The saga continues... "Men's Wellness" refuses to die. San Moraes continues to provoke with its curves!

Did you think it was just a bizarre fluke of a regional competition in Brazil? Wrong. San Moraes, the face of the controversial Men's Wellness category, is back. Even though the world's top bodybuilders laughed at him and the IFBB Pro League management slammed the door on him, this Brazilian is once again filling headlines and dividing the internet.

We've written about the Men's Wellness phenomenon several times on Bodybuilding.com. The first time when San Moraes appeared on the stage of the Roraima Classic and caused a stir, and the second time when he returned to compete at Armageddon this fall. At the time, it appeared to be a dead-end developmental branch that was decisively cut short by IFBB Pro League Vice President Tyler Manion declaring that men's wellness had no place in their structures.

But San Moraes wasn't going anywhere. On the contrary.

Provocation as marketing?

Currently, Moraes' photos and videos are once again circulating social media and inspiring articles in lifestyle magazines. "The man with the woman's curves" is becoming a viral term. Moraes cherishes his "bodybuilder with a model's background" image and clearly relishes the attention that traditional notions of aesthetics deny him.

While we in Europe and the US shake our heads at a silhouette that denies the classic "V-shape" (broad shoulders, narrow waist) in favour of massive buttocks and thighs with a more subtle top, in Brazil this particular style seems to have found a small but vocal audience.

Why are we still dealing with this?

It's a fascinating demonstration of how bodybuilding is changing in the social media era. It used to be the judges made the decisions. Today, likes, shares and comments decide. Moraes may not get a Sandow statue at Olympia, but the reach of his posts is the envy of some pros.

Critics (and most of our readers in the discussions) call it a disgrace to the sport and bizarre. Proponents argue inclusion and the right to one's own aesthetic expression. But one thing is certain - as long as San Moraes keeps "provoking" and people keep clicking, the Men's Wellness category, however unofficial and marginal, will not just disappear.

What do you think?

When we first wrote about Moraes, the reaction was tumultuous. Has anything changed after a year? Have you gotten used to the existence of this "weird" category, or does the sight of male competitors in bikini fitness poses still make you jump out of your chair?