Full transparency. I didn’t know about the issue between Giles “Tiger” Thomas and Martin “The Martian” Fitzwater until a media outlet reached out to me and asked me to reach out to Martin and ask him to please apologize to Giles for some comments that were made at a recent contest that The Tiger was working for. They asked me because I am such a strong supporter of Martin’s.
That’s a hard no, but what exactly happened? Not much if you ask me. Martin uttered a couple of statements. He said he’d Giles had been talking about him and that next time, he should say to it to his face. That’s pretty much it.
But was there physical contact from Martin with The Tiger’s phone? I’m not sure. Giles zoomed in and never zoomed out. There was certainly no “punch,” as Ivan Bodybuilding chimed in from the YouTube knitting club. You can clearly see that at no point in time did Martin make a fist. And the “next time” words remove any imminent fear of a battery. Nonetheless, numerous outlets are selling this as an assault for hits. I don’t for a second believe Giles was rattled by what Martin said. This is just one big pity party.
If you’re going to be in media, you have to develop thicker skin. Just sayin.
That said, The Tiger is not just a random commentator, he was actually working for the contest where Martin was competing at. That’s interesting because that puts The Tiger in close proximity to the athletes he’s talked about. To Giles, his reporting isn’t personal, but maybe to a competitor it could be taken as such. When Martin beat Chris Bumstead, he didn’t just win a show. He beat the G.O.A.T. of Classic Physique, they battled hard, and Martin won. So for Giles to lay into Martin and his physique given how happy he must have been, that might’ve create some animosity, even if just from Martin’s side of the coin.
Bodybuilders are only human. If they feel like they’re being trolled, even if the journalist is just doing their job, they might react a certain way. Now, if the person a bodybuilder perceives to be a troll is physically in front of them, filming them, then maybe the competitor has a moment where he tells the reporter to go on pound sand or maybe takes a verbal dig or two. That’s actually pretty common. The only difference here is whatever tapped Giles’ phone? Did he drop the phone? Did the screen get cracked? C’mon, nothing happened here.
But why did Martin get so close? Well Giles never actually zoomed out so maybe The Martian wasn’t as close as the viewers may think. But regardless, getting into full camera frame IS WAY DIFFERENT than getting into Giles’ face. The phone might be an extension of Giles (in some jurisdictions), but even this example would get laughed out of court. There was no damage to the phone and we don’t even know if Martin actually made contact with it, either. We’d need to get affidavits witnesses who were actually there. Anything short of that, is just speculation.
Moreover, getting right into a camera is simply done for effect. It’s done to create emphasis. For Martin to get in Giles’ camera is almost standard for modern-day bodybuilding interviews. Moreover, stating “next time, say it to my face,” doesn’t threaten anything that in any way, shape, or form resembles assault.
If Giles felt like a battery was about to take place, he would have guarded his face, dropped his phone, or gotten into TIGER STANCE to thwart The Martian’s advance. But The Tiger’s phone didn’t even move a centimeter, his hand didn’t shake, he was recording it perfectly the whole time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost think Giles was trying to troll Martin. And look, it seems like most of the podcasts are dogpiling on Fitzwater. Maybe that’s why I was asked to get Martin to apologize to Giles, and instead, I wrote two articles and made a video standing with Fitzwater.
Bodybuilders are only human. Nowhere in the IFBB Pro League rules and bylaws does it say that top tier professional bodybuilders have to take criticism – whether it be constructive or malicious – and smile the whole way through. If Giles felt threatened he could have called the authorities. Apparently, he may need to be seen by his cardiologist, which apparently costs him $200 per session. What that has to do with his ten second verbal interaction with Martin is beyond me. And why on Earth would he reach out to only a select few to get their opinion? For someone who’s been in the industry for 30 years, don’t tell me you didn’t know that was going to have a viral effect.
And now what? As the pressure builds, Martin is supposed to apologize? Yeah, that seems genuine. I highly doubt Giles will be getting an apology from The Martian. Furthermore, I don’t know that the Federation should step in, either. This whole incident was bullshit and for the Federation to get involved would really create more drama and more bullshit content.
Fuck the apology. If you’re going to be a commentator, commentate. Nothing happened here. Just move on to the next bullshit story. Martin doesn’t need to apologize, no disciplinary action should be taken against him, and ANYONE who works in the bodybuilding industry as a journalist should toughen up. Don’t cry over something like this and make yourself out to be a helpless victim. It’s not a good look.
