SOCIAL MEDIA AND BODYBUILDING
Brutal Muscle
By Luke Sandoe
Social Media and Bodybuilding
Social media has its pros and cons. It can be a great way for bodybuilders to market themselves. I do prefer to keep my personal life separate from Instagram. I’ve seen it ruin relationships when people get too obsessed with it. I’ve even seen it break up marriages. Used the wrong way, social media can be pure poison. In some ways, it’s the worst thing to happen to society in general. But in bodybuilding, it can be a useful tool if used properly. For me, it’s a great way to show people the honesty of what bodybuilding really is. So many Instagram celebrities and social media stars portray a false reality where you can have everything your heart desires without seeming to work for any of it. It’s a fake lifestyle where all they do is party and lie on the beach. As bodybuilders, we get to show the world the work and discipline that goes into what we do. I think it’s important to “sell” discipline in a world where that attribute is becoming scarcer by the day. People can draw motivation from bodybuilders because we show that working hard on the same things, our meals and our workouts, day after day pays off in the long run.
Too many IG celebs portray a life that’s so extreme in its positivity that it can’t be real, and it makes people feel really shitty about themselves. I don’t like that. If someone’s attitude and lifestyle look too good to be true, it usually is. For a while, the top bodybuilders were losing contracts and sponsorships to those types, whose main accomplishment was how many followers they had (which as you know, can be bought). They had nothing to offer those followers aside from looking good in their pics. Luckily, I’m seeing it shift back to the bodybuilders thanks to companies like Redcon1. We only have high-level athletes on our team. Congratulations to the newest members of the Redcon1 family, Cedric McMillan and James Hollingshead, while we’re on that subject! This gives a company far more credibility, as far as I’m concerned.
One way social media has made bodybuilding better is that we can now get to know the athletes. The days of Dorian Yates hiding out in Temple Gym and only surfacing once a year at the Mr. Olympia are long over. I can look at Jay Cutler’s Instagram every day and see where he is and what he’s up to.
We all need to be careful though, because you can get addicted to social media and spend most of your waking hours scrolling through it instead of getting anything done in your life. Social media can also be downright toxic. I’ve lost relationships due to it. It can warp people’s perceptions about what real life is, and they believe in a fantasy. That’s why I now keep my personal life completely off Instagram, and I only use it for business.
You can use social media to promote your business or the sport in general. Used responsibly, you can inspire people. I get messages from people all the time telling me I did that for them, and it’s nice to hear. If you look at my IG feed going back years, you will see the same lifts and the same meals, over and over again. I’m advertising consistency, because even though you see me doing the same mundane things, you also see massive progression in my physique. Most IG fitness stars want to sell you some bullshit six-week program for shredded abs, or “diet tea.” We bodybuilders can show that what really works is discipline and consistency.
In the end, social media is just a tool, not so different from a hammer. A hammer can help build homes to shelter the poor, or it can smash in a skull. It all depends on how it’s used. Will you be honest, or will you lie to people? Every one of us goes through down times and shit in our lives. How much of that ever gets posted? Never let social media make you believe you’re not good enough or that you’ve failed in life. Most of the time the mansions aren’t where these people really live, the luxury sports cars are rented, and the watches are knock-offs! Or else these people still live with mommy and daddy and spend all their money on fancy things to post so we think they’re these wealthy success stories, “living their best life.” Rarely do they explain how they make their money, and even rarer can they give you one bit of advice on how you can achieve any of that success too. Me and many other IFBB pros try to show you what you actually can accomplish if you work hard, every day, for a long time. It’s not glamorous or sexy, because most people just want the rewards today, and they want them now, without any effort.
Have you noticed how many more people suffer from depression and anxiety now than ever before? I believe much of that stems from comparing ourselves to others and feeling like we have failed at life because we don’t go on exotic vacations, drive Lamborghinis, and hit the hottest pool parties and festivals. Listen, we can all have great lives if we choose to, and none of these bullshit things defines the quality of a life. Follow the people you look up to and who you can learn from and unfollow those who have nothing to offer aside from making you feel badly about yourself. Social media again is merely a tool. What you get out of it depends on what you use it for, and whether you choose to follow those who can inspire and educate you so you too can achieve your goals, or those who do nothing but show off and glorify fake lives based on material things.
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Luke Sandoe’s Redcon1 Stack
Grunt Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)
Big Noise Pump Formula
Tango Creatine Recovery Solution
Cluster Bomb Intra/Post-workout Carbs
Mental Trigger Focus Formula
For more information, visit redcon1.com
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