The days of a pure powerlifting subculture are dead. Only to be replaced by the "hashtag hardcore" era. You know the type, the ones who follow every post with 30 hashtags to face fuck you into believing that their online persona is a reality. Knowing full well that behind their lingo using lined facade they couldn't punch their way out of wet paper bag wielding brass knuckles on both fists.

An era where a disagreement leads to screenshots, copying and pasting, and the great tagging in of friends like some digital WWE wrestling match. The social media security blanket of sorts where they can have two thousand "friends" they've never met come to their defense and reassure them that they were right, and or that the person on the other side of the proverbial line in the sand is, in fact, an asshole.

I love the old Westside stories of fist fights, throwing 45's, and verbal sparring. Guys who've almost died and guys who have from pushing it passed the extreme. Now I'm not saying we all need to go to the gym and smack the fuck out of someone although I'm sure a lot of people might need it. I'm not saying cut weight until you piss blood and end up in the hospital. I mention these to prove a point. Those guys in the golden era didn't have to gag you with lines of hashtags to let you know they were bad motherfuckers. It was their total, and that did plenty of talking.

Nowadays everybody gets ass hurt over the pettiest shit ever, hell there's even a word for it now "triggered." How the fuck can you get riled up over a person behind a computer hundreds possibly thousands of miles away, and before one of you smart asses say to me, you seem "triggered" or however you have to put it to divert the fact this may be about you, BLOW ME.

Powerlifting is becoming a fashion show and a popularity contest. People with a meet or two logging a subpar total are tagging top companies and top powerlifters in a desperate cry for attention and a delusional "hunt" for sponsorships. No one wants to put in the time and sacrifice just a bunch of cry babies seeking instant gratification.

I'm not trying to say we all need to walk around like a bunch of jacked up goons, but for fuck's sake people have some pride stop worrying about some Joe Schmo saying you squat high or your lifts aren't impressive because of your bodyweight. Seriously it's starting to resemble the high school he said she said drama.

Do the work, put in the time, and if you don't like someone or someone doesn't like you, out total them, that's what this is supposed to be about, or at least that's what I was taught to believe.