Backstage at a bodybuilding contest has always been a far more compelling place for me than sitting in the photographer’s pit. The only mystery on the stage is, who will win?, I have seen the compulsories thousands of times before. It is backstage, that the true drama plays out for me, both as a photographer and as a fan. Not the perfunctory “thumbs up” or “V for victory” photos that we have all seen before. I am much more interested in trying to capture the “human” moments, not the “super human” moments. Bodybuilders backstage, always seem to be right on the edge of triumph or failure, at the very same time. They are filled with bravado and racked with self doubt. Flawless and flawed. Human.

-Brian Moss