Who is Zyzz, and Why Do Some Love Him, and Others Hate Him?

Estimated reading time: 20 minutes

Introduction

I started my research into bodybuilding by researching Zyzz and his fans. In 2015, whilst looking for a way to explore anabolic-androgenic steroid use, I googled ‘Australia’ and ‘steroids’ and Zyzz appeared on the first page of the search results.

I don’t often tell bodybuilders that I started my research with Zyzz because I don’t want them to judge me. Why would they judge me? Because a lot of people don’t think too highly of Zyzz. But then a lot of other people think he is a god. Why do some love him and others hate him? Let me explain.

Origins

In 2005, 16 year-old, Russian born migrant to Sydney (Australia), Aziz Shavershian, sat in front of his computer console 12 hours a day, grinding away in World of Warcraft. He eventually became one of the top 100 players in Australia. He was the envy of other players who admired the power and resources his jacked character had amassed.

But Aziz wasn’t admired outside of the virtual world of World of Warcraft. He was an awkward, computer geek, who was rejected by girls.

So, Aziz sold his World of Warcraft profile and bought a gym membership, and began to ‘level up’ in real life.

For years he trained, documenting every stage of his development on social media, until eventually he built a body that was the envy of many men, and the desire of many women.

He rode the first wave of photo and video based social media and developed a bit of a following (80K followers) by displaying his body, often with a bit of humour.

Through these performances Aziz created his online persona: ‘Zyzz’. Aziz built not only the body of Zyzz, but the character of Zyzz: an extremely confident and vain prankster with a YOLO attitude.

The character of Zyzz had a foundation in the humour of computer gaming and internet trolling. In many ways Zyzz was an exaggeration or caricature, the opposite of the socially awkward geek Aziz had been.

Through the building of his body Aziz, once rejected by women, became Zyzz, to whom ‘the bitches were flocking’.

Zyzz became a stripper and minor celebrity who had his own brand of protein powder, and who earnt appearance fees for attending social events.

Zyzz was living the dream. Everyone was ‘mirin (Zyzz speak for admiring).

But he didn’t get to enjoy it for long.

On the 5^th of August, 2011, whilst holidaying in Thailand, Aziz died of a heart attack aged 22 years of age.

When Aziz died, Zyzz became a god.

Zyzz was the hero who trod a path from rejection to glorification, from geek to god. Zyzz had ‘made it’ and would be forever perfect.

The Zyzz Legacy

Today, nearly 11 years after Aziz’s death, Zyzz is still discussed online every day.

Some of the 103 Zyzz videos posted in the last 24 hours (3 June 2022).

Zyzz is an inspiration, a beacon of hope, and a god to hundreds of thousands of young men around the world (especially Australia, the United States, The United Kingdom, Europe, Brazil and India).

The community of Zyzz fans consist of recreational bodybuilders: those who build their bodies for purely social reasons and not to compete in bodybuilding competitions. They congregate online and discuss Zyzz through social media and forums. Zyzz’s fandom extends beyond the English-speaking world. Indeed, some Zyzz fans have told me they learnt to speak English from Zyzz – and if you listen to Zyzz speak (e.g. the first 1 min 20 seconds of this Zyzz: The Legacy) you’ll see how problematic that is!

Zyzz fans appear to be predominantly aged 17-25 years and male. There are very few women in the Zyzz fandom (you’ll see why in a minute).

Zyzz led a revolution among young men. In what follows I quote some of the members of the Zyzz revolution (verbatim, including all spelling and grammatical errors).

But what exactly was revolutionary about Zyzz? And why do some people worship him, and others despise him?

“We’re all gonna make it brah”: Transformation

In the Zyzz fandom it’s not enough to have a great body. It has to be a body that transformed from nothing. Unlike other bodybuilding magazines, Aesthetic Lifestyle Magazine (a magazine created by Aziz’s friend, ‘Phil Ray’ (or Philip Raymond Host), and ‘dedicated to the loving memory of Aziz’), always includes before photos of every bodybuilder featured.

Zyzz encourages other men to transform, not just their bodies but their lives, through his famous catch-phrase ‘we’re all gonna make it brah’.

