In poses worthy of Mister Universe, workers show off their muscles to the crowd, lifting not cast iron but stacked tiles. This unique bodybuilding competition is held in Indonesia to defend a declining artisanal industry.

For ten years, dozens of men from Jatiwangi have been posing each year, their bodies oiled, to draw attention to a production that has made the reputation of this town located some 200 kilometers from the capital Jakarta for more than a century.

"Jatiwangi has been making tiles since 1905. But over time, this activity began to disappear," explains Illa Syukrillah Syarief, a 48-year-old worker who helps organize the competition.

"So we feel we are here not only to tell the story of the tiles, but also to save them, to preserve the Jatiwangi tile culture," he continues.

Workers use local clay or soil to make their tiles.

The activity is threatened by the disinterest of the younger generations in manual trades and by competition from industry, which affects the income of local artisans.

"We're struggling in a difficult situation," explains Illa Syukrillah Syarief. "We've lost workers and demand is not what it used to be," adds the forty-year-old.

The competition brings together workers of all ages. They pose bare-chested in front of an audience of women in hijabs and judges.

The winners will receive 1.5 million rupees (about 79 euros) from the factories that employ the competitors. No sponsors have yet signed on for the event.

Acrobatics

Ika, a participant who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name, calls the show "unique."

For him, the competition highlights "a particular style of bodybuilding" rooted in Indonesian culture.

"It was amazing to see the competitors and their style, and all the things they can do with their hands, even their mouths, while wearing tiles," said impressed foreign judge Alessa Cargnell.

The ochre-colored tiles have a curved shape that allows them to interlock, making them easier to stack for installation.

One man even held a tile between each finger and another in his mouth, while standing on one leg, to the sound of remixed traditional music often heard on popular TikTok videos in Indonesia.

But the strength of these workers is not limited to this spectacle, notes Illa Syukrillah Syarief: "We hope that the tiles, or the work of the earth in Jatiwangi, will not only be a commodity but will truly become an identity."