convinced that I weighed too little. I would be proud to have either body right now. And I will miss my present Dad bod when I am just a brain in a jar somewhere, clinging to a truly sedentary life.
I believe Mr. Universe is harming the world with the looks it presents as being excellent. That’s all it is, is looks. There is no talent contest. There are no questions that might make you think of these men as anything but muscle heads. These contests are worse for society than even beauty pageants. Still, if I had to move furniture and could only choose my movers based on looks, I think I would choose the last couple reigning Mr. Universes.
https://larryrusswurm.com/2024/11/02/the-mr-universe-pageant/
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