Not too long ago I made an observation that got me a little bit of backlash. I know, me causing backlash? Who would have thought! And that observation was my ranking of the big three of independent bodybuilding media sites. In my opinion then – as now – it’s Nick’s Strength And Power, Desktop Bodybuilding, and Muscle Discord. Today, I happened to be on IG looking through stories and I stumbled on Matt Tskingkorang sounding off after Xavier Wills called him out as being too negative. Usually, I might be inspired to write an article based on a full video or perhaps something that happened at a contest. I can’t recall the last time that I wrote an article based on a story, but here we are. My article isn’t so much about what Xavier said, rather, it’s more about the idea of one media outlet trying to influence another. This piece isn’t about throwing shade at either Xavier or Matt. I consider both to be friends and I enjoy their content for different reasons. While I haven’t participated directly on DB, I have been on Muscle Discord and I’m very grateful to Matt for having included me. They both are tremendous outlets, but they’re also very distinct from the other. What’s great about independent media is that there’s a lot of variety. As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks, right? I mean, I like what I like and you may like something totally different. To each their own and so on and so forth. But what about the issue of an outlet being “too negative?” What do we make of that?
Well the idea of negativity is a very subjective assessment to begin with. Some people might associate negativity with bluntness. Other people might associate bluntness with authenticity and transparency. There’s a school of thought that believes in exercising restraint and offering up more pleasantries than criticisms (e.g. “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”). At the end of the day, sometimes it’s the criticisms that lead to the kinds of change that will improve conditions in a sport or a company or even a country. Many times being a skeptic and voicing concerns is the only way to correct wrongs. It’s also important to have a certain level of unapologetic candor that cannot be contained. Meaning that if somebody does something wrong they’re going to get called out for it. It doesn’t matter if they’re a famed influencer or an everyday fan.
Sometimes good people stay good because they know that if they do wrong they’re going to be exposed. This is why I’m such a big fan of outlets like Ballerbusters and Jon Bravo Films. Both of those outlets are very much about keeping people on the straight and narrow. And that’s very important in an industry that is plagued by scammers, hustlers, and just downright bad people. People that sell diets consisting of raw liver, supplements that at best could be described as cookie cutter, and even people committing acts of stolen valor in order to place themselves at the upper echelons of social media need to be called out. In other words, lying about falling victim to an IED in order to go viral is outrageous. Even if the person later apologizes, and we all know who I’m talking about, that level of deceit should not go unchecked. And in that regard a channel like Muscle Discord is invaluable. They won’t let up – nor should they. Is that ‘too negative?’ That’s up to you. It’s all up to you. Every single person is free to decide that they want to watch and what they don’t. And that includes who they want to follow and who they don’t.
But what if after a scammer or hustler apologizes, should everybody let go of the story? Should everybody sing Kumbaya and forgive the person or should they keep going at them to ensure that the full story is put out there and to draw a line in the sand to hopefully prevent other people from repeating the same con game on the public? That all depends on how much justice you feel needs to be meted out.
Again that’s why I think it’s so important to have diversity in the media. We don’t all have to have websites that promote positivity. This is not to say that Muscle Discord is promoting negativity, but if you are of the opinion that going all the way with a story is negative, then perhaps you think that type of frontline reporting could be too much for you. It’s all so subjective. We all have our own preconceived notions and our own ideas of what is positive and what is negative. Do I think that Muscle Discord is too negative? Well that’s kind of putting me on the spot right, but I don’t mind. After all, I’m writing an article about a story so I would be the biggest hypocrite if I didn’t give you my honest take.
I think that Matt can be very zealous and I think that he can be very unforgiving. He’s a passionate dude that says what’s on his mind. There’s very little, if any filter, when it comes to his style. Whereas many journalists would back down when things get touchy, Matt doubles down. He feels strongly about something, he won’t move on. That’s both good and bad. It’s good if you want totally unfiltered, no holds barred journalism, but it’s bad if you want everything to be hunky-dory, lighthearted, and fun.
