Bedford actor hopes to raise awareness of men's muscle dysmorphia with short film

A Bedford actor and writer is hoping to raise the profile of muscle dysmorphia and men’s mental health with a short film.

Called Bulking Up, it will be largely based on his own experience - and Micky David is appealing for your help to donate cash through his crowdfunder to get the film off the ground.

The 30-year-old said: "Many people haven’t even heard of the condition - through our crowdfunder alone we’ve sparked many conversations and raised awareness of the issue.

"So once we’ve made our short, we’ll be able to spread to word to even more people."

He went on to say:"There is an ever increasing pressure on young men to obtain muscular physiques and it is now estimated that 10 per cent of all men that go to the gym have muscle dysmorphia.

"Often men that follow really strict regimes and have extreme diets are either mistaken for being really healthy and ambitious or people perceive them as vain, when actually underneath there could be some serious underlying reasons why they’re so obsessive."

Micky added that eating disorders and body dysmorphia are well highlighted in women and he hoped, through his short film, the same awareness could be raised for men.

Although he is fully recovered now, Micky suffered in his earlier 20s - taking on an eight-week bulking regime, eating 4,000 calories a day and lifting heavy weights.

He said: "People were quite quick to recognise and praise the progress I had made, unaware of how I was actually suffering - I had daily stomach cramps, bowel issues, a bladder infection and a bad shoulder injury.

"I thought about my fitness plan and food intake all the time, constantly analysing my physique. If my T-shirt wasn’t tight around my biceps I’d feel insecure or if I’d eaten something out of my nutrition plan that’d play on my mind all day.

"Looking back it’s crazy and I ticked all the boxes of muscle dysmorphia. This is why I want to make this film as there will be many men out there they don’t realise their fitness obsession isn’t actually healthy and it can lead on to really serious consequences."

Micky is hoping to raise £18,000 to make the film. If you can help, visit his crowdfunding page here

It's hoped the film will be premiered in London and Bedford and will be entered into film festivals in the UK and internationally.