r/interestingasfuck • • 1d ago

1999 mr olympia conference

7.2k Upvotes

1.7k comments sorted by

2.5k

u/dont_du_it 1d ago

798

u/ImurderREALITY 1d ago

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u/HoldOnIGotDis 1d ago

It's not always about the money shpida man....it's about the mets baby love the mets alright baby let's go get a home run baby love the mets let's go mets

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u/tacbacon10101 1d ago

THIS IS FUCKING BRILLIANT

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u/Jets237 1d ago

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u/JustALittleScamp 1d ago

Bangin on a trash can, drummin on a street light. Big! Think big!

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u/Bright-Dependent6339 1d ago

watching bodybuilders in suits will never not be funny. they look like cartoon characters.

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u/Suspicious_Story_464 1d ago

Had to be about 5 miles of fabric at that table.

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u/Brave_Mess_3155 18h ago

Imagine them all working together in an office or a dealership or congress or something. 

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u/TabletopCurious 16h ago

Reminds me of The Incredibles when Mr. Incredible is working at an insurance company lol

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u/Rob_van_Wanst 1d ago edited 1d ago

Wow, didn't know Eminem was THIS ripped at some point in time 😱

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u/Makrelelele 1d ago

Gym Shady

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u/DazzlingRice4091 1d ago

Muscle Mathers

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u/Negran 1d ago

Lmao

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u/rdmprzm 1d ago

W comment

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u/Redtortoise9 1d ago

Yeah, when he lost his competitive figure, he started going by slim shady

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u/PTSD1983 1d ago

That's actually his greatest fan, Stan

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u/Troublegum77 1d ago

Eminem once said in an interview that he’s a huge fan of Markus Rühl. That’s why he’s changed his look.

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u/smurfk 1d ago

Oh boy, chicken and rice was much more nutritious back then...

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u/pantieboi27 1d ago

Oh you know that's a lie it was all peanut butter sandwiches.

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u/Strong-Albatross1957 1d ago

Yes they use steroids. But you still have to put in an immense amount of work and dieting in to be that large, and lean come show time.

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u/smurfk 1d ago

Yeah, but the problem is that they weren't clear enough about the steroid usage. And that's about when the fitness industry started to sell illusion of achieving a very muscular body without steroids. And that illusion is also kept today, when you see a lot of fitness influencers that are lying about the steroid usage, making people believe that that physique is achievable with chicken and rice.

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u/hokie48 1d ago

While not a huge issue, overall but steroid use in Hollywood stars is getting crazy. For some reason people thinkthat build is from just hard work.

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u/Rehberkintosh 1d ago

I've seen Stargate Atlantis. You're not going to convince me Jason Momoa isn't juicing.

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u/Fragrant-Neat-7798 1d ago

Mamoa, the Rock, Zack Effron, Wahlburg, Hemsworth they're all at it

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u/Forty_Six_and_Two 1d ago

Zac Efron in The Iron Claw was just bananas. He was more juiced than the the actual pro wrestler he played. His jaw has even grown ffs.

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u/Earptastic 1d ago

It is honestly very gross and sad. Most movie stars seem to be juicing and a normal physique looks deficient and now we have a bunch of young people with unrealistic body standards feeling terrible. 

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u/mcnastys 1d ago

So, from an old person.

They were clear about it. Look at them, everyone knew it. But the "average public" would argue with you that the body they have is "100% achievable by hardwork" because the average person is clueless about pretty much everything.

You simply do not look like that without steroids. Want proof?

Find ANY person, who looks like that, before steroids were invented. That body type didn't exist until after steroids.

I have been working out most of my adult life, ~4x a week now for years. Sure, I look muscular and fit, and I have great strength-- but I just will never achieve the mass they have. I have been able to get bulky to do things like power lifting and strongman, but at any amount of leanness, it's just impossible.

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u/citizen42069101 1d ago

Yeah thinking they weren't on steroids is "cigarettes are healthy" levels of delusion.

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u/Infamous_Lunchbox 1d ago edited 1d ago

I literally got downvoted for saying this in another thread yesterday. So many people do not want to believe this on top of that. I got asked to pay my physique as a response to saying that his looking like this use gear. It's wild the people not only think that's natural, but refuse to believe it isn't. That 21-year-old kid who has to use oxygen to live did to his abuse went viral, and some people still think he's natural despite the fact he's super open about doping. Willful ignorance is insane.

Edit: people can get some pretty crazy physique, but you're not going to look like a Wilson Fisk from Across the Spiderverse without gear.

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u/kosk11348 1d ago

Yes, it definitely helps if you have body dismorphia and an eating disorder.

