Incentives to Compete

[Beti ona]

He has also posted openly about his PEDs. I would say that he cares more about the fans appreciation than judges approval.

[Big Beat]

30 years ago it was generally said that only the Top 6 in the world could make good money from bodybuilding.

That's not the case anymore. The fitness industry is absolutely rolling in money. People are happy to pay if they think it gets them how they want to be. Of course mostly they spend money and get nowhere.

There are literally billions and billions of dollars up for grabs. Build a good body and your can fool the public out of their disposable cash.

[lifepulse]

Spitting facts!!! The ROI is shit.

Nothing wrong with telling the truth but we know that there may be repercussions. Which is sad bc you really cant vent to the public in this sport.

I was given a "lecture " talking to a few years ago by an official bc of some of my previous opinions.

For everybody saying "Stu is screwing himself" -- see, y'all are the "old guard" who are still brainwashed by the "old system" -- and that's precisely the topic at hand.

Every bodybuilder in the IFBB -- would still be bodybuilding, whether the IFBB held shows or not. People don't "choose this lifestyle" so they can "compete in the IFBB". People choose this lifestyle -- those who take it as far as the top pros do, and are that invested -- because, well, they want to be big and jacked and lean. Full. Stop.


In past decades, those who chose this lifestyle hoped and prayed that they could maybe leverage the lifestyle into dollars -- so they wouldn't have to be chained to a desk all day. And the IFBB was kinda' the one and only road to achieving that. Get big as a pro, win some shows, get a supplement contract, maybe open some doors in the future...


But that is no longer the case. Bodybuilders do not need the IFBB in order to make a living as bodybuilders. People like Stu can live the BB lifestyle, be great bodybuilders, make a shitload of money indirectly FROM bodybuilding -- and literally tell the IFBB to suck it, never step foot on a stage again, never have to pay for travel, and so on.


So kinda' who cares about "damning yourself in the pro ranks" and "getting black listed" -- if all "sucking up to the top dawgs" is gonna' do is leave you bankrupt anyways?


People like Stu -- people with balls who speak up for themselves -- is precisely what has been missing from the pro ranks since, well, since the IFBB was formed, really. There have been a select few over the years -- people like Priest -- but they were so far and few between, they couldn't put a dent into the IFBB's sails.


We have seen many now who said "F this", and move on to lives where they were able to continue the BB lifestyle, NOT participate in the IFBB shows, and live very comfortably. Love them or hate them, but the Rich Pianas, Kai Greenes, DLBs, etc. -- those people never walked away from the "lifestyle", they just walked away from the IFBB. And they seemed to do just fine (okay, Piana not so much, lol; and I'm not saying these people aren't bozos in various ways, just using them as examples of "a changing tide").


Don't get me wrong, a few people saying what Stu is saying -- isn't going to change the IFBB in any substantial way.


But if less people thought with the dogmatized mentality of, "Oooh, don't rock the sacred boat, you might incur the wrath of the Manions" -- if there were a few more brave souls who spoke up for their own best interests, rather than the bullshit lipservice of "being honored to be a part of the organization" -- things might actually start to change.


Good on Stu. Hopefully more take his lead.

[lifepulse]

I don't belong to any church or adhere to any organized religion. So, I'm not going to preach in an attempt to convert any nonbelievers LOL
But , I do believe in an omnipotent creator or " GOD"

Why ?

When I look up and the stars on a clear night , I'm in awe of the vast array of distant stars and galaxies.
In all modesty , I have a bit more insight into their origins and vast distance , than the avg bear .

For me , it comes down to one simple thing.
Those stars were here long before any human existed and they'll still be there long after humans die off .

Something had to make those stars and it's not mankind.

That's why I believe in " GOD"
FYI , so did Issac Newton , so I don't feel too dumb .

Ah, the physics professor and the philosophy major.

Nothing like introducing selective infinite regresses into things to liven things up. That hasn't already failed for thousands of years.

The stars -- have to have come from somewhere. You call that somewhere "God".

I ask -- where did "God" come from. You presumably answer, "God didn't come from anywhere; He has always been".

I respond, "So in principle, you are fine with the idea of something existing for eternity, requiring no origin or causation?"

Yup. Then why not just call that thing "reality", not personify it with personality and mysticism? Either everything requires an origin -- including your God (presumably a proto-God who made God, and then a proto-proto-God who made proto-God) -- or, the idea of permanence-without-origin is acceptable.

Like Hindu mythology -- the earth rests on the back of an elephant -- what's the elephant standing on? -- a tortoise. So what's the tortoise standing on? Proper answer, "It's tortoises all the way down, bro".

Multiplying causal explanations beyond necessity -- doesn't that break some rules of good science, like Occam's razor to start with?

[Bestia]

For everybody saying "Stu is screwing himself" -- see, y'all are the "old guard" who are still brainwashed by the "old system" -- and that's precisely the topic at hand.

Every bodybuilder in the IFBB -- would still be bodybuilding, whether the IFBB held shows or not. People don't "choose this lifestyle" so they can "compete in the IFBB". People choose this lifestyle -- those who take it as far as the top pros do, and are that invested -- because, well, they want to be big and jacked and lean. Full. Stop.


In past decades, those who chose this lifestyle hoped and prayed that they could maybe leverage the lifestyle into dollars -- so they wouldn't have to be chained to a desk all day. And the IFBB was kinda' the one and only road to achieving that. Get big as a pro, win some shows, get a supplement contract, maybe open some doors in the future...


But that is no longer the case. Bodybuilders do not need the IFBB in order to make a living as bodybuilders. People like Stu can live the BB lifestyle, be great bodybuilders, make a shitload of money indirectly FROM bodybuilding -- and literally tell the IFBB to suck it, never step foot on a stage again, never have to pay for travel, and so on.