This is not to say that Desktop Bodybuilding is a pushover media outlet or that they don’t cover stories that are a little controversial from time to time. But perhaps they draw a line at some point whereas perhaps Matt does not. At the end of the day all of the big websites are trying to get hits but this is not to say that they will say anything to get them. Do I believe that Muscle Discord pedals in fake news? No, I do not. Do I believe that there’s a lot of conjecture, a lot of contentiousness? Perhaps, but again that is how they go about doing the business of bodybuilding. They have a lot of panel discussions and they have a lot of op-ed material. Sometimes people get angry – this is part of life. Matt also has very strong opinions and has been around the industry for a very long time. Perhaps his perception of things is a little bit more critical than Xavier’s. Perhaps not. Again, I don’t know what is in Matt’s head and I don’t know it’s Xavier’s. I just know that I enjoy both outlets for different reasons.
Now, there are other factors that could be at play here as well. For example, Xavier might be offering Matt some constructive criticism. And if that’s the case, then I would say that could be a positive but at the same time I would also surmise that it’s totally unsolicited. Anytime you offer unsolicited criticism – whether constructive or not – it may not be taken very well. In this case it clearly was not. It’s also interesting because of the fact that it isn’t coming from a fan or an athlete, rather, it’s coming from a direct competing site. Muscle Discord and Desktop Bodybuilding are both competing against each other. I mean at the end of the day all independent bodybuilding outlets are fighting for views. It’s just the nature of the beast. Everybody nowadays has a good smartphone or a good laptop and they have their choice of any number of shows to choose from. Contrary to what many people think, fans do not watch all the shows all the time. There aren’t enough hours in the day. People have to work, they have families, they have obligations, so they’re very picky about what they watch. So again I reiterate that both outlets are essentially competing against each other. And I can see where Matt would be defensive from even constructive criticism because at the end of the day it’s a direct rival telling him how to be better at what he’s doing. It’s very difficult to not ruffle someone’s feathers when you do that. And of course Matt provided a rebuttal of sorts that I’m sure Xavier didn’t appreciate relative to the Milos call.
Another possible angle is the fact that Muscle Discord is gaining a lot of popularity as a result of their reporting. Perhaps Muscle Discord will surpass Desktop Bodybuilding. Perhaps not. I don’t know if that’s a factor or not, but to someone looking in from the outside, I could see where that might appear to be a basis for the comment. Are you going to get more followers and more clicks if you are unapologetic and almost brazen? Oh absolutely. That goes without saying. Would I say that Matt’s style of reporting is a lot more in-your-face than Xavier’s? Without a doubt!. They’re both good at what they do but they’re very different as well.
I don’t necessarily see this as the beginnings of a rivalry or bad blood, but if these guys can’t iron out their differences soon, then this could be another RX versus MD type situation. One thing that I will say is that even if what Xavier was trying to do amounts to constructive criticism he could have messaged Matt and discussed it privately with him, but at the same time it’s still a very delicate type of situation because I don’t think Matt particularly cares what Xavier thinks of how he runs his site. Just like I don’t think Xavier would care very much about what Matt thought about how he ran his. Since they’re both competing for the same views and since they’re both media outlets, I don’t know what Xavier thought would come of this. Plus, it seems, that Xavier coupled his remarks with unfollowing MD. I can’t imagine he thought anything good was going to come out of it, but perhaps his intention was to rein in Muscle Discord and/or reduce what he perceives to be negativity in the fitness industry. I know that a lot of federation bigwigs and quite a few competitors have lashed out at MD, but whether or not it’s because what Matt is saying is too hard for them to process or not, is an entirely different story. I know that he has criticized people that I respect and I know that he has raised a lot of questions about aspects of the sport that perhaps I agree with and perhaps I don’t. At the end of the day, I’m a very big believer in everybody having their opinion and never having to apologize for it. And that most especially goes for media outlets.
Do you think Muscle Discord is too negative? Do you think Xavier is right? My opinion is simply live and let live. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
