Xander’s hunger for gains (year 1) (Patreon)

Xander could almost see his reflection in his perfectly round bicep while he flexed, thoroughly oiled for the occasion. This perfect summer day was ideal for lifting weights at the beach, while all eyes were on him. He’s one of the biggest bodybuilders in Bear Valley.

Yes, Bear Valley. A perfectly ironic name. Once a wildlife sanctuary with quiet forests and valleys filled with brown bears and grizzlies, transformed over the years into a working-class town. Companies settled in this area to harvest resources, and because of that, it was soon populated by lumberjacks, farmers, miners, construction workers, and truckers. There were very few women in Bear Valley, which turned the entire town into a boys club with a fraternity mentality, where the beer flowed profusely every night.

Body strength and big meals were promoted by the companies (because it made the employees much more productive), so the average body weight of the resident continued to climb every single year. The valley was now filled with a different kind of bear.

And that picture, of a city filled with hot big men, was why Xander moved there. He always knew he was gay, but the rural town he came from wasn’t so kind about body diversity. Everyone was so thin that his passion for bodybuilding made him stand out as soon as he gained his first 30 pounds. They all thought he was SO big. He loved the attention and the worshipping, but for him, it was just the beginning. He wanted to be HUGE. The biggest.

In Bear Valley, he could finally be himself; be surrounded by big men, and outgrew them all. His ultimate fantasy. And this fantasy, Xander was living it right now. His face, reflected on his oiled bicep, was sporting a huge smile. He was living the time of his life.

***

The owner of the local gym, Oscar, took the initiative of turning a section of the beach into a free, open-air workout space: Bear Valley’s own Muscle Beach. It was a way to let the less fortunate get fit during the summer, but also to give the meatheads like Xander a place to show off. Funny enough, it was an excellent marketing scheme for his gym, as the people saw the muscle monsters it was producing. Oscar was never far away, looking at his bodybuilder friends in the sandy gym proudly, as a farmer would look at his fattening pigs in their enclosure.

O: “Hey X, great job with this year's gains! Three people came to me and bought a gym membership after seeing you flex! Hahaha”

X: “Thanks, man! I have to admit that I feel rather well today!”

It meant a lot for him coming from Oscar: the man was a giant, one and a half times his body weight. But Oscar’s unapologetically offseason look, the grizzly with an overblown muscle gut, wasn’t everybody’s type. Most of them admired Xander even more, for his trimmed and veiny muscles, like the bodybuilder they have always seen on tv.

***

The tan bodybuilder couldn’t help but spend his entire summer vacation at the beach, lifting, flexing, and being admired. All summer, he gave tips to an aspiring bodybuilder named James (who just started his own bodybuilder’s YouTube channel) and helped his friend Jay to trim some fat before his bodybuilding competition. Even the ball-bellied mechanic Richard came around to strengthen his arms (surprisingly, he refused to train his abs…). And of course, the daily free weight face-off with Oscar was always his favorite part of the day. The pump he felt afterward was heavenly.

Xander’s friend, Mark, could be seen at the other end of the beach, walking toward him, hoping that they will once again spend all summer long working out together.

When they first met 3 years ago, they instantly bonded over their similar body weight and shape: they could do the same exercise, pushing each other to lift a bit more, comparing their progress, and being real gym bros. An unforgettable summer for Mark.

The next summer, Xander bumped his weight class and became even stronger. Mark was impressed and was happy to have a bigger man as a mentor, hoping to be able to grow as much.

But in the third summer, when Xander became even bigger, Mark was starting to become suspicious. “Are you sure you’re not taking any substances? We had promised to keep a 100% natural lifestyle, not taking any shortcut to have a body that we constructed ourselves, not some artificial bullshit.” Mark was spot on. His big friend had started to fall into the supplements, powders, and any other magical pills that would help him get bigger. Xander had to lie. He didn’t want to lose a friend, and besides, he was still looking healthy, and reasonably big.

So as Mark walked toward him on this fourth year, his smile was morphing into a frown with every step he took. It was now evident that his friend had lied to him. As their body weight had drifted further appart, the big man couldn’t had possibly reached this new size in only a year, without having some chemical injected into him. Big prominent pecs, huge arms, thick legs. Xander looked like a Mr Olympia winner.

M: “Shit, X, I thought you said that you wouldn’t fall for those drugs. Now look at you…”

X: “What? You’re not getting jealous, are you? You could have gotten bigger too with a little help…”

M: “I’ve grown too, you know? 7 pounds of muscles this year. My arms and shoulder feel much bigger now…”

X: “Oh, sure, buddy!”

Mark was furious. His entire year of work was ridiculed by his friend who was taking the easy route. They had nothing in common now. In any other town, Mark would be an admired muscle fitness hunk, but here in Bear Valley, men were so big that his conventional training method, 100% natural, made Mark seem like a weakling compared to the others. He refused to eat like a pig to bump his weight class, to chug gainer shake like a madman, or to use any chemical substances. The young man was eating healthily, and training diligently, while still living a happy life, instead of locking himself at the gym like Xander. He shouldn't feel guilty for leading a balanced life.

M: “Are you even working out, or just injecting juice into yourself?”

X: “Oh I lift, every day, but it’s so, so much easier now. I barely feel any pain.”

M: “Yeah,I bet it’s easy, and that’s my point. You’re taking the lazy path. How can you even be proud of yourself?”

X: “Your loss. Too bad you’ll never know what it’s like to feel every muscle on your body expand overnight, getting heavier every single day, larger and larger.”

It WAS Mark’s fantasy, but he still refused to fall onto the dark side of bodybuilding.

M: “Yeah, I’m sure that’s how it feels now, but I bet that you won’t be able to stop. You’ll be addicted until it’s too late. You’ll turn yourself into a monstrosity, like all the others.”

X: “Nonsense. I can stop anytime I want. I’m only using those temporarily, to reach my ideal size, that’s all. I only want to get bigger because I didn’t reach my ideal size.”

M: “I don’t know, man. It’s a slippery slope. I’ve never heard of a bodybuilder who stopped gaining because it was enough mass for him.”

X: “But I’m not them. I make my own choices. Don’t you think I look good?”

The big man flexed proudly, and Mark’s frustration slowly faded away, as he admired every shining curve on Xander’s naturally tanned body.

M: “Mmmhh. Yeah. You look great, bro. Ok. You win for now, but mark my words, if you turn yourself into a blimp, you’ll know that I was right all along. Now, let’s lift!”

The gym buddies spent all summer long at the beach under Oscar’s watch. They put their differences aside, although Mark could swear that Xander got a bit bigger by the end of summer… Will he be able to keep his promise?

(to be continued)