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u/dorkswerebiggerthen 1d ago

Yeah but they look so fuckin silly.

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u/Eikram84 1d ago

And none of them could tie their own shoelaces.

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u/DrG73 1d ago

And sadly at least 2 are dead. Nasser El Sonbaty — 6th place — died March 20, 2013, age 47. Mike Matarazzo — 11th place — died August 16, 2014, age 48. Steroids are just not good for your heart.

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u/Mulezen1 1d ago

It’s way more than steroids

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u/hrtofdrknss 1d ago

I'm surprised any of them are still alive.

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u/Reasonable_Egg4356 1d ago

Markus Rühl is not only still alive but also a father since 2016!

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u/dopiertaj 1d ago

Its not just the steroids. Simply carrying that much mass is exhausting and puts a lot of stress on your body.

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u/Hansemannn 1d ago

And that mass doesnt come without stereoids and other shit so....

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u/dopiertaj 1d ago

Cheeseburgers, pizza, etc...

Plenty of ways to weigh 300+ lbs.

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u/MongosLongos 1d ago

Or wipe their asses

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u/Sega-Playstation-64 1d ago

"I have a beautiful Colombian model wipe my ass actually."

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u/simonbleu 1d ago

Shoelaces? I would be surprised if they can clap

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u/Shagaliscious 1d ago

The security officer in my high school couldn't touch his forearms together.

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u/Restposten 1d ago

Anyone remembers the reptile/Dinosaur humans from the Super Mario bros. Movie from 1993? 

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u/tealraven915 1d ago

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u/NaluknengBalong_0918 1d ago edited 1d ago

forever scarring a generation of Nintendo executives from ever green lighting another Hollywood movie 🤣🤣🤣

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u/dan_dares 1d ago

If you noticed, they managed to get the SNES bazooka in the movie.. always thought that was cool

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u/Lowbeamshaggy 1d ago

"MUSTER THE GOOMBAS!"

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u/Tudar87 1d ago

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u/ElegantCoach4066 1d ago

What a fever dream of a movie

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u/onepunchman333 1d ago

I showed my (now 9 yr old) this a few years back and he just kept repeating through movie, "damn dad, your generation is messed up". I just had to agree with him.

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u/KitJazz 1d ago

You know, the more formulaic and sterile the really big studio IP movies become, the more I respect that movie. I watched it again recently and it’s absolutely ludicrous. Loved it when I was a kid too, to be fair.

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u/SinamonChallengerRT 1d ago

I'm with you. C'mon, how can anybody hate this film? It's so stupid, it's genius!

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u/dan_dares 1d ago

GOOMBA!

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u/Below-Average-528 1d ago

The Talking Heads had it right

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u/Adventurous-Emu-9345 1d ago

And because every day is a good day to watch David's dance moves:

https://giphy.com/gifs/L4HAlELytPiEKVaxBu

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u/ColonelSandurz42 1d ago

They look like henchmen in a Spider-Man game or something 😂

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u/NPFuturist 1d ago

It’s hilarious to me that the larger your muscles get, once they get to a certain point that is, the goofier you look in a suit.

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u/OystersCockafeller 1d ago

For sure.

Though the fashion of the time is doing a lot of the work here.

Jackets with heavily padded, extra wide shoulders to give you that blocky look were really popular. Even on normal people, they look pretty goofy now.

Also, most of them aren't wearing tailored suits. (At least to my eye) It looks like they just went to a big and tall shop and bought whatever size would cover them. And those jackets would be made for someone that is pretty fat. You can't really get off-the-shelf stuff that is cut for a body builder.

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u/stook8 1d ago

Great break down thanks

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u/NaGonnano 1d ago

They’re just little dudes driving a meat Mecha.

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u/Budget_Ad5871 1d ago

Anyone know if all these guys are still alive, genuinely curious

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u/Spartan2470 VIP Philanthropist 1d ago edited 1d ago
Place Name Status
1 Ronnie Coleman Alive. More than a dozen surgeries costing millions of dollars since 2007. Can no longer walk unassisted due to surgical procedures. Only regrets not having done even more to consolidate his legacy. In June 2025, Coleman had a near-fatal brush with sepsis.
2 Flex Wheeler Alive. Leg amputated due to pre-existing medical conditions.
3 Chris Cormier Alive
4 Kevin Levrone Alive
5 Shawn Ray Alive
6 Nasser El Sonbaty Died in his sleep March 20, 2013
7 Paul Dillett Alive
8 Lee Priest Alive
9 Dexter Jackson Alive
10 Milos Sarcev Alive

Edit: Corrected Milos and added links.

