MNEK has released ‘MUSCLE MARY’S..’, the third single from his upcoming BULLDOZER!! album, and he has apparently decided that discussing male body image is best done somewhere between a workout bench, a changing room and a communal shower.
Directed by Berlin/London-based filmmaker Ben Galster, the music video takes viewers inside a gym where the atmosphere gets increasingly less interested in keeping things covered. It moves through muscle-baring workouts and half-naked changing-room scenes before arriving at a cheeky shower sequence, where naked men are very much part of the scenery — including an extended parade of bare asses that makes it rather difficult to pretend this is just another gym video.
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MNEK appears in the middle of it all wearing nothing but a thong, surrounded by naked men showing off their behinds in a public shower. It is cheeky, deliberately homoerotic and very much in keeping with the visual language he has established for this album cycle.
But underneath all the skin, muscles and strategically minimal underwear, ‘MUSCLE MARY’S..’ is dealing with something considerably more vulnerable.
MNEK Gets Real About Male Body Image
The UK garage-influenced pop track explores body image, body positivity and male vulnerability, turning the gym setting into more than just an excuse to put a collection of extremely unclothed men in one room.
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Speaking about the meaning behind the song, he said in a news release:
“‘MUSCLE MARYS..’ is a song I wrote about body image and what I feel a lot of men of a certain size deal with but don’t always know how to articulate.”
The Grammy-nominated artist continued: “This song is me figuring it out and it shows a more vulnerable side to the BULLDOZER!! world.”
That makes the video’s obsession with bodies feel intentional. The gym is usually where bodies are measured, compared and displayed — muscles, size, strength and everything else people convince themselves they need to achieve before feeling comfortable taking their shirt off.
MNEK flips that idea into something more playful. The bodies are there to be looked at, certainly, but the song is interested in the feelings attached to having one.
And yes, there are bare asses. Quite a few of them, actually. But the visual excess works alongside the song’s more introspective subject rather than replacing it.
‘MUSCLE MARY’S..’ Is One of MNEK’s Favorites
MNEK is clearly proud of the track, calling it one of his favorite songs he has ever released.
“It’s one of my favourite songs I’ve ever put out, I hope people enjoy it too,” said MNEK.
The single follows ‘REVERSE!!’ and ‘OH NO!! ALL THE BOYS!!’, both of which arrived with highly homoerotic visuals, making ‘MUSCLE MARY’S..’ feel like a natural continuation of the BULLDOZER!! Era.
If the first two videos established that MNEK was not particularly interested in making a shy album campaign, this one appears to have kicked the changing-room door completely off its hinges.
BULLDOZER!! Is Coming
‘MUSCLE MARY’S..’ is the third preview of MNEK’s upcoming 11-track album, BULLDOZER!!, which is set to be released on September 18, 2026.
The record will be MNEK’s first full-length album in eight years. He released his debut studio album, Language, in September 2018 through Virgin EMI Records, after establishing himself as a singer, songwriter and producer who has worked with artists including Beyoncé, Zara Larsson and Little Mix.
Now, with BULLDOZER!!, MNEK seems to be embracing a world that is louder, cheekier and considerably more comfortable with male vulnerability.
And judging by ‘MUSCLE MARY’S..’, he is also perfectly comfortable letting that vulnerability walk around the gym naked. Possibly very naked.
Source: ThatGrapeJuice