What inspired you to get big...

[optimusx]

For those of you who are trying to get big (as I assume most are). What inspired/encouraged you to start? Was there a family member or did you bump into an old friend that had dramatically changed into a muscle god since you last saw him? I'm sure everyone has an interesting story to tell...

I'll start...

I don't know if I've ever really been interested in being muscle big before the last year and a half or so. In fact I was more inspired by shear bulk. Around South Georgia the average man isn't skinny... he's got a beer gut and drives around in a truck. So of course I turned to TV. In our house any form of violence was outlawed. No WWF, Football, Nighttime dramas, nada. Well one day I was passing over ESPN and I caught a glimpse of one of the largest guys I had ever seen. For the first time I stopped on ESPN and watched the last 5 minutes or so of the World Strongest Man Compeition. Lucky for me they were running one of their blitz airings and another followed shortly after.

Well it struck a chord with me. I went online and found some more info and then I checked out some info on a related sport, the Highland games. I remember for the first time thinking "I want to be as big as these guys".

Unfortunetly an opportunity never really arose for me to have a reason to go to the gym at that time, but a few months later a guy I knew graduated from the same college I was at and moved back home to the same area I was living in and so he asked if I wanted to go to the gym and so I started and haven't really stopped since then which was a little over a year ago.

I've done well so far.. I'm still missing the thickness I really want, but that will come in time.. That's what started me.

Scott

[GrowingSlowly]

What started me down the path to bigness is probably the fact that I've always been overweight somewhat which didn't help my self esteem. I also was very envious of the muscles the jocks were putting on and able to show off while I had to buy extra large shirts because of my weight and due to the fact I'm pretty big.

So, this very year I decided to throw away all my self pity and fix my life. I got some weights and started pumping iron three times a week. With what gains I've made, I'm likely going to stick with it for good and keep going until I can start showing off some real muscle and maybe outgrow those guys who just lift weights for sports.

Thats my goal and my drive and I've got a long way to go, but I'm not going to give up. It also helps to be a member of this site where there is so much encouragement. I'm happy I found MGS because it also has spurred me on to continue.

[wbhunk]

I first started lifting when I was a freshman in high school, mainly for football, although even at that time seeing muscles on other guys was causing things to "stir". (grin)

After I finished up college ball, I kind of dropped out of the iron game for about three, four years through grad school.....then, as part of my coming-out process, picked it back up again. I didn't really have the discipline, though, until after I broke up with my first long-term bf....I decided at that point that I could either mope or I could focus on getting back into shape, and chose the latter.

Right now, it's back to chasing what really has been my dream all along....to become a bodybuilder and male model....plus just keeping myself up and improving as I get older.

[Brahma]

Originally Posted by wbhunk

Right now, it's back to chasing what really has been my dream all along....to become a bodybuilder and male model....plus just keeping myself up and improving as I get older.

Just hold on to that SHAZAM! outfit, alright?

The Big, Red Cheese has always been one of my favorites.

[ohiobuck47]

Health problems with older family members is what inspired me to start lifting weights initially. Then, my need to improve my body and be with other guys while doing so also inspires me. I've been doing it for five years now (I'll be 50 in 2.5 months), and I've felt and look the best I have in my adult life now. My desire for muscle comes after I read Bill Phillips' Body for Life Book and reading his now defunct Muscle Media magazine. All of these things plus a few supplements are what keep me going on this venture for as long as I can.

[Notbigenuff]

Hmmmm, I can't actually point to any one thing that first inspired me to get big (which I guess I have done to some degree of success--still trying to lose the extra fat though).

I think it was more of a process--as long as I can remember going back to at least third grade I have been fascinated with big muscle. I watched for those rare glimpses of it on TV and the even rarer occurances in real life--I came of age just before muscle became so prevalant in our society (and there still isn't enough of it!).

What's interesting is that even though I want to be big, and feel a strong desire to be that way, I seem to let other things "get in the way" of my ultimate goal. So, obviously, it isn't an overwhelming desire on my part. These days I take comfort in the fact that I am bigger and stronger than a lot--if not most--men (I'm always a little surprised at how thin a lot of guys arms are) and that even as I enter middle-age that I still have some growing left in me

[jcnutt]

I guess for me it has been a combination of a lot of what all you big guys have stated ( not big here just yet ) partially for my health as my father has also shown a lot of health problems as he has gotten older, most of which I do not wish to experience. The other part is for the dried up piece of coal I had for self esteem when I was younger, making myself look and feel better is definately a good boost for that.

