Corporate Takeover

[muscle drain, weight gain]

On his way to work, John got another e-mail from “Global Fitness”--the new name of their gym since it had been purchased by a big nation-wide gym franchise. John’s 5-year tenure as a trainer at “Gunz” (the gym’s name before the signs were torn down and replaced with flashy corporate logos) may soon come to an end, he mused. Gunz had always been a good old-fashioned hard-working bodybuilding gym, and the new corporate mandates had already made things uncomfortable.

For one, “Global” was now assigning clients to each trainer as opposed to the client and trainer choosing each other. John had only ever worked with serious bodybuilding hopefuls (as a massive man himself, he specialized in superheavyweights) but now he faced the possibility of getting some old lady named Gertie who couldn’t touch her toes.

Last week, just after the acquisition was finalized, he got an e-mail warning all trainers about steroid usage in the gym. While he had never actually injected himself on gym premises, Global Fitness had now forbidden discussion of all PEDs–even SARMs and over-the-counter test boosters! There was now an approved list of supplements (all Global Fitness brand, of course) that trainers were allowed to suggest to their clients.

The latest message discussed the installation of new “spa facilities” on the premises. Gunz had always been a grimy old-school place. The only “facilities” they needed were a water fountain, a urinal, and a bucket to puke into on squat day! All that was changing now, and as soon as John found a new gym to move to, he would move on.

The big man pulled into the parking lot and cringed at the sign now towering over them: a slim man and woman in spandex giving a thumbs up. Each of the models in the sign was the size of one of John’s legs. He grunted as he lumbered past it, furiously rubbing a paw over his bald head.

Danny, the gym manager, waved as John burst through the doors. “Hey! John! You gotta check out our new saunas, buddy!”

John shook his head and held up a thick hand. “Look, Danny, I’m 300 fucking pounds. Hopping in a sauna is not going to be my main priority on leg day, bro.”

Danny blushed, hanging his head sheepishly. “No, what I mean is…” He took a deep breath. “I mean… you HAVE to check out the sauna. Like, using it is mandatory for all trainers. I’m sorry, man. Just new corporate rules.”

John gritted his teeth, ready to leave at that moment, but he did have a workout to get in, plus some clients later. He couldn’t let them down without notice. “Fine, whatever. Just lemme go train.”

John started fuming when he noticed the squat racks had been removed. “The FUCK?” he boomed, beating his massive chest. “The fuck are they doing to this place?”

He noticed Cameron, another bodybuilding trainer, approaching him at that moment. “Hey, big guy,” said Cameron (who was splendidly muscled, but competed as a “classic physique” athlete focused on aesthetics, not a mass monster like the gigantic John). “You’re gonna hate this new thing.” Cameron extended his phone to John to show him yet another new e-mail from “corporate,” this one banning compression tights and stringer tees.

“The FUCK? What am I supposed to work out in?” John barked. He looked around and noticed that the dumbbells heavier than 90 pounds had been removed. “HOW the fuck am I supposed to work out?”

“And I heard they hired a bunch of new trainers, too,” Cameron said. “We have to pass some corporate licensing test in order to train here!”

“For fuck’s sake,” John said, waddling over to a hack squat machine and stacking it with every 45-pound plate he could find. “They want me to leave, they’re going to have to throw me out. You in the mood to rage squat?”

“FUCK yeah,” Cameron said, tossing his gym bag to the floor.

Cameron was nowhere near as wide as John (except from shoulder-to-shoulder) but his body was still impressively muscled. They both looked like superheroes, developed so specifically that they nearly looked cartoonish in their proportions, but while Cameron was build like a clydesdale, John’s squatter, less-flexible body looked more like a rhinoceros. As the two pounded away on the weights, grunting and growling with each rep, they started to attract a crowd.

Before they were finished, Danny, along with a man in a neon-green polo shirt with a GF logo on the collar approached them. “Uh, g-guys,” Danny stammerd, “we can’t, uh… y’know… be as aggressive here anymore.”

