IT'S A MANZ WORLD

THE BOSS - Note: Most of my Manz World stories are fictionalized accounts of how the painting shown here came to be. However, some of the stories are rooted in truth.

Many years ago I lived in the suburbs of Chicago where, only blocks away from my apartment, there was a gym that met my needs on all levels: cost, equipment, membership size and cleanliness.

Upon my first visit there I noticed immediately that the brightness, the size and the equipment were just what I wanted. And, yes, when checking out the locker room and showers, I could not only see, but could smell, that this space was kept neat and clean on a regular basis.

After signing up as a member I started visiting that gym twice, sometimes three times a week, usually around the same time in the evening: 7:00 or 7:30. As happens in most gyms, especially with people coming at a routine hour, I began seeing and, eventually, meeting some of the people who worked out when I was there.

Fortunately, there were not a lot of ‘muscle heads’ working out, hogging the equipment as I had experienced in at other previous gyms. However, there were a few guys who I could tell were working out to maintain the muscle mass they had accumulated over the years. Quite noticeable to me were three guys, all of whom were very well built, who worked out together, helping each other as they did their weight training. Because they did most of their workouts in an area near me, I could not only see them but hear some of their conversation. One of the words that struck me as interesting was the word ‘Boss,’ used when addressing the bigger, older guy of the group. I would hear words of encouragement like, “Come on, Boss, you can do this.” Or, when one of the others needed spotting I would hear, “Can you help me with this one, Boss?” While two of the men exhibited bodies that were very toned, it was the ‘Boss’ and his rather massive body who attracted the most attention, not just from me but from others. Almost always his gym gear consisted of compression shorts that wrapped his very large thighs tightly and a tank top that hung loose enough to enable any viewer to see his muscled, hairy pecs.

Eventually, one evening, when I was in the locker room after my workout, I saw one of the three guys—not the ‘Boss’—coming out of the shower. His locker was only a few doors down from me and, since we had spoken briefly a few times, I said, “A good workout tonight?” He responded with a nod and a quickly replied, “Yep.” I then said, “I’m just curious. I notice you call one of your buddy’s Boss.” He smiled and said, “That’s because he is my boss. He owns a construction company and I work for him.” He then added, “And so does the other guy.”

Over the next several weeks I began to interact with all three of the men. Nothing significant, but a “hello” once in awhile. I actually wasn’t trying to insert myself into their group but wanted to be friendly as I was with some of the other members. However, it was a very surprising thing to have the Boss approach me one night when I was working out with free weights. His approach was done rather quickly and from behind. The reason for his stepping into my workout space was because I was lifting two free weights—one in each hand—which were heavier than I was used to. I was on my second set of ten reps when, just as I got to my eighth rep, my arms started shaking and almost gave out on me as I was at the half way point—the weakest point—in my lift. As I struggled to complete at least one more rep, someone stepped in behind me and, gently but firmly, placed his hands under each of my elbows, helping to steady my arms. Then, with a light pressure upward, he helped me complete my lift.

After I set the weights down I heard a rather deep voice behind me say, “I hope you didn’t mind but I saw you were almost ready to drop those weights.” As I turned around I saw it was the ‘Boss.’ I shook my head and, with a smile, I said, “No. That was fine. Thanks for the help.”

The Boss then introduced himself. His name was Brian. He then pointed to each of his friends and said, “That’s Cliff. And the other one is Mark.” Surprising to me was his addition of, “I’ve been watching you and see you are bulking up a bit.” I was pleased to hear that what I’d been working on over the last couple of months was that noticeable.

Brian then added, “I didn’t mean to interrupt your workout but saw you were struggling.” Smiling and, again pointing to his buddies, Brian said, “That’s what we do here when we see someone having a little trouble with their routine. If we see them struggle we want to help. But I certainly don’t want to do anything to interfere with your workout if you don’t want it.” I assured him that any help was appreciated.

From that night on—not always—if I was attempting any new routine, especially lifting a heavier amount, I knew that one of the three guys was always available to help me. And several times they did.

Over time I recognized that Brian was actually the more friendly of the three. Due to that friendliness, we had some conversations that led to my getting to know more about him. I found out about his construction company and the kind of work he did, mostly building high end homes. I found out that he was divorced but the father of two children. I also found out he had been an athlete in school, playing on high school and college football teams. He even did some wrestling. He also informed me that in his younger years he had been an amateur bodybuilder. “But,” he said, “that was when I was much younger. Now I’m too busy with my work and family life to have the discipline required to get ready for a contest. But I still like to keep my body in shape.” That was quite evident to anyone looking at him.

As we talked Brian found out more about me. I told him about my work as a healthcare professional as well as my love of art. And that I was an artist. After finding out about the type of art I did, it seemed he was taken by that fact that I drew and painted the human form. Several evenings later, after both of us had finished our workouts, Brian and I were talking in the locker room. For whatever reason, neither of his buddies were at the gym that evening. Having the locker room to ourselves—most of the other members had left the building—he asked me more about my artwork. It was in that conversation that I revealed that I had drawn or painted the bodies of several men—mostly athletic men—who were willing to model for me. I was surprised when Brian asked if he could do that. My reply was, “If you want.”

Like several other guys who have posed naked or near-naked for me, Brian said he had a reason he wanted to do the modeling. He was dating a lady who he was falling in love with. He said he would like to give her a drawing of himself, emphasizing the word ‘nude.’ He said she would definitely appreciate having that as a reminder of what she had seen in the bedroom. “In fact,” he said, “Sarah will probably hang the drawing on the wall in her bedroom.” So, we made a deal that he would get one of the drawings if he was willing to pose for me.

It was about a week later that Brian came to my home and entered the room I used as an art studio. I showed him some of the drawings and paintings I had done of other guys. He was not put off at all. In fact, he was actually excited about the opportunity of posing naked for me. He said he’d thought about doing that in college when there was a call for nudes to model for a 'life drawing' class but never had “the balls” to follow through with.

Over the next few hours I found that Brian was very comfortable with bearing himself—naked—in order for me to do a series of drawings of him. In fact, he said he would be willing to do it again if I was interested. And, so, over the next couple of months Brian visited two more times, each time selecting one of the drawings I made of him to keep, to give to his girl friend. The drawing I’ve posted here is one of them. He said it was Sarah’s favorite pose.