WB, do you travel with you suit?

[massingUP]

Hrm... This is always a fun discussion, so thanks Scott for starting it up here.

As for me, I remember being drawn sexually to muscular guys from about the age of 9 or 10. In fact, I distinctly remember carrying a picture of Ahnold around in my wallet when I was 11 years old -- I didn't exactly know why I found it so fascinating, but I knew that I wanted to have it with me. *chuckle*

For most of my teenage years I fetishized muscular guys of all sorts -- from bodybuilders to wrestlers to strongmen to powerlifters to the teenaged lifters who hit the gym in my school. And I certainly wanted to BE muscular like them. But, as a closeted kid in small-town Ontario, my deep and abiding in muscle actually KEPT me OUT of the gym. In retrospect, I've realized that I was subconsciously avoiding the gym because I was convinced that everyone would know the REAL reason I was there -- not just to get fit/big, but because I wanted to be close to all those muscular guys. *chuckle* Of course, that fear was pretty dumb, but there ya go.

As I got into my early 20s, I came out, sorted out my issues with sexuality and realized that I too could be one of the muscular guys I found so attractive. And I knew that being bigger meant that it was more likely that I would be able to attract the kind of muscular men I found so attractive -- so that was a REAL motivator. But as I trained and grew, I started to enjoy lifting in and of itself. I liked the self-discipline, liked how it felt to fill out my shirts differently, etc, and came to respect the passtime as a worthwhile project rather than just as a means to an end -- ie picking up hot guys.

And so I moved away from fetishizing "the bodybuilder" as a character-type and started to love muscular men as individuals, as real people who happened to share my passion for size and strength.

Now, I'm sure there are all sorts of psychological reasons for my attraction to muscle. For example, as a tall guy who got tall quite young (I hit my full height of 6'3" by the time I was 13 years old), I enjoy the way that being with a really powerfully built guy can make me feel less like some oversized oaf. I like being with someone who is big, strong and solid so that I don't have to worry about being too heavy, too rough, too big, etc. This is kinda ironic, of course, because as I get bigger, I put myself back in the position of always being the big one. *chuckle* But whaddyagunnado?

But on a more general level, there are a series of psycho-analytic theories about how gay versions of desire don't necessarily mimic straight ones. According to Freud and his various followers, most str8 folks are forced to choose between the "desire to have" and the "desire to be": since the object of str8-desire is typically someone of the opposite sex, it's difficult for a str8 person (once again, this is all theory) to both want to emulate someone and to possess them sexually.

But, gay folk can let those two basic desires operate at the same time. They can unify their desire-to-be and their desire-to-have -- which explains all those matching-muscleboy couples out there. *chuckle*

Anyways, suffice it to say that there are lots of things going on in all of our histories of desire -- whether it's a desire to be something (BIG) or to have something (BIG MEN)... And that's part of what keeps it so interesting.

Now it's time for me to get to the gym. <g>

-- J.

[benchdude]

for me it's just a simple explanation, but in 2 parts. first, an offseason Vic Richards weighing 360 lbs. at 5'9" in a magazine. I was like "holy shit, I didn't know you could pack on that much size at that height!" and I myself am even shorter than that (5'8"), so I thought it was kind of like a glimmer of hope that even us short guys can bulk up to more than just an "average" bigness of like 220-230. I was just starting high school then and lifting for football, but I hadn't gotten really serious about it yet.

then in 10th grade I switched to powerlifting because I did want to get more serious with my lifting, and I was going through a powerlifting mag and saw a picture of Ted Arcidi, shirtless with his 62" chest, and I said, "that's what I wanna look like no matter what it takes", since he was a bench specialist and that was my best lift at the time as well.

so I've kept the images of both of them at their biggest size in my mind and that's what I work towards.

[arpeejay]

I'm old.

When I was VERY young (3 or 4? 1961-62 or thereabouts) I remember watching a jumpsuited Jack LaLanne on TV telling all the stay at home moms how to get in shape. And then I'd see a Hercules movie or a Tarzan movie or a book cover with a muscular guy. I've ALWAYS wanted to have muscles.

Why? I don't have a clue.

xoxo

richard

[arpeejay]

Hey, looky there!

That was my 300th post to the group!

