The problem with pecs addiction? Sachin Kureishi wonders if the quest for physical perfection is depriving men of joy By Sachin Kureishi For You Magazine Published: 08:01, 21 September 2024 | Updated: 08:01, 21 September 2024 e-mail View comments It’s official: the hunk is back. As The Spectator puts it, in 2024 ‘masculinity means muscularity’, and Hollywood is serving up a beefcake buffet: Twisters star Glen Powell as the storm-drenched tornado chaser; British actor Theo James in his barely there Dolce & Gabbana swimwear; Jeremy Allen White for Calvin Klein in pants working harder than a line cook during rush hour; and Paul Mescal , who has gone from Normal People to abnormally pumped for his role in Gladiator II . Over in Silicon Valley, physical capital is social currency for billionaires.
Have you seen Jeff Bezos recently? He’s so jacked he could probably run to London carrying the mattress I’ve just ordered on Amazon. For Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk , cage fights are the new frontier. (We’re still waiting, chaps.
) Enter any gym and you’ll find yourself in a sea of aspiring Adonises. I attend mine after work most days, as much to escape the isolation of my writer’s garret as anything else. Sometimes the first ‘Good morning’ I grunt is to the receptionist at 6pm.
Truthfully, I feel a pressure to go regularly. Skipping a day leaves me with nagging guilt. Sometimes I struggle to enjoy well-deserved treats because I feel like I’m setting myself back.
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