As the camera focuses on the warehouse of the health supplement company known as Raw, we see our three protagonists: bodybuilding champion Chris Bumstead, entrepreneur Dom Iacovone, and coach Matt Jansen. They’ve entered a partnership to develop and retail the best-tasting weight-lifting supplements humankind has ever known. Thus, we learn the plot of The Raw Story. Written and directed by Vlad Yudin, the documentary seeks to explore the meteoric rise of the company.
The film begins in 2022, with Bumstead having won the Classic Build competition three times in a row, seeking his fourth win. To get the title, he wants a better-tasting muscle supplement. Along comes Iacovone, who has aspired to start such a supplement company. He just needed a great brand ambassador. Their partnership was absolutely meant to be. And while not everything worked out perfectly from the jump, there’s a reason Raw is so well-known today. Also, it’s striking to know while Bumstead is the face of the company, he shows up every day and helps develop the products Raw markets.
“…the meteoric rise of the company.”
The Raw Story takes its time documenting all the ups and downs the three men have experienced in their respective lives. Yudin is determined to provide a holistic view of all three. To that end, we meet several young men Jansen is coaching. We meet all of the important people, including Iacovone and Bumstead and their wives. It’s a very wholesome family portrait displayed in that we have family men who are dedicated to their respective crafts, their company, and their families.
Yudin has done a bang-up job. I imagine it helps a great deal that he has covered some of this material in Generation Iron. Over many years, the filmmaker has devoted himself to chronicling the lives of bodybuilders. It is an especially internal sport as the objective is to achieve all the poses that demonstrate the beauty and strength exhibited through the highly developed musculature possessed by the athlete. No one should think this stuff is easy: developing these muscles and learning how to flex them effectively is a long and grueling process. If you choose, like Bumstead, to compete in a category like Classic Build, you must aspire to have a body conceived of as the Aristotelian ideal for the male frame. I know for a fact, gentle reader, I would never be capable of this kind of discipline and commitment. I was staggered by what these men have to put themselves through to maintain these oversized physiques. It’s wholly remarkable that someone managed to maintain it to win numerous championships.
The Raw Story explores the sweet taste of hard-won victory and excellent business success. It’s a paradigmatic example of the good things that can come a person’s way when they develop a wonderful idea and keep working at it. It’s a great story of human achievement. Check it out.
"…a great story of human achievement."
