He pulls out his phone. Deletes an old voicemail: "You'll never be strong enough, boy."
Young Peter on video nods. Laughs. Then hugs his father.
PETER (softly) Thank you.
Cut to: Peter doing pull-ups until his hands bleed. Peter sits on a bench, breathing hard. Mark enters with two protein shakes. Sits beside him. -Peter Le-Muscle Worship- Part 2 mov
PETER (V.O.) My father used to say, "The body is a temple." Then he'd knock me down and tell me to pray harder. Worship meant pain. But I learned to love the pain. To crave it.
He places a hand over his own heart. Then over his bicep. His chest. His quad.
Mark pulls out his phone. Shows Peter a video — grainy, old. A man (FATHER, late 40s, muscular but gentle) guiding a young boy (PETER, 10) through a deadlift. The boy’s form is wrong. The father doesn’t yell. He kneels. Adjusts his son’s grip. Smiles. He pulls out his phone
Present Peter stares. Tears cut through the sweat on his face.
FATHER (on video) Feel that? That’s not pain. That’s purpose. Every muscle has a story. Respect the story.
PETER Then what is worship?
MARK You want to talk about him?
He types a new note: "Muscle worship begins with forgiveness."