Michael

It starts on Instagram with a direct slide into DM, which elicits a courteous but reserved response.  Michael was a personal trainer at a local gym and an aspiring professional bodybuilder.  As one can see from his physique, he is well on his way.  We agree to meet at the University where I would be conducting the interview and photo shoot.  By the time we make our way through the concourse gallery, up the old metal stairs to the photo studio, we find ourselves engaging in a very comfortable dialogue.  Just a bit of small talk really, but it was easy.

Captive in Abstraction

[under development]

Visions of Privilege

Michael is quick to open up about his experience as a young man pursuing his passion of bodybuilding and personal training.  He shares with me his apprehension of meeting.  Reportedly, many individuals purporting to be artists and photographers have attempted to lure him into less than respectable situations.  He recounts, with a hint of cheeky humour, an individual who wanted to pay him for a modeling gig with “alternative services.”

The interview starts with Michael’s views on bodybuilding and personal training, and in particular, the strain this lifestyle places on his mental and emotional health.  There was an abundance of insights that flowed from this young mind. I can barely keep up.  And as I madly scribe his thoughts in my usual fashion, I find myself drawn into this world of emotional and physical isolation.  A world where he is rejected based on people’s judgements and biases; of failed relationships.  And as an individual who prides himself on remaining differentiated from the model’s story, it’s hard to resist the temptation to dive into the rabbit hole - to immerse myself in an emotionally fused state of anger and frustration.

Michael exists in a world that prefers to judge him, rather than be curious about what drives him.  He has embarked on a journey that is fraught with the stigma of being an intimidating and aggressive narcissist who is only in it for the attention.  But like you and I, he is a man with a passion for being the best at something because he lives in a society that allows people of pursue their dreams and seek out any opportunity that inspires them.