The Manifesto of Supervillainy

Why Eschewing the Superhero and Embracing the Supervillain Leads to Success in Training and Life

Whenever people question me about my religion, political policies, moral code, business ethics, training program, or any other topic that seeks to classify me in some way, I always reply, "supervillainy." In fact, “supervillain” is a moniker that I’ve adopted for my combat sports career and it's even a reoccurring pen name. I'm also a head trainer for a group of adolescents who wish to compete in combat sports. What have I named our close knit group? Why “the Supervillain Fight Team,” of course.

The Philosophy of Supervillain

Now, I'm often questioned by the confounded masses (and sometimes worried parents of the teens I train) about why I've adopted the philosophy of the supervillain. What does that actually entail? Why not strive to be a superhero, who is so venerated and ballyhooed as the embodiment of good? The masses believe that the supervillain stands for all that is evil or heretical. After all, no one is dressing up his child as a supervillain on Halloween. (In actuality, I’d much rather prefer my visage not be used as a bartering tool for providing children with confectionary treats.) But quite frankly, the masses are misinformed. The supervillain doesn't represent wickedness or doom but rather ingenuity, dedication, confidence, and individuality. In the training room and in the real world, it’s the supervillain in you that helps you strive for success and won't let you quit until you've achieved it.

Take a look around you next time you’re in the gym and out on the streets. Its surfeit with people trying to be superheroes. Many have failed and many are close to failure, yet they all keep trudging onward with the same stale and insipid philosophy. When you're a competitive athlete or competing out in the world and you identify that all your competitors seem to be fixated on the same ideology, what would be the most intelligent thing to do? Revolutionize the formula, of course! Don’t succumb to the ordinary. Don’t invest your entire faith in the pre-established. You are a solitary being who possesses a mind of its own. Where would the fitness world be without men like Paul Anderson, Charles Atlas, and many other supervillains who thought to revolutionize the status quo?

The issue with the superhero is that he is myopic and stagnant. He doesn’t seek for change or improvement. The supervillain is able to identify a weakness, a problem, an area for improvement and take action. Of course, the superhero immediately attempts to suppress this revolution. Ask yourself, are you content with every aspect of your life? Are you content with your plateaus in the gym? Are you content drifting through a sterile life? If you answered no, I suggest you abandon your cape and cheesy costume and put that powerful mind to work.

Another admirable quality about the supervillain is that he wasn't gifted with anything. He wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider. He wasn't rocketed to Earth from the planet Krypton, equipped with intrinsic superpowers. He wasn't an affluent weapons manufacturer who creates an all powerful iron suit. No, the supervillain wasn't born strong, fast, explosive, or wealthy, nor did he stumble upon super skills by chance. The supervillain was a social pariah, someone the others didn't believe in, someone who was resigned to never succeed by society, someone abandoned and considered innocuous.

Athletic World

In the athletic world, you aren't simply handed a world record, a knockout victory, a championship, or even a personal record. You start with nothing. It is only your dedication, your unrelenting will, the hours that you spend toiling and working in your respective lair that will lead to any success. It will be difficult. There will be days of pain, days when you don’t see any sunlight, days in which you will be utterly alone, days in which it will all seem unachievable. However, this is what will make your fruition so much sweeter. This is what will cause you to laugh manically because despite the naysayers and difficulties of the task, you did it. How do you want your success delivered? An instance in which natural law was suddenly suspended and suddenly you were all that you wanted? Or would you like to embark on a journey that continually tests and strengthens you as a human being?

In our athletic worlds and business worlds, there are figures who have reached the apex. View them closely. Much like the superhero, they seem insurmountable. They are immersed in the decadence of their success. But that’s fine. Let them revel in their hedonism. If you feel spite or acrimony, that’s fine also. Retreat to your lair. Work and work and work, tirelessly and endlessly until one day you're unleashed on to the world as the new insuppressible, impregnable, impeccable force.

Advice for the Teens

This is what I tell the teens who I train. Supervillainy doesn’t entail dissolution or misanthropy or any harm done unto others. A supervillain is simply someone with a firm vision, someone who wants to see himself fulfilled. Don’t worry about the fact that you’re straying from the norm, that your peers are derisive, that you're scared and alone initially. If you're true to your cause and convictions, you will win the hearts and minds of others over time.

And this is why you don’t see a child dressed as a supervillain come to your door on Halloween pleading for candy. If there is a supervillain child out there, he won’t be begging at your door. He’s out earning his own damn treats.