Most readers have no idea about Sam Sulek. He’s a young YouTube bodybuilder who’s gained over 4 million followers with surprisingly low-production-value content—almost a throwback to early YouTube vlogging. But why is he relevant?
To me he embodies something what Nassim Taleb would call a “soul in the game”. This represents an existential, intrinsic commitment where one’s work is tied to personal pride, ethics, and a sense of mission, often making financial considerations secondary.
Taleb contrasts it with purely profit-driven or industrialized approaches, emphasizing that it involves putting one’s heart and identity into the endeavor. He notes that progress often requires “an asymmetric rule somewhere—and someone with soul in the game,” where a small number of deeply committed individuals can drive significant change.
The Hero We Deserve
Having been forced to take time off in recent weeks, I indulged in the escapist realm of the internet to pass the time, with YouTube being my platform of choice. Given my lifelong interest in all things gym-related, I tend to be fed gym content. Sam Sulek had been on my radar for a while, but I never really gave him much attention.
What I’ve noticed in the past is that people compile Sam’s videos into zany content like “8 hours of Sam Sulek car talk to fall asleep to.” Essentially, it’s an unfiltered stream of Sam’s thoughts in his car on the way to and from the gym. For the uninvolved, it must be unfathomable how this type of content could amass so many views and a cult-like following.
His raw, unfiltered thoughts are delivered in a Marcus Aurelius-like meditative manner, akin to someone speaking to themselves. There’s a striking lack of performance and aspiration, an absolute and genuine disregard for what the zeitgeist dictates.
The substance here lies in the presentation itself rather than the content, which is mostly repetitive rambling. It’s not that people can’t find in it something of value to them. But the value is not trying to cater to anybody’s expectation (at least that’s how I assume it started). It’s simply good vibes.
I realized what a stark contrast this is to the performative, shock-value, aspirational content that dominates my feed. Here you have this young man, totally enamoured with what the majority would call a mundane and repetitive lifestyle or craft, throwing unscripted and unfiltered thoughts into the void. It’s a rare instance of “soul in the game” at its peak, broadcasted and consumed en masse.
The Anti-Content
I grew resentful of my social media feed, finding it tiresome. Perhaps it’s just me, but any shred of genuineness feels long gone, replaced by a relentless pursuit of eyeballs and engagement. Everybody seems to optimize for the process of distribution.
The industrialization of the information flow makes me feel like there’s little value in watching the timeline unfold. There’s nothing to learn from information that presents itself as guidance. Can it be a signal if it craves relevancy? I’m skeptical about products manufactured to compete in the attention market.
I truly believe that information or content that’s worth my time is not produced in the way that is presented as worthy or optimizes for attention by forcing itself into the feed. If it’s trying too hard it’s not attractive.
Hence why alpha is so rare and cannot be systematized (also why the best pitch does not look like a pitchdeck). Most information, even when presented as a hack, advice or a how-to, is usually only worth its entertainment value. (Which is ok.)
Content that is designed as motivational or aspirational packaged in a form of readymade advice is junkfood of information. People don’t get sharper. They grow duller even if they have absorbed more information. This is the sort of knowledge which overconsumption leads to chaos.
On social media the mind is getting fed with a performative act that often optimizes for conflict and outrage. One is drawn into having an opinion and feeling strongly about topics so distant yet somehow so relevant. People care about the things of great importance, mostly negative things as well. But they often forget what truly matters.
That is, anybody can fight for things that truly matter. To paraphrase Peter Thiel: true heroes fight for things that don’t matter, a reason as thin as an eggshell.
The mimetic force mobilizes masses to aspire to the same thing, believe in the same virtues, fight for the same cause. Enemies growing more alike. It is rarely the heat of competition forging the path forwards. It is individuals like Sam Sulek on their way to fight for their personal “petty” mission.
