Why Most Jacked Guys Are Still Insecure - David Laid

... the most important thing is realizing that fundamentally, you're a slave to an egotistical construction with either one. And the goal is to transcend that, even though your egotistical construction that you're feeding is societally rewarded, right? So, that's a trap that you could really, really fall into. So, the key is, you need to go a little lower than that. (wind blows)

We are both fans of Charlie Houpert, and he says that when somebody asks you, "What do you do?"

Mm-hmm.

You have the opportunity to hook lots of different things in. So, if someone was to ask you, "Why do you do what you do?"

Mm-hmm.

What's the single thread that ties together all of the things that you do? What would you say there?

Hmm. That's interesting. I feel like there's been, like, an evolution, like, throughout that, because ... Just what I do, I guess, it's, like, changed, like, over time, because, like, now, like, broadly speaking, like, on the surface, like, I make, like, YouTube, like, fitness-oriented videos. But I think that started when I was, like, 13 or 14 years old. Like, I got into, like, weightlifting, and then I took a lot of pictures of my progress, made a transformation video that ended up going viral. And then I just, like, started making a YouTube channel just with, like, my friends in the gym, just making random videos of working out. And then, I guess, I started being more interested in making cinematic-ish, like, content, and just making it more, like, I don't know, sophisticated, like, higher quality, like, et cetera, like, more artistic. And, yeah, I guess, I just enjoy making videos that I just, like, enjoy making.

Do you wish, sometimes, that your entrance into the world of virality, social media, YouTube, hadn't been so tightly defined based on the way that you look, the gym? Or, do you, like, integrate that as part of your history perfectly fine?

I'd say so. I mean, I'd say at an earlier point, maybe, like, years and years and years ago, it was to the point where there was like, a, like, I guess, a slight, like, toxicity component to it, because the whole reason that I got into working out was because of, like, very, like, generic stereotypical insecurities, just being, like, extremely skinny, feeling all that. And then, as I started getting more and more progress in the gym, and then that obviously gave me, like, a self-esteem boost. I felt a lot better about myself, and then I would, like, take pictures. And then, obviously, when people take pictures, oftentimes they just want to, like, maximize it to get it, you know, the best lighting angles, et cetera. And then I got to a point where, maybe, like, a few years into working out where I had g- just a decent bit enough of muscle to get pictures that look, like, semi-decent, right? But not in those pictures, like, in real life, like without, like, a pump or whatever. I remember just, like, feeling, like, still, like, very, like, just, like, skinny and insecure. And then it was, like, a problem because even, say, like, my senior year in high school, I remember I would just wear hoodies just all the time, because if you're wearing, like, a big baggy hoodie, you can't, like, exactly tell, like, like, the size of an individual.