“New year, new me” had officially become Bernard’s official motto over the last week. Come hell or high water, he was determined to get his health back on track this year. While it’s true that Bernard had made this exact same claim in years past, all of them ending in failure, he’d managed to hold himself accountable thus far.

Some dietary supplements were showing good progress at minimizing his normal depressive tendencies that always lead to stress eating or the worst kind. All sweets and empty calories had been given a swift eviction from his kitchen. The addition of meal prepping ensured there was always a nutrient packed option available with little effort required.

For the first time in years, Bernard was confident that the slowly increasing number on the scale would finally plateau at 320 pounds. With any luck, his 6am meeting Monday would help it finally go down. Monday arrived, and that confidence began to evaporate.

While being a big guy, the several feet of snow and sub-zero weather forced Bernard to dress warm. Pants with thermals, multiple shirts and a heavy jacket, and a pair of heavy non-slick boots ensured he would have to face the biggest fear of his adult life, a locker room. Under ideal circumstances, Bernard would have arrived in his workout gear and leave in them. Jake told him otherwise as he instructed Bernard to walk to the gym.

Entering the locker room, Bernard was relieved to discover it was abandoned. After a sigh of relief, he began to strip off his winter clothes. Methodically, he folded them before neatly laying them in his locker.

A voice called out while he was standing there in nothing but his boxers. “Sup! You my new client Bern?” A shirtless, Bernard instantly recognized him from his profile pic. His abs were less cut, but it was clearly his new personal trainer, Jake.

Jake had come highly recommended to Bernard. Bachelors in Sports Medicine and a Masters in Kinesiology, not to mention being insanely stacked, eased the qualification concerns Bernard had. Seeing a friend and a coworker transform from overweight trim with bulging muscles hadn’t hurt either.

Embarrassment creeped over Bernard as he attempted to hide what flab he could as his face turned red. “Y-yeah, I’m Bernard.”

“Great to see you made it out this early. Got a good starting workout planned for ya. Now let me see what we’re working with.” Jake motioned for Bernard to drop his arms and stop hiding.

Jake’s confidence was almost infectious. While still highly embarrassed, Bernard let his arms fall to his side. On full display was his overhanging gut, the curves of his love handles, and his drooping moobs, all of which were a sickly pale.

Without another word, Jake started grabbing and prodding and making mental notes that were occasionally verbal. “Decent starting arms…strong back…beefy legs.”

Bernard’s face turned a brighter shade of red as he was completely objectified.

Finally directing his attention back to Bernard the person, Jake asked “You following the meal prep I sent ya?” Bernard managed to choke out an affirmation. “Good, bro. Ain’t gunna lie, it’ll take a lot of work to get this all off. We can do it though.”

Again, Jake’s confidence was infectious. Inspection done, Bernard threw on some newly purchased athletic shorts and loose t-shirt and his old running shoes, ready for whatever dreadful run Jake had in store.

Clinging to the one person he knew, Bernard followed Jake out of the locker room and into the gym itself. Confusion erupted when Jake strolled past the treadmills, stationary bikes, and ellipticals. His site was squarely on the free weights.

“A-aren’t I going to run?” Bernard finally managed to choak out.

“You can run if you want to” Jake started, “but that’ll take forever and destroy your knees.” Falling into an academic tone, Jake resumed “Weight loss is a simple formula, calories in need to be less than calories out. Right now you’re running on a small deficit that will slowly eat away your muscles then fat, works like that unfortunately. You wanna see results this decade and be covered in muscles to get dates, right?”

Bernard nodded in agreement.

“Then the best way to do that is to build muscle now. Musculature consumes calories throughout the day, so more muscles will consume more.” Jake returned to his psudo-bro vernacular at this point. “Like, a lot more, bro. More than a run could ever compete with! Well, maybe outside of a marathon.”

While being the opposite of the he thought he knew about fitness, Bernard had to concede that the logic was sound. Furthermore, Jake was far more knowledgeable than he was. Resistance defeated, Bernard resumed his position behind Jake as they entered the free weight area.

Skipping over the bar, Jake handed Bernard a couple dumbbells and started barking orders. Squats, dead lifts, bench press, an exhausting routing was forming. Bernard did his best to keep up, but the ache in his muscles was extreme at the end of the first set. Panting, Bernard’s eyes were pleading with Jake to call it a day.

While acting as the hard-ass to keep his client moving, Jake wasn’t antithetical to Bernard’s struggle. Accepting that his new client would need all the support he could get, Jake started untying his right shoe.

Through deep breaths of glorious oxygen, Bernard looked at Jake confused. Perplexed, Bernard had initially assumed that Jake needed to get something out. This confusion continued as Jake took the shoe in his hand and stepped towards him.

In a single motion, the opening of the shoe was planted directly over his noise and mouth while a hand grabbed the back of his head. Bernard began to struggle as the obnoxious odder filled his noise and mouth.

“Relax, bro. Let the musk do its job.”

Against his will, Bernard found his body was doing just that. His muscles were relaxing as his arms fell to his side, his knees grew shaky as he struggled to stand, and the soreness blurred into nothing. The stench was revolting, but made Bernard feel as if he was laying on a cloud of soothing relaxation.

Jake pulled the musky shoe away and Bernard could feel his vision come back. “Ready for the next set?”

