In a recent conversation with Chris Williamson, fitness influencer Sam Sulek offered candid insights into male body dysmorphia. The topic is becoming increasingly relevant as statistics show male body dysmorphia is on track to overtake female body dysmorphia within the next couple of decades.
Sulek’s perspective, shaped by his own journey from a 160-pound high schooler to a 250-pound bodybuilder, provides valuable context for understanding this growing phenomenon.
Sulek acknowledges the reality of body dysmorphia in bodybuilding culture, particularly during competition preparation. “I was definitely feeling it a little because you are—it’s one day where you just really depleted all your water like you will never look like that on a regular day-to-day basis,” he explains about his first bodybuilding show.
However, Sulek emphasizes the importance of maintaining realistic self-perception. Rather than constantly chasing the most extreme version of himself, he advocates for accepting normal fluctuations in appearance. “When you think of Chris Williamson, are you thinking awesome lighting, huge, jacked, ripped, pumped up?” he asks, highlighting how we often judge ourselves against idealized versions rather than everyday reality.
His approach to social media reflects this philosophy. Unlike many fitness influencers who only post their most flattering photos, Sulek consciously avoids presenting an unrealistic image. “I don’t feel the need to like only post my biggest picture and like even go so far as to like photoshop it,” he states. “Not only is that like you’re just lying by doing that, which for the people you’re showing is that’s stupid, that’s rough, but you’re lying to yourself because you’re definitely looking at that picture and thinking, ‘Yeah, that’s how I look.'”
Sulek believes men generally have advantages in dealing with body image issues compared to women, noting that guys are more likely to approach these concerns with humor and directness. “Guys are more likely to look at things as like, ‘F*** man, I’m just fat,'” he observes, suggesting this bluntness can be psychologically protective.
He draws an important distinction between being one’s own worst critic versus worst enemy. “You can be your own like worst critic, but it’s different if your own worst—if you’re your own worst hater,” Sulek explains. “You can tell yourself you have things that you want to work on, but to really like self-depreciate and like ‘I’m just such a’—I hate to hear it.”
The influencer warns against the perfectionist mentality that plagues many young men entering fitness. He criticizes the “either perfect or nothing” approach, where people abandon their goals entirely after minor setbacks. This all-or-nothing thinking, he argues, prevents genuine progress and feeds into dysmorphic patterns.
Sulek also addresses the role of social media in exacerbating body dysmorphia. He notes that bodybuilding content naturally invites criticism because it challenges viewers’ own insecurities.
“If you post on social media, you’re asking to get hated on. It’s just the nature of it. But bodybuilding is like also a guarantee because… maybe someone’s insecure about how they look and they’re going to go after someone.”
His solution is developing mental resilience and perspective. Drawing from stoic philosophy, Sulek advocates for focusing only on what you can control and not allowing external criticism to dictate self-worth. “Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from,” he suggests.
