Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg wants everyone to know he’s not just the Facebook co-founder. Wearing a weighted flack jacket, he shows off defined muscles and a decently thick neck. He says he’d just finished the Murph Challenge, a Memorial Day fund-raising workout. Apparently Zuckerberg wants everyone to know that he works out and engages in Brazilian jiujitsu. Which feels a little like the nerd in the schoolyard taking karate to be popular, if we’re honest.
Zuckerberg seems to have an obsession with physical activities, according to longtime friend Sam Lessin, and tends to bounce from one to the next. “He sees them as super-fun side quests…We’ve been on trips where he’ll say, like, ‘I’ll race you up that mountain,'” Lessin said. A number of Zuckerberg’s previous interests have included surfing and roller hockey. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with having an attraction to highly physical activities. But Zuckerberg’s maybe a little too obsessed with Brazilian jiujitsu.
Blowing Off Steam In A Safe Space
Considering his present losses, it stands to reason he’s dug into a physical sport that allows him to go primal. According to Casey Johnston, a cultural critic and exercise/strength-training enthusiast, martial arts are extremely attractive to the Silicone Valley sphere. It allows for the release of baser energies in a controlled space. Which seems like a nicer way of saying “they want to feel macho.”
On May 6th, Zuckerberg even competed in his first Brazilian jiujitsu tournament, which he reportedly won against an Uber Engineer, taking home two medals. There were reports Zuckerberg “passed out” from a choke hold, but his reps have denied it.
“This was his first tournament, but it didn’t seem like it,” Danny Patalot, the chief executive of BJJ Tour, said. “He was aggressive using technique. There was no fear.” Though this feels a little like Zuckerberg’s just found an activity where winning is cut, dried, and uncomplicated.