“Fuck we can’t!” John roared, beating his fists on the ground like an ape. “Who’s gonna fucking stop us? YOU?” He poked a thick finger into the chest of the corporate schmuck with his spiky hair, whitened teeth and protruding jaw.

“Listen, gentleman, I know this new direction may be shocking, but I assure you, we want this to be a comfortable change for all trainers here!” the man said. “I’m Jakob, and I want every member of the Gunz team to feel that they have a spot in the Global Fitness family.”

“This shit ain’t a family,” Cameron said, trying to look fierce (a difficult feat with his soft angelic eyes, deep dimples and high-cheekbones). “This is a GYM. You’re trying to change it into something else.”

“Look, why don’t you guys just finish your workout… as aggressively as you want to be… then have a sit in our new saunas. I assure you, you’ll absolutely LOVE the way they make you feel!”

John and Cameron exchanged glances, then quietly nodded before getting back to their workout. They finished their last few sets even louder than before, just to spite the corporate douchebags that were no doubt watching them like hawks.

When they were done, the two brutes slugged back some protein shake and headed for this newly installed “spa area.” They rolled their eyes as they saw several tables where members were getting massages. They glanced into one room to see Wayne, a powerlifter, getting acupuncture!

“The fuck is this shit?” John barked.

“Dude, I bet they’re gonna up the membership fees to like 200 bucks a month,” Cameron conjectured.

Jakob appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and reached toward the two large athletes’ hands. Both of them jerked away. “Come with us, gentlemen, and have a seat in our special sauna facility. We have it calibrated just for you two–specially for two MASSIVE men who just dominated an incredible workout!”

Jakob’s toothy smile made John feel uncomfortable, but the two reluctantly tossed their gym bags aside and stepped into the dark sauna. As the doors closed, a pale green light filled the room as steam poured forth.

“I’m going full nude,” John said, stripping immediately. He dropped his soaked tank top and tights in a pile next to him. “Fuck them. They can deal with my junk just sitting right out on their ‘brand new sauna equipment.’ “

Cameron followed suit. The two nude bodybuilders lay back as the steam poured forth. Despite themselves, their agitation started to dissipate. “Y’know, I heard the trainers are getting a major pay increase,” Cameron offered after several minutes of silence.

“I don’t give a fuck,” John said. “I’ll make half the pay and keep my self-respect.” He snorted as he looked over at Cameron’s statuesque physique. “Y’know, no offense, but I can almost see you as one of the guys here. If they put you in baggy clothes, of course. You look like the kind of guy people would come in to train with.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cameron said as he wiped sweat from his brow.

“It means you’re pretty. And you still look kinda human, not a roided out muscle big like me.” John placed a hand on his bulging roidgut and massaged it. “No offense,” he added again.

“Well, fuck all that nonsense,” Cameron said. “I’ve got two new sponsorships I’m about to sign on with. I’ll just live off that money for awhile until I win my next show.”

Suddenly a thick cloud of steam poured forth. John couldn’t see Cameron anymore. He couldn’t even see his own hand in front of his face! The steam kept pouring out. “Yo, Cameron? Is this…” John suddenly felt a chill over his body. He was tingling all over. His muscles were twitching, flexing on their own, one by one.

“John, something’s…” Cameron sounded as panicked as John felt. Then Cameron let out a long belch–six seconds long, at least, deep and rumbly. “The FUCK?” he said. He followed that expulsion of gas with another–this one from his ass.

“Jesus, Cameron, keep that shit to yourself,” John said. His voice sounded strange… too high? He cleared his throat. “We’re in the sauna, man.” Clearing his throat hadn’t helped. John put his hands down and felt his legs, but they didn’t feel right. He brought his legs together and gasped when he realized his quads weren’t squashing together as they normally did.

The steam started to clear. John looked at his hand, but it was lacking it normal thickness. Decades of callouses had vanished, and he saw small, dainty fingers! He rubbed his eyes, unable to process what was going on, but as his hands fell, he realized there was no rock-hard protruding abdomen there. His stomach felt concave… and smooth!