I'm surprised it's that low...!

rpj

[optimusx]

arpeejay: congrats on passing 300! (quotes that is)

Notbigenuff: You know what, I agree that it probably is a process. I even have to wonder if it's mainly genetic. When you think about it, often kids have similar interest and talents as their parents or grandparents, who's to say that the same isn't true about muscle. Though if you look at my family you'd think I was adopted.. hehe.. I'm the proverbial "red headed step child" - I don't drive a truck, I refuse to be called bubba, boy or guy, I am a geek (and proud of it).

benchdude: you seemed to have had proper motivation when you were in HS. About the only thing I could possibly have ever played in HS was wrestling, but I always weighed more than I looked... I actually did think about it, but time was at a premium and sports really were not my thing at the time - unfortunetly...

massingUP: Your welcome, and awesome post. Interesting idea about the physcology of the desire to be and be with someone of great size. I've often wondered about that, but it seems to me that there are as many built guys that like thin guys as there are built guys who like other built guys and even really chubby guys. I think people, though search for what they are physically attracted to, ultimately realize that there has to be more to that person than just appearance. But that verges on relationships and such and not simply just simple desires.. hehe

Scott

[vlad]

massingup, your post hit a chord with me...first of all, I'm really interested in psych and might major in it, so applying psychoanaysis to the muscular fantasies of probably most of the people on this group is pretty awesome. Though I must say I'm an exception...I want to be with someone who is huge and wants to get bigger, but I myself and pretty happy being lithe.

After being on these boards for a while, I'm really starting to think about getting into lifting...at least a little bit. I do love how I feel after working out...and not just tennis and stairmaster like I usually do, but actual weights. and as a bonus, I get lots of free eye-candy

[powerdude]

As far back as I remember I have always wanted to be muscular. When I was about 5 years old I remember playing under the bed covers just before the lights were turned out at bed time. I would pretend that I was big and muscular, sometimes putting some of the sheets under my pajama sleeves making them bigger. This would have been back in 1955 or 1956, long before bodybuilding became popular. So I'm not sure where I would have seen muscle, perhaps a tarzan movie on our black and white television.

I think the need to be muscular or admiring muscle is genetic. My father was never muscular, but he admired me as I pumped iron and became more muscular. The same is true for other male members of the family. None of them were gay, so I don't think being gay is a genetic requirement.

On the other hand, I have done some reading about the tendency for males who developed in the womb where there was an extra high testosterone level are more likely to be gay. The more children a woman has, the higher the testosterone in the womb with each additional child.

These males tend to have heightened male secondary sex characteristics such as a longer ring finger or larger penis. Its almost like these males want to become "supermen" in their own right. Developing muscles beyond what most men wish for.

[brent]

Originally Posted by powerdude

As far back as I remember I have always wanted to be muscular. When I was about 5 years old I remember playing under the bed covers just before the lights were turned out at bed time...

ROFL I used to do that too! I did it as a kid in the 1980's, not the 1950's, but same idea!

[optimusx]

Hehe.. padding... never muscle padded, though I do remember having a superman t-shirt/cape and would get on the highest bit of furniture I could find and try to fly (hey, I WAS a child of the 80s).-My mother always said, she had to keep an eye on me even when I was young because even at 2 I'd find something to climb on, no matter how big it was.-

Though I was a first born, so I don't know how much testosterone was floating around in my mother's womb...Maybe I've always wanted to be Big since birth.. hmm.. the more I think about it the more I realize that massingUP and powerdude are on to something...

Padding though does sound interesting. Sorta like instant satisfaction, hehe... nah.. I'll just try to put on the real stuff.


Scott

[buffdoc]

massingUP: i enjoyed your analysis on the psychology of muscle growth especially within the Freudian context of synchronizing the desire to be with the desire to have. That makes a lot of sense in explaining my personal desire, motivation, and even indirectly my success in muscling myself up .

[joel24242]

I wish powerdude's theory worked in my family. I have three older brothers and was born with a twin. Who isn't gay, by the way and i have always been the weaker one of the two of us, damn him. i also have a younger brother aswell, i'll keep a close eye on him and see if he got a extra doese of testorone in the womb. he does appear to be one fo the more fitter ones in the family but he does have the benefit of being the youngest aswell.

[brent]

I always wanted to get big ever since I saw a bodybuilder on the Merv Griffin Show when I was about 6. I tried to catch the WWF (now the WWE) as much as I could & loved pics of Ahnuld. One day while doing a collage project for art class, I stumbled across a magazine ad for Lycra that featured a bodybuilder. I secretly stole it, took it home, and JO'd to it for a couple months. Then one day it occurred to me that there must be magazines with more pics like this one I loved so much. So I bicycled miles away to find a stationary shop nobody I knew would go to and started getting Muscle & Fitness there each month.

