When I was about 18 to 24 I had a pink t-shirt that I wore all the time. I loved that shirt. It was somewhat thick, good quality, but was soft. Very comfortable. I wore it to church, out to bars, to the beach, everywhere during the warmer months. After about 6 years and many, many washes in the the washing machine and dries in the dryer, my pink shirt had had enough and had to be put down. I had a lot of fun in that shirt. And it was pink!
Maybe because of the grunge movement that came along in the early nineties, you did not see many guys wearing pink shirts for a long time. A couple decades maybe. Pastel colors in general went away for a long time.
I reflect on this because very recently I have had several request for pink t-shirts, all by men. I ordered some shirts a few weeks back, just to see the quality. I wasn’t crazy about the shirts so I cut the sleeves off one and put one of my designs on it. Now it’s one of my favorites to wear to the gym.
The whole world of fitness kind of went through the same thing. When I first joined a gym in 1985 (shit that’s a long time ago!) bodybuilding and powerlifting were huge. Gyms were small and not many big chains yet. There were women in the gyms but not many. Few trained hard with weights. A couple ladies competed as bodybuilders. The rest were using machines and cardio. Fitness classes were big as they are now.
You never saw a woman deadlift back then either. In fact, very few men were deadlifting. Only those that were powerlifting. Now I see a woman who is deadlifting nearly everyday! When did that catch on? Good for them, of course. A great core exercise, great for the back and legs. And a lot of these women are really strong! I mean really strong! The deadlift is an exercise I think everyone should incorporate into their routines. Deadlifts and squats.
My favorites pro competitors back then were Cory Everson, Gladys Portugese, Lee Labrada, and Lee Haney. Shawn Ray was great too. Now, there seems like there are so many divisions and categories, etc. that’s it tough to have superstars like the ones I mentioned from the past. Taking nothing away, of course, from today’s athletes. They are all-time amazing. The dedication and motivation is incredible. But I think I’m just old school.
So like the fitness industry, my pink shirt had it’s time in the 80’s and now is coming back! The fitness industry had a lull, I think, in the 90’s but is now bigger than ever. Gyms popping up everywhere. I couldn’t be happier. I never stopped. 35 years of training. It’s great so many people have figured out how important exercise is…again.
Happiness & Peace to all.
The Beast Life