You’ll have to excuse my language here because the c word is used very differently in Australia to how it is used in other parts of the world. In the Zyzz fandom (and Australia more generally) ‘cunt’ is a term of endearment or affection that can be used as a substitute for ‘mate’ or ‘friend’. It indicates a certain familiarity between individuals (typically between men), or an attempt to relate to, and establish a bond with, another individual (typically another man).

Zyzz encourages other young men to stop being ‘sad cunts’ (socially awkward, lacking confidence and not realizing their potential, as Aziz was before his transformation into Zyzz) and become ‘sick cunts’ (self-assured, resilient, proactive, popular with women, sociable and socially confident, live life to the full, and support other men). You can see my paper (Underwood and Olson 2019 ‘Manly tears exploded from my eyes, let’s feel together brahs’: Emotion and masculinity within an online bodybuilding community) and book chapter (Underwood 2018) for more details on what these terms mean.

Aziz, through his transformation into Zyzz, into a ‘sick cunt’, demonstrated to all the ‘sad cunts’ out there that there is hope: they too can transform their social lives by transforming their bodies.

Zyzz has inspired many young men to transform their bodies and their lives. What follows are two of these stories as told to me:

“I found my salvation through fitness in October 2013. At the time i was 286 lbs, shy and introverted, social anxieties that I couldn’t even see. I was a sad cunt for sure!

Fast forward to early 2014 about 4 months in, just after turning 24, I discovered ZyZZ’s legacy! Perhaps it was that we were basically the same age, but it resonated into the core of my being, and his ideology connected with me in what I can only describe as a spiritual level. I was already addicted to training, but I had no end game in mind, I was in need of guidance, to see what could be — and ZyZZ immediately became that guidance. It was time to become a sick cunt, to get shredded, to stop worrying about what others thought.

Over the course of that year, for the first time in my life, I truly began to enjoy and LOVE life, I trained for myself, and my goal was to get shredded but more importantly, to love and value my time here on Earth. By November of 2014 (13 months after I set foot in a gym), I attained my lifelong goal and was shredded at 165lbs, I was dancing like a sick cunt, I started dating and putting myself out there with women, and I no longer allowed social anxieties to hold me back [Michael, 30, US].”

“I transformed like this in 2 years

and I noticed all the social changes

I am a very smart and nerdy guy, so it facinated me

first when I was still skinny nobody took me sirius

only teachers

and my parents

but girls guys my age

it just didnt work

I became very awkward

and I was always talking about the universe because I loved to talk about it

and people found me a very weird guy

then when I was 19 the summer holiday started

people from school asked me to come swim and I was like yeah cool. I took my shirt of and everybody started laughing and bullying me, and never in my life I felt so hopeless lonely and scared

… Now I am shredded and aesthetic as Fuark people love to hear me talk about the universe [Lucas, 22, Netherlands].”

It is not only the bodily transformation but the social transformation of Zyzz that is important.

There are other internet celebrities, who have transformed their bodies and who have similar bodies to Zyzz (e.g. Jeff Seid). However, they are not glorified to the same level as Zyzz.

I believe that this is because they have never been so far removed from the ideal (Jeff Seid has always been athletic), so that their transformations are not as dramatic.

There is no ‘creation from nothing’ backstory. Zyzz has been vulnerable whereas they have not.

The origin story, from Aziz to Zyzz, is the key factor in Zyzz’s popularity. The most popular videos of Zyzz all contain before and after photos, and his transformation is very frequently mentioned by fans:

“He was able to change everything he didn’t like in such a little interval of time. He became an appealing, strong, funny, confident man. We can say he crossed the road that separates being a nerd from being someone cool [Daniel, 20, Spain].”

Because of his physical transformation Zyzz can be understood and related to even despite language barriers:

“at first … i don’t know what he was talking about (because im not aussie [Australian]) but after few second the tittle came up and it was written ” Zyzz the Evolution ” and that song + transformation is the best thing i ever saw [Jai, India].”

Zyzz appeals to those who have bodies that are less than ideal: those who are particularly skinny, or fat, or ‘skinny-fat’. Zyzz has particular appeal to those who have felt the social consequences of their less than ideal body. These people find hope in Zyzz, and inspiration to transform their bodies and social standing.

“Zyzz is a metaphore that you all should understand. Zyzz is a symbol that there is always hope and room for change .”