[glammaman2000]

my family had a Funk&Wagnall's encyclopedia.as soon as i could read,i decided to work my way through the whole thing.each volume had pictures in the front&a lot of these were classical&rennaissance.i got the idea that muscular men were NORMAL& there was something wrong with everybody else.in my early teen i got into comic books&this just confirmed my suspicions.(in the future;on other planets;everybody will be built like a brick shit-house)it was just a short trip to the back of the magazine&the bodybuilding ads.(you may never be able to fly,but you can look like THIS!)also,as i became sexually active,i found out i like rough sex;but i didn't want to hurt anybody(compassionate sadism).padding helps all parties involved.

[brent]

Originally Posted by glammaman2000

...it was just a short trip to the back of the magazine&the bodybuilding ads.(you may never be able to fly,but you can look like THIS!...

Brings back memories of the Charles Atlas ads in the back of my old Boy's Life magazines. Thank you Boy Scouts of America!

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by brent

Brings back memories of the Charles Atlas ads in the back of my old Boy's Life magazines. Thank you Boy Scouts of America!

Which reminds me that I think it was in Boy's Life where I first saw an article on isometrics--I remember doing the 'bicep builder' for quite a while after I read it! Never did work as well as I would have liked it to though...

[brent]

I never did send in for that. I wanted to. What were the exercises, and did they work? it sounds like a load of crap today, but I was so sure it was true at the time. Strange how easy it is to believe something you want to...

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by brent

I never did send in for that. I wanted to. What were the exercises, and did they work? it sounds like a load of crap today, but I was so sure it was true at the time. Strange how easy it is to believe something you want to...

The article was actually a story in Boy's Life and not something to send in for--I do believe however, that Charles Atlas's course was based on "dynamic tension" and used similar 'theories' and techniques as isometrics. I imagine for the completely untrained guy any exercise would show improvement. But, I doubt if it made a "man out of Mack" in just a few short weeks. Of course, the program has been around for an awfully long time ...

[hulkmuscle]

Massingup hit it right on the head for me.

I'd found bodybuilders attractive since I saw my dad's bodybuilding magazines lying on his weightbench in the basement when I was about 3 or 4. Dave Draper was my first one, I remember.

For years, I felt only a bodybuilder could make me happy sexually, but of course I was the complete antithesis of that physical type: tall, lanky, no muscle tone, no athletic ability. So, the only way I could "get" the muscle was to fantasize.

I started working out more out of sense of duty than anything else in my early 20's. Since I was 22 and looked about 14, I knew that I had to do something to even be looked on as attractive.

Then one day, years later, the lightbulb went off in my head that maybe this was more about what I wanted or needed for myself than a projection of what I wanted in a partner, and suddenly, my body started taking off in ways I never would have imagined.

I don't expect that I'll ever be as huge as I've fantasized, but as Massingup says, it give me focus and structure, and a goal.

[Mdlftr]

Originally Posted by Notbigenuff

Which reminds me that I think it was in Boy's Life where I first saw an article on isometrics--I remember doing the 'bicep builder' for quite a while after I read it! Never did work as well as I would have liked it to though...

Yes! I remember that article! I particularly remember one phrase, "...if you want your arms to bulge out of your shirt sleeves, do this exercise...." and the finish, "....when your arms no longer fit into a normal shirt, you'd better stop."

Yes, I remember that article--it was dynamic tension/isometric exercises (like Charles Atlas) for your arms. I tried em for ages--didn't notice any changes. Major bummer! What I finally noticed, years later, was that EZ Curls, done slooowly, with a lot of weight (for me) in sets of 7 (ah, "7's") put on noticeable arm size for me!

The thing about most of these "muscle builder" articles is that they "sorta" work, but not to the extent that they make you think they do. Then, when you don't look like the bulging-biceped guy in the mag, you think you're a major loser! Not a good way to encourage people to work out!

Mdlftr

[brent]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

Yes! I remember that article! ...
... Then, when you don't look like the bulging-biceped guy in the mag, you think you're a major loser! Not a good way to encourage people to work out!

Mdlftr

Were we all reading Boy's Life in 1983/4? Or did they repeat this article regularly?

