Workout #7: Boys Will Be Boys

My goodness, there’s so much to blog about. A lot of stuff happened. I guess I’ll start by writing about the boys. Yes, in this episode of Workout, the producers did everything in their power to appeal to their gay male viewers. I love Bravo!

I’ll start by discussing Brian Peeler. I’m not going to lie; I like Southern men, and this hottie from North Carolina gets me all worked up. Of course, no one’s perfect. Peeler’s arrogance seems to rub people the wrong way.



In this episode, Jackie decided to take a few days off to visit her mom (more on that later!) and she left Brian in charge of the gym. I know what you’re thinking. Is this woman crazy? Maybe she is. Anyway, Brian appeared happier than Anderson Cooper at a Scissor Sister’s concert. It was cute and annoying, all at the same time.



Brian immediately changed his behavior—as do most men who are given some degree of power; he spent most of his time walking around the gym trying to look important (or sleeping in Jackie’s office). The women were a little taken aback by Jackie’s decision to leave him in charge. I loved Erika’s reaction to Peeler’s sudden change in behavior:

“Are you bored? And why are you lurking all over the gym?”

Good one, Erika! Good one! Surprisingly, Rebecca also delivered a few great lines. She said,

“if I had a bad child, I’d put them in charge a lot because something about being in charge makes you rise to the occasion. And you’re not as acting out . . . it’s like reverse psychology.”

Rebecca gets extra points for using her noggin, which is always a good thing.



Now, on to Jesse. He’s becoming one of my favorite trainers, and he never disappoints. In this episode, he was introduced to a client who happened to be a male “model.” Jesse was more than happy to take on this client, and he added a new title to his growing list of titles and accolades. In addition to being the Lesbian Whisperer, he is now the Cardio King. This guy kills me!



So, his client eventually showed up wearing a tight black muscle shirt with the word COLT printed across the chest area. I couldn’t stop laughing when Jesse asked him what that meant. Oh, Jesse, you’re not fooling anyone. You know good and well what that stands for.



His new client explained that COLT was a studio that specializes in erotic entertainment (for gay men). And a few minutes after explaining this, he decided to take off his shirt. Jesse looked a little flustered, and his client noticed. That whole segment looked like something straight out of a COLT “film.” I loved when Jesse asked him for some photos.

After their hot workout, the guys had coffee at a nearby coffee shop. The “model” switched from porn stud mode to serious (gay man on a mission) mode. He talked about the difficulties gay men and lesbians face in the military. Jesse admitted that he had no clue what it was like to be in that kind of situation. And I think it’s great that this guy used his 15 minutes to talk about an issue that’s affecting many people in our community. I think it’s safe to assume he’s not a Republican, and thank goodness because I was starting to worry that all gay porn stars support the Republican Party. Thanks a lot Matt Sanchez.



The last few minutes of the show were really emotional. The group reacted to the sad news that one of their own, Doug, was not recovering from his illness; he was actually getting worse. All hope seemed lost; and we all know that there's no happy ending. I was really touched by Brian’s reaction. You could tell that he cherished his relationship with Doug. And I think it shows great character when a (straight) man let’s his guard down like that. He cried. Some may say that crying is a sign of weakness. My grandfather used to say that men don’t cry. Well, I think he and others who believe that are wrong. Sometimes we need to cry. It’s an often misunderstood part of our emotional repertoire. Extreme sadness and helplessness can be detrimental to our well being, but crying serves an important function. It’s a normal reaction to sad news. It’s part of our coping strategy. And it’s a beautiful thing. As I watched the trainers react to the sad news, their tears made one thing very clear: Doug Blasdell was a great human being, and he we will be missed.