From geek to hunk

mewletter · #1 May 31st, 2005, 06:08 AM

Unfortunately, that is NOT me. But hey, this Korean guy sure grew up big like Ron Coleman!

Unless, you are fluent in Korean language, I'll post the site here. Me, I'm Chinese.

So I had a hard time deciphering it with Babel fish.

Teenage years
http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

Started lifting
http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

Before competition I think

http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

Early twenties

http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

A winning smile

http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

Present. A big guy!!!

http://pds19.cafe.daum.net/download....y&dncnt=N&.jpg

No wonder I often hear South Koreans are living in Paradise compared to the North Koreans... Look at the Flag! Reminds me of Jedi and Sith.

Just kidding!

arpeejay · #2 May 31st, 2005, 06:18 AM

Maybe it's where I'm doing the downloading but all I'm getting is error messages.

Too bad, he sounds hot!

xoxo

richard

omelissokomos · #3 May 31st, 2005, 06:21 AM

Richard,

You need to copy (right-click, copy shortcut/link) and paste the URLs to your browser address bar instead of clicking on the links.

And yes, he is HOT!

arpeejay · #4 May 31st, 2005, 07:47 AM

Thanks for the tip, O, that was just what I needed!

And, yes, quite an amazing transformation!

xoxo

Richard

optimusx · #5 May 31st, 2005, 08:11 AM

Definetly a drastic change. By any chance do you know his name?

I'm just thinking how out of the ordinary this guy really is, esp if he lives in an Asian country. I have to wonder where he found a decent gym

I know when I was in Taiwan a friend showed me the local (by local I mean Taipei... 2.5 hours away) "fitness center" and I swear the weight room total poundage of freeweights was less than my bodyweight! There were a few machines but most of the asian locals were on the cardio machines... using the few free weights and machines were the foreigners and few chinese that wanted to experiment. Thin is in apparently (as is double white)

For him to come that far is simply amazing!

Scott

Mdlftr · #6 May 31st, 2005, 08:30 AM

Agree that this IS an amazing transformation.

Any info on how tall he is? How much he weighs? How old he is now compared to how old he was when he started lifting?

The metropolitan area where I live is very cosmopolitan. There are Vietnamese, Chinese and Koreans who work out at my gym, (along with African American, Hispanic, Northern and Western European, in short, just about everybody). The asian lifters as a whole, are much thicker than the typical asian stereotype of being slight and small.

Maybe it's all the food in America, maybe it's something in the water...

.......but! you can REALLY see a size increase!

My great grandfather came from eastern Europe and was 5'7" high. I'm 6'3", so there's been some changes over the generations!

Mdlftr (waves flag)

falseyedee · #7 May 31st, 2005, 10:14 AM

now that IS a remarkable transformation. the difference between the first and second shots isn't tremendous, but you can tell from his smile that it meant something special. i thought the jump from picture 2 to picture 3 is pretty dramatic. then came the jump from that to the contest shots and i was impressed. the final picture, though is really amazing with the first picture still somewhat in my brain.

great stuff. if you know his name, do share. would love to google him. [wink]

arpeejay · #8 May 31st, 2005, 10:29 AM

Mew:

Does the guy have a website? If so, what's the address?

thanks...

rpj

lewj99 · #9 May 31st, 2005, 10:37 AM

Yeah I have to echo what Scott said above...I'm the buddy he mentioned in Taiwan...bodybuilding and working out just aren't that big here. That whole concept hasn't caught on here like it has in the west. Of course it's not such a bad thing at the 'fitness center'...I rarely have to wait to lift weights cause most of the locals are puttering away on the treadmills.

The fitness center isn't all bad though, I've managed to go from 170 pounds to 183 in the three months I've been going there...heh heh. Still it must've been a shock for the regulars when Scott worked out there!

You do see some hardcore lifters sometimes, and I wonder what motivates them... the 'pencil-thin' look seems to be dominant here, and that's what most women go for. I found an article online a while back comparing how American and Taiwanese men feel about their body types - if I can find it again I'll post it...

Jeff

UKBeefy · #10 May 31st, 2005, 01:43 PM

What's funny is not all countries in the Asia/Pacific Rim are the same with regards bodybuilding etc. I spent a short while in the Cook Islands and if that is indicative of the South Pacific island nations eg Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Maori New Zealander then the place is bodybuilding obsessed! The local "shape" seems to help - they are all stocky types with a thick stumpy look to them - perhaps why they make such good rugby players. I saw alot of beefy (serious dues paid in the gym) types around.

Anyhow on Rarotonga - the main island in the Cooks and it had about 3 gyms of the spit and sawdust variety and this is a town with about 15,000 people in it. Also when you looked around tourist T shirt shops and things a hell of alot of the T shirts had some kind of muscle or beefy motif eg a seriously morphed guy holding up the island or just a pic of a muscled local.

