View Full Version : Animal Athletes
Orthodox
02-26-16, 5:00 am
All Animal Athletes, start of training in some dark, underground, low budget and gritty ass gym in the basement... And as a result of many years of remaining humbled, training deep down in the shadows, these athletes are then rewarded by God and are are exalted to these fancy ass gyms and luxurious lifestyles of great leisure. Which of course is what they deserve. I mean they've earn that shit and they've payed in full, through the currency of blood, sweat and many tears.
HOWEVER... This will never be enough for them! The glitz and glamour is not what an Animal Athlete needs! Animal athletes crave darkness. They thrive on loneliness.. Their ears are addicted to the sound of silence, with only the banging of the weights and their heavy breathing to keep them company. Eventually, this Animal athlete will grow tired of his sports clothing and will put back on, once again, that dirty white vest with rips and tares init? Trust me my friend, i know.
You can take that Animal athlete all around the world but he will with out a doubt, come back to what he knows, to what he loves. He will, you mark my words end up back in that dark and gritty ass gym, deep down in the basement. Only this time hell b smiling, cause he knows, that no matter where he gies or what he dose, that he will always no his purpose.
Thanks guys
Journey well
Aggression
02-26-16, 8:04 am
I know you've been on here for a bit. I've seen some of your posts. Your real 'identity' to me is questionable, much like other 'debate-sparking, devils advocate' posters that have been know to grace this forum from time to time. And it's odd that they only come through one at a time. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let's talk about your post. In the eyes of someone who isn't too familiar with the industry, yes, it can be seen exactly the way you're portraying. However, you're misinformed. When athletes, specifically 'Animal athletes' start to debut under the brand, they're 'made' to look a certain way. They're brought in for photo shoots, provided specific clothing, and the day is spent in an effort to portray a certain image; this hardcore bodybuilder training in the darkness. Once the shoot is over, they're sent home, back to their usual days, usual gyms, usual clothing. Years ago, the illusion was better kept. Now with social media being the way it is, you know a lot quicker and a lot more often how athletes are in their real day-to-day lives.
For some of them, the 'glitz, glamour, and sporty clothing' is what they've always been training in. Its who they are. Obviously those characteristics won't cut it for an Animal Ad, so they call a few audibles for the day. Others were 'discovered' in a dark, basement type gym and remain training there. It all depends on the person. But when it comes time to made an Animal Ad, they're all portrayed to look a specific way ... Animal-esque.
dmiracle
02-26-16, 8:15 am
Hmm, this could get interesting! I dig the whole Animal "image" it was one of the things that drew me to Animal!
Orthodox
02-26-16, 11:08 am
Let me clarify... When i say ' dark and gritty basement gym' its symbolic. Meaning this athletes MINDSET. Which in truth is priceless. As young inspiring bodybuilders we can often suffer in the early days of building our bodies. Lack off money, time, family etc... This is where the 'Darkness' comes into it. This young inspiring bodybuilder then has to dig deep in order to survive and continue to build their body. This is where the ANIMAL is BORN in the athlete. He sees survival and he dose what he has to just like an animal to survive. This mindset that i speak of is all about HUNGRINESS!!! When an Animal athlete some how survives, and develops his body, he will inevitably be catapulted into the light as in fame. No longer having to survive, as in struggle like he once did in those early days as in, dark days. Why dark? Because they was unknown? Know only in the heavens, only God saw what they did.
When a athlete leaves this darkness they lose a piece of themselves. They know what I'm talking about. A sort of inner strength, ma strength which kept them going when all others stopped, they end up craving for these dark days again because they know, that there at their strongest in this darkness. It feels good to be hungry. A hungry Animal is focused on hunting, getting his goal, which is food. Food for an Animal Athlete is a HUNGRY STATE OF MIND. To be fully focused on ones path and goal. In the light as in fame, your always fed, you can become lazy in mind and heart and eventually lose track of who you are an where you was going.
Like Rocky... Started out in the darkness, achieved greatness but lost himself and lost his way. He was to return to where he started. Back in the darkness. Where he found true greatness .