So kinda' who cares about "damning yourself in the pro ranks" and "getting black listed" -- if all "sucking up to the top dawgs" is gonna' do is leave you bankrupt anyways?


People like Stu -- people with balls who speak up for themselves -- is precisely what has been missing from the pro ranks since, well, since the IFBB was formed, really. There have been a select few over the years -- people like Priest -- but they were so far and few between, they couldn't put a dent into the IFBB's sails.


We have seen many now who said "F this", and move on to lives where they were able to continue the BB lifestyle, NOT participate in the IFBB shows, and live very comfortably. Love them or hate them, but the Rich Pianas, Kai Greenes, DLBs, etc. -- those people never walked away from the "lifestyle", they just walked away from the IFBB. And they seemed to do just fine (okay, Piana not so much, lol; and I'm not saying these people aren't bozos in various ways, just using them as examples of "a changing tide").


Don't get me wrong, a few people saying what Stu is saying -- isn't going to change the IFBB in any substantial way.


But if less people thought with the dogmatized mentality of, "Oooh, don't rock the sacred boat, you might incur the wrath of the Manions" -- if there were a few more brave souls who spoke up for their own best interests, rather than the bullshit lipservice of "being honored to be a part of the organization" -- things might actually start to change.


Good on Stu. Hopefully more take his lead.

Guilty as charged re: The old guard

[Howard]

Ah, the physics professor and the philosophy major.

Nothing like introducing selective infinite regresses into things to liven things up. That hasn't already failed for thousands of years.

The stars -- have to have come from somewhere. You call that somewhere "God".

I ask -- where did "God" come from. You presumably answer, "God didn't come from anywhere; He has always been".

I respond, "So in principle, you are fine with the idea of something existing for eternity, requiring no origin or causation?"

Yup. Then why not just call that thing "reality", not personify it with personality and mysticism? Either everything requires an origin -- including your God (presumably a proto-God who made God, and then a proto-proto-God who made proto-God) -- or, the idea of permanence-without-origin is acceptable.

Like Hindu mythology -- the earth rests on the back of an elephant -- what's the elephant standing on? -- a tortoise. So what's the tortoise standing on? Proper answer, "It's tortoises all the way down, bro".

Multiplying causal explanations beyond necessity -- doesn't that break some rules of good science, like Occam's razor to start with?

This may seem like " punting " on this issue but here is what I honestly believe:

I don't think.humans have the intellectual capacity to understand or comprehend where everything came from .

It would be like asking my dog or cat to read and understand a novel or calculus problem.
He simply lacks the intelligence to ever do it .
I'm fact.a dog does not even realize what they're lacking.

[Big Beat]

I feel there is something awe inspiring about the way our universe and we as humans formed. There is a kind of spirituality in that but I don't see it being brought about by a master creator.

I also think there is a lot we cannot explain and possibly things like ESP might be real in some form. Like why do dolphins turn up in the sea when a human is in trouble in the water. I don't think science can explain everything yet.

[lifepulse]

This may seem like " punting " on this issue but here is what I honestly believe:

I don't think.humans have the intellectual capacity to understand or comprehend where everything came from .

It would be like asking my dog or cat to read and understand a novel or calculus problem.
He simply lacks the intelligence to ever do it .
I'm fact.a dog does not even realize what they're lacking.

Oh I’m kind of in agreement; but I think it’s already assuming things to say “where everything came from”, you’re begging the question in the first place to even speak like that (assuming “everything came” from “somewhere or something”). And when I don’t know an answer to something, I don’t think it’s wise to posit anthropomorphized explanations, though historically, it seems that is the precise role that religion always served in various cultures (don’t know what causes thunder, posit a thunder god etc.).

[Bestia]

Oh I’m kind of in agreement; but I think it’s already assuming things to say “where everything came from”, you’re begging the question in the first place to even speak like that (assuming “everything came” from “somewhere or something”). And when I don’t know an answer to something, I don’t think it’s wise to posit anthropomorphized explanations, though historically, it seems that is the precise role that religion always served in various cultures (don’t know what causes thunder, posit a thunder god etc.).

Don't ask me why but the Bill Burr set on Scientology just popped in my mind. Love that guy and that bit is hilarious

[bigmikecox]

Don't ask me why but the Bill Burr set on Scientology just popped in my mind. Love that guy and that bit is hilarious

The Scientologist have their own channel down here.

When you go to downtown Clearwater, its literally TONS of their buildings. They own soooooo much property in Clearwater its scary. They even get discounts at doctors offices.

You can even tour their headquarters. I told my wife we should take some edibles and go for a tour but that probably isnt a good idea.

[Griff11]

The Scientologist have their own channel down here.

When you go to downtown Clearwater, its literally TONS of their buildings. They own soooooo much property in Clearwater its scary. They even get discounts at doctors offices.

You can even tour their headquarters. I told my wife we should take some edibles and go for a tour but that probably isnt a good idea.

The Intergalactic warlord Xenu may get you

[Bestia]

Don't ask me why but the Bill Burr set on Scientology just popped in my mind. Love that guy and that bit is hilarious

https://youtube.com/shorts/gp2NnrfCa...bUcT1bpZ-6aCLG

[lifepulse]

The Scientologist have their own channel down here.

When you go to downtown Clearwater, its literally TONS of their buildings. They own soooooo much property in Clearwater its scary. They even get discounts at doctors offices.

You can even tour their headquarters. I told my wife we should take some edibles and go for a tour but that probably isnt a good idea.

If you DO decide to take that tour -- it's been nice knowing you, I'm assuming we will not hear back from you again...