‘Father of aesthetics’

Zyzz represents, and has popularized, a particular bodily ideal which has been termed ‘aesthetics’ or ‘aesthetic bodybuilding’. For this he has been dubbed ‘father of aesthetics’ by fans.

As the terms ‘aesthetics’ and ‘aesthetic bodybuilding’ can have different meanings in bodybuilding communities, and are quite subjective, I am focused on their meaning in the Zyzz fandom where there appears to be consensus.

To be ‘aesthetic’, or as Zyzz fans frequently term it ‘aesthetic as fuark’ (a community specific spelling of fuck often used for emphasis e.g. ‘fuuuuuuaaaaaarrrrrrk!’), an individual must have a certain level of muscularity, a certain level of fat, and the hairlessness and tan that allows the best display of muscle definition.

The level of muscularity is much smaller than that of current top-level bodybuilding competitors (such as Mr Olympia title holders), and may be seen to be a backlash against the massive proportions that these “mass monsters” achieve. In the Zyzz fandom, an aesthetic level of muscularity is more akin to a fitness model than a pro-bodybuilder. Think cover of Men’s Health magazine more than bodybuilder.

The intention is to build muscle to a level that appeals to the general public, not just those in the bodybuilding community that idealise extreme musculature. Fans state that Zyzz aimed to be ‘aesthetically pleasing to both guys and women’ (video comment).

It is this smaller level of muscle that results in some saying that Zyzz was ‘not a real bodybuilder’.

But, of course, bodybuilding is about more than building muscle. It is also about the reduction of fat so that muscle definition is clearly visible. To be truly ‘aesthetic’ the bodybuilder must have less than 10% body fat, and preferably 8% or lower.

Zyzz intended to make more muscular gains. Just three days before his death he is said to have posted a photo to social media with the following text accompanying it:

“[This photos was] one year ago, and 10kgs lighter. 100kg now (90kg here) this size is the sweet spot for girls but fuck that, arnold [Schwarzenegger] status here I come.“

But while Zyzz aimed to massively increase his muscularity, he never had the chance and thus is frozen in time at the ‘sweet spot’ of maximum appeal.

Focus on upper body

Within the Zyzz fandom upper body muscularity is prioritized over lower body muscularity. Clothing choices and display practices highlight the upper body, particularly the chest, abdomen, shoulders and arms. The legs are rarely emphasized, and the largest muscles in the body (the glutes) are never emphasized. The focus on the upper body is one of the reasons that Zyzz and the members of his fandom are criticized by the wider bodybuilding community.

Body work

In the Zyzz fandom, to be aesthetic as fuark, you don’t just build muscle, lose fat and remove body hair (like other bodybuilders), they add to that a particularly Generation Y concern with appearance in terms of skin and hair. Indeed in the Zyzz fandom, alongside videos that discussed how to obtain the perfect abs, or chest, were videos made by Zyzz fans on how to obtain Zyzz hair, and which length of beard is most aesthetic.

Zyzz is the personification of what the journalist, Mark Simpson (who coined the term ‘metrosexual’ in 1994) termed the ‘spornosexual’ (a portmanteau of ‘sports’, ‘porn’ and ‘metrosexual’):

“With their painstakingly pumped and chiselled bodies, muscle-enhancing tattoos, piercings, adorable beards and plunging necklines it’s eye-catchingly clear that second-generation metrosexuality is less about clothes than it was for the first. Eagerly self-objectifying, second generation metrosexuality is totally tarty. Their own bodies (more than clobber [clothes] and product) have become the ultimate accessories, fashioning them at the gym into a hot commodity – one that they share and compare in an online marketplace. This new wave puts the “sexual” into metrosexuality. In fact, a new term is needed to describe them, these pumped-up offspring of those Ronaldo and Beckham lunch-box ads, where sport got into bed with porn while Mr Armani took pictures. Let’s call them “spornosexuals” (Simpson 2014).”

Earnt vanity

But it is not just the bodily ideal that is important in the Zyzz fan, it is also the attitude to the body.

“The part that bugs most people about him [Zyzz] is that the method in which he went about it [building his body] is based entirely on the gratifications of other people. It wasn’t done out of a desire to be healthy or a desire to be strong it was done out of a desire to be attractive in the eyes of the beholder, in this case; the internet [blog comment].”

