Between Elegance and Exhibitionism

Written and photographed by London-based art maker Dean Chalkley

The world of the Physical Culturist has been much derided. In some quarters it is seen as pure egotism, just a way of producing aggressive lumps, self-absorbed and even dangerous individuals. There are others who just want to laugh at the Stereotype of the ‘Muscle Man’ routine with greased up biceps pulsing to comedy music. Some simply think of it as being weird. I think that these determined characters are owed something more than a snigger or a typecast. Graceful and Elegant are words that seem to have been lost from the vocabulary when describing Body Building today.

Featured in Issue 2