by Matt Weik, BS, CSCS, CPT, CSN
Yousef “Fousey” Erakat (yeah, that Fousey) simply walked away with a win within the Open Males’s Physique Tall Class at a pure bodybuilding present in Sacramento. After six months of weight-reduction plan, coaching, and posing, the YouTuber turned “bodybuilder” managed to snag first place at his very first contest.
On paper, it’s a powerful feat. However let’s be sincere… Fausey successful a bodybuilding present isn’t precisely the story this sport wants proper now.
Bodybuilding already fights sufficient stereotypes. The very last thing we want is one other social media circus turning the business right into a joke.
On this article, I’m going to dive deeper into Fausey leaping on a bodybuilding stage and whether or not or not this business wants one other clown within the circus.
Disclaimer: This text is for informational functions solely and shouldn’t be used to deal with or diagnose any situation. It’s endorsed that you just converse along with your physician earlier than beginning any train program, making modifications to your vitamin plan, or including any new dietary supplements into your present routine.
From Chaos to Rooster and Rice
Again in January, Fausey admitted he was battling psychological well being points and had gained weight. As a substitute of fading away, he made a public declaration that he’d rework his physique in six months.
To his credit score, he caught with it. He swapped late-night streaming for early-morning lifts, traded drama for weight-reduction plan, and stuffed his feed with progress updates. His followers watched him go from erratic livestreams to flexing on stage with a recent tan and a medal round his neck.
He thanked his coaches and followers for believing in him, saying self-discipline obtained him right here. Positive, the bodily change is there. However self-discipline in bodybuilding isn’t nearly six months of prep—it’s about consistency, humility, and respect for the game.
And that’s the place the issue begins.
The Web Reacts
As typical with Fausey, social media exploded. Some followers referred to as him inspirational, praising his skill to consistently reinvent himself.
Others weren’t shopping for it. Feedback ranged from admiration to straight-up mockery. One particular person joked that his physique “regarded AI-generated.” One other fan obtained deep, saying it was about “overcome oneself.”
However then got here the critics, and actually, they’d some extent. One tweet mentioned, “Bodybuilding is an indication of psychological sickness in insecure drug abusers who search social acceptance.”
Dang. Discuss pictures fired.
Whereas that’s a harsh generalization, it exhibits how Fausey’s involvement solely fuels the unfavorable picture outsiders have already got of bodybuilding.
A Sample That By no means Ends
Fausey has a historical past of leaping from one id to the following—YouTuber, rapper, fighter, streamer, and now bodybuilder. Each new part appears to observe the identical script: public breakdown, grand comeback, viral consideration, repeat.
Followers name it “reinvention.” I name it chaos, publicity, and making an attempt to remain related.
He’s constructed a profession off controversy, not credibility. The dude’s monitor report is a spotlight reel of drama and impulsive choices. And now he’s utilizing bodybuilding as one other platform for consideration.
That’s not ardour… it’s opportunism.
Not What the Sport Wants
Bodybuilding was about self-mastery and respect for the grind. Immediately, because of individuals like Fausey, it’s slowly turning into one other sideshow.
The game already offers with sufficient critics calling it narcissistic, unhealthy, and pretend. When a character like Fausey steps in (somebody recognized extra for antics than integrity), it solely reinforces these unfavorable views.
The blokes and girls who stay this life-style day in and time out (who grind for years in silence) deserve higher than to have their exhausting work overshadowed by a YouTuber chasing one other dopamine hit.
Go Again to YouTube
Right here’s the reality: Fausey successful a present doesn’t make him a bodybuilder. It makes him somebody who dieted for half a 12 months, stepped on stage, and grabbed one other piece of content material to submit on-line to attempt to grow to be related once more.
As a result of let’s face it… nobody actually cares about Fausey and what he does anymore. He’s irrelevant on-line.
Bodybuilding isn’t about going viral. It’s about dedication, sacrifice, and consistency—three issues he’s by no means been in a position to maintain long-term.
So, congrats on the medal, I suppose. But when historical past tells us something, this “bodybuilding period” might be short-lived earlier than he burns out once more and strikes on to the following stunt.
The game doesn’t want that. We don’t want extra chaos or controversy. We want athletes who elevate bodybuilding, not exploit it.
So, Fausey… thanks for stopping by. Now, do us all a favor and return to YouTube the place you belong.
