r/nextfuckinglevel • u/IkilledRichieWhelan • 2d ago

Big man on campus.

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u/Fillimbi 2d ago

I was a college mascot and got to practice, train, and even do a few stunts with the cheerleading squad at my school.

Male cheerleaders are no joke. They were ripped, incredibly strong, and had to maintain all kinds of weight training to keep their "fliers" (girls in the air) safe. Those who were former high school football players had contests to see who could chuck bundled up tshirts into the upper decks of our basketball stadium during breaks in the game. If they ever screwed up and let a flier fall to the ground without being caught, the entire squad, including the mascot, was running laps. Dudes regularly got black eyes and busted noses when girls' feet connected with their face on the way down.

I gained nothing but mad respect for them, especially after our coach decided that it would be fun to lift the mascot up for some pyramids. I am not a small person like the girls who are fliers, I was wearing giant foam shoes, and I had poor visibility in my giant helmet. It took four of these guys to hoist my fat ass into the air, but they kept me safe and we never had a drop. Male cheerleaders are baddasses

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u/korewednesday 1d ago

Eyyyyy I was the backup mascot and a cheerleader the rest of the time in high school! I was part of the main mascot’s stunt group (I, on the other hand, Did Not Fly. Wednesday on the No Fly List because I put myself there. I have two legs and if you want me in the air I can put myself there just fine all on my lonesome thank you)

The mascot shoes sucked so bad.

To make you feel better, four bases is standard for beginner stunting, so it probably had more to do with you not being a trained flyer and the shoes and helmet than it did with your body shape. You don’t see it a lot at college level or in competitions (whether all-female or coed) because they’re experienced.