Anyone else with other experiences of the south Pacific to corroborate this?

UKBeefy · #11 May 31st, 2005, 02:18 PM

Here are some hot Asian big men.

Mdlftr · #12 May 31st, 2005, 02:54 PM

UKBeefy,
You've got that right! My experience of the Pacific islands is Hawaii, and I have to say that the Polynesians, especially the people from Fiji and Samoa are naturally HUGE!

Thick, stocky, beefy. It doesn't take much for them to really bring out the bulges! There is a Hawaiian outdoor exhibit on the Big Island of Hawaii that replicates the cultures of Hawaii, with exhibits (tree climbing, pineapple harvesting, hula dancing, etc.) and the guys there were HUGE!

There was a big Polynesian bodybuilder from Australia, Sonny ?? who made quite an impression in the 1980s and early 1990s. He's dead now, but he was a big guy.

Mdlftr

optimusx · #13 May 31st, 2005, 05:01 PM

Now that is a nice pic there UKBeefy! I have to say the third guy from the left definetly has the best build (IMHO). I guess the "thin is in" mentality may be limited more to Japanese/Chinese cultures. I remember reading in a Japanese Character design book that the typical hero is of avg height and slim build. It was actually a funny picture because they showed "typical" characters like the leading female, physical sidekick, comic relief, etc. As far as Chinese goes thin is definetly part of the culture. Partly due to space restrictions I would assume...

lewj99 is a good example of what you can do after you get your diet down and start working out right

I am pretty proud of him for being able to get everything worthwhile out of that fitness center (I knew I should have brought my cam that day... most of you would have been amazed that any weightroom could be that small)

I will agree that those of Polynesian decent (and Korean) tend to have larger builds. At times I kinda wished half of my genepool came from those roots instead... but you deal with what you've been dealt.

Talking about big Koreans... someone sent me a link to the site of a decent sized Korean Bodybuilder.. http://jbh.bodybuilders.co.kr/ Too bad it's all in korean, I kinda would like to see how he trains. The site also has pics of a few other of his buddy lifters.

There is also asia muscle : http://www.asiamuscle.info/amkunif.html It has muscle seperated based on country. If nothing else it will give an overview of the types of builds coming from a particular area.

Scott

divis24 · #14 May 31st, 2005, 06:34 PM

Hi OptimusX

The link you posted to the Korean bodybuilder is the same guy you picked out of the line up as your favorite! Goes to show that your tastes are consistent : )

cheers
divis24

arpeejay · #15 May 31st, 2005, 07:01 PM

Jang Byung Ho and the other guy (Shut up and squat!!) make quite the cute couple, don't they? :-)

rpj

optimusx · #16 May 31st, 2005, 07:01 PM

divis24> Is it really? Wow... he looks a lot thicker in that pic than on his site.. I guess his site has pics of him leaner , because he doesn't really look the same (in the face that is)... maybe I just need new glasses. hehe

Scott

mewletter · #17 June 1st, 2005, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arpeejay

Jang Byung Ho and the other guy (Shut up and squat!!) make quite the cute couple, don't they? :-)

rpj

I guess the other guy must be Oh Kyung Mo, his buddy. His website is http://okm.bodybuilders.co.kr/

It's not regularly updated and in Korean though. Still, from his gallery, he's been in USA for a Holiday trip.

The first post's pics are from this website or is it blog?

http://cafe.daum.net/googuy

You could find goodies if you search and surf deep inside there.

That blog belongs to those big guys that are mentioned BTW. Guess its time to take up Korean language class? Any takers? LOL. (Sadly, most Koreans had hard time learning English as well.)

And yes, its the quality and quantity of the food. How great is their water I don't know. My cousins went there and enjoyed the food and culture.

UKBeefy · #18 June 1st, 2005, 04:52 AM

I wonder if they are a couple - certainly in the taller guy's pics there is no sign of a girlfriend and they look very close in the pics.

lewj99 · #19 June 1st, 2005, 09:14 AM

OK here's that link I mentioned earlier:

http://www.andongkim.com/articles/20...dbodyimage.htm

Seems that in Chinese/Taiwanese culture, people have been encouraged to train the mind and not so much the body (aside from kung fu I suppose). Interesting article anyway. Of course Asian culture isn't monolithic, bodybuilding seems to be much more accepted in Korea. On a side note I checked the board mewletter mentioned...when I entered the text from one of the pics into Alta Vista's translator, it came out "Age 24 is exercising in nine bedspread diletante lives"

If anyone can figure out what the hell that means you're doing way better than me!

Jeff

Flexus Lee · #20 June 2nd, 2005, 10:38 PM

It's nice to see a discussion here on muscular asian guys. There's not many of us Asian guys who post here and the stories generally feature white characters - which is fine, I don't think there needs to be an affirmative action or anything like that. Just nice to see all us represented.