Bernard nodded his head and sighed a dull “yeah, uh, bro.”

As soon as the last word exited Bernard’s mouth, drill sergeant Jake was back barking orders. Bernard threw himself into the lifts with the same effort he had before. Quickly, the pain returned with every lift. The strain in Bernard’s muscles resumed as he forced them to move the increasingly heavy weights.

“3…2…1. Good bro.”

Bernard had barely dropped the weights for his two minutes rest before Jake had returned his smelly shoe to Bernard’s face. Rather than fighting back, Bernard deeply inhaled the potent musk. Ease coursed through his body as the pain and strain evaporated.

His rest was up and the shoe was removed. Back to his lifting, Bernard kept glancing at Jake’s shoe sitting on an unused bench just a few short feet away.

When the set was finished, he didn’t wait for Jake to apply the shoe. Bernard instantly reached for it, dropping the weight, and planting it firmly over his mouth and noise. The relaxation returned and was joined by a new sensation. Each inhale brought with it a slight tingling in his brain, just resting on the corners of his mind.

Jake was forced to pull the shoe away from Bernard’s face to complete the next set.

---

At the end of the workout, Bernard was beat. While pondering how he would survive a day of work, Jake made a suggestion.

“Y’know, bein’ part owner of the gym, I’ve got a special 2 hour block a night for just my clients. Why don’t we change the rest of this week’s sessions to then. Good?”

Breathing hard, Bernard was unable to fully process the suggestion. Without completely thinking it over, he said “sure.”

“Right on, see ya Wednesday at 8.” Jake spun on his heel and left for his next client, leaving Bernard to clean himself up and head off to work.

The thought of the potent musk radiating from Jake’s shoes wouldn’t leave him. So strong and revolting, but heavenly in its ability to ease his muscles and relax the mind. He hoped that come Wednesday, he’d get some more.

---

Fifteen minutes before his next appointment, Bernard sat in the locker room frozen. There were so many men around him, causing his self-consciousness to skyrocket. Would they laugh at his obvious fat when he takes his shirt off? Would they ridicule him for being the only fat guy in the gym? His mind was racing down a path of self-loathing and repeated desires to give up.

Jake entered the locker room and spotted Bernard instantly. “’Bout ready?”

Bernard chocked out an acknowledgement and changed into his workout clothes, face bright red from embarrassment. Fully changed, he entered the gym floor a couple of minutes before Jake’s special workout time.

Most of the people from when he’d entered had already left. The last couple of guys were eyeing him up as he strode towards the free weight zone.

“All right guys, come ‘n get ‘um.” Jake’s voice reverberated through the gym from behind Bernard. The other guys immediately stopped what they were doing and moved towards Jake’s voice. Seeing that his newest client wasn’t responding, Jake called out to Bernard. “You too, Bern.”

Bernard turned and saw Jake putting down two tubs. Walking up to them, he found they were full of athletic cups and straps to hold them in place. Jake grabbed one and handed it to Bernard, who looked at him dumbly.

“Like this, bro.” and Jake proceeded to pull Bernard’s shorts and underwear down. Jake swatted Bernard’s hands away and ignored his yelp of shock and protest as the cup was fastened into place. Attached, Bernard was relieved to feel Jake pull his pants and underwear back up. The only sense of reprieve was that the other men around had done the same.

While dry, the cup felt dirty, almost grimy, as it clung to Bernard’s junk and slowly warmed.

Before Bernard could ask a question, Jake was pulling his own pants down. He was wearing a cup just like the one he’d forced onto Bernard a few moments ago. The smell it held was strong, reigniting Bernard’s memory of Jake’s shoe.

After grabbing a set of straps from the other bucket, Jake placed the smelly, musky, cup over Bernard’s nose and mouth. As the straps were attached around his head, Bernard could feel his muscles relax and the corners of his mind tingle.

“That’s it, bro. Breath nice and deep. The smell of a man.” Jake spoke as he grabbed a cup for his cock and one for his face, fastening them into place. Voice now muffled, he continued. “Feel it power that primal need to lift heavy things, to grow fuckin’ bigger, and reek like a man should.”

Bernard could only nod as his cock grew hard. His head was rubbing against the hard plastic as he could feel sweat accumulating on his balls. When Jake pointed to a weight bench, he dutifully moved towards it. Grabbing his weights as he went, a fire was burning within. A fire that had always existed in him but was dangerously close to being extinguished.

“That’s it bro, good form.” Jake’s praises pushed Bernard. “Isn’t it so much better to smell a man’s musk than some prissy deodorant?”

Bernard nodded his head enthusiastically. “Y-yes it is. So much better.”

“So you wanna help me? Wanna make the whole world smell like that cup? Make every man a ripped musky beast? Change the world into one that understands just how good a man smells naturally? One without discussing deodorant?”

Bernard’s cock was straining with every word and every lift. On the last one, he’d crossed over the line of no return. His cock erupted into the cup, the thick goo dripping into his pubes. In that first moment of euphoria as his muscles screamed not with pain but joy at growing bigger, Bernard realized what was robbed from him.

His whole life, every man had smelled of flowers and he was expected to be the same. In doing so, society robbed him of what it truly meant to be a man. Now that he’d found it, there was no way he’d ever go back. Especially, with how good it felt to get in shape and reek.