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I've been curious about this one for a while- I didn't know who or what to search for the longest time, but kept noticing all the DBRAVE pictures popping up on here of various Asian women, usually in the same positions (they LOVE women standing up and showing their muscular buns, lol). Then it spread to others, and I started noticing dozens, if not hundreds, of Asian FBBs.
I'm a big fan of Yan Hong, Bian Ruiying, Chun-Ri Kim, and others, but only recently got into them. And I'm curious... when did this start getting big with Asian women, and why so many, so quickly?
I notice a lot of similarities in build, too, like a lot of them go for the "Slender but RIPPED" look so they look more feminine and athletic over being huge. A huge amount of DBRAVE pictures and those from other studios are like that, focusing on nude shots of backsides of more ripped, slender women. Other women kind of go from one to the other (Yan Yong started out more ripped but is adding bulk).
Is there just a handful of gyms out there in Asia recruiting women? Is it a big fad over there? I'm not sure which countries everyone is from, as their websites and IGs appeal to Westerners, but I've noticed Chinese, Koreans, etc. Nobody from Japan but I assume there's some.
Any help would be appreciated!
It started with Korean women around 2019-2021 and then the Chinese women started getting really into in 2024 or so. Japan has also gone pretty bananas about it lately - so typically Japanese of them. If you are on Instagram start with someone like Asami Yamada and go from there. Instagram will start showing you more like her in your feed.
It has spread so thoroughly thanks to Asian women's insane addiction to social media that even "normie" East Asian women are getting into bodybuilding now.
It started with Korean women around 2019-2021 and then the Chinese women started getting really into in 2024 or so. Japan has also gone pretty bananas about it lately - so typically Japanese of them. If you are on Instagram start with someone like Asami Yamada and go from there. Instagram will start showing you more like her in your feed.
It has spread so thoroughly thanks to Asian women's insane addiction to social media that even "normie" East Asian women are getting into bodybuilding now.
Cool, thanks for the info! I checked her out and immediately got some recommendations lol. And yeah I have noticed that once something becomes a trend in Asia, it immediately explodes even faster than it does in the West.
It also makes sense that Korea, the new "cool Asian country", would sort of set the stage for other places to adopt it. On a related note, even a few Kpop bands have guys getting increasingly built so they're not all super femmy and thin.
I do find it funny that every time I check out DBRAVE's IG page I see 900 of nearly the same picture, to the point where I have trouble telling them all apart or if I've followed some of those models before. My favorites are usually the most distinctive (though Yan might be getting TOO big).
For some reason it just took a lot longer for it to become mainstream in Asia. in the 80s it got big in the west. in the 90s eastern Europe in the 2000s Latin America after that Asia. i am also not sure why it's so popular in Korea compared to the rest of Asia. i know a lot of Koreans go to great lengths to look perfect. so maybe this can lead to bodybuilding for women who don't want to be perfect in a mainstream way. even in south east asia india and african its slowly on the rise and eventually the only region without fbbs will be super patriarcal countries like Afghanistan.
I think Koreans are more westernized compared to other East Asians. A large number of them travel and study in America and, unlike the Chinese, are much more willing to assimilate into Western culture.
What's DBRAVE?
Some photographer who does nearly all the Asian bodybuilders I see. Really likes "naked girl with her bum showing" pictures- often the only nudity any of these women do, but it's a LOT of them. There's a few other photographers doing similar but this is the only with with a HUGE name posted in all the pics, lol.
Seen on IG as "Dbrave.official"
For some reason it just took a lot longer for it to become mainstream in Asia. in the 80s it got big in the west. in the 90s eastern Europe in the 2000s Latin America after that Asia. i am also not sure why it's so popular in Korea compared to the rest of Asia. i know a lot of Koreans go to great lengths to look perfect. so maybe this can lead to bodybuilding for women who don't want to be perfect in a mainstream way. even in south east asia india and african its slowly on the rise and eventually the only region without fbbs will be super patriarcal countries like Afghanistan.
I'm actually super into the idea of Indian women getting into FBB. I don't see very much at all and the country is SUPER patriarchal too, but has so many damn people they've surely got to have some interest that can build.
Any help would be appreciated!
I am late to the party here but ppl prety much summed up the trend in recent years. I've noticed (both on Chinese social media and during the time I've spent in China) that women's bodybuilding has absolutely blown up in popularity, scope, and reach there since 2024-2025. 🥳
As far as where or how to find more Chinese athletes to follow, someone put together this table at some point that I found really useful. 💯
Admittedly, I'm pretty well-versed and somewhat well-connected when it comes to the Chinese women's bodybuilding scene but my knowledge and depth of understanding is more limited for the Korean and Japanese scenes. 😇
I've been curious about this one for a while- I didn't know who or what to search for the longest time, but kept noticing all the DBRAVE pictures popping up on here of various Asian women, usually in the same positions (they LOVE women standing up and showing their muscular buns, lol). Then it spread to others, and I started noticing dozens, if not hundreds, of Asian FBBs.
I'm a big fan of Yan Hong, Bian Ruiying, Chun-Ri Kim, and others, but only recently got into them. And I'm curious... when did this start getting big with Asian women, and why so many, so quickly?
I notice a lot of similarities in build, too, like a lot of them go for the "Slender but RIPPED" look so they look more feminine and athletic over being huge. A huge amount of DBRAVE pictures and those from other studios are like that, focusing on nude shots of backsides of more ripped, slender women. Other women kind of go from one to the other (Yan Yong started out more ripped but is adding bulk).
Is there just a handful of gyms out there in Asia recruiting women? Is it a big fad over there? I'm not sure which countries everyone is from, as their websites and IGs appeal to Westerners, but I've noticed Chinese, Koreans, etc. Nobody from Japan but I assume there's some.
Any help would be appreciated!