“John, something’s wrong!” Cameron said as the steam cleared. But where Cameron sat, John now saw a jiggling pile of blubber! The obese man before him bore no resemblance to the rock-hard stud he’d come in with, except for the eyes. Despite the note of panic, those were still Cameron’s sparkling blue eyes, although he looked like a pile of flab without an ounce of muscle on him. His chins jiggled as he looked over himself. He squeezed his own floppy moobs, grabbed handfuls of his soft, quivering belly, and whimpered when he held up his sagging arms.

John was about to respond, but when he looked down at himself he thought he might pass out: his muscles were all gone! As he hopped to his feet he realized he seemed to have shrunk, too, no longer 6’ tall; the door handle was higher than it was supposed to be. Worse, though, he was literally just skin and bones now! He felt exhausted, but also lighter, like he was moving without hundreds of pounds weighing him down.

“J-John? Is that you?” Cameron said, finally turning away from his bloated body. “Holy shit, John… you’re fucking TINY!”

“And you’re fat!” John said. His voice was shrill and light, as unimposing as his fragile physique was now.

The two gasped as the door suddenly screeched open. Jakob stepped in as the steam rushed out. The two nude men shivered as cold air poured over their transformed bodies. Jakob grinned at them, unsurprised at their appearances.

“Well, gentlemen, how did you appreciate your sauna session?” Jakob said. He stepped forward. Earlier, Jakob had seemed like just some average guy, but now he was a full head taller than John and looked twice as thick! The formerly massive man stepped backward, finding himself instinctively clinging to Cameron’s large body for safety.

“G-get away!” John whimpered.

“Now now, it seems you’re unhappy with your session,” Jakob said. He stepped forward and grabbed one of Cameron’s fat moobs, lifting it up and letting it fall. “A far cry from those impressive pecs, my friend!” he mocked. “And you,” he said, grabbing John by the arm. “Not quite as feisty now, are you?”

“L-lemme go!” John shrieked as Jakob started pulling him away.

“Look, the good news for both of you is… this is temporary. Given time, your bodies will return to their original states. But for a bit, we’re going to show you exactly how the Global Fitness family runs!”

Two men stepped forward. Each of them was barrel-chested, broad-shouldered, with the same green polo as Jakob. They each had the same cropped haircut and the same empty smiles on their faces.

“Boys, meet your new trainers,” Jakob informed them. He handed John’s wrist over to one, who introduced himself as Paul.

The other, whose nametag read DYLAN, walked into the sauna and helped Cameron to his feet. Each of the new trainers handed the former bodybuilders an outfit that would fit their new bodies.

John couldn’t believe what was happening, nor could he help but gawk at just how BIG everything–and everyone–seemed now. He turned around to see a skinny man with needles in his face looking shocked at his flimsy arms as he was fitted with a Global Fitness outfit as well. All around, former athletes and trainers were either skinny or obese now, each getting assigned to a dull-eyed new trainer, all of whom seemed to be carbon copies of one another.

“We’re not doing anything you tell us to!” John chirped, stamping his tiny foot.

“Well then, say hello to the new you!” Jakob gave John a firm push, nearly knocking the little guy off his feet. “Or, you do as your trainer tells you and earn your old body back. And in the meantime, you’ll learn what REALLY makes Global Fitness work.”

Everything was happening so quickly that John barely had time to process what was going on. He suddenly found himself standing at a weight rack struggling to curl 7.5 pound dumbbells while Paul urged him to do, “...one more rep, little man!”

John tried to quell his rage when Paul congratulated him for getting 8 reps with the little pink weights. He looked across the gym to see Cameron’s body wobbling on a treadmill as he plodded along, gasping for breath. He seemed to be moving at about half a mile an hour.

“Don’t worry, bud!” Paul said. “You’ll learn to love Global Fitness! It’s a great gym. We all used to be like you when they took over our gyms too… but they can be VERY persuasive!”

Paul gave John a shove, urging him to do another set, and the formerly massive man was shocked that he did exactly what was told. It chilled him just how quickly his urge to fight back had faded… but as he looked at Paul’s toned arms and his nice bubble butt, he wondered if Paul would be willing to share his tips to help John get a body just like that.