Oh, I agree the extreme nature of the sport has killed it. Forums overtaking magazines mean kids at 16 know how to design steroid stacks, when 15 years ago, we'd read FLEX and believe half the guys were natural.
I think it's due to the fact that promoters let idiots come out, pull their trunks up the cracks, and bump and grind. It's not about art, muscle, power, etc, like Arnold and Franco would promote. You have kai Greene gyrating hips while making fvck faces. Imagine if Lou would have tried that against Arnold in 1975?
There will always be straight and gay fans in every sport. Letting the homosexual antics take the main stage was a huge mistake.
dont agree that they are 'homosexual antics', they are straight guys acting tasteless, nothing new there...women pay to see straight stripers do that all the time, not sure if its a gay thing?
Plus if you ask me, it was the great gay photographers of the 50's,60's, and 70's that influenced the classical Art style, and wholesome masculine cullture of bodybuilding, from the pictures, to the magazines,to the posing routines, and on out to the culture itself flexing on the beach.
Those masters include; Bruce Bellos, Mel Roberts, Pat Milo, Robert Mizer, Warner (i think) and of course Rip Colt and many more.
In the late 80s things began to stray from the classical forms (the start of homophobia and distancing themselves from gay photography), but thankfully Herb Ritts in the early 90's influenced bb magazine photography with his hyper masculine dirty gritty black and white style, that was great but unfortunately short lived.
I would say todays style is left over garrish late 80s style combined with extreme vulgar culture of todays fake world, but in any case the show productions, lighting, posing style and overall look of bodybuilding is horribly straight, its as tasteless as hell I dont think any gay guys are involved in creating that shit. sorry
But hope is on its way and its in the photographer Bill Comstock, who is straight I believe. He is the best raw talent out there, he has the best eye out there for the male form, getting the masculinity not just the anatomy and catches the athletes spirit and strenght in each shot.....but I think he holds back,,,prob afraid of being seen gay...to bad....He is the One to bring ART back to the sport of BB.