Frank Meyer

“When we started working on this project in 2012, we didn’t think the shooting would span ten years. Our interest was in Frank, a then 45-year-old bodybuilder whose career was over. Working in a team of two, we approached him with great openness and offered him a space to talk about his past in regular sessions. By means of the camera, a process began in which he was able to explore his own emotional world and question the image of his masculinity. We focused especially on his family background and his socialization, a setup that was characterized by violence and toxic role models. Frank dedicated his life to a body cult that eventually became his undoing in terms of health. At the same time, he remained committed to his inner motivation for weight training, even though his later condition made it seem almost impossible.

FRANK MEYER tells the story of a man whose life is a feat of strength. An observation in which we could see something universal and in which we eventually recognized ourselves.”

Leonhard Hofmann