On the one hand, Kai Greene is a top professional bodybuilder, possesses a dynamic combination of successful bodybuilding traits, and, without a doubt, has the potential to win the Mr. Olympia title. Very few in the industry can lay claim to even one aspect of his "game" and talent (whether it be his motivation, his discipline, his genetics, his attention to the craft and technique |
techne| of physique presentation, etc.). Moreover, he's a colorful character and unique presence on the stage. He also comes across as a genuine guy; someone who's had to overcome challenging obstacles, has learned humility, and can relate with others interested in achieving their dreams. We see this side of Kai in all those videos that aim to tap into the spirit of self-improvement. With regard to all the above, it's easy to see why Kai has many fans, and deservedly so. It's hard to find fault with his positive message, and all I can say is, "Well done, and keep paying it forward!"
However, in the videos that I've seen, I would not call Kai an articulate, intelligent, or particularly insightful man. This is no personal knock, I'm basing my judgment against people I've known with a keen interest in art and aesthetics. I might be wrong, but what I find interesting about Kai's approach is that he seems to want to project a vision of his body as trangressing boundaries of normalcy, but in a way that ultimately makes sense and gains acceptance. In this way, he seems almost Nietzschean, i.e., how his theory of tragic art explains what can be spiritually regained in uniting the contrasting forces of the
Apollonian (e.g., the well-balanced, responsible, symmetrical, sober, and orderly) with the
Dionysian (e.g., the unbalanced, reckless, asymmetrical, intoxicated, and disorderly). Subsequently, Kai might be trying to articulate a vision of bodybuilding/art that sheds light on the tragic price one has to pay, or the sacrifices one has to make, in uniting rationality and madness to create something "beautiful" or special. He also seems to have a vision of bodybuilding/art that is self-transforming AND self-affirming, i.e., in the process of "making" oneself, one is simultaneously "affirming" who and what one is: in Kai's case, an elite professional bodybuilder/artist. If I'm right about any of this, I'd consider the expression of these thoughts as something deep and meaningful.
Still, on the other hand, he had violent sexual congress with an abducted grapefruit, and
shtupped it by tearing into its pink flesh like a group of bonobos on ecstasy. (And let dirty schmoes suck on his penis at homo strip shows). That articulates volumes, too.
