Greeting Entreprenerds!
My guest this week is Matthew Young, director of the film Quest of the Muscle Nerd, which chronicles the first ever bodybuilding/cosplay competition. The feature length documentary follows the competitions founder and two competitors through their physical training, costume construction and event preparation, culminating in the first ever Muscle Nerd Competition, held at Dragon Con 2017.
The film aims to tell the story of what it is to be a nerd and how the competitors and event coordinator overcome personal struggles to achieve goals and become something more. You can view the first trailer for Quest of the Muscle Nerd below.
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, or on YouTube:
In this discussion, Matt and I talk about:
- 4:00 Working with Dragon Con
- 5:00 Why nerdom and fitness aren’t mutually exclusive – avoiding reverse discrimination
- 8:30 Defining what a nerd is
- 14:30 How cosplay and bodybuilding serve as backdrops for a more personal story
- 19:30 Logistics and challenges of filming a live competition at Dragon Con
- 25:00 How the Muscle Nerd competition fits in at Dragon Con
- 30:00 Planning the 2018 documentary
- 33:15 Process of editing the documentary
- 36:00 Promoting Quest of the Muscle Nerd and generating interest through the teaser trailer
- 41:22 Stories in the nerd community
- 42:30 Advice for first time filmmakers
You can view the trailer for Quest of the Muscle Nerd below and be sure to check out more about the film at QuestoftheMuscleNerd.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
I’d really appreciate any feedback either on Twitter @UndertheCapes, in the blog comments or through a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks and see you soon!