Natural bodybuilding and powerlifting are two sports that require a great deal of commitment and discipline. They are often overlooked by the tiny slither of mainstream society that comprises an almost cult-like following of the [chemically-enhanced] bodybuilding community promoted by such federations as the IFBB and NABBA (WABBA - worldwide).
Few people can relate to the pro's, be they aesthetically pleasing with razor-sharp abs like Dexter Jackson or Ahmad Haidar or mass monsters like the German giant Markus Ruhl, who competes at 280lbs with 4% bodyfat and dry to the bone. But even natural stars like Skip Lacour and John Hansen seem slightly out-of-reach.
Bodybuilding is a blue collar sport and much like Punk Rock, grown men and women just want to train hard, eat right, grow stronger, and look better - they're not looking for stars to worship like a bunch of teenie bopper groupies buying magazines every month and wetting themselves as they tremble w/ nerves posing next to the great bodybuilder that's posing with them for $25 at a bodybuilding show.
StrengthAddicts.com has always been about showcasing local, undiscovered talent for inspiration and education of the greater bodybuilding community. People need heroes that can also be their friends and spot them on a lift or bullshit with them between sets. In order for us to surpass our limits, we need to be able to count on people to help us and we need to be approachable and respond to constructive criticism with appreciation, as opposed to readily dismissing it with contempt. Every gym has guys and gals that compete -- but many of these people are usually unapproachable and require tons of ass-kissing from adoring fans before they acknowledge you (much less lend a tip or offer you some help). And ironically, some of these big-time competitors talk-the-talk but come contest time they fail to to win the show, sometimes not even taking their class.
So what's the point? Douchebags and snobs aside ... there's a large number of people that share your goals but are otherwise strangers to one another. Bodybuilding will inherently always be a sport of one; however, there's no reason one cannot be sociable w/ the person that goes out of their way to spot you - or maybe to give you a pointer that might you spare you the injury they had to suffer.
The gym experience - to a lot of people - is akin to an elevator ride. People don't generally speak during the ride; most people usually don't make eye contact, either. We should all strive to take the elevator mentality out of the gym and work together to reach our goals, as collectively as this notion can be put into practice.