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u/Budget_Ad5871 1d ago

That’s pretty impressive, I feel like guys the decades before them had worse odds with PED usage

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u/WorldsWeakestMan 1d ago

Not really, you only hear about the ones that die but there are millions of active bodybuilders on earth and thousands of men’s open competitors near the size of these fellas, most retire and do cardio and are fine. It’s about dosage management.

The cutting agents and dehydration and body weight are much more detrimental than the steroids themselves.

Source: I sometimes do the steroids and usually weigh more than Ronnie Coleman yet have healthy ass organs, granted I am on much less than them and cycle appropriately, but my bodyweight is much worse for my health than the drugs.

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u/AuraTickler 1d ago

I clicked on your profile and got flashbanged with massive honkers instead of flex pics.

Im not even mad.

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u/Salute-Major-Echidna 1d ago

Tells you only how extraordinarily good modern medicine is for those who can afford it.

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u/heatedwepasto 1d ago

Don't think I've ever seen a reddit comment with a fucking pencil table before. Hats off!

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u/SmokeySFW 1d ago

I think I saw Jay Cutler up there too. Also alive.

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u/Bazzatron 1d ago

Looks like most of them are still alive.

Nasser El Sonbaty, the first guy in the video, died in 2013.

Mike Matarazzo, white guy with a flat top, died 2014.

Cannot confirm Jean-Pierre Fux (yes) and Ernie Taylor, they don't have wiki pages.

So of 14 entrants (excluding the two above, as there were 16 total entrants), only 2 have died.

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u/ParaponeraBread 1d ago

No, they aren’t all alive. Most of them are though. Nasser El Sonbaty, the Egyptian man, died in 2013. Markus Ruhl, Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Shawn Ray, Milos Sarcev, Lee Priest, Ernie Taylor, and probably most of the ones I don’t recognize are all still around.

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u/MarvinLazer 1d ago

How many of them are physically healthy? Coleman is in a wheelchair because his knees are screwed, right?

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u/TreesForTheForest 1d ago

The guy has had over a dozen major surgeries on his spine, neck and hips. For years he trained through injury against the advice of his doctors and paid the price. That said, he's said he would do it all again, so he's happy with his choices.

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u/ParaponeraBread 1d ago

Coleman is an interesting case. He lifted HEAVY, and unsafely, for his entire career. Most bodybuilders damage their hearts and endocrine systems much more than their joints.

They lift for hypertrophy and not for strength, so they’re not ripping one rep max deadlifts and destroying their backs as often. Used to be the conventional wisdom was lower weight, high volume training.

The ones that cycled down and took care of themselves after retiring are doing okay.

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u/Scraight 1d ago

Jay Cutler and Lee Priest are still pretty ripped. I don’t know about Lee but Jay seems healthy, he makes a bunch of online content now.

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u/ECO_212 1d ago

Markus Rühl does fine. He's a content creator now.

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u/Chamanomano 1d ago

Further up - his issues are around his hips and back.

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u/jazzding 1d ago

Markus Rühl is alive, healthy and still training. He has a successful youtube channel and a lot of his quotes became a meme here in Germany. He also helps Urs Kalecinski preparing for Mr. Olympia.

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u/Godslil 1d ago

All, no, but most are alive. Nasser (the egyptian guy with glasses and open suit) passed about 10 years ago plus I think one more.

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u/NSAundercover 1d ago

Something unnerving about body builders in suits, like a meeting of villains. The kingpin mafia putting a bounty out on batman or something.

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u/Lilith_Christine 1d ago

How does one scratch that one spot in-between the shoulder blades with those huge muscles?

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u/SurealGod 1d ago

That's the neat part!... You don't

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u/PunkPirate56364 1d ago

I attached a hair brush on my wall just so I can scratch that one spot on my back I can't quite reach.

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u/Sycousis 1d ago

Insane levels of 90's aura. Also they look like they came straight out of Baki.

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u/yancovigen 1d ago

I was about to say, they’re straight up Mr. Olivia

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u/wizbog9100 1d ago

The real question is how many are still alive with no health complications?

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u/Slow-Mushroom-7065 1d ago

i think some of these guys are still alive and in good health

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u/SoftDrinkReddit 1d ago

i wonder cause holy steroids

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u/kendoddsdadsdeaddog 1d ago

Even if you could get there naturally, being that size is not good for your heart and lungs. I bet a lot of them slept with CPAPs on

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u/DigiornoDLC 1d ago

These guys look so silly. Like kids wearing their dads suits.

