Markus stood outside of the gym. He had been trying to bulk up for the past 6 months at home doing basic workouts, but had no success. He was always skinny and could never put on any weight. He thought maybe he needed to go to a real gym with real workout equipment.
He had heard about this gym called “Bear Builder”. He overheard one large and beefy guy talking about it while on the bus. The guy was massive, so Markus thought he should check it out.
The logo of the gym was a humanoid bear with large muscles. He thought it was odd that the bear was smoking a cigar since gyms usually promote a healthy lifestyle. The building looked nice though, even if it was a little intimidating.
Markus walked inside. As soon as he did, he could smell something strong and heavy. The aroma reminded him of old leather left in a smoky room, mixed with ashes and burnt leaves. It wasn’t sharp like a cigarette, but it was dense and inescapable, coating the air with a smell he couldn’t ignore.
It caused him to cough and clear his throat. He looked around and saw the front desk worker smoking a cigar. The smoke was drifting his way.
“What type of gym is this?” he muttered to himself. Already deciding this wasn’t going to work out, he turned around.
“Can I help you?” the worker asked.
Markus was never one to be openly rude. Instead of ignoring the man, he turned around and walked over.
“Umm…yeah. I was thinking of trying out a gym. Maybe sign up for one,” Markus said to the man. The man had large muscles cover in hair. His big arms were on full display as he wore a dark tank top. The man also a neat thick black beard and short black hair. He had a name tag with the name “Bruce” on it.
With the cigar in his mouth, he excitedly said, “You’ve come to the right place at the right time! We are accepting new members. We have monthly, yearly or lifetime memberships!”
Markus looked around, not sold on whether this was the gym for him. “Is it possible to do a test run? Like a free trial?”
“Yes, of course we offer a free workout session. But I’ll tell you though, most of the guys here signed up right away after the free session. I have a feeling you’ll be no different,” Bruce said with a smirk, “Feel free to use any of the equipment and locker room. Please visit the cigar lounge if you are needing an extra push. First cigar is on the house,” Bruce motioned to the entirety of the gym.
The gym was very nice but also very unusual. There were a lot of weight lifting equipment, but barely anything for cardio. There was also a section with leather seating and a giant humidor which was full of cigars.
“Umm…sure. Okay,” Markus said as he walked toward the weight area.
Markus set his bag down and grabbed the two 10 pounds dumbbells. He realized one thing: there weren’t any mirrors in the place. He hadn’t been to many gyms in the past, but knew that there were usually mirrors.
There was one other guy working out. He had a brown mutton chop beard and short hair. He was also muscular and bulky. He was doing some bicep curls with dumbbells. The man had a large cigar burning in his jaw. With every curl, he puffed out some smoke.
Markus sat on a bench next to him, trying not to cough with the smoke. He started doing curls, mimicking the guy.
Markus felt ridiculous. He was struggling with these small weights and was getting tired way too fast. The cigar smoking guy was lifting his 50 proud weight with ease.
The man looked over at Markus and said, “We all gotta start somewhere.”
Markus didn’t know if this made him feel better or worse. He just knew he was feeling overall embarrassed and out of place.
The man set his dumbbell on the rack and walked over toward Markus. He held out his right hand, “I’m Sean.”
Markus awkwardly dropped his ten weights and stood up. He shook Sean’s hand, “I’m Markus.”
“Nice to meet ya, Markus,” Sean said with his cigar tightly in his jaw, “How long have ya been coming here? Never seen ya before.”
“Just trying out this gym today,” Markus answered.
“Ah, makes sense,” Sean replied as he looked Markus up and down, “I’ve been coming here for a few months now. I love it.”
“Seems like a nice place, but not sure if I fit in. Might not be the gym for me,” Markus confessed.
“It is definitely a unique gym,” Sean said after he took a puff of his cigar, “Only place ya can smoke cigars and workout.”
“Yeah, I don’t smoke so it isn’t really a selling point for me,” Markus said as he curled his nose at Sean’s smoke.
“Ever had one? It might just be the little push ya need,” Sean suggested.
“Let’s get ya one. Might make ya feel a little more at home,” Sean said as headed to the large humidor across the gym.
Not one to be rude, Markus followed.
Sean looked through the glass of the humidor, carefully browsing for the perfect cigar for the newbie. “Ah, this is the one,” he said as he opened the door.
He took a large cigar out and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a cigar cutter and carefully cut the cigar. He handed it to Markus, who took it.
Markus held the large cigar between his fingers awkwardly. He held it away like it was going to bite him.