Zyzz and his fandom focus purely on their aesthetics, or, as they describe it, their ‘beauty’. Accusations of vanity and narcissism are the most common criticisms of Zyzz by outsiders of the fandom. But Zyzz and his fans do not deny being vain, indeed, they seem to revel in it.

“Id fuck me if i could [Brax, USA].”

Zyzz performs over the top displays of vanity such as kissing the mirror and asking for some ‘alone time’ with his own reflection.

Zyzz took an obvious joy in displaying his body, and in the attention it received.

“I love walking past and having people point and talk about me. Almost all of them will remember who I am when it is over and I didn’t even have to say a word [Zyzz in Zyzz: The Story of Aziz video].”

The right to be vain is something that Zyzz ‘earnt’ according to fans, and his display of his body was a ‘generous act’ . Vanity is described as akin to pride:

“people called zyzz vain but he was just proud of what he created, i quite shy but i find myself lifting my shirt at every mirror i see because i am so proud of what i achieved .”

Zyzz seems to represent a recasting of vanity as acceptably masculine:

“He made it OK for me to be vain .”

“Vanity has now become men’s stuff as well but I assure you, this isn’t something gay – its style bro [website on Zyzz’s hair].”

This attitude to the body is in keeping with spornosexuality as described by Simpson (2014): ‘Not only have men discovered that they like — no love — being looked at, traditionally a ‘feminine’ pleasure, they have also learned that in a visual world if you aren’t noticed you just don’t exist’.

In order to demonstrate their pride in their achieved bodies, Zyzz and his fans display their bodies, often wearing minimal clothing. They pretty much never wear shirts and if they do it is usually a low-cut singlet (aka ‘stringer’) that reveals the ‘heavage’ and serratus.

They will often wear the shortest of shorts, and wear them low (‘to the edge of chaos’ as 21 year-old Felix from Australia called it).

Zyzz himself was even known to remove his pants and walk around events in only his Calvin Klein underwear.

It is the shamelessness of the body display of Zyzz and his fans that pisses some people off.

Attitude to women

Because of their history of rejection by women, Zyzz and his fans often talk about taking revenge on women.

“I had a girlfriend of 17, who was pretty but slightly chubby, when I was a skinny nerd, she kept pointing out how skinny I was and always looked at other guys with good bodies which was one of the reasons I wanted to start going to the gym. Needless to say when I saw her 2 years later her jaw dropped, brushing her off at that moment was probably the best feeling I have experienced in my life [Zyzz in Zyzz Transformation Progress video].”

“how I wanted to always get that hot girl as a nerd

but they never gave me attention back

because I was skinny and short.

nerdy.

then they see me now… and the treatment is so much different.

and its like

no fuck off

I know how you are now stupid sloot [slut] …

it means they only care about the flesh

they are superficial [Felix, 21, Australia].”

The logic of their revenge narrative seems to be: “Girls/women rejected me when I was … [insert ‘skinny’, ‘fat’ or ‘skinny-fat’]. Then I built my body through lifting. Women were attracted to my new body. This proves women are superficial. Therefore, they deserve to be rejected like I was. I will reject them on the basis of their inferior bodies”.

Zyzz’s trolling of women is considered ‘epic’, and he has been termed a ‘master troll’. Often this trolling followed the above revenge logic. For example, when women approached Zyzz online stating that they were attracted to him, he would reject them and make disparaging remarks about their bodies and then copy the conversation and post it in a bodybuilding forum for the community to laugh at.

The ability to attract women is very important in the Zyzz fandom, but the ability to reject women is as important, perhaps even more so.

Zyzz and his fans enact revenge by rejecting and trolling women, but also by ignoring them. Zyzz had a popular catch-phrase that remains popular in the Zyzz fandom: ‘disregard females, acquire aesthetics’ (or less commonly ‘disregard females, acquire dance moves’). One Zyzz fan explained the idea as follows:

“Lot of girls gave him attention at festivals etc. He danced with his crazy moves and didn’t give them attention, was funny as hell, because that’s what most girls do to guys, and seeing the reverse is funny as hell for us boys [Daniel, 20, Spain].”

Zyzz fans aim to attract women’s attention through their bodies, and then to be able to pick and choose from the women that approach them. The aim is for them not to have to approach women.

“I don’t approach chicks unless its to troll them [Zyzz on social media].”

It seems that in this way they protect themselves from possible rejection. Through their bodies they build a secure foundation against the potential hurt women can cause.