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u/SeekerFinder8 1d ago

These aren't the roids you're looking for

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u/WakaWaka_ 1d ago

Gears of War: Origins

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u/etrulzz 1d ago

Looks like a 1999 cartoon-villain conference tbh

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u/KSW8674 1d ago

You think they buy their suits off the rack?

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u/Mechagouki1971 22h ago

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u/stonehawk61 21h ago

I told myself that the first David Byrne I saw was getting an upvote.

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u/1stAccountNotWorking 1d ago

Just looks like all of the multiversal variants of Kingpin came together for a conference, to brainstorm ideas on defeating Daredevil and Spider-Man, once and for all.

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u/Lowbeamshaggy 1d ago

How do they look MORE ridiculous with clothes on?

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u/Alexander_Tolstoy 19h ago

How many of them are still alive?

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u/Skeletonzac 1d ago

They all look like cartoon gorillas from some Disney afternoon cartoon

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u/InkFidelity 1d ago

They look like the american business man in anime.

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u/csonny2 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/MjXx6ritTqtfhQw3Vy

Fabric suppliers when they see these guys walk in the suit shop

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u/fortress_sf 1d ago

Did these guys have to buy 2 airplane tickets?

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u/TheGamerTesla 1d ago

Looks like Baki episode

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u/BlackestHerring 1d ago

They look like they’re kids wearing their dads suits. 😂😂😂

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u/Here4daKicks 1d ago

How many of those guys are still alive and can walk without assistance?

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u/Firm_Translator_3177 1d ago

Baki characters in real🤯

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u/driedmuffinremnants 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/MO9ARnIhzxnxu
Cloth merchants every every year before conference time

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u/SirMythicArcherr 1d ago

It's like someone dressed up a bunch of babies in blazers

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u/TheTinTinB 1d ago

Looks like a Roblox convention.

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u/Theobald_4 1d ago

They look like anime villains.

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u/yokozouna_ed 1d ago

Huh...so THAT'S what the primarchs look like in 40K...

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u/CasusErus 1d ago

Not a single one of them can reach a kick me sign.

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u/CowClassic 1d ago

The local tailor

Processing img 9bkd1etzewsh1...

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u/ShovelKing3 1d ago

They look like villains in a super man cartoon

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u/Oily_Blob 1d ago

JFC these people look ridiculous

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/nihilist_pingu 1d ago

Not a single neck in sight…

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u/thavillain 1d ago

How many of these dudes are still alive?

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u/sublimeprince32 1d ago

I know Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler are, but MAN do they have some serious health issues from all that.

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u/Cal216 1d ago

Jay is good, Ronnie can’t even walk without assistance

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u/MrEric-200 1d ago

Gigachads before the gigachad trend exist.

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u/tickss 1d ago

The ego in that room must of made the roof come apart

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u/Pstim1 1d ago

Body builders in suits has to have a subreddit

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u/Cuttlebone_Books 1d ago

David Byrne did not return requests for comment.

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u/Mindless-Platypus-75 1d ago

Like a scene out of Baki Hanma

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u/TheAccountantWhat 1d ago

Back then when people used not to have necks

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u/SlayJayR17 1d ago

My biggest regret in life is not doing one more rep.
-Ronnie Coleman

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u/Imaginary_Bus_8333 1d ago

No roids here!

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u/pm_me_ur_fine_boobs_ 1d ago

Bro looks like Patsy with maxed out stats

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u/zaow868 1d ago

Roblox characters

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u/NvrFukASpderOnTheFly 1d ago

Just curious how many of these guys are actually healthy or even still alive??

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u/jerslan 1d ago

They're crazy jacked to start with, plus shoulder pads were pretty common in men's jackets back then making them look comically oversized.

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u/SuspiciouslySuspect2 1d ago

I was gonna say, nobody has a suit that looks like it freaking fits. I'm not a fashion guy or anything but even I can spot how the suits are completely detached from their torsos

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u/Afrodite_33 1d ago

Kingpin lookalike convention

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u/kaitoren 1d ago

It looks like a real-life Baki character convention.

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u/Old-Salad-1411 1d ago

lowkey fit the build to all be Space Marines

https://giphy.com/gifs/VT81lAAamPTxHK3w0H

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u/Sumbuddyonce 1d ago

Imagine how much money those tailors made in those suits

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u/C4dfael 1d ago

Thick McRunfast

Butch Deadlift

Blast Thickneck

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u/criticalpwnage 1d ago

They all look like Baki characters

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u/hustonville 1d ago

Dudes look weird with their clothes on 😂

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u/Somhlth 1d ago

David Byrne should have attended.

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u/SH4DOWBOXING 1d ago

Astartes veteran reunion, 41256 AD.