Thanks for chiming in Big Dave.
I want to add so much to what you have to say, that I don't really know where to start. But I agree with a lot of what you said.
I am really turned away from people in the sport as well. I enjoy making new friends in the gym, am very friendly towards other trainees, offer diet and training advice to others, but I have found that the people of the cult tend to be quite... different and not always in a good way. That is why I keep my interactions with other bodybuilders within the gym and online for the most part. And this hobby of mine is kept a secret. Even in the gym, it's funny how much gossip happens between the regulars... There are some good guys out there in this sport though.
I find it funny when people on social media networks talk about the gym as if it were a "go to war" effort, and that when they make any kind of changes to their body, they suddenly think it makes them superior and they hop in one competition and suddenly they are a dieting and training coach. I can't help but laugh at this. And they post progress pictures of themselves and their meals nonstop as if anyone actually gives a shit.
One thing that really turned me off about this whole "Cult" is it's ties with Gay 4 pay, hardcore/softcore porn, softcore nude photography, stripping, etc. I thought it was all a joke until I looked into it further and it was true. There was a respected poster on another forum that was an IFBB pro who recently turned to Wrestling and videos of his "cams" surfaced masturbating on camera, and he now doesn't even post there anymore LOL. I was shocked to see so many male/female bodybuilders who are in porn, how many women who do porn that compete in female bikini, and ifbb pros/top npc amateurs and even fitness athletes who have done cam shows / porn / softcore photography / stripping. It makes me want nothing to do with the "sport." It makes me wonder what else goes on... Luckily only the guys who are "in the know" truly know the depths of the dark side of the "sport".