Gym Rat (Photo courtesy of Gym Rat Films LLC)
August 3, 2026
Independent distributor Stonecutter Media will release the psychological drama Gym Rat,the feature directorial debut of Korstiaan Vandiver, in select theaters and on North American VOD platforms Oct. 20.
The film follows Lonnie Milsap (Josh Murray), a fitness obsessed ex-convict freshly released from prison and chasing a dream of <a href="https://healthylife7.com/two-people-in-michigan-have-died-after-becoming-ill-with-cyclosporiasis/” title=”Two people in Michigan have died after becoming ill with cyclosporiasis”>becoming the next Mr. Olympia. Struggling to rebuild his life, Lonnie takes a job selling steroids for a volatile gym owner and spirals deeper into a cycle of drugs, violence and self-destruction. Throughout the film, Lonnie is haunted by his lifelong idol, Lou Ferrigno, the international bodybuilding champion and pop culture icon whose physique and screen presence shaped Lonnie’s identity from childhood. Ferrigno appears throughout the film as both himself and as a projection of the transformed man Lonnie believes he can become.
The cast also includes Greg Orvis, Mariana Vicente, Gabriel Jarret, Mike O’Hearn, Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Whitney Jones and Andre Rush
“This story could have easily been something designed just to make people laugh, but I never wanted that,” said Vandiver, who also wrote the screenplay. “I want Gym Rat to have a climactic point that is affecting its tragedy. I wanted to explore what it’s like to be the person in society who is looked down upon and given up on, and what happens as a result. Worth isn’t defined by accomplishment, or by how many letters you have behind your name.”
A production of Blue Angel Entertainment and Fathoms Deep, Gym Rat was produced by Murray, Vandiver and Spencer Folmar
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