For the 4th of July I went to Venice Beach to check out the bodybuilding contest down on Muscle Beach. Place was packed with spectators, tourists, and fake tanned physiques. (You know a place cannot be that chill when, despite being sunny all year round, folks still can't find the time to actually sun bathe.) I've toyed with the idea of competing at Venice 7Beach ever since seeing the event on my first real visit to L.A. in, oh, '07, but I can never justify paying $80 participant fee for a cheap ass plastic trophy that looks like it is a cheap ass plastic trophy. The mirror and people's stares are enough validation. Hello!
I took the bus to Santa Monica and bumped into a friend from couchsurfing (incidentally neither he nor I bother with the site anymore) who I hadn't seen in two years. He and his girlfriend were exercising on the beach. We recognized one another straight away - it's great when you don't age! - and chatted for a bit. THEN I hoofed it down to Venice Beach. The walk was longer than I remembered...but it was a sunny, nice day so lalalalala.
In the evening there was a super great B-B-Q at the USA Hostel in Hollywood.
Here are snapshots from the day at the beach.
Santa Monica...you don't have to go to
Venice Beach to see fitness under the Sun
Santa Monica Beach
the crowd at Muscle Beach bodybuilding show
competitors pumping manly muscle inside the muscle pit
...and also some muscly tits
"real people"...?
non-bodybuilders in the sand pit
...doing some muscly tricks
teenage bodybuilder...believe it or not!
one helluva joke!
finalists in teenage category.
can you guess who placed where?
can you guess who placed where?
hint: check out the body language
2nd place winner greeting fans
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