The House, Ox, Wrath they know what i mean. Ask them... Their all back training in that dark basement. As in they git back their true original state of mind. Which of course was to just BUILD their Body's. Their all hungry again and ready to hunt for further growth an just thank God that they are who they are and that their doing what they have been put here to do.. Which is build a body
PA Kodiak
02-26-16, 11:25 am
Though I'm no sponsored athlete, I myself got my start training in a filthly, dimmly lit gym. How this place is still open I have no idea. No one goes there. Its just two small rooms with some rusty, corroded barbells, dumbells, a power rack, a leg press, a hack squat, and about 3 cable machines. I've always said it looks like something out of an Animal ad. I trained there for 3 or 4 years until I moved and had to join a commercial gym. I still go back occassionally. I get to train there for free now whenever I go. Maybe this start I had is the reason I'm drawn to the Animal image and what it represents.
Universal Rep
02-26-16, 11:33 am
Your real 'identity' to me is questionable, much like other 'debate-sparking, devils advocate' posters that have been know to grace this forum from time to time.
Nothing wrong with those who think a different way. The FORVM was conceived in the spirit of real, constructive discussion and debate.
Aggression
02-26-16, 12:33 pm
Nothing wrong with those who think a different way. The FORVM was conceived in the spirit of real, constructive discussion and debate.
I never said anything to disagree with that.
Honestly the black and white and gritty shit is what drew me in to Animal in the beginning. Also hte cage since I grew up in Columbus. What kept me with Animal was the crew, the athletes, the forvm...all good ass people who have helped me trudge through some shit. I have never met an animal sponsored athlete who wasn't incredibly humble and nice. I think everyone loses their way sometimes. honestly this is a character building moment and usually strong people come back stronger.
Orthodox
02-26-16, 5:22 pm
Though I'm no sponsored athlete, I myself got my start training in a filthly, dimmly lit gym. How this place is still open I have no idea. No one goes there. Its just two small rooms with some rusty, corroded barbells, dumbells, a power rack, a leg press, a hack squat, and about 3 cable machines. I've always said it looks like something out of an Animal ad. I trained there for 3 or 4 years until I moved and had to join a commercial gym. I still go back occassionally. I get to train there for free now whenever I go. Maybe this start I had is the reason I'm drawn to the Animal image and what it represents.
Peace to you PA Kodiak
Sorry was just reading what Animal Rep wrote, he seems like a very educated man. Anyways... Yep... You nailed it bro. Took me like 4 paragraphs but you said it in 1! Lol
Let me ask you something... Yeah, your gym was all those things but how did you feel when you was training there, those so many years ago? You felt good bro. Why? Because you was Hungry for it. You did what you had to do, in order to build your body? This is the true nature of an Animal... An animal when faced with survival, will do anything! Put up with anything, in order to get what it wants. Take a lion for example or a alligator, consider how long they will lay there, just watching their pray. They will lay silent for hours on end, moving even at a pace of one step every 2hrs towards their pray if need be, in hopes of capturing it. This is their goal! Food.. Survival. But If their not hungry they would pass it by?
The same can be said for An Animal Athlete.. Who are they? You... Me... To be an Animal is to think a certain way. To Possess certain characteristics similar to that of a real animal. Only our wilderness is the Iron World and our pray is our hopes, dreams and goals... We have to do whatever we have to do, in order to achieve them. Take Wrath as in Frank McGrath. He got injured, most would have given up but he dug deep and simply remembered who he was in his nature, which is an Animal. He took control of his mind and thoughts and in doing so, healed his body. Animals heal themselves bro, they wont willingly walk out of the jungle to visit a vets surgery lol they know they have the capabilities to heal themselves and they do it. They find a quite isolated place, (for Frank it was the gym) and they so to speak lick their wounds.
This is what it really means to be Animal bro. Its a state of mind. A mind set in which one will do anything to achieve their goals but more importantly, to always remain true to their nature, who they are and what they do etc. A lion will never try to be a monkey and a monkey would never want to be a lion.
As for yourself. You will always be in that dark gym you spoke of. Physically you find yourself going back but even if you couldn't then you would travel back there in your mind bro, trust me. And yes this is also why you are drawn to Animal as a company because they understand this animalistic quality of an Athlete. There is no other company out there like Animal, that stand for the same principles, hence why my boys, 'The House and Ox' have come back. Its because of their mindsets bro and Animal gets that. Animal is not just about wearing a t-shirt, its more than that, you know this, its in you...
