When gym culture and motivation is brought up, there is often a large amount of buzz about the stigma of “the gym bro”. As a gym bro, people associate these types of individuals as people who spend way too much time in the gym, are overly muscular, and admittedly, a little douchey. 

These types of people are often stigmatized to be unpleasant to hang out with, and overall people who lifted regularly were thrown into this stigma as the appearance of the “jersey-shore-gym-bro” who were lifting to solely get girls and, well, be stupid. This was widely accepted in general for those who fit into this category until one individual flipped the stereotype on its head.

Aziz Sergeyevich Shavershian, or better known as ZYZZ on the internet, provided a sense of humanity towards lifting and providing a universal understanding to the untouchable people known as the gym bros. But what makes him different from other internet influencers?

Zyzz had a common story among people who get into lifting. He was skinny, frail, and he was bullied in grade school. However, what made him stand out, is that he took out his anger and pushed himself in the gym rather than other destructive behaviors. He then went on posting things on the internet and showing his interests, including playing League of Legends and going to electronic music festivals and dancing erratically further boosting his character of “Zyzz” into stardom. But above all else, he was human.

Known as almost the pioneer of current gym culture, Zyzz showed the world that it was okay to have weird hobbies, lift, and be yourself. When critiqued through his actions, his physique, or his manner, he always answered with a similar response: “you mirin brah?”

“You mirin brah” might sound like the same stereotype as I mentioned before. However, his extroverted approach to critiques showed a defiance that proved that he was confident in his figure and didn’t really care what other people thought. He was a positive influence in the way that although he was seen as a “douchey gym bro”, he was real, and he was confident in what he had achieved in life. 

In 2011, Zyzz passed away due to heart implications. However, acknowledging his story, his legacy, and above all else, his positive mental attitude, I think that people are able to learn from his exaggerated mannerisms. 

It’s no question that people have bad days, or days that odds seem stacked against them. Days where people are angry at the world, and asking, “why me?” as they stare at the ceiling of their room. However, as Zyzz showed, why not take this anger and frustration and turn it into a positive? Instead of saying “look at me, everything is going against me”, Zyzz showed people that there is more value in facing adversity and being able to say the statement, “Hey, look at me, you mirin brah?” Against all odds, Zyzz continued to push forward and become the greatest form of himself, and he implored his audience that they could do the same as well.