What do people think about bikinis?

Individual competitors should compete in whichever divisions they want to.

For my personal preference, I find bikini deeply dull (physiques aren’t trained enough for my liking). And whenever you actually attend shows, it is a huge class so takes forever. Completely understand that it’s the most marketable division though, for both show organisers and supplement companies. It’s just a bit too close to a T&A show for my liking.

Women’s physique I think was a really great innovation, and presented an outlet for still very trained but less extreme physiques than seen in women’s bodybuilding. After fitness (I like the routines), it’s probably my favourite women’s division.

Women’s bodybuilding is still great. The physiques are very extreme nowadays, but I can accept that. Sports change. I personally preferred the era from say Bev Francis to the end of Lenda Murray’s reign, but the physiques are quite a bit bigger now. I don’t think it has mass appeal now, but to be fair it has not had mass appeal for decades.

Lots of these things are just decided by money though. Bikini brings in a lot of money, due to the volume of competitors, each paying fees and so on. Even if it’s not my cup of tea, if it makes shows and federations more financially viable then that is a good thing.

Yes. No.

Do you want to?

Here’s the thing, no matter what you wear, someone’s going to find someone wrong with it. (Same with me, same with Scarlett Johansson, Nicki Minaj, and literally any other woman you can think of.)

You’re the one who decides what you wear and why you wear it. If you want to wear a bikini to the beach, then wear the bikini. If you don’t want to, then don’t. If you want to, but you don’t think your confidence is up to it, then wait.

That’s okay too.

Confidence: It’s the difference between the girl with the perfect body in a one-piece bathing suit, pulling at it and thinking she’s not thin enough or doesn’t have big enough boobs – and the girl who people call a bit overweight, but meanwhile, she’s wearing a bikini and guys are saying, “God, she’s sexy.” It all has to do with how you feel about yourself – it’s about projecting the attitude, I’m OK with who I am.

In Blue Crush, we meet three Hawaiian surfers who work as hotel maids, live in a grotty rental, and are raising the kid sister of one of them. Despite this near-poverty, they look great; there is nothing like a tan and a bikini to overcome class distinctions.