Mr. SMU is an annual student bodybuilding competition held at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX for the last dozen years. Competitors spend months building and sculpting their muscle groups to attain balance, symmetry, and definition. The last eight weeks of preparation for Mr. SMU are difficult and filled with restricted calorie and carbohydrate diets. This tests the endurance, discipline, and physical limits of competitors as they seek to cut down and muscularize for the judges. The bodybuilding tradition here is strong with eight time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney an SMU alumnus. On April 16th the discipline and dedication pay off as the student-bodybuilders take the stage to pose individually and in groups to a lively crowd of hundreds of students and friends.
The nervousness in the back stage room is palatable as months of preparation in the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports come down to a few well placed poses. Spray cans of Pam cooking oil and light dumbbells help the competitors pump up and shine for the stage. Conversations in the green room are hushed as echoes from the announcer boom from the stage. Individual poses focus the eyes of hundreds in a judgmental gaze on the competitor. a panel of judges analyze every nook and cranny of their form. Barrett O’Neill, a Sophomore from Kansas City won 1st place and the Mr. SMU title.
It all comes down to one moment.