Journey well
PA Kodiak
02-26-16, 5:38 pm
As for yourself. You will always be in that dark gym you spoke of. Physically you find yourself going back but even if you couldn't then you would travel back there in your mind bro, trust me. And yes this is also why you are drawn to Animal as a company because they understand this animalistic quality of an Athlete. There is no other company out there like Animal, that stand for the same principles, hence why my boys, 'The House and Ox' have come back. Its because of their mindsets bro and Animal gets that. Animal is not just about wearing a t-shirt, its more than that, you know this, its in you..
Well said brother. Most of us here get it. So many others never will.
IŽll just sit back and enjoy you guys debating over this...
STRONGfireMAN
02-27-16, 3:56 pm
Is it bad that I'm not sure what the actual debate is here? We all love the ads for Animal with the black and white, gritty, the monsterous athlete in isolation . Hell, I still have all the original posters. But I don't think that's the only definition of a motivated determined athlete. Being "hardcore" doesn't have to involve an old dusty gym with dumbbells that could possibly give you tetanus. The mindset of an "Animal" is just that, a mindset. Something that is with you wherever you train.
Not animal sponsored athletes but Branch Warren trains at Metroflex gym in Arlington TX and no one can argue how hardcore gritty it is there and Branch is one hell of a pro bodybuilder w the work ethic of a machine. Then you have Phil Heath, current Mr.O who trains at Armbrust Gym in Wheat Ridge CO. Its a phenomenal gym with old and new equipment, bright lights and open spaces and a smoothie bar. Mr.O is as motivated and hungry as they come as he still strives for more consecutive Olympia titles. Now whos better? Right, no one is. They both have the mindset of a champion regardless of training environment. Sooooooooo guess I'm saying is, its the mindset that makes us animals, not the jungle we live in.
Aggression
03-02-16, 1:59 pm
Now whos better? Right, no one is. They both have the mindset of a champion regardless of training environment. Sooooooooo guess I'm saying is, its the mindset that makes us animals, not the jungle we live in.
Back when I was in college and (overly?) into the BB world, I remember watching the training DVDs of Coleman and Cutler. This was during the mid 2000s when they were battling for first and second at every Olympia. You couldn't have more opposite dudes in the sense that we're talking about in this thread. Coleman was at MetroFlex. We all know about that gym. And Cutler was at Gold's Gym in Vegas. Polar opposites. But damn they were neck and neck every single year. One had rusted equipment, cement floors, no A/C. The other had brand new, shiny equipment, tanning beds, smoothie bars, etc. Both great competitors, successful in their sport, and hungry.
Image?
Not that it matters for shit, but I see where animal go a bit out of their way to cultivate a certain image. Example...I found a calendar in a drawer yesterday with a pic of Jason Hugh on it...the pic is of him doing some incline press with rusted out barbell, with cutoff socks over his hands for gloves.
I'm not gonna act like I know the guy, but I follow him on Instagram, and have seen plenty videos of him in the gym. From what I've seen, he usually lifts in a super swanky spot with really nice gear and great lighting. This doesn't make him any less a beast of a man, but his everyday isn't necessarily in line with the way animal portrays him.
Same with the new kid, Masone...animal keeps pumping out the vids of him and his dad in their basement dungeon gym. They don't mention that yea, he started there, but does most of his lifting now in what looks to be a pretty nice commercial gym. Again...who gives a shit? Is someone gonna try to talk shit or look down upon a 320 lb behemoth because he doesn't lift in a dusty hole all the time? To be honest, I'm not sure why this topic even exists, and am even less sure of why I'm replying to it...
There is something that brought all of us to the Animal Brotherhood. The one thing that made us feel like it was something different than we had seen or felt elsewhere. It does not matter what that one thing is or was. What is important is that we continue to learn from one another and grow as individuals inside and out.
Some mammals need $1,500 a week for food; that's tough to get by avoiding "image makers"...and to avoid having your "image" managed when you do things the rest of the world cannot do...why? To remain sanctified in the eyes of purists? We need to eat just like you do, and we're thankful for the opportunity...believe me, they don't come around often.
I respect everyone's opinion, but I submit that having 700 pounds on your back has very little to do with image.
I expect this group of people to understand the basics. No, we're not going to climb down off the posters and webpages and go home to cook eggs in "gritty black and white." These are kindergarten ideas.
Instead of image, why not discuss motivation? Why does a man who can afford to train anywhere train in purple shorts in a $5 million dollar facility...after the camera pans out to capture his arrival in the latest Mercedes..."image?"
