NEW YORK—Out-and-proud bodybuilder and former COLT Man Bo Dixon has released his first self-titled calendar. The 2010 date tracker, “Bo Dixon: Reinvented,” contains 14 photographs of the hirsute muscleman taken by fitness photographers Troy Philips and Akimitsu Saddi and includes a DVD chronicling the production process.
Dixon is no stranger to pin-up status: The 6’2”, 247-pound teddy bear graced the covers of 2007’s COLT calendar and 2009’s “Bear Men” calendar. “Bo Dixon: Reinvented” is the first all-Dixon effort and portrays him in a different light each month. Fans can enjoy “Football Bo,” “Wrestling Bo,” “Leather Bo,” “Swimsuit Bo” and of course, “Birthday-Suit Bo.”
Dixon said the calendar celebrates the power of perseverance. As a child, he was “the ugly, skinny kid with glasses.” Classmates frequently picked on him.
“Growing up, I was Alfalfa from the ‘Little Rascals,’” he revealed, laughing.
When he graduated from college, he weighed only 137 pounds.
“I remember buying bodybuilding magazines and looking at pictures of Michael Francois and Tom Prince,” Dixon said. “I admired them because I knew that bodybuilders were treated differently. They had room presence and status. I was tired of being thin and forgettable.”
So, he did something about his scrawny physique…albeit somewhat late in life.
“At 42 years old, I took the magazines to a trainer and told him, ‘I want to look like them.’ [The trainer] said, ‘Okay we’re entering you in the Mr. Alabama contest in six months.’”
Dixon won the novice class.
“From then on, I was hooked,” he said.
Today, at 48, Dixon competes in bodybuilding’s NPC division, one grade down from the professional circuit. In July, he won the PC Heavyweight title of Mr. Georgia.
He calls bodybuilding a lifestyle, trains at least four days a week and eats six to eight balanced meals each day. He said bodybuilding also helped him in his coming-out process.
“My muscles have become my suit of emotional armor,” he said. “They have given me the confidence to tackle some of my most challenging life situations.
“I embrace my past, but I thrill in who I am today,” he added. “I hope my calendar will inspire people, young and old, to believe that if you work hard, you too can become the man you want to be, mentally and physically.”
"Bo Dixon: Reinvented” is available at BoDixon.net. A behind-the-scenes clip from the “making of” DVD is available on YouTube.