“girls may cum n go

“they may break u

“they may leave u

“but…

“this feeling

“this hardwork

“sacrifice n tears

“will alwyz b there to

“lift u UP [Ryan, 17, India].”

Given the revenge narrative around women, it is not surprising that the importance of the female gaze is downplayed amongst Zyzz and his fans.

‘U mirin brah?’

In this community the male gaze is privileged. For example, the most common catch-phrase in the Zyzz fandom is ‘u mirin brah?’ (i.e. are you admiring me brother?). Through this commonly used expression Zyzz and his fans literally invite other men to look at their bodies.

Therefore, ‘gay’ is one of the most common insults aimed at Zyzz and his fans by outsiders, and even Zyzz fans seem to acknowledge the potentially problematic nature of men looking at other near-naked men.

In online interactions the appropriate response to the question ‘u mirin brah?’ (‘are you admiring me brother?’), has traditionally been ‘mirin (no homo)’ (translation: ‘yes I am admiring you but not in a homosexual way’).

‘No homo’ is a phrase originating in 1990s hip-hop lyrics as an interjection to negate supposed sexual and gender transgressions and has since spread to mainstream speech. In the Zyzz fandom, ‘no homo’ is used to assert one’s masculinity and heterosexuality when transgressing gender norms.

However, recently ‘no homo’ has evolved into ‘yes homo’ and ‘full homo’ as in these comments on videos of Zyzz:

“i send my love from Scotland, I LOVE YOU (FULL HOMO)<3<3<3″

“HOW I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SIT IN A CAR WITH THIS GUY! YES HOMO <3“

“rip brah love you full homo“

‘Yes homo’ and ‘full homo’ have replaced ‘no homo’ to refresh the humour through irony:

“Full homo is used like no homo because no homo was overused. So if u say nice body full homo it does not mean u like men. Just that u like his body a lot [Daniel, Spain].”

“‘full homo’ doesn’t mean necessarily anything homosexual. It just means that the guy is okay with his heterosexuality and can admire a guys physique without questioning his own sexuality [Thomas, Germany].”

‘Full homo’ and ‘yes homo’ are instances of ‘ironic heterosexual recuperation’: when young heterosexual men pretend to have same-sex desires in a joking fashion to prove they are not gay (McCormack and Anderson 2010). They appear to be a form of play in which Zyzz fans express their devotion, and the visceral pleasure that Zyzz brings them. The following video comment is another example of this:

“Have you seen Zyzz’s physique pics lately? He was beautiful, gorgeous, inspiring: or simply put… he was aesthetic. He was the definition of aesthetic. Lettuce be cereal [let us be serious], and I’m going to type this as sober as possible: if you fap [masturbate] (and cum) [ejaculate] to Zyzz, it’s not gay at all, you don’t have to use the “no homo” tag because it’s a given. You would be fapping and cumming at beauty. Beauty, aesthetics, that transcends gender. Aesthetics that transcend gender and sexuality .”

A lot of people don’t get this humour, which can result in a lot of misunderstanding, and even hatred for Zyzz and his fans.

Drugs

The fact that Aziz transformed his body so quickly strongly suggests enhancement drug use. Indeed, Aziz was apparently open about his use early in his lifting career.

There are also photos that suggest he used steroids.

But once he garnered a social media following he started making claims like ‘nature isn’t as natty as me’.

Zyzz fans will tell you that Zyzz’s enhancement drug use weakened his heart, and that he pushed his recreational drug use too far eventually resulting in his demise (but I didn’t say that as I have been threatened with legal action by his brother – love you too Chestbrah!).

The official story is that Zyzz had a congenital heart defect.

The fact that he allegedly combined enhancement drug use with recreational drug use is one of the reasons many consider Zyzz to be ‘the poster boy for irresponsible steroid use’.

Conclusion

Zyzz inspired thousands of young men to lift. Some even suggest that he inspired as many as Arnie. Regardless of your thoughts there are many whose lives have been improved, even saved, by Zyzz.

“I’d be dead if it weren’t for zyzz .”

“Without you [Zyzz] in my life i would have hanged myself from depression .”

Love him or hate him, in this age of flash in the pan celebrity, the fact that he is still being talked about nearly 11 years after his death, is testament to his massive impact on muscle culture.