My work examines the intersections of bodybuilding and performance through a masculine lens. Much like theater, the body builder is activated by staging. In an investigation of its history and a sampling of its theories, we can challenge the hyper- masculine identity which is supported through the gym culture and gender constructs. The arena of the gym contains cues contributing to the artworks listed, and the icons of the gym itself are brought into the studio to transform not only the objects, but the actions themselves. The work challenges the ideals surrounding the superhero, godlike persona cultivated through media tropes. These tropes can be damaging to the fluidity of gender performance as well as the male body image. To diminish ones bodily functionality for the sake of standards made by a dysfunctional culture creates a disparity between its health an appearance. While the strategies problematize the masculine identity, they bring frontally the body as a method of making. The outward, physical struggle between the artist and the object is similar to the internalized struggle of performing male. The task is designed to push the performer to his limits. The performance is based in truth and can be described as theatrical realism.