Abstract
The experience of body‑building in the form of participant observation shows that the thickness of the skin is at the center of concerns in this universe. By observing and feeling it, the skin is not only a benchmark for evaluating the body fat rate of practitioners, but also a means of knowing if the prescribed diet is being followed. The transformation of the body and the gain of muscle go through alternating periods of “cutting”, but also of weight gain. During the weight gain diet, the excess fat accumulated “veils” the skin and destabilizes the practitioner to the point of clouding his identity. This is a temporary state before the “cut”, which will reveal the muscles under the skin, an essential aesthetic criterion in competition. This article shows how a search for weight gain is considered a transitional stage while being part of the muscle factory. The repeated cycle of weight gain followed by a period of “dryness” can alter the elasticity of the skin and/or the athlete’s ability to dry out over time and promote the accumulation of fat. This quest for muscle leaves traces on the skin which ultimately reveal a process of subjectivity oscillating between the refusal to be “fat” and the ephemeral pleasure of being body‑built.