Honest Question: Why Do Some Guys Shave Their Legs?
This is a little gay of me that's okay. I'm honestly just trying to start some dialogue around when/why guys would shave their legs. I've racked my brain and have settled on swimming and sprinting. Those are two professions you definitely want smooth and hairless limbs to aid your performance.
In this case though were talking about a Top 100 soccer player all time in Cristiano Ronaldo. He's notorious for scoring goals and working out religiously and monitoring everything that goes inside his body with supreme focus and intensity. So much that he's sponsored by Herbalife, a publicly traded American multinational multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and sells dietary supplements.
Smart people just read that sentence and immediately identified the MLM model as a pyramid scheme. Like when your buddy from college tries selling you a year's worth of cleaning supplies at a 30% discount if you agree to be a program partner. Basically one step removed from a cult without any of the eternal salvation or soul-saving theatrics. That's what I think about when I see Ronaldo enjoying his all natural meal replacement. Somewhere someone else is always getting ripped off and that kinda bothers me. But I digress.
What I'm curious about is why a guy wants to shave his legs? One of you reading this right now probably just got a clean gel shave with a gilette. Why? It probably feels good and often improves your muscle-definition visuals. But is that worth the social stigma of being the fuckin puss that's shaving his calves?
Again - for sporting purposes, you can begin an argument. Michael Phelps wants to shave a hundredth of second, go right ahead buddy and shave it. Ronnie Coleman flexing for another Mr. Olympia, be my guest. Soccer on the other hand makes me wonder.
The primary argument would be shin guards, I think. That has the potential to capture my understanding provided that it makes shin guards more comfortable and easier to adhere themselves to your epidermis in competitive play. I can start to listen to that argument but deep down I don't think it really exists. I think he's just shaving his legs because it feels nice and quite frankly, I don't care for that level of grooming. Worry about your ballsack first.
But then as a baseball guy, I have to admit that shaving your arms is EXPECTED of MLB players. Did you know that? Most of the time it starts off because you tape your wrists. But then in D-1 and professional ball, it becomes more common place because it makes your forearms look bigger and baseball players are huge pussies where that matters. I know this because.... I did. I know it. I lived it most of 2008 and that's something I'll answer for when the time comes.
Right now though and keeping this primarily to lower limbs: I think a dude shaving his legs is a red flag. Even for an overly oiled and bronzed Portuguese world superstar. It just doesn't make that much sense to me so if someone understands the leg-shaving culture, please explain in the comments below.