“Put it in yer mouth,” Sean ordered with his own cigar between his teeth.
Markus clenched it with his front teeth. The cigar wrapper had earthy tones with a slight hint of bourbon.
Sean then pulled out from his pocket a torch lighter. He flicked it open and a flame appeared. “Now start puffing,” Sean ordered as he held the flame to the end of Markus’ cigar.
Markus puffed and puffed. He was unsure whether he was doing it right.
“That’s it,” Sean confirmed as if he was reading his mind.
The smoke was rich, but it didn’t taste bad. Like the wrapper, there were hints of bourbon and oak.
Sean shut the lighter and placed it back in his shorts. “Now keep it in yer mouth. Anytime you need an extra push, take a puff. It’ll help,” Sean said as he headed back to the weights.
Markus didn’t get a chance to say thanks. The large cigar was already awkward in his mouth and he didn’t want to risk dropping it by talking. He just followed Sean and went back to the dumbbells.
He grabbed the 10 pound weights off the ground and started curling them. When he was feeling tired, he started puffing. With every puff, the weights felt lighter. Pretty soon, they weren’t heavy enough.
He set the light dumbbells on the rack. He scratched his face since it was a little itchy and grabbed the 20 pound weights. Markus could barely lift them up at first, but he started puffing the cigar. Pretty soon, he was curling them with no issues as all.
Markus then decided to work on his chest. He went to the bench with the barbell. He place 25 pound plates on each side. He laid on the bench and grabbed the bar.
He slowly lowered the bar to his chest and then slowly raised it. He did this a few times as he puffed away on his cigar. It was getting lighter and lighter. It now barely felt like it weighed nothing. He then decided to try 90 pounds on each side. This was probably stupid, but he thought he could do it with the help of his cigar. He added the weight and started the bench press again.
It was very heavy at first and he felt he was about to drop it on him. He started puffing aggressively on his cigar. There was a cloud of smoke forming around him. He didn’t know if it was the smoke that was causing his face and body to be warmer, but he did know it was helping him lift.
Markus was now bench pressing the added weight with ease.
When Markus was finished with the bench presses, he moved over to the mat to do some squats. He lifted up the barbell that had 45 pounds of weights on each side.
He puffed on his cigar and the weight was too easy as he squatted. He instantly added 90 pounds to each side. Again, this was probably stupid but he believed in the power of the cigar.
He lifted the barbell on his shoulders. It felt like he was about to collapse, so he started to puff fast and hard. Another cloud of smoke formed around him. The bar was getting lighter and his clothes were getting tighter.
He slowly lowered to the ground with complete control. He then shot up quickly. As he did, he puffed away. He was feeling strong, and warm. His face felt particularly warmer and his shorts’ waistband dug into him.
He ignored it though as he continued his squats.
Markus set the barbell back in the rack with no problem. He felt he had a great workout. He headed to the locker room to wash off the sweat.
As he walked to the locker room, he looked down and noticed his belly was larger. He then noticed his arms were hairier too. He picked up his pace as he walked into the locker room.
He took the cigar out of his mouth and pulled off his shirt, revealing a hairy belly and chest.
He then saw himself in the mirror. It was the only one in the entire gym. He had grown in size, both in height and width. He had a tight belly. He had body hair he had never had before. His face was also hairy. He had a long and thick beard. He quickly grew worried.
He, without thinking through his panic, naturally place the cigar his mouth and started puffing. It helped him calm down.
As he puffed, he started to like how he looked. He was always a skinny guy who couldn’t bulk up. That wasn’t the case anymore. He rested his hand on his belly and flexed his bicep.
“Yup, I fit in here,” he spoke for the first time with the cigar in his jaw.
After spending a few minutes in the locker room to admire himself as he smoked his cigar, he put his tight shirt back on and headed out.
He ran into Sean as he left the locker room.
“Hey man, looks like ya had a good workout,” Sean said with a cigar in his mouth as he felt Markus’ muscles, “And looking good.”
“Sure did,” Markus confirmed with the cigar clenched in his teeth, “and thanks.”
“Hope to see you again soon,” Sean added with a wink.
“You sure will,” Markus said as he winked back.
Markus went up to Bruce who was still smoking a cigar behind the counter.
“Sign me up for a lifelong membership,” Markus said. He puffed away at his cigar as Bruce looked at him.
Bruce gave him a smile and pulled out a piece of paper. It was the membership contract. “I told you I had a feeling you’d join us,” he said with a smirk.