You are right that that attitude is discouraging, and that's wrong.

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

Yes! I remember that article! I particularly remember one phrase, "...if you want your arms to bulge out of your shirt sleeves, do this exercise...." and the finish, "....when your arms no longer fit into a normal shirt, you'd better stop."
Mdlftr

Yep, that's exactly the article that I am referring to! I was also especially intrigued by the prospect of having arms that would not fit into a normal shirt even back then (5th or 6th grade?). Amazing the little things that we can clearly remember from what may seem, at least to some, the ancient past.

[optimusx]

I guess I was unlucky in the Boy's Life aspect. By the time I was reading it in early 90s I guess they changed their focus. I never remember reading the article that you guys have mentioned. Bummer.

I do however remember those ads in comic books and alike that had "Be Like Atlas" hehe. Though that the time they didn't really make an impression on me. Now the "build your own _______", that's what harkened my quarters Scott

[brent]

Originally Posted by Notbigenuff

...
Amazing the little things that we can clearly remember from what may seem, at least to some, the ancient past.

I was in the fourth grade, but I kept that article for years. Obsessing about it daily. It even moved with me down to New Zealand. How could I ever forget it?

[claygrant]

Along the lines of this post, here's an old interview with Lou Ferrigno:
http://www.exrx.net/Bodybuilding/Ferrigno.html

Notably, Lou says, "I love getting attention from people. Because when they see me walk, they going to say, 'god, that's like a real man, this is what a man is built like. I wish I could be like him, and look like him.'"

This interview is pulled from a site that I just heard about - if you haven't seen it, take a look, there's a ton of information on it!!

http://www.exrx.net

And as far as what inspired me... I agree with Lou. Every time I threw a coin in a fountain, I thought to myself "I wanna be huge" but never did anything about it. My inspirations were mainly bodybuilders in the 90s like Yates, Zuccolotto, Santoriello, etc.

[brent]

Claygrant, thank you for those links. I find Lou to be an incredibly inspirational guy: his attitude is always great. Also, that Exrx site is great.

Thank you for those very much!

[Mdlftr]

Originally Posted by brent

I was in the fourth grade, but I kept that article for years. Obsessing about it daily. It even moved with me down to New Zealand. How could I ever forget it?

Whoa, you said it! I remembered that article for YEARS!

Shoot, I remember built guys I saw years ago for only a few minutes, and I can still remember clearly how good they looked. There was something about seeing the curve of a thick, swelling pec through a shirt, or a bulging bicep, unexpectedly that was really a charger for me.

Course, I never did anything about it (like work out myself! Duh!) until recently, but, now I'm working out, and I'm feeling better about myself!

Still remember though.....

[zilcher]

this is an amazing posting. i remember also finding an out of the way place to buy my musclemags, so the shop clerk wouldn't know me. i was picked on for being a skinny, non-football-playing geek. of course the muscled kids turned me on. i remember one day in eighth grade, someone finally got the nerve up to ask our biggest muscleman to flex his guns. he did it, and i'll never forget the ball of steele he produced right there. classmates gasped. i got hard.

my first memory of muscle was when i was about 4. yes 4. my sister had a boyfriend who was stocky, big arms bulging at his sleeves. totally excited me. i never looked back. tv, movies, mags..........muscles were everything.

i tried to deny my lust for muscles for far too many years. stupid stupid. but from my 4oth year through my 44th i gained 40 pounds of muscle. people treat you a lot differently when your shirts don't fit because you're so muscular. the feeling of being bigger than normal is better than anything there is on the planet. of course i want more. i always want much more.

[ethernet_jock]

zilcher - quick question - why does your profile put your birthdate at 1980? Also - I would love to see some stats (or even pics?) of your awesome physique that can't fit in any clothes. *evil grin*

To (finally) add to this post. I've talked about these "motivation" things a few times in the past but I think - as I learn more about myself - my weight-lifting motivation is two fold:

1.) The muscle obsession part. The sexual excitement, the desire and jealousy of power and strength, etc... All those things that we all share in common in this forum.