Has anyone noticed that Korean guys also seem to have the most huge calf muscles without even trying?

CelticMuscle · #21 June 3rd, 2005, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

UKBeefy, You've got that right! My experience of the Pacific islands is Hawaii, and I have to say that the Polynesians, especially the people from Fiji and Samoa are naturally HUGE! Thick, stocky, beefy. It doesn't take much for them to really bring out the bulges! There is a Hawaiian outdoor exhibit on the Big Island of Hawaii that replicates the cultures of Hawaii, with exhibits (tree climbing, pineapple harvesting, hula dancing, etc.) and the guys there were HUGE! There was a big Polynesian bodybuilder from Australia, Sonny ?? who made quite an impression in the 1980s and early 1990s. He's dead now, but he was a big guy. Mdlftr

Ah, now we are coming into my speciality. Foreign sounding people from the British Commonwealth

1) Sonny Schmidt is the person you are thinking of

http://www.bodybuildbid.com/articles...t/schmidt4.jpg

and as you point out, he died last year and was buried in his homeland of Samoa

2) Taken from Digital Media Spy

Stingray: Brief exposure?

Young Neighbours actor Ben Nicholas appears to have been exposed in a recent episode of the show.

Crotch-watching forum members claim to have spotted the star's brief exposure, with the aid of freeze-framing, in an episode which went to air in the UK last week.

The storyline saw Nicholas' character, Stingray Timmins, kicked out by David Bishop after being caught in bed with his daughter Serena.

http://images.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps...exposure01.jpg

3) I happen to know a Samoan who lives in New Zealand now and have sent the following suggestion:

"I would like to know which of these Commonwealth Federations / Olympic Committee you know (in terms of members) and whether if I e-mailed them I might get a reply:

Nauru, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tonga, Norfolk Islands, Niue Islands and Fiji

The reason I'm asking is that I want to plant a seed of an idea either in the Indian Commonwealth Games Federation or perhaps who ever gets to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games to include bodybuilding, or if that is deemed a little questionable, powerlifting in the Commonwealth Games (perhaps with a view to Olympic recognition in time for the 2018 / 2022 Olympics."

Would that be a good idea?

Aikuchi · #22 June 7th, 2005, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flexus Lee

It's nice to see a discussion here on muscular asian guys. There's not many of us Asian guys who post here and the stories generally feature white characters - which is fine, I don't think there needs to be an affirmative action or anything like that. Just nice to see all us represented.

Has anyone noticed that Korean guys also seem to have the most huge calf muscles without even trying?

acutally, i think most asian guys i've seen who are into bodybuilding (or even just general athletics) develop calf muscles a lot quicker or better at any rate then caucaloids ...
I dont ask why, i'll just enjoy the view .

Yinn

AngryLeek · #23 June 8th, 2005, 11:18 AM

drat! i seem to have missed this thread from a while back, & those transformational pictures, much less the website, no longer seem to be available either thru the links or pasting the url in the addy bar.
Shame, i love seeing those types of inspirational photos. Anyone save a few?

mewletter · #24 June 9th, 2005, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngryLeek

drat! i seem to have missed this thread from a while back, & those transformational pictures, much less the website, no longer seem to be available either thru the links or pasting the url in the addy bar.
Shame, i love seeing those types of inspirational photos. Anyone save a few?

Strange, I had no prob accessing the site, maybe its down for maintainence. Try again.

http://cafe.daum.net/googuy

Search its forums, you will soon get them.

AngryLeek · #25 June 9th, 2005, 06:57 PM

well, i was able to open the site - thanx for the url!

The reality: I have not even a clue where to begin looking in that mess of non-characters that stands for the korean ones. I don't even know of this guy's name or dates (as if i could understand that) what have you.

The photo links above do still give me an error page, so maybe it's my machine or connection rather than their site.

Essentially, I'm pandering for some more help in this case, but if no one can...eh, oh well.

flexicon1 · #26 June 13th, 2005, 06:35 AM

Read the third post in this thread for instructions. Worked for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngryLeek

well, i was able to open the site - thanx for the url!

The reality: I have not even a clue where to begin looking in that mess of non-characters that stands for the korean ones. I don't even know of this guy's name or dates (as if i could understand that) what have you.

The photo links above do still give me an error page, so maybe it's my machine or connection rather than their site.

Essentially, I'm pandering for some more help in this case, but if no one can...eh, oh well.

AngryLeek · #27 June 13th, 2005, 12:29 PM

Reason to be happy, yes? you bet - that's damn impressive & inspiring pix. I read that post of how to correctly view the photos but misread the part w/ copy shortcut, instead copying the actual hypertext. Arr, i hate it when i do those sort of mistakes. Thanx a again Flexicon & mewletter! Sorry for the slowness.