In a Bangkok suburb, a subculture is brewing.

A backstage area buzzes with excitement as dolled-up, tanned, and muscled women adjust their glittering bikinis and prepare to make the walk across stage before a panel of judges.

This is not a traditional Thai beauty pageant – it’s a bodybuilding competition. Such competitions have had a hard time attracting participants and fans in Thailand. Traditional expectations of beauty and femininity dictate a smaller, thinner paler look.

Dozens of Thai women appeared in this show, including, Nittaya Kongthun, the 26-year-old who took home first prize in the prestigious ‘Model Physique’ division.

Nittaya’s bulging muscles and bronze paint covered physique make her a far cry from the traditional Thai ideal, but the determined competitor believes beauty and lifestyle trends are starting to shift.

DailyNation reports that Nittaya is very optimistic,”Today, sporty trends are in,” the full-time trainer said in the excitement immediately following her win.

She tells AFP she was initially attracted to the sport as a way to increase her general fitness level. Along with that change, came a physical change she embraced. Nittaya describes the bikini competitor look as, “like a Barbie doll but with more muscles.”

Adding that, “By doing this sport we can have a beautiful body and be healthy.”
The culture of competitive female fitness is slowly catching on in Thailand. The Kingdom even managed to take home a series of medals at this year’s bodybuilding world championship in Mongolia.
More than 500 male and female Thai nationals now who compete professionally, according to the president of Southeast Asia’s bodybuilding federation.

“That number has increased by the hundreds from ten years ago,” Phumvarin Chunhawongvarit told AFP. This sort of increase could create exponential growth over the next decade or two, right now the Thai market is generally untapped.

Thais will have another chance to showcase their talents on the internationals stage in December of next year, when Thailand will host the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

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