2.) The INITIAL drive however - really - came more out of a sense of necessity. Truly my original driving force - and one that is still extremely powerful and remains - is a sense of need for defense and strength. Having been somewhat extensively physically abused as a kid - some kids turn into psycho freaks, some turn into big sissies, and a few (like me) decide that they're not ever going to allow that to happen to them again or anyone that they love. That's me. It's always been one of my biggest motivators towards size, muscle, and fighting skill that I would NEVER allow someone to hurt me like that again - and anyone who I love (wife, kid, close friends, etc...). So I have this odd sort of sense that I MUST be stronger and more capable than any potential agressor or else I might lose the given battle which I always feel like is pending right around the next corner. I guess that probably isn't the best way to live your life - but it goes right along with the - giving my son everything I never had theory and doing everything for him that was never done for me. So I think it makes me a good Dad and it gives me a real purpose for living. The only problem with this essential drive is that I realize I will NEVER be bigger and stronger than everyone and every potential agressor so part of me always ends up feeling inadequate. Go figure - that's who I am.

Thanks for a cool thread... I really hesitated to post in here but I thought in light of everyone telling me how awesome they think I am - that I ought to. :P

Thanks.

[Wynfrith]

First things first:

THis is a terrificly supportive board. It's like being "one of the guys".

Ethernet- I'm a new person around here. By just watching postings and reading histories, it is clear to me that you are a pretty cool guy. I haven't had the chance to tell you that you are awesome yet. I'll wait for the right chance.


I am here, and I am at the gym because I decided that at the age of 26 I needed to deal with my demons. It seems that for years everyone decided that it was important to make note of my failings. I continued the tradtion after they were done. That, coupled with some awful things that happened growing up, left me envious of just about every man I saw. Looking at other guys, all I saw were my own failings, and own defects. I never just saw a good looking man: I saw how much better than me he is.

I decided to stop being defeatist. I decided that while I might never be the best thing going, or look the way I wanted; there were things about myself that I could change. With some grit, I coulld be that guy who looks hot in a wifebeater. When that decsion (that sounds easy, I know) was made, I hit the gym.

I've been going since July or so, and have made some gains that are impressing even me, the worlds toughest critic.

Shawn

[brent]

Originally Posted by Wynfrith

...
It seems that for years everyone decided that it was important to make note of my failings. I continued the tradtion after they were done. ...Looking at other guys, all I saw were my own failings, and own defects. I never just saw a good looking man...
I decided to stop being defeatist. I decided that while I might never be the best thing going, or look the way I wanted; there were things about myself that I could change. ... When that decsion (that sounds easy, I know) was made,
...

I don't think there's anything easy about deciding to stop beating up on yourself. As a kid I used to keep the mirror in my bathroom covered up because I couldn't stand my own reflection, even from my peripheral vision. I think you should be very proud of your change of attitude.

[ethernet_jock]

no doubt!!! And well said Brent!

Wynfr - I'm still having a hard time getting over that attitude about myself. When I look down at my arms or my body from my head - all I see is weakness and fat. Yet sometimes if I catch a glance of myself in a mirror (particularly if my head is cut off... which happens more often than you'd think when you're 6'4") - I stop for a moment and think - eh.... I'm actually starting to look like I have muscle. It's happening but the attitude change is a slow one for me. Congratulations TO YOU for overcoming that HUGE hurdle early on!

-Chris

[claygrant]

Originally Posted by Wynfrith

It seems that for years everyone decided that it was important to make note of my failings. I continued the tradtion after they were done. That, coupled with some awful things that happened growing up, left me envious of just about every man I saw.

Wynfrith, welcome to the forum! The quote above struck me because I truly hope that everyone out there who has been put down realizes that it's up to us to react in a positive way. I know it's tough, especially when those people closest to you (i.e. family, friends) tease or blatantly criticize you. I've been there somewhat, since my older brother never stopped calling me skinny, weak, effeminate, and prissy. To this day, I bet he doesn't realize the powerful negative impact his comments had. At the time I didn't have a community like this to support me, but hopefully we're helping and motivating some people out there NOW.

And EJ, I laughed when you said your head gets cut off in a mirror. I don't ever have that problem!

[nnnrg]

Regarding the exercises in Boy's Life ... I remember reading that issue too.

The thing that struck me though, was the fiction series with the 'cross-time troop' where one of the members was a Spartan.

Clearly they knew NOTHING about the Spartans. The 14 year olds were sent out to terrorize the slaves who farmed the Spartan land (stolen by conquest from those very slaves), regularly hunting down and murdering any who appeared to be getting 'uppity' in any way.

Also the Spartans, raised from the age of about seven in military encampments and not allowed to interact with women until they were in their twenties? This was so they'd bond with one another. Shield mates were just that.

On the other hand, yeah, the Spartan boy would have been the one with the muscle.