Why does a man who can afford to train anywhere, including constructing his own gym to spec, an option most people don't have, choose to train at a "gritty" gym..."image?"
I don't feel qualified to speak on what others choose to do; I can say that no one, and I mean no one, can take a close-up. Everyone is ugly on the close-up.
I remember the time I was at a long photo-shoot and reached down for one more rep on a set of lying dbell triceps extensions...BAM! Triceps tendon rupture. People heard it from 35 feet away. I told the photographer to publish that film; let people understand what this shit is. I left, gassed up my truck, and drove the 3 hours home with a gas station bag of ice dripping onto my balls all the way...."image?" The surgery to repair had nothing to do with "image" either.
You don't wear the socks over your hands becuase you like them...you do it because it's not a fucking bag of trail mix...where you get to pick out this or that...you gotta slam the whole bag and shit out what you dont like later.
There's the way it oughta be...and there's the way it is. Ahhhh...what the fuck do I know anyway.
MACHINE
Nmowery
03-02-16, 11:43 pm
Man, I feel like you're taking the image statements way too personally. I don't think anyone is trying to say that animal is making any of their athletes out to be something they're not - but they obviously carefully manage their brand from top to bottom. From all printed media, to the athletes they sponsor, to the music in promo videos, it's meant to project an image of being hardcore, uncompromising, and no bullshit.
My animal pak doesn't come in a shiny foil can, and I don't see them putting big tittied blond girls in their ads and media. Universal goes to great lengths to attract a specific target market, and it's worked out great for them, their athletes, and their customers. people like my wife don't "get" what animal is about...she rolls her eyes at me for pissing away time on the forvm, for wanting to travel to hit up an abc, for swallowing down 12 pills a day, and for wanting to drive 2 hours to Columbus to watch some dudes pick heavy shit up in a cage. only thing that matters is that it makes sense to me and their other customers, so everyone just keep on keeping on...
Orthodox
03-03-16, 3:45 am
Words from Machine. One of Animals 1st athletes and also one of my mentors. Those who have ears let them hear..
You know i wanted to start this post along time ago. Mainly to see if people really knew what it means to be an Animal? I mean really? Sure you can wear a the shirt but to be an Animal is much more than that. Its a WAY OF LIFE! A way of thinking, feeling, and doing. The truth is... If you were really deep down an Animal, then you probably wouldn't need to wear a t-shirt stating that. I mean a Lion doesn't need to walk around the jungle proving that he is a Lion, he just is. My question is.. DOSE THE REST OF THE JUNGLE KNOW? Dose the rest of the animals in the jungle know that he is a Lion? Do they care? Dose this Lion walk around roaring that he is the King!!! And what about the great Tiger... also roaming around in a totally different inhabitance. Not a jungle but instead a forrest. Dose he care that this Lion is considered a King above all other animals, even himself? Even though in the forrest he is considered the King...
Marketing, websites, clothing, careers etc has nothing to do with being Animal, they are to do with well, marketing... Etc. lol. Animal is a state of mind bro, a way of perceiving something. Focusing and attaining this something. Animal means to go beyond that extra mile if need be to attain what ever be your goal.
Thanks Guys
Journey well
Cellardweller
03-03-16, 1:45 pm
You mean everyone doesn't train in Gasp clothing and boots like in the Muscular Development interviews?!!! Really, this thread is so silly. Why wouldn't a pro wear whatever the sponsor wants in a photo shoot? Why would the backdrop/ props be any different? I wear a uniform to work too. My boss tells me what to wear. No, the clothes do not make the man, in the gym or at work.
"Man, I feel like you're taking the image statements way too personally."
That's the point chief...it's not personal...strictly business.
I'm capable of letting someone know they've offended me. At a certain point anything is silly. I try to provide context compiled from actual events and experiences within the industry...but I'm met on this forum constantly by anonymous people who know these things well because...because...shit, i don't know...I guess they've been there and speak on it .
MACHINE
Orthodox
03-07-16, 3:15 am
"Maybe you think that your changing.. But you cant change what you really are. And you can forget about all this money that you got around you too cause it don't change a dame thing... You and me.. We don't even choice. See where born with a killer instinct that You cant just turn it off and on like some dame radio. You and me, we have to be right there in the action because where the warriors and without some dame war to fight, then the warrior might as well be dead...!"
Apollo Creed (Rocky)